State & Regional News | The Daily Chronicle

The Swan Falls Dam is located along the Snake River about 20 miles south of Kuna, Idaho. The area includes a day-use park with a reservable picnic shelter that is within the Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area and adjacent to the historic Swan Falls Dam powerhouse museum.

Snake River water trust users won’t face water curtailment in Idaho this summer

Snake River water trust users in Idaho won’t be faced with having their water shut off this irrigation season, state officials announced Thursday. “Given the intensity of the 2026 … more

Clark Corbin / Idaho Capital Sun | 7/12/26

EPA to force the removal of leaking acids from deteriorating pulp mill along Chehalis River

SEATTLE — Federal regulators will force the removal of toxic, highly corrosive chemicals from a defunct and leaking pulp mill along the Chehalis River, officials confirmed this week. Either … more

Conrad Swanson / The Seattle Times (TNS) | 7/11/26

Workers at Hilton’s Embassy Suites in Seattle’s Pioneer Square neighborhood have been on strike since June 18. (Photo courtesy of UNITE HERE Local 8)

Six months in, Washington has paid unemployment to more than 100 striking workers

The state has paid out over half a million dollars in unemployment benefits to workers during labor disputes this year. Washington’s new benefit extending unemployment to striking union … more

By Jake Goldstein-Street / The Washington State Standard | 7/10/26

Washington, other states sue Trump administration to block school mental health funding cuts

Fifteen states on Friday sued the Trump administration to prevent millions of dollars in cuts to school-based mental health funding. The new lawsuit is part of an ongoing legal battle between … more

By Anna Claire Vollers / Stateline.org | 7/10/26

MGP introduces Protecting Columbia River Salmon Act to allow Tribes to remove sea lions

On Thursday, U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Skamania, introduced H.R. 9637, the Protecting Columbia River Salmon Act, a bill that would allow Southwest Washington’s Indian Tribes to lethally … more

By The Chronicle staff | 7/10/26

Green Hill School juvenile detention facility in Chehalis is pictured here by drone photo on Friday, July 10.

Overcrowding, staff turnover lead to unsafe environment at Washington’s juvenile rehabilitation facilities, legislative audit finds

Washington state’s juvenile rehabilitation (JR) facilities face unsafe conditions caused by overcrowding, staffing issues and inaccurate risk assessments, according to a recent legislative audit … more

By Jacob Farmer / jfarmer@chronline.com | 7/10/26

U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Skamania, left, smiles while touring the Northwest Paper Box manufacturing facility in Camas with CEO Brad Van Allen on Thursday, July 9.

Gluesenkamp Perez highlights timber industry during box manufacturer tour

U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Skamania, said maintaining strong domestic markets for timber products is essential for Southwest Washington’s economy following a recent visit to a local … more

By Cade Barker / For The Chronicle | 7/10/26

Idaho Secretary of State Phil McGrane discusses his caucus experiences outside the Republican Caucus at Whittier Elementary in Boise on March 2, 2024.

Trump administration threatens to criminally prosecute Idaho election officials if noncitizens vote

The Trump administration warned Idaho’s top election official that local and state election officials could be criminally prosecuted if they don’t stop noncitizens from voting in the federal 2026 … more

Kyle Pfannenstiel / Idaho Capital Sun | 7/10/26

A U.S. Geological Survey worker views the flooding Mendenhall River from the Brotherhood Bridge following the glacial outburst event on Aug. 13, 2025.

State, federal and tribal groups partner with Juneau to prepare for annual glacial outburst flood

Officials and residents in Alaska’s capital city are preparing for what has become an annual summer glacial outburst flooding event that threatens the densely-populated Mendenhall Valley. Similar … more

Corinne Smith / Alaska Beacon | 7/10/26

The Alaska State Capitol is seen on Thursday, July 9, 2026.

