AP Washington

By GILLIAN FLACCUS Associated Press PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Officials are investigating one possible heat-related death in Oregon from a Pacific Northwest heat wave. Emergency room visits for heat-related illness also have risen sharply as sweltering temperatures gripped the normally temperate Pacific Northwest for the second time this summer. Hot weather and wildfire smoke will

By SCOTT SONNER Associated Press RENO, Nev. (AP) — Conservationists are accusing federal land managers of illegally withholding information about plans to build fuel breaks to slow wildfires across six western states. The Center for Biological Diversity filed suit in federal court in Reno this week under the Freedom of Information Act. It says the

By DOUG FEINBERG AP Basketball Writer PHOENIX (AP) — Breanna Stewart scored 15 of her 17 points in the first quarter and the Seattle Storm routed the Connecticut Sun 79-57 to win the inaugural WNBA Commissioner’s Cup. Fellow U.S. Olympic gold medalists Jewell Loyd added 16 points and Sue Bird had 10 to lead Seattle

SEATTLE (AP) — Local health officers throughout Washington state have issued a joint statement recommending all residents wear facial coverings in indoor public settings where the vaccination status of other people is unknown. The health officers from all local health jurisdictions in Washington on Thursday urged everyone to wear the masks, regardless of vaccination status.

By CHRIS TALBOTT Associated Press SEATTLE (AP) — Marco Gonzales pitched a two-hitter, J.P. Crawford and Jake Fraley homered and the Seattle Mariners beat the Texas Rangers 3-1. Gonzales allowed Charlie Culberson’s homer in the second inning, followed by Jason Martin’s single. He retired Andy Ibanez on a groundout, then faced the minimum number of

By ANDREW SELSKY Associated Press Patients left on beds in hospital hallways, their monitoring machines beeping away as too few doctors and nurses attend to an overload of emergencies. People diagnosed with cancer or heart disease desperately needing treatments, but being turned away.  Hospital staffers and public health managers in southern Oregon say it’s never

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — The city of Seattle was among 14 cities in the U.S. that saw a population gain of 100,000 or more over the past decade. And the nearby city of Kent was among 10 of the fastest growing cities with populations of 50,000 or more. That’s according to data released Thursday by

By NICHOLAS K. GERANIOS Associated Press SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — The second sighting of a so-called murder hornet this year was reported by a person in Whatcom County this week. The Washington state Department of Agriculture said Thursday that an Asian giant hornet was reported by a Whatcom County resident on Wednesday. The resident’s report

By GENE JOHNSON Associated Press SEATTLE (AP) — Washington’s Supreme Court has issued a key decision that helps protect people who are living in their vehicles from having them towed. In a case that drew widespread attention amid Seattle’s housing crisis, the justices held that it was unconstitutionally excessive for the city to impound a

By DAVID A. LIEB and ACACIA CORONADO Associated Press The once-a-decade battle over redistricting is set to be a showdown over the suburbs, as new census data showed rapid growth around some of the nation’s largest cities and shrinking population in many rural counties. From Texas to Florida, some of the biggest gains reported Thursday

By CHARLES ODUM AP Sports Writer ATLANTA (AP) — Former Mexican national team player Gonzalo Pineda has been hired as head coach of Atlanta United. His task will be to stabilize a team that’s seen plenty of turnover at the coaching position. But his debut with Atlanta will be delayed because he tested positive for

NEWBERG, Ore. (AP) — The school board in Newberg, Oregon, has voted to ban on pride flags, flags reading Black Lives Matter and any broadly “political” signs, clothing, and other items. Oregon Public Broadcasting reports the school board voted Tuesday, four to three, to enact the ban. The board’s three-member policy committee is set to

BREMERTON, Wash. (AP) — A new federal rule expands protected habitat for the endangered southern resident orcas down the West Coast. The Center for Biological Diversity pushed for the protections, which designate 15,910 square miles of habitat for wildlife. The new protections expand those in the Salish Sea and along the coasts of Washington and

BELLINGHAM, Wash. (AP) — State officials say the North Cascades Highway has reopened after wildfires forced its closure for nearly a month. The Bellingham Herald reports the Washington State Department of Transportation announced it reopened the road earlier this week. A Washington state Department of Transportation officials said in a blog post that fire response

By CHRIS TALBOTT Associated Press SEATTLE (AP) — Luis Torrens hit a ninth-inning single to score the winning run, and the Seattle Mariners beat the Texas Rangers 2-1. It was the Mariners’ major league-leading 38th one-run game, 24 of them wins. Seattle rookie Jarred Kelenic drew a bases-loaded walk to tie the game 1-all in

By GILLIAN FLACCUS Associated Press PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Volunteers are scrambling to hand out water to homeless people in isolated encampments in Portland, Oregon, as the Pacific Northwest sweats through a heat wave that is gripping the normally temperate region. Authorities trying to provide relief to vulnerable people are mindful of a record-shattering heat

By GILLIAN FLACCUS Associated Press PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — People have headed to cooling centers as the Pacific Northwest began sweltering under another major, multiday heat wave. The hot weather comes just over a month after record-shattering hot weather killed hundreds of the region’s most vulnerable people. Temperatures in Portland, Oregon, are expected to hover

By GILLIAN FLACCUS Associated Press PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The unprecedented heat wave that swept the Pacific Northwest this summer killed scores of the region’s most vulnerable who couldn’t leave their homes, afford air conditioning or get a ride to public cooling centers. Consecutive days of temperatures as high as 116 degrees in Portland, Oregon,

SEATTLE (AP) — The American Civil Liberties Union of Washington is trying to keep a proposed Seattle charter amendment about homelessness off the November ballot. In a lawsuit filed Wednesday in King County Superior Court, the ACLU and other homelessness activists said the “Compassion Seattle”  measure is beyond the scope of local initiative power and