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The State Capitol building on January 23, 2024. (Otto Kitsinger for Idaho Capital Sun)

Idaho’s replica Liberty Bell to be restored for America250 celebration

Idaho state officials voted Dec. 19 to pay to refurbish the replica Liberty Bell on display on the front steps of the Idaho State Capitol in Boise. The America250 in Idaho Advisory Council voted … more

By Clark Corbin / Idaho Capital Sun | 12/29/25

A young humpback whale stranded on the Oregon Coast north of Yachats on November 15, prompting a response of trained teams from across the West Coast through the West Coast Marine Mammal Stranding Network. The whale was entangled when it first came ashore, but many of the lines were later cut away, leaving a short length jutting from the animal's mouth.

Conservation groups urge Oregon to reduce whale deaths from crab fishing gear

After at least four humpback whales were entangled this year in Oregon commercial Dungeness crab fishing gear, conservation groups are petitioning the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission to adopt … more

By Mia Maldonado / The Oregon Capital Chronicle | 12/29/25

Department of Homeland Security police, along with other federal police, push and tackle protesters at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility south of downtown Portland on Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025. (Photo by Alex Baumhardt/Oregon Capital Chronicle)

Oregon saw 1,100 immigration arrests in 2025, almost 10 times more than previous year

Federal immigration agents arrested about 1,100 people in Oregon this year, immigration experts estimate — a surge from the 113 arrests recorded in all of 2024. In August, the Trump … more

By Mia Maldonado / The Oregon Capital Chronicle | 12/29/25

Aaron Clark, a vice president for Price Warehouse & Cold Storage, focuses on hiring local workers for apple harvests grown on some 3,500 acres of central Washington orchard lands, which include this acreage near Union Gap. (Photo by Hal Bernton)

In Washington state orchards, immigration crackdown sows fear and uncertainty

UNION GAP, Wash. — On a chilly fall morning, farmworkers fanned out through an orchard here to pick rose-hued apples from green rows of trees that flank this central Washington valley’s irrigated … more

By Hal Bernton / The Washington State Standard | 12/29/25

Alex Brown snowshoes on the south slope of Mount Rainier, climbing above the Paradise region of the national park in 2018.

Paradise found: Mount Rainier National Park restores full winter access

The road to Paradise has ostensibly gotten easier to climb. After three consecutive seasons of limited openings at the gate to the state’s highest-elevation road-accessible winter wonderland, Mount … more

By Gregory Scruggs / The Seattle Times (TNS) | 12/29/25

Emma Stohrer, who is in her second year of an associate’s degree program in forest resources management at Grays Harbor College, is placing vexar tubing around the seedlings that are being planted.

Planting a future forest at the Satsop Business Park in Grays Harbor County

On the Satsop Business Park, where Keys Road intersects Lambert Road, brand-new yellow Vexar tubing dots the hillside amongst the sword fern and logging slash. Protected within these mesh tubs are … more

By Andrea Watts / The Daily World | 12/29/25

Grays Harbor County Commissioner Vickie Raines will not seek re-election

Grays Harbor County District 3 Commissioner Vickie Raines will not seek a fourth term and is stepping down from elected service. Raines made the announcement Friday afternoon. “After months of … more

By Jerry Knaak / The Daily World | 12/29/25

Then-Kalama Police Chief Ralph Herrera walks outside the Kalama Police Department in 2021 during a training.

Union accuses Southwest Washington police chief of being drunk in public before exit

Nearly a month before his abrupt October resignation as Kalama police chief, Rafael "Ralph" Herrera received a unanimous vote of no confidence from the police union that represents the department, … more

Matt Esnayra / The Daily News | 12/29/25

Coroner: Man sleeping outside killed by fallen tree amid heavy rains in Cowlitz County

Dennis Anderson, 53, died after a tree fell on his tent during a storm earlier this month, the Cowlitz County Coroner's Office reported Friday. The leader of a local nonprofit says he was … more

Minka Atkinson / The Daily News | 12/29/25

Ground beef recalled in Washington state, elsewhere after testing finds E. coli

Consumers in Washington and five other states should avoid some ground beef products from an Idaho company after testing confirmed contamination with E. coli, federal authorities said Saturday. … more

Paul Roberts / The Seattle Times (TNS) | 12/28/25

Rank-and-file House members are going around leaders to force votes at unprecedented rate. What does that mean for Congress in 2026?

In October 2015, dozens of Republicans joined a minor revolt led by then-Rep. Denny Heck and the House's Democratic minority to go around the GOP chairman of the Financial Services Committee and … more

Orion Donovan Smith / The Spokesman-Review (TNS) | 12/28/25

Henry Sakamoto, shown here in his Portland home when he was 90.

Henry Sakamoto, civic leader who brought cherry blossoms to downtown Portland, dies at 98

Henry Shigehiro Sakamoto, a civic leader in Portland’s Japanese American community who also shaped Oregon’s grain economy, died in November at the age of 98. His son, Blake Sakamoto, said in … more

Tatum Todd / oregonlive.com (TNS) | 12/28/25

One Big Beautiful Bill Act complicates state health care affordability efforts

As Congress debates whether to extend the temporary federal subsidies that have helped millions of Americans buy health coverage, a crucial underlying reality is sometimes overlooked: Those subsidies … more

Bernard J. Wolfson / KFF Health News | 12/28/25

The Oregon State Capitol building in Salem, OR, currently undergoing construction work, seen on Mon., Feb. 5, 2024, the first day of the 2024 Oregon legislative session.

Oregon state employees earned $4.4 billion last year. Search pay for all workers

Oregon state employees collectively earned $4.42 billion in the most recent fiscal year, an increase of roughly $500 million from the prior year. Workers across state agencies saw larger … more

Carlos Fuentes, David Cansler / oregonlive.com (TNS) | 12/28/25

Oregon’s year of layoffs: 2025’s historic job cuts are shaking the state’s economy

It’s been a painful year for Oregon workers. The state’s employers reported nearly 9,000 mass layoffs during 2025. That’s an extraordinary number by historical standards, topping the pace … more

Mike Rogoway / oregonlive.com (TNS) | 12/28/25

Officers fatally shoot male who confronted them with gun, Vancouver PD reports

Vancouver police shot and killed a male just before midnight Saturday after responding to a report of a disturbance with a weapon at a residence. Two officers discharged their weapons after a … more

Andre Meunier / oregonlive.com (TNS) | 12/28/25

Stevens Pass sets ski season opening date with 100-mile detour from Seattle

Stevens Pass, the last Cascades ski area still yet to open this winter, will fire up the lifts on Monday, Dec. 29 — but prepare for a grueling detour if you're coming from the west side of the … more

Gregory Scruggs / The Seattle Times (TNS) | 12/28/25

Four injured, including child, in I-5 crash; one charged with vehicular assault

Four people were injured, including a 9-year-old girl, and one man was charged with vehicular assault after a car collision Friday night on Interstate 5 near Milton, according to a Washington State … more

Bonny Matejowsky / The Peninsula Gateway (TNS) | 12/28/25

Snow arrives in the Cascades after tumultuous December weather

The Cascades received a fresh delivery of snow to start the weekend. That's great news for skiers and snowboarders and less awesome for those trying to cross Snoqualmie Pass. Pack your … more

Isabella Breda / The Seattle Times (TNS) | 12/28/25

Man accused of pulling gun in Washington state WinCo over $3 of hair products

A convicted kidnapper allegedly had his finger on the trigger when pulled a gun from his pants inside the security office in the Kennewick WinCo Foods. Dyllan Martin, 26, allegedly told the … more

Cameron Probert / Tri-City Herald (TNS) | 12/28/25