The Interstate 5 bridge over the Skagit River at Mount Vernon north of Seattle collapsed late Thursday, throwing several cars and drivers into the water, and closing a key West Coast highway.

First responders rescued three motorists who were clinging to their cars on the partially submerged span.   There has been no official word on what caused the collapse, though initial reports indicate an over-sized load may have struck the bridge, destroying overhead girders and dropping the structure into the river.

Members of the Boy Scouts of America voted on Thursday to allow gay members.

A sexual harassment lawsuit against Evans Fruit near Yakima, Wash., came under scrutiny this week during a congressional hearing. The feds recently lost this expensive, high-profile case, and some Congress members are now asking… “Was it worth it?”

If proper equipment isn’t installed on irrigation pipes and pumps, fish can get sucked into farmers’ fields and drainage ditches. That clogs pipes and kills fish. A new fish screen was just installed on a Central Washington River to prevent this from happening. It’s the first of its kind in the state.

As predicted, abortion opponents on Capitol Hill are wasting no time in their efforts to turn publicity over the recent murder conviction of abortion provider Kermit Gosnell to their legislative advantage.

Their latest goal: a federal ban on most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

Lois Lerner, the IRS official who oversees the branch of the agency that targeted conservative groups, has been placed on administrative leave a day after she refused to answer questions in a congressional probe of the scandal.

The Boy Scouts of America has agreed for the first time to allow openly gay boys as members, but a vote of the organization's National Council left in place a ban on gay Scout leaders.

The Associated Press reports that of the local Scout leaders voting at their annual meeting in Texas, more than 60 percent supported the proposal. The policy change approved by the 1,400-member National Council would take effect Jan. 1, 2014, the organization said.

Unusually warm ocean temperatures and favorable wind patterns mean the Atlantic is likely to see "an active or extremely active" hurricane season this year, say officials from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The agency expects between seven and 11 hurricanes and as many as 20 named storms during the 2013 season, which runs from June 1 through November.