SEATTLE — Amid questions from school districts about the budget impacts of Washington state’s new retail sales tax, Democratic lawmakers say they expect to make changes to the law in next year’s legislative session.

The expanded retail sales tax, which went into effect on Oct. 1, is expected to raise about $1.1 billion through 2027 via ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Biology professor Jody Hey was lecturing on human evolution one recent day at Temple University.

His students vigorously took notes by hand in paper notebooks.

There wasn’t a laptop in sight. Nor an iPhone. No student’s face was hidden by a screen.

Hey said he stopped allowing them about a year and a half ago after seeing...Read more

The Trump administration’s decision to end Temporary Protected Status, TPS, for up to a half million Haitians prompted an immediate wave of criticism from nonprofit organizations working in Haiti, community activists and some Democratic lawmakers.

In its announcement on Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving, the Department of Homeland ...Read more

The Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday finalized a rule granting oil and gas operators more than a year in additional time to comply with mandates set by former President Joe Biden to replace leaky equipment and routinely monitor for escaped methane.

The Trump administration said this rule will affect hundreds of oil and gas sources ...Read more

The Trump administration will use a Dominican Republic air base and airport in its campaign against drug cartels, strengthening cooperation in the Caribbean, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday alongside the nation’s president.

Aircraft will be refueled and logistical tasks will take place at the San Isidro base and Las Americas ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Two National Guard members on patrol just blocks from the White House were shot and critically wounded on Wednesday afternoon, prompting a rapid law enforcement and military response across a busy stretch of downtown Washington.

A gunman was taken into custody after another Guardsman returned fire and moved in to stop him, ...Read more

The St. Paul City Council on Wednesday called for the city’s Police Civilian Internal Affairs Review Commission to conduct a “thorough investigation” of St. Paul officers’ use-of-force during Tuesday’s federal immigration enforcement operation in St. Paul.

All seven city council members, Mayor Melvin Carter and Mayor-elect Kaohly Her,...Read more

President Donald Trump failed to sway a U.S. appeals court to revive a civil lawsuit accusing Hillary Clinton and others of conspiring to tarnish his 2016 campaign with bogus claims of collusion with Russia.

A three-judge panel of 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday unanimously affirmed the dismissal of the case and upheld almost $1...Read more

A burning question hangs over a national court ruling declaring the Trump administration's restrictive bond policy for detained immigrants is unlawful: Will immigration judges abide by it?

In all other times, I would have said 'Of course they're going to abide by it,'" said Matt Adams, legal director for the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, ...Read more

Seattle Mayor-elect Katie Wilson announced her full transition team Wednesday, naming 60 local experts, organizers and advocates as she prepares to take over from outgoing Mayor Bruce Harrell in January.

The new list includes representatives from the labor movement, the business world, service organizations, community groups and civic ...Read more

Climate activist Greta Thunberg has been fined and temporarily banned from Venice, Italy, after protesters dyed the Grand Canal green over the weekend.

Thunberg, 22, was with Extinction Rebellion, an environmental group behind many high-profile protests, when they poured dye into the waters that outline the historic city, according to The ...Read more

RALEIGH, N.C. — A panel of federal judges on Wednesday rejected an effort to prevent North Carolina’s new Republican-favoring congressional map from taking effect before the midterm elections.

The challengers had claimed the map illegally retaliated against voters in the northeastern part of the state for electing a Democrat in 2024.

The ...Read more

Former state legislator Christopher Ziogas pleaded guilty to extortion and bank fraud charges Wednesday, admitting his involvement in a scheme to derail a government audit of his fiancé’s optometry practice by delivering nearly $100,000 to former state budget officer Konstantinos Diamantis

The unscheduled guilty plea by Ziogas Wednesday in ...Read more

Parents of qualifying children in Texas will be able to receive the state’s standard school voucher of about $10,000 to attend private preschools, a major win for families and child care providers.

The Texas Comptroller’s office released final rules this week on the framework for the $1 billion private school voucher program, dubbed the ...Read more

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Attorney General Keith Ellison has joined 21 other attorneys general in suing the federal government over new eligibility guidelines for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — known as SNAP.

The federal legislation known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill” narrowed SNAP eligibility for certain groups, including ...Read more

WASHINGTON — A pair of National Guardsmen who were shot just blocks from the White House are in critical condition, while a lone gunman has been taken into custody, officials said Wednesday.

The soldiers were on a “high visibility” patrol when the suspect rounded a corner, raised a firearm and “ambushed,” them, according to Washington...Read more