Washington news

• Avalanche kills Montana skier in Glacier National Park

  06-01-2017 23:46
  
  KALISPELL, Mont. (AP) — An endurance athlete and firefighter who was partially buried in an avalanche while backcountry skiing in Montana’s Glacier National Park died as emergency crews tried to rescue him, officials said Friday. Ben Parsons, 36, of Kalispell, was a skilled outdoor adventurer who competed in mountain biking and ski mountaineering races and […]
  
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• Seattle hit-and-run victim to be honored at site where she was killed

  06-01-2017 23:22
  
  Donnelle “Nellie” Yelli, a 62-year-old Seattle woman, was killed Sunday by a hit-and-run driver.
  
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• Yosemite’s valley floor set to close during stormy weekend

  06-01-2017 23:13
  
  FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — Residents of California from the coastline to the Sierra Nevada are gearing up for heavy rain and snow that closed down part of Yosemite National Park on Friday and is expected to swell rivers and topple trees this weekend. Park rangers closed all roads leading to the valley floor, a major […]
  
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• Yosemite: Valley floor to close during stormy weekend

  06-01-2017 23:13
  
  FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — Residents of California from the coastline to the Sierra Nevada are bracing for heavy rain and snow that’s already shut down Yosemite National Park and is expected to swell rivers and topple trees. Rangers at Yosemite on Friday closed access to the valley floor, raising memories of flooding in 1997 that […]
  
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• California bracing for storm that closed Yosemite Valley

  06-01-2017 23:13
  
  FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — Photographer and rock climber Josh Hilling who lives in the foothills below Yosemite National Park spent recent days chopping wood and stocking up on groceries, ahead of what’s expected to be the strongest storm to hit Central California in years. Rangers at Yosemite on Friday closed all roads leading to the […]
  
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• Washington Middle School briefly placed on lockdown after gunshots reported in area

  06-01-2017 22:55
  
  Seattle Public Schools said Washington Middle School was placed on lockdown around 1:45 p.m. Friday.
  
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• Threat to cut out Rep. McDermott’s tongue brings prison time, order to learn of congressman’s career

  06-01-2017 22:45
  
  Police say the man wanted former Rep Jim McDermott to support Bernie Sanders instead of Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination.
  
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• Man who threatened to cut out former Rep. McDermott’s tongue gets 2 months in prison

  06-01-2017 22:45
  
  Police say the man wanted former Rep Jim McDermott to support Bernie Sanders instead of Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination.
  
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• Wounded Mount Vernon officer showing ‘steady progress’ in hospital

  06-01-2017 22:27
  
  Officer Mike McClaughry faces a long road ahead and is ’not out of the woods,’ a brain surgeon acknowledged during a news conference on Friday
  
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• A smile and an ‘ouuuuch’: for critically wounded Mount Vernon officer, signs of progress and a long road ahead

  06-01-2017 22:27
  
  For nearly 12 hours a day, every day, Linda McClaughry sits at Harborview by the bedside of her husband, Mount Vernon police officer Mike McClaughry, shot in the head on Dec. 15. She has no time for bitterness or anger.
  
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• Scientists watch growing Antarctic crack but aren’t alarmed

  06-01-2017 22:24
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Scientists are watching, but not alarmed by, a growing crack at the edge of a key floating ice shelf in Antarctica. New images show the long-watched crack in the Larsen C ice shelf grew 11 miles (18 kilometers) in the last few weeks. Another dozen more miles and a Delaware-sized iceberg could […]
  
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• ‘It is over’: VP Joe Biden shuts down Seattle congresswoman Pramila Jayapal’s last-ditch effort to halt Trump

  06-01-2017 22:21
  
  Biden's shutdown of Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Seattle, recorded by CSPAN, drew laughs and applause from some lawmakers, including House Speaker Paul Ryan.
  
