News

MEDFORD, Ore. -- Representatives from the Northwest released not one, but two controversial forestry bills Thursday. Both would channel funds from timber sales to rural counties. Amelia Templeton reports.

SEATTLE -- Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul spoke to a packed house of supporters at a rally in SeaTac Thursday night. Paul is trying to galvanize Washington voters for the state's March 3rd caucuses. From KUOW in Seattle, Ann Dornfeld reports.

With Egypt racked by internal turmoil, as the country's transitional military council appears determined to hold on to power, many in the West worry about the future of democracy there. Middle East expert Dr. Lawrence Pintak, founding dean of the Edward R. Murrow College of Communication at Washington State University, is currently visiting Indonesia. He covered that country's 1998 revolution and he reflects on the lessons Indonesia holds for Egypt today.

MarriAs promised, gay rights activists have posted the names and addresses of more than 100,000 Washington voters in an online searchable database. These voters signed petitions in 2009 to repeal Washington’s “everything but marriage” domestic partnership law.

The Hanford Nuclear Reservation’s waste treatment plant has been scheduled to begin operations in 2019. But U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu said Thursday that the southeast Washington facility might not start on time.

The Pentagon says troops with Joint Base Lewis McChord’s 2nd Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division will deploy to Afghanistan in late spring.

SALEM, Ore. – Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber has a budget counter-offer to state lawmakers. The Democrat he says his plan would prevent a prison closure and some cuts to human services. His proposal Thursday would also tap reserve funds.

SEATTLE – A federal judge in Seattle Thursday refused a request for protection made by Japanese whalers. The whalers were hoping to put a stop to almost daily harassment by an aggressive anti-whaling group based in western Washington. Correspondent Tom Banse has more on the story.

OLYMPIA, Wash. – Slightly up. That’s the upshot of Thursday’s Washington revenue forecast. This is the quarterly report that tells budget writers how much money they have to work with. Steve Lerch is Washington’s interim economic forecaster. He told a panel of lawmakers they can expect $96 million more than they expected to balance the budget. Lerch said Washington’s recovery continues, but it’s slow.

OLYMPIA, Wash. -- Washington State will apply for a waiver to the federal No Child Left Behind education law. Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction Randy Dorn says the state will ask to set its own standards for student achievement. From KUOW in Seattle, Ann Dornfeld reports.