Alaska governor vetoes new limits on political donations

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy on Thursday vetoed a bill that would have reimposed limits on the amount of money that individual people can donate to political candidates. The 9th U.S. Circuit … more

James Brooks / Alaska Beacon | 7/10/26

Volunteers pass boxes full of signed ballot initiative petitions through the Idaho Capitol on July 2. If approved for November’s ballot and then by voters, the proposed Reproductive Freedom and Privacy Act would restore abortion access “without government interference” until fetal viability, and would protect fertility treatments and other reproductive care such as contraception.

In deep red Idaho, support for ballot question on abortion access is spread across party lines

Suzanne Gallus is a Catholic woman and mother of seven who has been pregnant 12 times, and she’s spent the past year asking residents to sign a petition to help restore access to abortion in one of … more

Kelcie Moseley-Morris / Stateline | 7/10/26

Authorities searching for Whatcom County hiker expected to return last week

The Whatcom County Sheriff’s Department is seeking the public’s help in locating an overdue hiker. Steven Dorsett, 55, was last heard from around 11 a.m. June 24 while leaving the Canyon … more

Hannah Edelman / The Bellingham Herald (TNS) | 7/10/26

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - DECEMBER 02: Customers walk in the parking lot outside a Costco store on December 02, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. Costco is suing the Trump administration for a refund of tariffs the company alleges were improperly imposed by President Trump. The company contends that only Congress has the power to impose tariffs. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Costco faces lawsuit over Orgain protein powder with toxic metals

What do tariffs, rotisserie chicken and grain-free dog food have in common? Each has sparked a lawsuit against Issaquah, Washington-based warehouse retailer Costco. The list doesn’t stop there … more

Mirandah Davis-Powell / The Seattle Times (TNS) | 7/10/26

Nuclear reactors line the riverbank at the Hanford site along the Columbia River in January 1960. The site was chosen for its isolated location and proximity to the cold waters of the Columbia, which were used to cool nuclear reactors. (U.S. Department of Energy/TNS)

Former worker killed in ‘intense’ wrong-way crash with patrol car on Hanford site

The man who crashed his car head-on into a Hanford Patrol pickup Wednesday night at the nuclear site was a former worker there, said Benton County Sheriff Mike Clark. Gilbert Juarez, 49, of the … more

Annette Cary Cameron Probert / Tri-City Herald (TNS) | 7/10/26

Business owner admits to getting former Pasco employee drunk, raping her

A Pasco businessman admitted raping an employee he had hired to clean his apartment. It’s been six years since a woman came forward and accused Gilbert Mendoza Castillo, 51, of raping her … more

Cameron Probert / Tri-City Herald (TNS) | 7/10/26

Man shot by Federal Way police was reportedly holding ‘realistic’ BB gun

Police investigators say a man shot by Federal Way officers last month was holding a realistic-looking" BB gun when police responded after he called 911 for experiencing suicidal ideation. … more

Lauren Girgis / The Seattle Times (TNS) | 7/10/26

Man, 39, stabbed in Seattle’s University District

A 39-year-old man was stabbed in the back Wednesday evening in the University District, Seattle police say. Officers responded to a 911 call reporting a stabbing near Northeast 47th Street and … more

Kai Uyehara / The Seattle Times (TNS) | 7/10/26

Boeing starts building 737 MAX planes in Everett on new North Line

For the first time, Boeing has begun building its most popular narrowbody plane in Everett. The company on Monday turned on its North Line, the fourth 737 MAX production line and the first MAX … more

Lauren Rosenblatt / The Seattle Times (TNS) | 7/10/26

Oregon cold case reopened as homicide

A 1993 death initially ruled accidental has been reopened as a homicide case, Gresham police said Thursday. On July 2, 1993, Gresham Police responded to a house on Overlook Court in southwest … more

Isabel Funk / oregonlive.com (TNS) | 7/10/26

Oregon woman sentenced for animal abuse after throwing dog at MAX train

A 23-year-old Oregon woman was sentenced Thursday after pleading guilty to animal abuse for throwing her dog against a MAX train last summer. Windy Gabrielle Jones was convicted on charges of … more

Sophia Cossette / oregonlive.com (TNS) | 7/10/26