Washington news

• Washington doctors who take pharma money prescribe more brand-name drugs, analysis shows

  17-03-2016 23:17
  
  TIMES WATCHDOG | An analysis by investigative journalists at ProPublica, with cooperation from The Seattle Times, finds that half of top doctors in Washington accept payments from the medical industry, and those who do are twice as likely to prescribe brand-name medications at high rates.
  
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• 911 call: ‘There’s a baby crying’ inside car crushed by tree

  17-03-2016 23:12
  
  A desperate 911 call captures the efforts to free a toddler from a car that had been half-crushed by a falling tree in Seward Park.
  
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• Seattle has more rich millennials than most other U.S. cities

  17-03-2016 23:06
  
  Nearly 4 percent of Seattle’s millennial households earn more than $350,000 per year, a greater concentration than in all but three American cities.
  
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• Drinking in Seattle on St. Patrick’s Day? Uber will drive you home for free

  17-03-2016 20:38
  
  Uber will offer free rides Thursday night to those who blow into a breathalyzer kiosk at Kells Irish Pub near Pike Place Market.
  
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• Man who sneaked back into U.S. using ID of brother he killed gets 5-year sentence

  17-03-2016 20:35
  
  A former Bellevue man who was deported after killing his teenage brother was sentenced to prison for assuming his dead brother’s identity and illegally returning to the U.S.
  
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• Democrats can cast proxy vote for caucuses, but deadline is Friday

  17-03-2016 20:33
  
  Democrats who can’t attend the March 26 caucuses due to job schedule or certain other conflicts may be able to cast a vote. But there is a March 18 deadline.
  
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• Star astronaut Scott Kelly: Time right to retire from NASA

  17-03-2016 20:27
  
  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — After 20 years with NASA, America’s star astronaut Scott Kelly says it’s time to move on. He’s already hopped on the speaker circuit but is saving the serious job discussions for retirement, coming up in just two weeks. “You need to leave when the time’s right for you — and […]
  
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• Ride the Ducks admits to 463 safety violations, to pay $222,000

  17-03-2016 20:09
  
  Ride the Ducks has admitted to 463 safety violations and has agreed to pay $222,000 in penalties to settle a pending state complaint against the Seattle excursion firm stemming from the crash of a Duck tourist vehicle on the Aurora Bridge.
  
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• Like to cruise in the left lane? WSP troopers are out to get you

  17-03-2016 19:31
  
  Troopers are on the lookout to stop drivers who park in the left lane of highway for long periods of time.
  
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• Puget Sound orca advocates hail SeaWorld’s decision to stop breeding killer whales

  17-03-2016 19:21
  
  Orca Network’s Howard Garrett and scientist Ken Balcomb see the theme park’s announcement as a symbolic win, with Garrett calling on SeaWorld to return its captive orcas to the sea.
  
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• Seabird die-off takes twist with carcasses in Alaska lake

  17-03-2016 19:17
  
  ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The massive die-off of a widely distributed North Pacific seabird continues to surprise federal scientists. The latest twist was the discovery of thousands of carcasses of common murres (murz) along a freshwater Alaska lake. U.S. Geological Survey research wildlife biologist John Piatt (PEYE-at) says an estimated 6,000 to 8,000 carcasses were […]
  
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• Hawaii Air Force unit getting own power grid that uses trash

  17-03-2016 19:17
  
  JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii (AP) — The Air Force unit that defends Hawaii skies will get experimental energy technology that uses trash to generate power and relies on its own small electrical grid. The aim is to keep the base operating if a bomb, cyberattack or natural disaster knocks out the local utility. The […]
  
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• Hunters slow to switch from lead ammunition

  17-03-2016 17:42
  
  Though lead is highly toxic, hunters are slow to use copper bullets. Hunters resist for a variety of reasons: some have stockpiles of lead ammunition; others balk at higher cost of non-lead shot and bullets; and performance and availability are issues.
  
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• Crow funerals unlock secrets about bird brains

  17-03-2016 17:21
  
  UW researchers are trying to understand more about crows’ brains and behavior, specifically what they do when the birds see one of their own die. They react loudly to the dead, but the reasons aren’t known.
  
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• Burned bear Cinder is surviving, but her pal killed by hunter

  17-03-2016 16:18
  
  Cinder, the bear cub found badly burned in a massive wildfire, is surviving her first winter in the wild, but the orphaned cub released with her has been killed by a hunter.
  
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• Beyond record hot, February was ‘astronomical’ and ‘strange’

  17-03-2016 15:02
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Earth got so hot last month that federal scientists struggled to find words, describing temperatures as “astronomical,” ”staggering” and “strange.” They warned that the climate may have moved into a new and hotter neighborhood. This was not just another of the drumbeat of 10 straight broken monthly global heat records, triggered by […]
  
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• Seattle’s most elegant skyscraper at 1201 Third Avenue

  17-03-2016 15:00
  
  Sketched March 14, 2016 Woolworth and WaMu. The legendary Seattle institutions no longer exist, but the buildings they once occupied on Third Avenue never fail to catch my eye. The Third Avenue and Pike Street location where retail giant Woolworth operated from 1940 until 1994 now houses Ross Dress For Less. Cheap clothing meets fancy […]
  
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• SeaWorld to stop breeding orcas, making them perform tricks

  17-03-2016 12:24
  
  SeaWorld says it will immediately stop breeding killer whales, essentially phasing out the iconic orcas from its theme parks after years of controversy over keeping them in captivity.
  