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• ‘It is over’: Vice President Joe Biden shuts down Seattle congresswoman Pramila Jayapal’s last-ditch effort to halt Trump

  06-01-2017 22:21
  
  Biden's shutdown of Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Seattle, recorded by CSPAN, drew laughs and applause from some lawmakers, including House Speaker Paul Ryan.
  
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• Sen. Tim Sheldon picked as president pro-tem of GOP-controlled state Senate

  06-01-2017 21:52
  
  Sen. Tim Sheldon will likely be the state Senate’s next president pro tem. In that largely ceremonial role, Sheldon, a Democrat who caucuses with Republicans, will fill in when the lieutenant governor is unavailable.
  
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• Iceberg bigger than NY’s Long Island poised to break off from Antarctica

  06-01-2017 20:57
  
  A massive chunk of Antarctica’s Larsen C is hanging on by a relative thread. When it breaks off, it could eventually lead to the disintegration of the ice shelf.
  
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• Seattle’s new democracy vouchers: What they are and how to use them

  06-01-2017 20:28
  
  Have you received "democracy vouchers" in the mail? Here's your guide to what exactly they are and how you can use them.
  
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• Dying UK man to challenge British law on assisted suicide

  06-01-2017 20:00
  
  LONDON (AP) — A British man with a terminal disease is attempting to overturn the country’s laws on assisted suicide. The charity Dignity in Dying said in a statement Friday that 67-year-old Noel Conway has motor neurone disease, a degenerative muscle-wasting disease. He is not expected to survive another year. Conway says he fears being […]
  
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• Bat-friendly tequila, research play role in species recovery

  06-01-2017 19:46
  
  ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Wildlife officials say it might be time for a toast now that a once-rare bat important to the pollination of plants used to produce tequila is making a comeback. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Thursday proposed removing the lesser long-nosed bat from the endangered species list. Mexico delisted the […]
  
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• Deep-freeze ending with more mountain snow to delight skiers and snowboarders

  06-01-2017 19:19
  
  The extended bitter cold temperatures are finally coming to an end, and more mountain snow – possibly a lot of it – is expected to cover the icy slopes heading into next week. Light snow showers are forecast for the mountains to begin late Friday and into Saturday with a slight bump of the freezing […]
  
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• Study documents tree species’ decline due to climate warming

  06-01-2017 18:32
  
  ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A type of tree that thrives in soggy soil from Alaska to Northern California and is valued for its commercial and cultural uses could become a noticeable casualty of climate warming over the next 50 years, an independent study has concluded. Yellow cedar, named for its distinctive yellow wood, already is […]
  
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• What you need to know about new Alaska Airlines flights to Havana, Cuba

  06-01-2017 18:29
  
  UW President Ana Mari Cauce was among the first to fly to Havana, Cuba, on a new Alaska Airlines route.
  
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• 18 dogs die in fire at animal rescue facility near Tumwater

  06-01-2017 18:24
  
  A county animal control officer says the facility did not have a required kennel license from the city of Tumwater.
  
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• Obama admin blocks seismic surveys in Atlantic Ocean

  06-01-2017 18:00
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration is denying permits for energy companies to conduct seismic surveys in the Atlantic Ocean to map potential drilling sites for oil and natural gas. The Interior Department said it denied six pending applications in part because Obama has blocked Atlantic drilling under a five-year offshore drilling plan finalized late […]
  
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• Mount Vernon officer who was shot in head last month improving in hospital

  06-01-2017 17:51
  
  Officer Mike McClaughry was moved out of the intensive-care unit at Harborview Medical Center and is in serious but stable condition.
  
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• Sheriff’s detective had affair with addict, gave her money for drugs, probe finds

  06-01-2017 17:29
  
  Charges are being considered against longtime Clark County Sheriff’s Office Detective Kevin Harper.
  
