Jessica Robinson

The question of how free speech applies to the side of buses is before a panel of federal judges. Members of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments Wednesday in a special meeting in Spokane. The case stems from a controversial ad on Seattle buses but has implications for transit systems around the Northwest. Correspondent Jessica Robinson reports.

Is the Latino candidate in Washington's first majority-minority district a shoo-in? Not so much.

Farmers of genetically engineered crops are dramatically increasing their use of herbicides. That’s according to a new study out of Washington State University. Researchers say farmers are spraying more in response to the rise of so-called “superweeds.”

Charred Northwest forests are already a-buzz with new life: bugs.

Washington wildlife managers say the hunt for a pack of grey wolves is over. A state marksman killed the alpha male of the pack Thursday in far northeast Washington. The department has killed a total of seven wolves from the Wedge Pack since August.

Evacuation notices around the Northwest have subsided as fire crews beat back the threat of wildfire to homes and subdivisions.

Washington wildlife officials killed three more grey wolves near the Canadian border Wednesday . That brings the total kill to five this week. The state’s decision to take out an entire wolf pack is causing blowback for state wildlife managers, and for one environmental organization that supported the action.

Firefighters are making progress on several massive blazes around the Northwest. In Oregon, the Pole Creek Fire near Sisters is around 70 percent contained. Crews in central Washington are getting the upper hand on the 53,000-acre Wenatchee Complex, where another blaze flared up yesterday. And in Idaho fire bosses report minimal activity at the Mustang Complex along the Idaho-Montana border.

Wildfire smoke is becoming the “new normal” for some parts of the Northwest. In central Washington, health officials are urging residents to keep their doors and windows closed and stay inside. Bad air has forced at least one school district to take some unusual measures to keep class in session.

A school district in southwest Idaho says the book “Like Water for Chocolate” is inappropriate for high school sophomores. It’s banning the book from the curriculum.