State & Regional News | The Daily Chronicle

Officers stood on the roof of the ICE facility in South Portland on Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025, monitoring the protest below.

Tracking the rise and fall of Portland ICE protests: Key developments as Trump troops arrive soon

President Donald Trump’s move to federalize the Oregon National Guard has sparked a new bout of unrest at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement base in South Portland. While … more

Zane Sparling / oregonlive.com (TNS) | 9/30/25

The Big Beautiful Bill's cap on student loans could affect rural health care, medical students warn: 'The impacts are scary'

When a younger student asked to meet with fourth-year University of Washington medical student Brianna Cowin, she expected questions on what school will be like and the best ways to study. "But … more

Monica Carrillo-Casas / The Spokesman-Review (TNS) | 9/30/25

President Trump likens what’s happening in Portland to World War II, calling city ‘a nightmare’

President Donald Trump has rejected the argument made by Portland and Oregon leaders that federal troops are not needed in the state’s largest city. “How about Portland?” he … more

Douglas Perry / oregonlive.com (TNS) | 9/30/25

A Pride flag, Oregon flag and U.S. flag rest on a desk in the Oregon Capitol. The Trump administration on Tuesday notified Oregon of an investigation into a contested Oregon policy of requiring prospective adoptive and foster parents to affirm their child’s gender identity. (Photo by Ron Cooper/Oregon Capital Chronicle)

Federal government probes Oregon in faith-based push against LGBTQ+ foster policy

The Trump administration on Tuesday opened an investigation into a contested Oregon policy of requiring prospective adoptive and foster parents to affirm their child’s gender identity, spelling … more

By Shaanth Nanguneri / The Oregon Capital Chronicle | 9/30/25

Utilities and telecoms turn to Washington state lawmakers for help as copper wire theft surges

A public utility in Mason County has started labeling its power poles hoisting fiber-optic cables so thieves don’t mistake the lines for expensive copper wire. “This wire is … more

By Jake Goldstein-Street / The Washington State Standard | 9/30/25

As fewer in Seattle work remotely, here’s how people are getting to work

The share of Seattle residents who work remotely dropped sharply in 2024, the third consecutive year of significant declines, new census data shows. At the same time, walking and biking to work both … more

Gene Balk / FYI Guy / The Seattle Times (TNS) | 9/30/25

Governor-elect Bob Ferguson sat down for an interview at Cafe Javasti in Maple Leaf to address questions about his political agenda, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024, in Seattle.

Gov. Ferguson creates new ‘sub-cabinet’ to protect Washington state immigrant rights

Gov. Bob Ferguson issued an executive order Monday that will create a new immigrant sub-cabinet" and direct state agencies to review their data collection, sharing and retention policies. The … more

Nina Shapiro / The Seattle Times (TNS) | 9/30/25

What a partial federal shutdown could mean for Washington state

As lawmakers in the other Washington scramble to avoid a partial federal government shutdown, leaders in Washington state are assessing the fallout that could hit home including the potential … more

Shauna Sowers / The Seattle Times (TNS) | 9/30/25

Downtown Portland on the morning of August 14, 2016, in a photo taken from the top deck of the Marquam Bridge. Dave Killen / Staff LC- The Oregonian

Trump’s ‘war ravaged’ remark gets a nervous laugh from Portland

As President Donald Trump plans to send 200 National Guard troops to War ravaged" Portland, some local comedians and online posters poked fun at how the city feels like anything but a war zone. … more

Caitlyn Freeman / The Seattle Times (TNS) | 9/30/25

Thurston commission spares animal services from budget cuts after public outcry

Thurston County will spare local animal services from funding cuts for now following public pushback to a proposal last week. On Friday, the Board of County Commissioners unanimously approved … more

Martín Bilbao / The Olympian (TNS) | 9/30/25

Threats target ‘Let’s Go WA’ signature gatherers, leading to multiple arrests

Signature gatherers for two new Washington state initiatives have faced harassment and threats in recent days, a prominent conservative political group reports — culminating in multiple … more

