AP Washington

By SARA CLINE Associated Press/Report for America PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — As Oregon health officials prepare for a predicted surge in COVID-19 hospitalizations fueled by the omicron variant, the state has reported its highest daily case count — 1,900 — since September. Tuesday’s case count is more than double the average number of daily COVID-19

OLYMPIA (AP) — Former Washington Supreme Court Chief Justice Mary Fairhurst, who had been fighting cancer, has died. She was 64. In a statement Washington Courts said Fairhurst died Tuesday surrounded by her family in Olympia. In January 2020 she retired due to health reasons. She was first elected to the court in 2002, and

SEATTLE (AP) — A thaw-out is coming for the frozen Seattle and Portland, Oregon, but not before another round of snow that could compound problems for a region more accustomed to winter rain than arctic blasts. And in Nevada the governor plans to declare a state of emergency due to snow and storm conditions affecting

GEOFF MULVIHILL Associated Press A judge has kept lawsuits against OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma and members of the Sackler family who own it on hold until Feb. 1 but ordered the parties to negotiate a new settlement. Connecticut and Washington state argued Wednesday that suits against the Sacklers should be allowed to move ahead immediately.

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Oregon and Washington in 2021 surpassed their previous records for total annual deaths – records that were set just last year. The Northwest News Network reports the coronavirus pandemic is only one part of the explanation. In 2020, the Washington State Department of Health reported a record high of 63,180 resident

RICHLAND, Wash. (AP) — An audit by the Department of Energy’s Office of Inspector General has found that the Hanford site’s occupational medicine contractor submitted inappropriate bills to the Department of Energy. The Tri-City Herald reported Tuesday the audit found that DOE reimbursed contractor HPM Corp. for work without reasonable assurance that the costs met

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — The Oregon Health Authority says two patients at Salem Health contracted a dangerous fungal infection during their hospital stays in an “outbreak” of a type of yeast rare to the United States. The Statesman Journal reports the first ever Candida auris case found in Oregon was detected at the hospital Dec.

SEATTLE (AP) — King County plans to distribute 300,000 COVID-19 at-home test kits to community groups, health centers, libraries and other congregate locations amid an omicron-driven surge in cases. The Seattle Times reports King County Executive Dow Constantine announced Tuesday that the first 100,000 kits are expected to arrive the second week of January. Constantine

By EDNA TARIGAN Associated Press JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia is lifting its ban on Boeing’s 737 Max aircraft, three years after one crashed shortly after takeoff, killing all 189 people on board. The Transportation Ministry said in a statement Wednesday that the aircraft will be permitted to fly in Indonesia, but only after airlines

By NICHOLAS K. GERANIOS Associated Press SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Julian Strawther scored 15 points, Rasir Bolton added 14 points and No. 4 Gonzaga beat North Alabama 93-63 on Tuesday to extend the nation’s longest home winning streak to 59 games. Nolan Hickman scored 13 points, Drew Timme had 12, and Anton Watson had 10

SEATTLE (AP) — The Washington Department of Health has reported a new record number of cases tallied in a single day. The Seattle Times reports state officials confirmed 6,235 new cases on Dec. 24. The state’s previous single-day record number of cases was 5,526 cases on Dec. 7, 2020. Dec. 24 also marked the first

By SARA CLINE Associated Press/Report for America PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — As the omicron variant causes a rise in coronavirus cases, officials from Oregon State University have announced the school will be joining the growing list of universities and colleges where students, staff and faculty will be required to get a COVID-19 booster shot.As of

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN Associated Press A federal judge has refused to throw out an indictment charging four alleged leaders of the far-right Proud Boys with conspiring to attack the U.S. Capitol to stop Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s electoral victory. U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly on Tuesday rejected defense attorneys’ arguments that Ethan Nordean,

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — More Oregonians have signed up for private health insurance through the state-run exchange this year than had at this point a year ago. Oregon Public Broadcasting reports that heading into 2022, officials say 142,783 people in the state have enrolled so far on the Oregon health insurance marketplace. That’s more than

By JANIE HAR Associated Press SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — A San Francisco Bay Area health clinic founded four decades ago to screen refugees from Southeast Asia is part of the U.S. effort to resettle tens of thousands of people from Afghanistan. Most of the technicians, nurses and assistants at the TB and Refugee Clinic

By MANUEL VALDES Associated Press SEATTLE (AP) — Snow, ice and unseasonable cold in the Pacific Northwest and the Sierra Nevada are continuing to disrupt traffic, cause closures and force people to find refuge in emergency warming shelters. Across western Washington and Oregon, officials and private groups opened emergency spaces for people as forecasters said

By The Associated Press The Arizona Bowl has been canceled after Boise State pulled out and shut down all team activities due to COVID-19 issues. Central Michigan was supposed to be in the Arizona Bowl but will instead replace Miami in Friday’s Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas, against Washington State. Numerous college programs have

CORBETT, Ore. (AP) — Fire officials say a woman who slipped from the Multnomah Falls trail in snowy conditions and wound up clinging to a tree root above a cliff has been rescued. KATU reports the fall was reported at about 3 p.m. Monday east of Portland at Multnomah Falls in the Columbia River Gorge.

SEATTLE (AP) — Data updated Monday shows coronavirus infections in Washington’s most populated county have jumped in the past week as the omicron variant surges. The Seattle Times reports according to King County’s COVID-19 data dashboard, the county has seen a 195% increase in cases in the past seven days, averaging 1,586 infections per day.

By STEVE REED AP Sports Writer CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Indianapolis Cots have placed five players on the COVID-19 list as the virus continues to work its way through NFL locker rooms, even with the vast majority of players in the league vaccinated. The Carolina Panthers sent all of their players home on Monday