Washington House jettisons exported fuel tax proposal that angered neighboring states A proposed tax on gasoline and diesel delivered to out-of-state customers from Washington refineries has gone by the wayside. The Washington House of Representatives voted Tuesday night to jettison and replace the "exported fuel tax" after strong blowback from neighboring states. Tom Banse
March Madness remains off limits for legal sports betting in Northwest, but maybe not much longer With March Madness getting into full swing this weekend, it's a safe bet that some area fans want to wager on their favored teams in the NCAA basketball... Tom Banse
We still spring forward this weekend despite votes to ditch daylight saving time Residents of the Pacific Northwest will have to set their clocks ahead by an hour this weekend to move onto daylight saving time. The Oregon and Washington legislatures voted nearly two years ago to stay on daylight time year-round -- joined later by Idaho and British Columbia -- but still the biannual time change ritual and associated grumbling persists. Tom Banse
Gone fishin'. Western states catch lots more angling and hunting license sales during pandemic Fishing and hunting license sales jumped in 2020 across the Pacific Northwest as more people flocked to outdoor activities during the COVID-19 pandemic.... Tom Banse
Further proof that 2020 stinks: More people are dying during the pandemic and not just from Covid As the coronavirus pandemic drags on, it's now increasingly apparent that 2020 will be remembered for an unusually high death toll -- not just from... Tom Banse
National Are Paramilitary Extremists Being Normalized? Look To Idaho For Answers The arrests of militiamen who allegedly plotted to kidnap Michigan's governor echo loudly in the Idaho Panhandle, a region long synonymous with anti-government extremism. Kirk Siegler
National It Was A Feel-Good Story About Potatoes. But It Left Out An Idaho Militia's Role The Real Idaho Three Percenters' involvement in a potato giveaway raises questions about the role armed groups are playing in the coronavirus response. Hannah Allam
National In Idaho, Far-Right Republicans Defy Coronavirus Health Restrictions In the rural Northwest, far-right elected officials and the militia movements they're aligned with are calling for defiance of stay-at-home orders like the one issued by Idaho's Republican governor. Kirk Siegler
KUOW partners with 'The World' to cover Latino vote in 2020 KUOW joins seven newsrooms across the country for a project titled “Every 30 Seconds” which will report on the issues, influences, concerns, and challenges driving decision-making and turnout among young Latino voters across the United States. Esmy Jimenez
National Supreme Court Won't Hear Case On Ban Against Homeless Sleeping In Public Spaces The denial upholds a lower court ruling that put severe limits on cities' ability to enforce anti-camping ordinances on streets and in public rights of way. Advocates for the homeless lauded the move. Vanessa Romo Kirk Siegler