State & Regional News | The Daily Chronicle

The main gate at Nippon Dynawave Packaging Company, where an implosion occured on the morning Tuesday, May 26, is pictured in Longview on Wednesday, May 27.

Deadly paper mill implosion illustrates industry’s risks

The chemical process pulp and paper mills use to transform wood into everyday products includes a number of potentially violent points of failure, and some industry experts have been raising red … more

Conrad Swanson and Isabella Breda / The Seattle Times (TNS) | 5/28/26

Man charged with raping child at St. Joseph Medical Center in Bellingham

A Bellingham man has been charged with raping a child at St. Joseph Medical Center on May 19. Alexander Humphries, 37, and a 14-year-old child were both patients in the specialized emergency … more

Hannah Edelman / The Bellingham Herald (TNS) | 5/28/26

Amazon sued over Subscribe & Save feature

Amazon tells its customers they can save by signing up for regular, automatic purchases of certain products. But a new lawsuit alleges Amazon’s Subscribe & Save program is more like Subscribe … more

Alexis Weisend / The Seattle Times (TNS) | 5/28/26

Washington state health insurers request another double-digit rate hike

For the third year in a row, Washington insurance companies requested a double-digit rate increase for their individual health plans, reviving worries that the cost of coverage is becoming untenable. … more

Jessica Fu / The Seattle Times (TNS) | 5/28/26

Kenya, US are in Ebola cooperation talks after quarantine report

Kenya is in talks with the U.S. on Ebola-related health cooperation after media reports that the Trump administration is planning to send Americans exposed to the virus to a quarantine facility in … more

Eric Ombok / Bloomberg News (TNS) | 5/28/26

A Safeway grocery store in Salem on May 12, 2026. Safeway and its parent company Albertsons were listed more than any other company on SNAP recipients’ income verification forms.

Oregonians using SNAP benefits most frequently listed big grocery, retail companies as employer

Oregonians who received federal aid to pay for their groceries last year frequently reported working for the nation’s largest grocery and retail corporations, according to a Capital Chronicle … more

By Alex Baumhardt / Oregon Capital Chronicle | 5/28/26

The Crater Lake newt, or Mazama newt, pictured here is endemic to Crater Lake in southern Oregon. The population has plummeted in recent decades due to predation from crayfish that were first introduced in the late 1800s, and whose numbers have exploded as the lake’s temperature rises due to climate change.

Feds agree to decide on endangered species protections for Crater Lake newt by October

An imperiled newt only found in and around southern Oregon’s Crater Lake may soon be protected under the Endangered Species Act following a three-year legal battle. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife … more

By Alex Baumhardt / Oregon Capital Chronicle | 5/28/26

A sign for the White River School District with the district office behind.

Washington kindergarten teacher placed on leave amid allegations involving girl

An Elk Ridge Elementary kindergarten teacher is on administrative leave as the White River School District investigates allegations of inappropriate conduct with a child, police records and … more

Tim Clouser / The Center Square | 5/27/26

Petitions for an initiative aimed at repealing Washington state's new income tax measure.

Let’s Go WA breaks week-one signature record for income tax repeal initiative

One week into the signature gathering campaign, more than 92,000 Washington voters have signed petitions for an initiative aimed at repealing the new income tax. “There has been record … more

By Carleen Johnson / The Center Square | 5/27/26

Gary Odegaard, fifth from the left in front, stands outside a Bell UH-1 Iroquois — commonly known as a “Huey” — on May 24, 1980. The others aboard the helicopter from Fort Lewis with Odegaard included state Secretary of the Senate Sid Snyder, and state Sens. Albert L. “Slim” Rasmussen, Peter Von Reichbauer, Don Talley and Del Bausch. Also present was former Lewis County Sheriff Bill Logan.

Former local lawmaker recalls helicopter trip around Mount St. Helens just hours before secondary eruption

With the recent 46th anniversary of the initial eruption of Mount St. Helens on May 18, 1980, many recalled where they were when it happened, sharing photos of the towering volcanic plume, which rose … more

By Owen Sexton / owen@chronline.com | 5/27/26

Residents work on their homework in a room where they receive internet access for online courses through Centralia College at Green Hill School in Chehalis on Tuesday, Feb. 17.

Afternoon on ‘The Hill’ Part II: Green Hill School superintendent talks staffing, recreation, healthcare

Editor’s note: For the first installment in this two-part series, visit https://tinyurl.com/3st952d6 . On May 13, Eddie A. Zavala, a 38-year-old from Olympia, was sentenced to six months … more

By Jacob Farmer / jfarmer@chronline.com | 5/27/26

The site of an implosion that took place in the morning of Tuesday, May 26 at Nippon Dynawave Packaging Company can be seen by aerial photo in Longview on Wednesday, May 27.

Confirmed death toll rises to 2 from chemical tank blast in Cowlitz County

The death toll from Tuesday’s chemical tank rupture at a mill in southwest Washington has climbed to at least two people, while nine others remain “unrecovered,” according to authorities. … more

By Bill Lucia and Jake Goldstein-Street / The Washington State Standard | 5/27/26

6-year-old dies after being struck by vehicle near Oregon lake

A 6-year-old Redmond child died near Suttle Lake after being struck by a driver with a camping trailer on Saturday. According to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, the incident happened at … more

Jacob Graves / oregonlive.com (TNS) | 5/27/26

First Longview paper mill explosion victim ID’d

Family members have identified the first victim of Tuesday’s deadly chemical explosion at Nippon Dynawave Packaging Company in Longview, Washington. Gilbert Bernal was killed when a 900,000 … more

Isabel Funk / oregonlive.com (TNS) | 5/27/26

1 dead, 1 injured in ATV crash at Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area

A 38-year-old man died and a 13-year-old boy was injured in an ATV crash at the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area near Reedsport on Sunday, the U.S. Coast Guard reported. A helicopter crew … more

The Oregonian / oregonlive.com (TNS) | 5/27/26

Vancouver police come to Seattle on mission to ID kayaker who died in 2022

Fern spores and cedar pollen grains have injected new hope into a nearly four-year investigation by police in Vancouver, B.C., to identify a female kayaker who is believed to have visited an urban or … more

Sara Jean Green / The Seattle Times (TNS) | 5/27/26

Pets are officially allowed inside Washington State Ferries

Your furry friends can now be furry ferry friends and travel across Puget Sound with you inside some passenger areas of Washington State Ferries, per the agency's new policy which officially rolled … more

Kai Uyehara / The Seattle Times (TNS) | 5/27/26

Why Seattle’s highway traffic during World Cup might be just fine

Seattle-area traffic during the 2026 FIFA Men's World Cup in June and July might be tolerable, and probably no worse than a weeknight Seahawks game. After months of headlines and official … more

Mike Lindblom / The Seattle Times (TNS) | 5/27/26

Zuckerberg’s superyacht lands in Seattle as Meta announces big local layoff

Hours after news of Meta's 1,400 job cuts in King County broke on Tuesday, CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s 390-foot megayacht quietly floated into Seattle. The $300 million vessel called Launchpad … more

Alexis Weisend / The Seattle Times (TNS) | 5/27/26

What we know about the fatal Longview chemical implosion

One person was killed, nine were injured and nine remain missing after a major implosion Tuesday morning at a pulp and paper mill in Longview, in Southwest Washington. There is no belief that … more

Kai Uyehara / The Seattle Times (TNS) | 5/27/26