State & Regional News | The Daily Chronicle

A Swift Water Rescue Team rescues Mel Romero from an inundated fifth wheel near the Cowlitz River in Randle on Tuesday, Dec. 9.

MGP joins state congressional delegation in calling for federal emergency declaration

Update: Gov. Bob Ferguson offered the following statement on Washington's request for federal emergency assistance on Friday morning after the publication of this article: "I just received a phone … more

By The Chronicle staff | 12/12/25

Deputies arrest man suspected in double homicide on Pierce County island

A 63-year-old man suspected in a double homicide on Herron Island from Thursday was arrested in a Kent motel, according to Pierce County deputies. He was taken to a hospital with what deputies said … more

Puneet Bsanti / The News Tribune (TNS) | 12/12/25

Health insurance price hike seems likely as both Republican and Democratic bills fail in Senate

Senators on Thursday blocked two bills, one supported entirely by Republicans and the other mainly by Democrats, intended to address health insurance prices that now seem all but certain to increase … more

Orion Donovan Smith / The Spokesman-Review (TNS) | 12/12/25

Amid historic flooding, Washington state scores win over Trump administration on federal disaster funds

While the Skagit Valley and other areas across Western Washington were being inundated with floodwaters, a federal judge ruled Thursday against the Trump administration's efforts to shut down an … more

Lauren Girgis / The Seattle Times (TNS) | 12/12/25

Joe Kent calls immigrants the nation’s top terrorism threat

Joe Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, asserted Thursday that immigrants allowed into the U.S. during the Biden administration are the nation's top terrorism threat. Kent, … more

Jim Brunner / The Seattle Times (TNS) | 12/12/25

Flood water from the Cowlitz River covers an access road to state Route 131 in Randle on Thursday, Dec. 11.

‘They’re not new to our people’: Washington state tribes grapple with floods

Freddie Lane, an enrolled member of Lummi Nation, has watched his people's lands flood since his childhood on the Whatcom County reservation. Around the world, Indigenous people have their flood … more

Megan Ulu-Lani Boyanton / The Seattle Times (TNS) | 12/12/25

Snoqualmie Falls roars as tribe urges visitors to stay away

The Snoqualmie Indian Tribe is cautioning the public against visiting Snoqualmie Falls, which is roaring as the Snoqualmie River floods. The river experienced major flooding — the highest … more

Megan Ulu-Lani Boyanton / The Seattle Times (TNS) | 12/12/25

Washington state Dems split on defense bill, raising alarms from aviation safety experts

Congress’ annual defense bill has sparked aviation safety concerns, with lawmakers and the National Transportation Safety Board warning it threatens what they view as critical changes made … more

Lauren Rosenblatt / The Seattle Times (TNS) | 12/12/25

How Seattle became a mecca for professional women’s sports

The PWHL Seattle Torrent’s inaugural season is underway, making Seattle the only city where three major professional women’s leagues play. It is also the first to have two professional … more

Sophia Vesely / The Seattle Times (TNS) | 12/12/25

Reporters at McClatchy-owned newspapers in the Pacific Northwest raise alarm about company’s AI use

Union members at Pacific Northwest newspapers owned by McClatchy Media — including The Olympian — are raising the alarm about the company’s use of artificial intelligence (AI) in … more

By Emily Fitzgerald / emily@chronline.com | 12/11/25

Steelhead fisherman Garrett Dokter walks a tributary of the Queets River on the Quinault Indian Reservation in January 2020.

Quinault Indian Nation Land Transfer Act would return 72 acres of old growth forest to Tribe

On Tuesday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed two major bills for Washington state Tribes, the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe Project Lands Restoration Act, and the Quinault Indian Nation Land … more

By The Daily World | 12/11/25

Ruperto Aguayo, 45, of Kelso, looked towards his supporters after being sentenced to 102 months, or eight years and six months, for the 2023 death of Grant Hadler on Wednesday, Dec. 10, in Kelso.

Man gets more than 8 years in prison for death of Grand Hadler in Cowlitz County

Ruperto Aguayo, convicted of the 2023 death of Longview's Grant Hadler, was sentenced Wednesday to over eight years in state prison. Aguayo’s lawyer, Vancouver-based defense attorney Angus … more

Matt Esnayra / The Daily News | 12/11/25

Acting as the boundary between Washington and Oregon, the Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest.

Shippers worry underwater power line construction could block Columbia River vessels

Columbia River navigators are growing worried as a project to put a 100-mile power transmission line under the river charges ahead without offering ways to mitigate its impacts on the industry. … more

Henry Brannan / Murrow News | 12/11/25

Daren Dean Bowlby, 59, of Castle Rock is handcuffed after being sentenced Wednesday, Dec. 3 in Kelso to over 7 1/2 years in prison for vehicular homicide.

Daughter of 2024 fatal wrong-way Interstate 5 crash victim speaks in court

The following is the statement Alex Fray read on Dec. 4 in Cowlitz County Superior Court during the sentencing for Daren Bowlby , 59, of Castle Rock. Bowlby also pleaded guilty that day to vehicular … more

By The Daily News | 12/11/25

A 2026 America the Beautiful Annual Pass to gain entry to U.S. national parks. (Photo from federal court documents)

Public lands group files suit over new national park pass that features President Donald Trump

WASHINGTON — A public lands advocacy group sued the Trump administration in federal court Wednesday over the inclusion of President Donald Trump’s face on the forthcoming National Park … more

By Ashley Murray / States Newsroom | 12/11/25

Eastside Fire and Rescue conducts operations near Duvall, in King County, on Dec. 11, 2025. Heavy rains have caused rivers to overflow throughout western Washington. (Photo courtesy of Eastside Fire and Rescue)

Thousands under evacuation orders, as floodwaters crest in Washington state rivers

Washington state awaits an answer on its request for federal aid as it deals with unprecedented river flooding from days of heavy rain. There were no known fatalities due to the storms or … more

By Jake Goldstein-Street / The Washington State Standard | 12/11/25

Let’s Go Washington founder Brian Heywood loads the first box of Initiative 2081 signatures.

‘Political conflict’ alleged over Washington state AGO’s involvement in initiative legal battle

The Washington State Attorney General’s Office billed more than 11,000 hours of attorney and staff work on lawsuits against the federal government in an eight-month period following the … more

By TJ Martinell | The Center Square | 12/11/25

Oregon sets record for whooping cough cases amid declining vaccination rates

Oregon has reported more cases of whooping cough this year than at any time in state history, and health officials say falling vaccination rates — especially among pregnant people — are … more

Kristine de Leon / oregonlive.com (TNS) | 12/11/25

Riz'o Lucas, 21, listens to opening arguments while on trial for murder on Wed., Dec. 3, 2025.

‘Hunting in a concrete jungle’: Portland man on trial for back-to-back slayings gets split verdict

A Multnomah County jury convicted a Portland man in a downtown killing with no apparent motive Wednesday after a five-day trial. But jurors acquitted him of all charges in a similar slaying that had … more

Zane Sparling / oregonlive.com (TNS) | 12/11/25

Man found dead in Willamette River identified from distinctive tattoos

The Benton County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday publicly identified a man who was found dead in the Willamette River near Albany. A kayaker found the body of Jonathan Avery Smith, 34, of … more

Tatum Todd / oregonlive.com (TNS) | 12/11/25