The Daily Chronicle

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., speaks at the Senate Finance Committee hearing at the U.S. Capitol on Feb. 25, 2021, in Washington, D.C. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images/TNS)

Democrats Detail Billionaire Tax to Fund Biden Spending Plan

Senate Democrats released the details of a proposed levy on billionaires, a new and logistically risky approach to taxation that lawmakers hope will help fund President Joe Biden’s social … more

By Laura Davison / Bloomberg News (TNS) | 10/27/21

A court artist sketch by Elizabeth Cook of Julian Assange appearing via video, with Lord Chief Justice Lord Burnett, left, Lord Justice Holroyde, second left, and barrister James Lewis QC, second right standing, during a hearing at the High Court in London, ahead of the U.S. government's legal challenge over a judge's decision not to extradite the Wikileaks founder, Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2021. (Elizabeth Cook/PA Wire/Abaca Press/TNS)

U.S. Says Assange Won’t Face Supermax Prison if Extradited

Julian Assange won’t face solitary confinement or supermax prison in Colorado if he’s jailed in the U.S., as lawyers for the country argued his extradition shouldn’t have been … more

By Katharine Gemmell / Bloomberg News (TNS) | 10/27/21

A member of the Dania Beach, Florida, colony of Vervet monkeys, which might soon get a permanent home. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel/TNS)

Wild Monkey Sanctuary Could Be Beginning of End for Decades-Old Colony in Florida

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A colony of wild monkeys in Dania Beach soon may get a permanent home, complete with fences, medical care and regular meals. But the creation of a monkey sanctuary … more

By David Fleshler / South Florida Sun-Sentinel (TNS) | 10/27/21

A Taliban fighter stands guard at the site of the Aug. 26 twin suicide bombs, which killed scores of people including 13 U.S. troops, at Kabul airport on August 27, 2021. Since then, State Department continues to be in touch with hundreds of Americans who want to leave Afghanistan. (Wakil Kohsar/AFP via Getty Images/TNS)

Hundreds of Americans Remain in Afghanistan, Pentagon Official Says

WASHINGTON — Almost two months after the U.S. withdrew all of its troops, the State Department is in touch with hundreds of Americans who want to leave Afghanistan, the Pentagon’s top … more

By Andrew Clevenger / CQ-Roll Call (TNS) | 10/27/21

An advocacy group has revealed taxpayer funds paid for research that involved infecting beagle puppies with parasites to test experimental drugs. (Dreamstime/TNS)

Miami Lawmakers Demand Answers From Fauci Over Puppy Experiments

WASHINGTON — Two Miami lawmakers joined a bipartisan group demanding answers from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases after an advocacy group revealed that taxpayer funds … more

By Alex Daugherty / Miami Herald (TNS) | 10/27/21

Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva, seen here on Sept. 22, 2021, has been ordered to testify on what he knows about his deputies sharing photos of the Kobe Bryant crash site. (Al Seib/Los Angeles Times/TNS).

LA Sheriff Must Testify to his ‘Firsthand’ Knowledge of Kobe Bryant Crash Photo-Sharing

LOS ANGELES — A federal judge on Tuesday ordered Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva to testify under oath in a lawsuit brought by Vanessa Bryant alleging that deputies shared gruesome … more

By Alene Tchekmedyian / Los Angeles Times (TNS) | 10/27/21

A body is recovered from John Wayne Gacy's house in 1979 and transferred to a sheriff's van. (Sally Good/Chicago Tribune/TNS)

‘Our Hearts Are Heavy,' Relatives Say as New John Wayne Gacy Victim Is Identified

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The family knew him as “Wayne,” and the last they saw him, he was a young man in the mid-1970s — with his hair slicked-back and grinning beneath a wide … more

By Josh Shaffer / The Charlotte Observer (TNS) | 10/27/21

Workplace Complaints Surfaced Before Resignation of Washington Parks Director, Records Show

OLYMPIA — Washington State Parks Director Peter Mayer resigned earlier this month after at least a dozen agency employees complained about his workplace conduct, such as allegedly using foul … more

Joseph O'Sullivan / The Seattle Times | 10/27/21

A bat is pictured in this photograph posted to Facebook by the Gifford Pinchot National Forest.

