News

Some Washington residents who receive unemployment benefits will soon get significantly less money from the government.

It’s a result of the federal sequestration. In Washington state, regular benefits last about six months. After that, recipients can get those benefits extended for another nine months. Those extended benefits are completely funded on the federal level. And they’re the ones getting slashed. Not dropped, but reduced by 21%.

In its latest report, the Department of Defense says more than 2,700 service members reported being sexually assaulted in 2012. Tuesday, Washington Senator Patty Murray introduced a new bill she says will help better protect victims of military sexual assault from intimidation and systemic challenges.

The feeling is somber at Spokane-area airfields Monday as details emerge about a plane crash Friday in Kyrgyzstan. Three Fairchild Air Force Base crew members died, including a mother, a father, and a plane enthusiast.

Fire season appears to be off to an early start in Central Oregon. Fire crews spent the weekend battling a wildfire near La Pine.

This month, voters will decide whether to approve a plan to fluoridate Portland's water. Supporters say Portland children - especially in low-income families - suffer aggravated dental problems because the city has chosen not to add fluoride. Opponents say water fluoridation is the wrong way to address a public health problem. And so a battle that has played out before at the state level is now going on in Portland. From Oregon Public Broadcasting, April Baer reports.

Three weeks after the Boston bombings, one of the iconic figures of that tragedy was racing again in Spokane. Bill Iffrig of Lake Stevens, Wash., joined more than 50-thousand runners on Sunday for the Bloomsday Run. You might remember the images of Iffrig on the ground immediately following a blast at the Boston marathon. Jessica Robinson has this story.

Federal authorities say they’re working on the release of Kenneth Bae – the University of Oregon graduate believed to be in a North Korean prison. Government-run news outlets in North Korea say Bae has received as much as a 15-year sentence from the country’s Supreme Court for allegedly undermining the government.

Two Washington state lawmakers are defending their frequent dinners with lobbyists. The meals show up in monthly reports filed with the state’s Public Disclosure Commission. Olympia Correspondent Austin Jenkins has been digging into those reports.

Oregon lawmakers will find out later this month how much money will be available to spend in the upcoming budget cycle. So right now, there’s a lot of behind-the-scenes maneuvering in the budget-writing process. Education, as usual, is in line for the biggest piece of the pie. But human service advocates say after years of budget turmoil, this year could be their chance to restore funding for Oregon’s social safety net. Salem Correspondent Chris Lehman reports:

The State Department is asking Thursday that North Korea free Kenneth Bae, a man from Lynnwood who was sentenced to 15 years hard labor Wednesday.