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• Seattle Community Centers drop fees for some activities

  06-01-2017 16:45
  
  Seattle Parks and Recreation has good news for those who resolved to be more active and save money in the New Year. Thanks to funding from the Seattle Park District, most drop-in activities at community centers that formerly charged $1 to $3 are now free. Free drop-in activities are community center features that don’t require staff, materials […]
  
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• For Seattle weather, a return to mild, wet normality

  06-01-2017 16:11
  
  It will be a cold but not frigid weekend in Puget Sound, meteorologists said.
  
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• Second red panda triplet dies at suburban Philadelphia zoo

  06-01-2017 15:32
  
  NORRISTOWN, Pa. (AP) — A red panda, a species listed as endangered, has died at a suburban Philadelphia zoo. It was the second of triplets at the Elmwood Park Zoo in Norristown to die. The zoo says Shredder, a 2-year-old male, died Wednesday. A necropsy found an enlarged heart and thickened heart walls, both signs […]
  
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• Pitfalls of power: Seven-hour epic play ‘The Octavia’ is ‘like binge-watching Game of Thrones’

  06-01-2017 15:30
  
  A seven-hour, unfinished epic play about Nero? Daredevil playwright Anne Washburn might be the only one who could pull it off.
  
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• Politics podcast: Seattle’s apartment boom and the Legislature’s big task, on The Overcast

  06-01-2017 15:00
  
  We learn what Seattle's epic apartment-building boom will mean for rents in 2017 and preview the high-stakes education-funding battle coming with the state Legislative session that begins this month.
  
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• One woman’s ‘love letters’ to a vanishing Seattle

  06-01-2017 15:00
  
  In VanishingSeattle, Cynthia Brothers chronicles the changing face of the city, and gives residents a place to reminisce and take action.
  
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• Do you live in Seattle’s most liberal or conservative neighborhood? Check our map.

  06-01-2017 15:00
  
  Even in the liberal strongholds of Seattle and King County, communities like Judkins Park in Seattle and Vashon Island stand out for lefty leanings, according to a study of donations. And the most “conservative” areas, like Clyde Hill on the Eastside, are middle-of-the-road.
  
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• DEA’s marijuana-eradication program still targets Washington, where (some) pot is legal

  06-01-2017 15:00
  
  The Drug Enforcement Administration spends millions of taxpayer dollars each year to eradicate illegal marijuana plants — even in Washington state, where the drug has been legal since 2012.
  
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• Spacewalking astronauts upgrade station with new batteries

  06-01-2017 13:37
  
  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Spacewalking astronauts hooked up fancy new batteries Friday on the International Space Station’s sprawling power grid. NASA reported that all three lithium-ion batteries were up and running, a successful start to the space agency’s long-term effort to upgrade the aging solar power system. Before venturing out, Commander Shane Kimbrough and […]
  
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• Spacewalking astronauts tackle battery work outside station

  06-01-2017 13:37
  
  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Astronauts went spacewalking Friday to hook up fancy new batteries on the International Space Station’s sprawling power grid. Before venturing out, Commander Shane Kimbrough and Peggy Whitson got a hand from a robot that took care of most of the grunt work. Remotely using robotics aboard the 250-mile-high lab, flight […]
  
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• NOAA plans to open federal waters in Pacific to fish farming

  06-01-2017 09:04
  
  HONOLULU (AP) — As traditional commercial fishing is threatening fish populations worldwide, U.S. officials are working on a plan to expand fish farming into federal waters around the Pacific Ocean. The government sees the move toward aquaculture as a promising solution to overfishing and feeding a hungry planet. But some environmentalists say the industrial-scale farms […]
  
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• Popular Indian character actor Om Puri dead at 66

  06-01-2017 08:14
  
  NEW DELHI (AP) — Noted Indian character actor Om Puri has died in the western city of Mumbai. He was 66. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a host of leading movie stars tweeted condolence messages shortly after Puri’s death Friday morning. In a career spanning more than three decades, Puri had won a slew […]
  
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• Agatha Christie helped in uncovering Iraq’s ancient Nimrud

