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OLYMPIA, Wash. – Teachers and Principals in Washington are going to get graded on a new four-tier evaluation system. That’s under a new law signed by Governor Chris Gregoire Thursday. It’ll judge teachers as unsatisfactory, basic, proficient or distinguished. The new rankings will replace the current pass/fail format. The change is estimated to cost $5.3 million , but Gregoire says it’s necessary.

The Southern Poverty Law Center says that for the third year in a row there’s been a dramatic increase in the number of people taking part in militias and what it calls the American radical right. In a new report, the Center says the increase is linked to economic issues, conspiracy theories, and the election of Barak Obama as President.

HOOD RIVER, Ore. -- Northwest-born Gardenburger and Tofurky are vegetarian alternatives to meat. They sell well, but they don't fool any meat lovers. This year, food companies from here and abroad aim to debut fake meat products that come closer than ever to mimicking the real thing. Dutch researchers claim they can grow hamburger in the laboratory from just a few bovine stem cells. But are people really craving a Petri-patty? Correspondent Tom Banse explores that question.

All four U.S. Senators from Oregon and Washington and 20 of their colleagues are asking the Obama administration for an expedited end to the war in Afghanistan. Two Republicans and one Independent Senator are part of the group. Some Democratic Senators declined to sign the letter.

RICHLAND, Wash. – Hibernating bears do things that doctors tell humans not to do. They eat fatty foods, lay around for months on end and get high cholesterol. Yet they don’t suffer the same ill effects we would.

Washington State University researchers have teamed up with a biotech company. They’ve begun a $200,000 study on how grizzly bears can gain so much fat each year and sleep through the winter. But each spring they emerge without diabetes or heart disease.

Researchers are monitoring eight bears’ heart rates, blood pressure, blood chemistry and overall health.

OLYMPIA, Wash. – Washington Governor Chris Gregoire acknowledged Wednesday afternoon that a special session of the legislature will be necessary to re-balance the state budget. But Gregoire says she’s still trying to keep the pressure on lawmakers to come to an agreement.

Springfield Democrat Peter DeFazio will face a father and son in his bid for re-election to Oregon's 4th District seat in the House of Representatives.

BOISE - Idaho Republicans held their first presidential caucus Tuesday. Mitt Romney won big and it was mostly smooth sailing.

COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho - Mitt Romney took the state of Idaho Tuesday in the state’s first-ever presidential caucus. The former Massachusetts governor won with 61 percent of the vote. Correspondent Jessica Robinson has more.

BOISE, Idaho -- Super Tuesday didn’t deliver the string of decisive victories candidate Mitt Romney surely hoped for. But here in Idaho, there was no contest. Romney took more than 60 percent of the vote. He far outpaced Ron Paul, who finished second. Like Romney’s Idaho victory, the state’s first ever Republican caucus appears to have gone off without a hitch. Molly Messick has this view of how the day unfolded at the largest caucus, in Ada County.