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• School being renamed in honor of astronaut twin brothers

  17-03-2016 12:08
  
  WEST ORANGE, N.J. (AP) — Scott Kelly, the astronaut who has spent a U.S.-record 520 days in space, will have his name on a New Jersey elementary school — and so will his twin brother, Mark. Officials in West Orange have decided to rename Pleasantdale Elementary School after the famous alumni. Mark and Scott Kelly […]
  
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• Vietnam’s southern delta faces worst drought in history

  17-03-2016 12:01
  
  HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Vietnam’s southern Mekong Delta, the country’s main rice growing region, is experiencing the worst drought and saline intrusion in recent history that has affected more than half a million people, officials said Thursday. The drought could result in the loss of up to 1 million tons of rice, but is not […]
  
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• Egypt says scan of King Tut’s burial tomb shows hidden rooms

  17-03-2016 10:23
  
  CAIRO (AP) — Scans of King Tut’s burial chamber have revealed two hidden rooms, Egypt’s antiquities minister said Thursday — a discovery that could intensify speculation that the chambers contain the remains of the famed Queen Nefertiti. Mamdouh el-Damaty told reporters that the secret chambers may contain metal or organic material, but he declined to […]
  
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• Woman drives into Kirkland car wash, striking employee

  17-03-2016 06:26
  
  Investigators believe the 46-year-old woman struck the employee after driving through a fence near the Rose Hill Car Wash. Medics transported him to Harborview Medical Center.
  
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• Sharing a love of Irish dance

  17-03-2016 04:27
  
  Irish dancers from the American Dance Institute in Greenwood perform for seniors at the Norse Home Retirement Community in the Phinney Ridge neighborhood of Seattle.
  
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• Obscure tax at center of attempt to end budget impasse

  17-03-2016 04:05
  
  A change to a little-known tax provision for national network TV broadcasters could help pave the way to a budget compromise in Olympia. But the proposal’s last-minute appearance has drawn some questions.
  
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• Elite FBI team’s actions scrutinized in Oregon standoff

  17-03-2016 03:49
  
  Several members of the FBI unit were present Jan. 26 when authorities tried to stop two vehicles carrying leaders of the standoff away from their stronghold at a remote federal wildlife refuge.
  
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• Escrow official: Troy Kelley promised to pay back homebuyers

  17-03-2016 03:38
  
  Escrow official testified Troy Kelley agreed to a flat fee of $15 — and no more — for every transaction his company performed and believed he was refunding leftover funds to homebuyers.
  
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• Nooksack leaders disbar lawyer fighting tribal disenrollments

  17-03-2016 03:34
  
  First, the Nooksack tribal council gave itself the power to disbar attorneys. Then it disbarred its biggest foe, Gabriel Galanda. As a judge reviews whether the action was fair, the case is shaping up to be a test of judicial independence in the tribal system.
  
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• Pickup truck, dump truck collide in fatal crash near Fall City

  17-03-2016 02:27
  
  A pickup truck on Highway 203 veered into the opposite lane and was struck by a dump truck, Washington State Patrol trooper Chris Webb said.
  
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• Bergdahl explains his reasoning in newly released documents

  17-03-2016 02:17
  
  Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl said he left a post in Afghanistan in 2009 to draw attention to what he saw as bad decisions by officers above him, according to documents released Wednesday that also show he was diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder. Attorneys for Bergdahl, who faces charges including desertion, said they released the documents […]
  
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• Seattle man to return millions to people for online prayers

  17-03-2016 02:02
  
  Attorney General Bob Ferguson said as part of an agreement, Benjamin Rogovy will pay back as much as $7.75 million to approximately 165,000 customers who were victims of Rogovy’s deceptive business practices.
  
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• Seattle man to return as much as $7.75 million to people in online prayer scam

  17-03-2016 02:02
  
  Attorney General Bob Ferguson said as part of an agreement, Benjamin Rogovy will pay back as much as $7.75 million to approximately 165,000 customers who were victims of Rogovy’s deceptive business practices.
  
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• Helping mixed-race Asian kids navigate a world that isn’t post-racial

  17-03-2016 01:54
  
  Seattle author writes about the challenges of raising multiracial Asian children in America and helping then overcome racial biases.
  
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• Book offers insight into parents of mixed-race Asian kids

  17-03-2016 01:54
  
  Seattle author writes about the challenges of raising multiracial Asian children in America and helping then overcome racial biases.
  
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• Sinatra Family: Frank Sinatra Jr. has died

  17-03-2016 01:34
  
  LOS ANGELES (AP) — Frank Sinatra Jr., who carried on his famous father’s legacy with his own music career, has died. He was 72. The Sinatra family said in a statement to The Associated Press that Sinatra died unexpectedly Wednesday of cardiac arrest while on tour in Daytona Beach, Florida. The statement said the family […]
  
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• Des Moines police: body found in van at used car lot

  17-03-2016 00:50
  
  The King County Medical Examiner’s Office will identify him and determine his cause of death.
  
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• Boy Scout camps close in South Sound, could be logged for cash

  17-03-2016 00:02
  
  Four of five South Sound area scout camps have closed amid decreasing enrollment and rising costs.
  
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