  06-01-2017 07:43
  
  NIMRUD, Iraq (AP) — Her diligence and face cream cleaned Nimrud’s most famous ivory. She captured the archaeological dig in Iraq on celluloid and Kodak film, developing the prints in water painstakingly filtered from the nearby Tigris River. And every day, after she balanced the books and arranged for the next day’s meals, Agatha Christie […]
  
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• Devastated by militants, 3,000-year-old city left to looters

  06-01-2017 07:33
  
  NIMRUD, Iraq (AP) — The chilly December wind whipped rain across the strewn wreckage of a city that, nearly 3,000 years ago, ruled almost the entire Middle East. Rivulets of water ran through the dirt, washing away chunks of ancient stone. The city of Nimrud in northern Iraq is in pieces, victim of the Islamic […]
  
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• A 3,000-year-old city wrecked by militants, left for looters

  06-01-2017 07:15
  
  NIMRUD, Iraq (AP) — The giant winged bulls that once stood sentry at the nearly 3,000-year-old palace at Nimrud have been hacked to pieces. The fantastical human-headed creatures were believed to guard the king from evil, but now their stone remains are piled in the dirt, victims of the Islamic State group’s fervor to erase […]
  
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• Arrest made in slaying of U.S. Sen. Tester’s nephew

  06-01-2017 05:39
  
  The suspect reportedly told a friend in a recorded phone call that he did it because the nephew had abused a 17-year-old girl, authorities said Thursday.
  
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• Woman dies skiing out-of-bounds at Crystal Mountain

  06-01-2017 03:35
  
  Ski Patrol Director Kim Kircher says the woman was a 64-year-old Seattle resident who had been skiing at Crystal for 50 years.
  
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• Hit-run suspect drove off with victim’s grocery cart stuck to grille, charges say

  06-01-2017 02:45
  
  Police and prosecutors say the woman drove about a mile from the crash scene, then pulled over and called her boyfriend to come get her. Instead, he drove her back to the collision scene, they say. .
  
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• Hit-run suspect drove off with victim’s grocery cart stuck to grill, charges say

  06-01-2017 02:45
  
  Police and prosecutors say the woman drove about a mile from the crash scene, then pulled over and called her boyfriend to come get her. Instead, he drove her back to the collision scene, they say. .
  
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• ‘My beliefs are attacked every day’: Local students work to erase Islamophobia

  06-01-2017 02:14
  
  An upcoming workshop in Seattle will teach middle- and high-school students how to use the media to fight Islamophobia in their own communities.
  
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• Local kids work to end Islamophobia

  06-01-2017 02:14
  
  An upcoming workshop in Seattle will teach middle- and high-school students how to use the media to fight Islamophobia in their own communities.
  
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• Remote Alaska volcano erupts again in brief explosion

  06-01-2017 02:07
  
  ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — An active Alaska volcano has erupted again, this time sending a cloud of ash and ice 35,000 feet in the air. The Alaska Volcano Observatory said the explosion from the Bogoslof Volcano in the Aleutian Islands occurred Thursday and lasted about five minutes. Observatory geophysicist Dave Schneider says there have been […]
  
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• Remains of 5 bodies found in burned home in western Oregon

  06-01-2017 00:36
  
  HUBBARD, Ore. (AP) — Authorities investigating fires that appear to have been deliberately set in rural western Oregon have recovered the remains of five people. The Marion County Sheriff’s Office said Thursday that detectives confirm the remains are of a man, a woman and three children. They were found over the last two days in […]
  
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• Fire crews put out blaze at Pike Place Market

  06-01-2017 00:30
  
  Multiple engines responded to the downtown fire. No injuries were reported.
  
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• Crews put out fire at Pike Place Market

  06-01-2017 00:30
  
  Multiple engines responded to the downtown fire and traffic officials urged commuters to avoid the area. No injuries were reported.
  
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