'They Aren't Scary': Washington Biologist Says Bats Should Be Praised, Not Feared

Why are bats a Halloween staple? Why is their silhouette, slapped onto a cheap decoration, synonymous with fright? Why are they the one thing Bruce Wayne dreads? Maybe it's because we fear what we … more

Colin Tiernan / The Spokesman-Review | 10/27/21

Is Long Tacoma Traffic Nightmare Nearly Over? I-5 Construction Nears Finish Line

Buckle your seat belts, Tacoma. You'll need another half year of fortitude before you can drive Interstate 5 without passing through a construction zone. After 20 years of shifting lanes, … more

Craig Sailor / The News Tribune | 10/27/21

Lewis County Republicans met Tuesday night to discuss and select potential replacements for former Commissioner Gary Stamper.

Lewis County Republicans Choose Three Candidates to Potentially Succeed Former Commissioner Gary Stamper

After four rounds of voting, Lewis County Republican precinct committee officers on Tuesday chose former county commissioner Lee Grose, former Onalaska fire commissioner Kevin Emerson and Onalaska … more

By Eric Rosane / ericr@chronline.com | 10/27/21

FAA Flags Potential Safety Problem in Layout of Controls on Boeing 767 and 757 Planes

The Federal Aviation Administration has issued a safety alert to all operators of Boeing 767 and 757 airplanes flagging a potential problem that led to the 2019 crash in Texas of an Amazon Air … more

Dominic Gates / The Seattle Times | 10/27/21

Fallen Tree Killed Bellevue Mother, Son During Weekend Windstorm in a 'Collision of Inches'

Camille Martlin and her 22-year-old son, Max Martlin, who lived together in the Bellevue house where Camille grew up, loved to paddleboard and hike together, often with their dogs, a pit bull rescue … more

Sara Jean Green / The Seattle Times | 10/27/21

News Dump Ep. 69: This Headline Was Written in a Day

On the 69th episode of News Dump, Aaron VanTuyl, Isabel Vander Stoep and Eric Schwartz discuss a local cookie champion returning the Food Network, a bridge that may not have actually been built in a … more

10/26/21

Man Arrested After Stealing School Bus, Ramming Into Cars and Fleeing Seattle Police

A man who stole a 33,000-pound unoccupied school bus, rammed into other vehicles, then led police on a pursuit early Tuesday has been arrested, police said. Several minor injuries have been … more

Christine Clarridge / The Seattle Times | 10/26/21

Washington Secretary of State Kim Wyman Resigns to Take Election Security Post in Biden Administration

OLYMPIA — Washington Secretary of State Kim Wyman on Tuesday announced her resignation to take a key election-security position in President Joe Biden's administration. Wyman, the only … more

Joseph O'Sullivan / The Seattle Times | 10/26/21

Three Residents Die of COVID-19 in Past Week as Thurston County Adds 589 cases

Thurston County confirmed Monday three more residents have died of COVID-19 and 589 more tested positive for the virus in the past week as disease activity appears to be slowing. Three men died … more

Martín Bilbao / The Olympian | 10/26/21

Washington City Honors Police Officers, Firefighters for Saving Two People From Burning Basement

EPHRATA — Firefighters, police officers and other first responders gathered at Ephrata City Hall Wednesday evening to honor three Ephrata police officers and five firefighters for their … more

Charles H. Featherstone / Columbia Basin Herald (TNS) | 10/26/21

FILE PHOTO — W.F. West's Joseph Chung returns a ball during a match against Centralia.

Regional Wrestling and Tennis Facility Scheduled to Break Ground in Chehalis in 2022

Plans are in the works for a regional indoor wrestling and four-court tennis facility near Chehalis Middle School for middle school wrestlers and for high school and adult tennis players. Steve … more

By The Chronicle staff | 10/26/21

Josephine County is one of the few communities where police have adapted to the new system, topping the list for issuing the most tickets. The southern Oregon county’s statistics are driven by the Grants Pass Police Department, which says it has handed out about 250 tickets to date, according to the agency. Grants Pass Capt. Todd Moran, shown here, said about 35 people have received multiple citations in the working class city of nearly 40,000.

Oregon Police Issue Few Tickets Under New Drug Decriminalization Law; Most People Ignore Court, Hotline

GRANTS PASS — Nine months into the nation’s first-of-its-kind experiment to decriminalize hard drugs, the new approach has done little so far to connect people with treatment even as … more

Noelle Crombie / Oregonlive.com (TNS) | 10/26/21