Local News in Washington
348 articles · Page 15 of 18
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Trump administration will pay $1B to block 2 offshore wind farms
The U.S. government will pay a French energy firm nearly $1 billion to cancel its plans to build a pair of wind farms off the East Coast, the Trump administration announced Monday in its latest move to stymie offshore wind. The French firm TotalEnergies will forfeit its leases for projects off the coasts of New […]
State News – Washington - LocalWA
Medicaid cuts could add pressure to already-stressed psychiatric units
Federal Medicaid cuts could exact a heavy toll on psychiatric units at hospitals across the country, many of which are already struggling to keep their doors open but provide essential mental health care to people who need it. Psychiatric units are costly and, like labor and delivery services, typically lose money for hospitals and tend […]
State News – Washington - LocalWA
US Senate confirms Mullin as next Homeland Security boss
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate voted Monday evening to confirm Markwayne Mullin to lead the Department of Homeland Security, which is responsible for carrying out President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda. The 54-45 vote means that Mullin, a Republican senator from Oklahoma, will take over the department in the midst of a five-week shutdown. He will replace outgoing […]
State News – Washington - LocalWA
Rounding out debate, Ferguson signs bill addressing retailers’ penny problem
A new Washington state law offers a way to make change in an era without pennies. The federal government stopped making pennies last year but intends to keep the roughly 114 billion pennies in existence in circulation for as long as possible. Plenty of retailers aren’t stocking pennies in their tills already. It’s forced states […]
State News – Washington - LocalWA
Airport chaos: TSA agents skip work, security lines expand, Trump sends in ICE to assist
Airport security workers missed work Monday at the highest rate since a partial government shutdown began in mid-February, the Department of Homeland Security said, and the Trump administration sent immigration officials to some airports in an attempt to keep lines moving. Travelers reported hourslong security lines at major airports in Atlanta and Houston, while waits […]
State News – Washington - LocalWA
New WA law nixes mortgage lender tax break to boost wildfire funding
At the close of last year’s Washington state legislative session, a key bucket of wildfire prevention funding was slashed nearly in half by lawmakers attempting to offset a budget deficit. If it wasn’t restored this year, the Department of Natural Resources was prepared to cut staff and eliminate grants for communities facing wildfires. Rep. Shaun […]
State News – Washington - LocalWA
Supreme Court skeptical of allowing states to count mail ballots that arrive after Election Day
The U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative justices on Monday appeared skeptical of the validity of mail-in ballots that arrive after Election Day, in a case that could potentially affect hundreds of thousands of voters during the upcoming midterm elections. The high court heard arguments on whether federal law overrides a Mississippi law that requires mail-in ballots […]
State News – Washington - LocalWA
US Supreme Court to hear case to decide where migrants can apply for asylum
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Tuesday in a case to determine if a migrant on Mexico’s side of a border crossing with the United States can legally apply for asylum when arriving at a U.S. port of entry. The case, which stems from a policy during President Donald Trump’s first term […]
State News – Washington - LocalWA
‘Blue envelopes’ seek to reduce WA traffic stop risks for neurodivergent drivers
Traffic stops can be anxiety-inducing encounters, especially for people with autism. To address this, Washington is establishing a program to improve communication between neurodivergent people and police during stops. Under a new law Gov. Bob Ferguson signed last week, the state Department of Licensing needs to establish the “Blue Envelope” program. On the envelope must […]
State News – Washington - LocalWA
Environment and climate bills that passed and failed in WA’s legislative session
With just three more sessions scheduled before state law mandates greenhouse gas emissions in Washington be at least 45% below 1990 levels, lawmakers took this year to close polluter loopholes in the state’s climate laws and advance a major bill to upgrade and expand the electrical grid. Data centers were also a huge draw this […]
State News – Washington - LocalWA
Drop in US opioid overdose deaths nears 50% since 2023
Since their peak less than three years ago, opioid overdose deaths dropped nearly by half as of October, according to a Stateline analysis. The drop comes as a shrinking fentanyl supply has made the drug weaker and less deadly and volunteer efforts get more people into treatment. The weaker fentanyl tracks to a crackdown on […]
State News – Washington - LocalWA
Buoyed by big projects and a big lease sale, Alaska oil companies project optimism
Representatives of major oil field operators on Alaska’s North Slope said Thursday they are bullish on the region’s future as a major producer for decades to come. Their optimism was reinforced in part by a record-breaking oil and gas lease sale held this week by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. For ConocoPhillips, Alaska’s largest […]
State News – Washington - LocalWA
Trump is forcing coal plants to stay open. It could cost customers billions
In an unprecedented use of federal authority, President Donald Trump’s administration has invoked emergency powers to force a series of retiring coal plants to stay open. Utilities, states and grid operators have said the aging plants are expensive, in bad repair and no longer needed to meet regional energy needs. But Trump’s efforts to save […]
State News – Washington - LocalWA
After shocking revelations, WA leaders reconsider Cesar Chavez recognition
State lawmakers and the governor are rethinking how Washington marks the legacy of Cesar Chavez following stunning accusations of sexual abuse against the transformational leader of the farmworker movement. In 2018, Washington passed a law recognizing “Cesar Chavez Day” on March 31, the birthday of the co-founder of the United Farm Workers union. But top […]
State News – Washington - LocalWA
WA governor prepares to meet with NBA commissioner as hopes rise for Sonics’ return
Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson on Thursday previewed an upcoming meeting with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver ahead of a planned vote on league expansion that could bring men’s professional basketball back to Seattle. ESPN has reported that the Tuesday and Wednesday meetings of the NBA’s board of governors next week in New York would include a […]
State News – Washington - LocalWA
HHS to investigate 13 states that require insurers to cover abortions
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Thursday announced an investigation into 13 states that require health insurance plans to cover abortion care. In a news release, the agency said the investigation is based on allegations that the states are coercing health care entities to provide coverage of abortion “contrary to conscience” and in […]
State News – Washington - LocalWA
Education Department to transfer management of defaulted student loans to Treasury
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Treasury Department will take over the Department of Education’s responsibility for collecting on defaulted federal student loan debt, President Donald Trump’s administration announced Thursday. It’s the first step in a multi-phase process that will end with Treasury taking on the entire federal student loan portfolio. It’s also the latest interagency agreement announced […]
State News – Washington - LocalWA
Contraception services dropped after ‘defunding’ provision hit clinics
Visits for contraception and cancer screenings at Planned Parenthood clinics have dropped by double-digits after Congress passed a bill cutting off Medicaid funding to certain reproductive health care providers last year, according to a new Democratic congressional report. Between July 1 and the end of December, the report said emergency contraception distribution fell 10%, oral contraception […]
State News – Washington - LocalWA
Army Corps plan for Columbia River dredge spoils could cost SW Washington ports millions
The federal agency that maintains the Columbia River’s shipping channel is proposing to build seven giant in-water pens as part of a $377 million project to manage dredge spoils over the next 20 years. Meanwhile, the river’s shipping industry is working to get local ports off the hook for part of the $132 million they […]
State News – Washington - LocalWA
Around US, lawmakers push to expand laws allowing guns on college campuses
In at least six statehouses this year, lawmakers are revisiting a long-running debate over whether guns should be allowed on college campuses. Republican lawmakers in Florida, Louisiana, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming have introduced bills that would allow students, staff or visitors with concealed carry permits — and in some cases, without permits […]
State News – Washington
