Bob Ferguson
In this photo taken Sept. 10, 2019, a detainee works in a kitchen area at the GEO Group’s immigration jail in Tacoma, Wash., during a media tour. After nearly four years of litigation and pandemic-related delays, a federal jury on Tuesday, June 15, 2021, began deliberating whether the GEO Group must pay minimum wage to detainees who perform cooking, cleaning and other tasks at the facility – instead of the $1 per day they typically receive. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Mistrial halts case on minimum wage for immigrant detainees

By Gene Johnson Jun. 17, 2021 06:19 PM EDT

In this photo taken Sept. 10, 2019, a detainee works in a kitchen area at the GEO Group’s immigration jail in Tacoma, Wash., during a media tour. After nearly four years of litigation and pandemic-related delays, a federal jury on Tuesday, June 15, 2021, began deliberating whether the GEO Group must pay minimum wage to detainees who perform cooking, cleaning and other tasks at the facility – instead of the $1 per day they typically receive. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Jury deciding if immigration detainees must get minimum wage

By Gene Johnson Jun. 15, 2021 07:34 PM EDT

FILE - In this Sept. 10, 2019, file photo, workers are shown in the kitchen of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Tacoma, Wash., during a media tour. After years of litigation and pandemic-related delays, jury selection is underway in a trial to determine whether GEO Group must pay minimum wage to detainees at its immigration detention center in Washington state. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
Trial to determine if GEO must pay detainees minimum wage

By Gene Johnson Jun. 01, 2021 08:05 PM EDT

Washington state governor OKs bill banning for-profit jails

By Rachel La Corte Apr. 14, 2021 06:43 PM EDT
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — One of the country’s largest for-profit, privately run immigration jails would be shut down by 2025 under a bill signed Wednesday by...

Editorial Roundup: Idaho

By The Associated Press Apr. 09, 2021 03:06 PM EDT
Recent editorials from Idaho newspapers: Welcome back, Idaho legislators. Wear a mask. We’re not paying for another recess ...

FILE - In this April 15, 2020 file photo a protester holds a sign she looks out from the sunroof of a car during a protest at the Northwest Detention Center a facility privately operated on behalf of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, in Tacoma, Wash. The Washington Legislature has approved a bill aimed at shutting down one of the country's largest for-profit, privately run immigration jails. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren,File)
Bill in Washington state would ban private immigration jail

By Gene Johnson Mar. 30, 2021 05:17 PM EDT

FILE - This Feb. 19, 2013, file photo shows OxyContin pills arranged for a photo at a pharmacy in Montpelier, Vt. The global business consulting firm McKinsey & Company has agreed to a $573 million settlement over its role in the opioid crisis, according to a person with knowledge of the deal. An announcement is expected Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot, File)
AP Source: McKinsey to pay $573M for role in opioid crisis

By Geoff Mulvihill Feb. 03, 2021 10:45 PM EST

Seattle 'vaccine' peddler arrested for selling untested drug

Jan. 22, 2021 05:06 PM EST
SEATTLE (AP) — A suburban Seattle man who advertised a supposed COVID-19 “vaccine” he said he created in his personal lab, was arrested Thursday by federal...

This Jan. 23, 2020, photo shows the National Archives on Sand Point, Wash., that has about a million boxes of generally unique, original source documents and public records. More than two dozen Native American tribes and cultural groups from the Northwest and Alaska are suing the federal government to stop the sale of the National Archives building in Seattle, a plan that would force the relocation of millions of invaluable historical records to California and Missouri. (Alan Berner/The Seattle Times via AP)
Washington, Oregon, 29 tribes sue over plan to move archives

By Gene Johnson Jan. 04, 2021 05:38 PM EST

FILE - In this Feb. 12, 2020, file photo, Tim Eyman hands out $30 car tab stickers while greeting supporters before officially announcing his campaign to run for governor of Washington as a Republican at McCormick Air Center in Yakima, Wash. The Washington Supreme Court has unanimously struck down Eyman's Initiative 976, a measure that would have steeply discounted the price of car registrations while gutting transportation budgets across the state. The justices on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2020, said the measure violated the state Constitution's requirement that initiatives be limited to a single subject and said its description on the ballot was misleading. (Evan Abell/Yakima Herald-Republic via AP, File)
Justices strike down Eyman's $30 car tab initiative

By Gene Johnson Oct. 15, 2020 01:41 PM EDT

FILE - In this April 2, 2020 file photo, a United States Postal Service worker makes a delivery with gloves and a mask in Warren, Mich. A group of states suing over service cuts at the U.S. Postal Service is asking a federal judge to immediately undo some of them, saying the integrity of the upcoming election is at stake.(AP Photo/Paul Sancya,File)
States ask judge to reverse changes at US Postal Service

By Gene Johnson Sep. 10, 2020 04:10 PM EDT

Retired postal worker Glenda Morris protests postal cutbacks, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2020, in New York. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy told lawmakers Monday that he has warned allies of President Donald Trump that the president's repeated attacks on the legitimacy of mail-in ballots are "not helpful," but denied that recent changes at the Postal Service are linked to the November elections. (AP Photo/Robert Bumsted)
NY wants court to declare mail disruptions unconstitutional

By Michael R. Sisak Aug. 25, 2020 05:49 PM EDT

Property manager to pay $300K in virus eviction ban lawsuit

May. 28, 2020 04:33 PM EDT
SEATTLE (AP) — A Nevada-based property management company that issued eviction notices to tenants in Tacoma during the coronavirus pandemic has agreed to pay...

Washington state sues gyms for remaining open despite order

By Gene Johnson May. 19, 2020 01:20 PM EDT
SEATTLE (AP) — Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson said Tuesday he's suing two gyms that have continued to operate in violation of the governor's anti...

Washington man charged with selling drugs to 'stop' COVID

Apr. 30, 2020 06:56 PM EDT
TACOMA, Wash. (AP) — A former Washington state naturopath with a history of quackery is now facing federal charges that he promoted mislabeled drugs as being...

AG orders Seattle business to stop selling virus ‘vaccine’

Apr. 28, 2020 06:03 PM EDT
SEATTLE (AP) — Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson has sent a letter warning a Seattle-based business to halt selling a so-called COVID-19 “vaccine.” ...

Franklin County commissioners rescind vote on businesses

Apr. 23, 2020 04:23 PM EDT
PASCO, Wash. (AP) — The Franklin County commissioners have rescinded their controversial resolution allowing businesses to reopen in portions of the eastern...

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee sits at his desk and rehearses a speech Tuesday, April 21, 2020, at the Capitol in Olympia, Wash., minutes before going live to address the public on the state's next steps in addressing the outbreak of the coronavirus. Inslee said the state will not be able to lift many of the stay-at-home restrictions implemented to fight the coronavirus by May 4, the date through which the existing directive is currently in place. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Inslee: Stay-at-home order working, changes to be data-led

By Rachel La Corte Apr. 22, 2020 11:45 AM EDT

Washington COVID-19 deaths reach 652, cases top 12,000

Apr. 20, 2020 08:59 PM EDT
SEATTLE (AP) — The Washington state Department of Heath reports the number of COVID-19 cases has topped 12,000 across the state while the total number of...

Washington COVID-19 deaths reach 652, cases top 12,000

Apr. 20, 2020 08:38 PM EDT
SEATTLE (AP) — The Washington state Department of Heath reports the number of COVID-19 cases has topped 12,000 across the state while the total number of...