Simone Carter / The Olympian (TNS) | 9/30/25

Washington state will pay $9M to woman abused ‘countless times’ in Pierce County foster home

Washington state has agreed to pay $9 million to settle a lawsuit over failures that led a girl to be placed in a Pierce County foster home where she was subjected to severe sexual abuse in the 1990s … more

Peter Talbot / The News Tribune (TNS) | 9/30/25

Washington AG task force member: ‘No way’ to define domestic violent extremism

As the Washington State Attorney General’s Office Domestic Extremism and Mass Violence Task Force prepares a charter, debate continues over whether the task force can define what constitutes … more

By TJ Martinell / The Center Square | 9/29/25

Gov. Bob Ferguson delivers his inaugural address in the House chambers at the Washington State Capitol in Olympia on Wednesday, Jan. 15.

Gov. Bob Ferguson’s own deadline on public records auto-deletion review has come and gone

Seven-and-a-half months after Washington state Gov. Bob Ferguson said he was implementing a six-month suspension of a policy that, for years, let state agencies auto-delete Microsoft Teams messages … more

By Carleen Johnson / The Center Square | 9/29/25

Portland protests Trump’s plan to send federal troops to protect ICE facilities

Several hundred Portland, Ore., residents took to the streets Sunday afternoon to protest President Donald Trump's order to deploy federal troops to the city to protect federal buildings, including … more

By Carleen Johnson / The Center Square | 9/29/25

Federal officers atop the ICE building in Portland on Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025. (Photo by Alex Baumhardt/Oregon Capital Chronicle)

Following suit against Trump, Oregon asks judge to issue order blocking Guard deployment

The Oregon Department of Justice is asking a federal judge to temporarily block President Donald Trump from federalizing and deploying Oregon National Guard troops to protect federal buildings in … more

By Alex Baumhardt / States Newsroom | 9/29/25

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, left, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, both New York Democrats, speak to reporters Sept. 29, 2025, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Shauneen Miranda/States Newsroom)

‘We’re headed to a shutdown’: White House meeting ends with no deal as deadline nears

WASHINGTON — Democratic and Republican lawmakers remained far apart Monday with just over 24 hours until a federal government shutdown begins, after a White House meeting with President Donald … more

By Ashley Murray / States Newsroom | 9/29/25

Rep. John Gillette, R-Kingman, in January 2023. Photo by Gage Skidmore | Flickr/CC BY-SA 2.0

‘Appalling’: Democrats want accountability for GOP lawmaker who called for hanging of Washington congresswoman

Democratic leaders in Congress are calling for Republican leaders to reject violent rhetoric by an Arizona Republican lawmaker who called for the execution of a Democratic congresswoman because she … more

By Jerod MacDonald-Evoy and Florence Becot / States Newsroom | 9/29/25

Federal law enforcement agents, including with the U.S. Border Patrol, arrived at a site last month to demand identification from private contracting crews fighting the Bear Gulch Fire near Lake Cushman.

Congresswoman seeks protections for emergency responders nationwide after arrests of firefighters

After recent outrage over the arrests of two wildland firefighters by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) last month, one of Washington's congressional representatives says it should never … more

By Jacob Moore / jacob@chronline.com | 9/29/25

U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez speaks with Clark County Auditor Greg Kimsey in the lobby of the Clark County Elections Office on Wednesday, Sept. 24. The congresswoman toured the facility and vowed to defend Washington’s vote-by-mail system against efforts made by the Trump administration to restrict it.

Gluesenkamp Perez vows to defend voting by mail

U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Skamania, visited the Clark County Auditor’s Office on Wednesday, Sept. 24, to tour the elections department and reaffirm her support for vote-by-mail amid … more

By Norman Helgason / For The Chronicle | 9/29/25