News

SALEM, Ore. – The new head of the Oregon Department of Corrections says she's preparing to close multiple prisons in order to address a funding shortfall. Colette Peters announced the possible actions in an email to agency staff. Salem Correspondent Chris Lehman reports.

BOISE, Idaho -- Idaho lawmakers are looking for ways to reverse the decline in the state’s dwindling sage grouse population. They’re worried that if the state doesn’t act, the federal government will impose its own plan to protect the bird under the Endangered Species Act. Aaron Kunz reports.

SEATAC, Wash. – Critics of backpage.com have accused the classifieds website of promoting child prostitution. The company has defended its policies but lawmakers in Olympia are considering new requirements for the site. They are also considering more funding for anti-prostitution programs. And where do they plan to get this extra money? From the Johns and pimps themselves. Azusa Uchikura has this profile of a program in SeaTac called the Genesis Project.

OLYMPIA, Wash. – The Washington state senate has approved a new four-tier teacher evaluation system. The bill that passed Tuesday also creates a mechanism for firing under-performing teachers who don’t improve.

Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum drew an enthusiastic crowd at a campaign stop in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho Tuesday. Some of the loudest cheers came in response to his socially conservative positions.

The Washington State House has passed a bill that requires insurance companies that cover maternity services to also include procedures to terminate pregnancies. Women in Washington State already have access to abortion services. The bill attempts to preserve the status quo.

"Ecstatic," "amazed," and "stunned." Those are some of the words being used Tuesday around the tiny Quileute Indian Reservation on the Washington coast. This, after the U.S. Congress slightly shrank Olympic National Park to allow the tribe to move out of a tsunami zone. President Obama is expected to sign the legislation soon.

Oregon seeks to co-lead a class action lawsuit against Bank of New York Mellon. The bank was allegedly involved in a foreign currency exchange manipulation scheme.

LONG BEACH, Wash. -- The bruised and bloody carcass of an endangered killer whale washed ashore at Long Beach, Washington this weekend. An initial necropsy did not pinpoint a cause of death. Correspondent Tom Banse has more on an emerging whodunit.

TACOMA, Wash. – Several hundred people gathered at the Washington Historical Museum in Tacoma Monday to get a glimpse of Rick Santorum on a campaign swing through the Northwest. In the crowd were supporters, opponents and undecided voters. Azusa Uchikura reports from Tacoma.