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Health
6:20 am
Tue November 27, 2012

Search For Cause Of High Rates Of MS In Northwest Could Lead To New Treatments

Credit Lincoln Potter
Dr. Estelle Bettelli (on left) and Dr. Mariko Kita in Bettelli's lab.

The mystery of why the Pacific Northwest has one of the highest rates of multiple sclerosis in the world is as enduring as the mystery of the D.B. Cooper hijacking — and has proven about as difficult to crack.

Recently, however, scientists have been closing in on some likely triggers that may be causing the body to hijack its own immune system and turn on itself. Those new findings could lead to new treatment strategies in the future.

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Same-Sex Marriage
5:54 pm
Mon November 26, 2012

Gay Wedding Chapel At Seattle City Hall

Credit erin m / Flickr

On the first day same-sex couples can get married in Washington state, Seattle City Hall will serve as a wedding chapel.   Mayor Mike McGinn's office is playing the role of planner. On Monday, it posted the itinerary for a historic wedding ceremony on Dec. 9.

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Politics
2:37 pm
Mon November 26, 2012

Wash. Congressman Doubts Lame Duck Cyber Sales Tax Vote

Originally published on Tue November 27, 2012 10:22 am

OLYMPIA, Wash. – Cyber Monday was expected to generate $1.5 billion in internet sales nationwide. That’s great for on-line retailers, but not so good for tax coffers in states like Washington and Idaho. That’s because many cyber retailers still don’t collect sales tax. And Congress is unlikely to close that loophole anytime soon.

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Law
1:34 pm
Mon November 26, 2012

Northwest Tribes Begin To Try Reservation Crime Cases Under Tougher Laws

Originally published on Mon November 26, 2012 5:27 pm

A tribal court on the Umatilla Indian Reservation is one of the first to hand-down a long prison term under new tougher criminal sentencing laws enacted by Congress in 2010.

It used to be that tribes could only sentence a Native American criminal to up to one year of jail time -- no matter the crime. Typically the U.S. Justice Department was called in for everything else -– but many cases were dropped.

Now, tribal courts have the power to sentence native criminals who commit crimes on a reservation up to three years per count, for up to nine years.

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Law
12:31 pm
Mon November 26, 2012

Washington Supreme Court Says Jury Selection Must Be Public

The Supreme Court of Washington issued opinions on four cases Wednesday about how courts and judges interact with jurors. In three of the cases the Supreme Court ruled that jury selection has to happen in the open.

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School Zone Traffic
12:08 pm
Mon November 26, 2012

Cars Caught Speeding On Camera Now Get $189 Tickets

Starting Monday, drivers who speed past any of four Seattle schools will get tickets in the mail. Vehicles that go more than 20 miles per hour when school is in session are caught on camera.

The four schools with speed cameras are Thurgood Marshall Elementary on the I-90 lid, Gatewood Elementary in West Seattle, and Olympic View Elementary and Broadview Thomson K-8 in the north end.

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