Political
Need information regarding current political news? Here we'll keep you updated on the latest political news, locally and nationally.
3 council members renew oaths of office in Ephrata
EPHRATA — Three Ephrata City Council Members were sworn in Wednesday evening after winning their respective races.…
Oregon counties request trucks for bodies as deaths climb
BEND, Ore. (AP) — The death toll from COVID-19 in Oregon is climbing so rapidly in some counties that the state has organized delivery of one refrigerated truck to hold the bodies and is sending a second one, the s…
Texas GOP advances voting bill after Democrats’ holdout ends
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Republicans advanced new voting restrictions Thursday night after months of protests by Democrats, who after returning from a 38-day walkout are now all but out of ways to stop a bill tha…
EXPLAINER: How wildfire camps keep crews ready for battle
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Empty cow pastures on one day can be bustling with hundreds of firefighters the next as fire camps with colorful tent cities spring up.
Evacuee: World has 'abandoned' Afghanistan's new generation
MADRID (AP) — Until last week, Shabeer Ahmadi was busy covering the news in Afghanistan. But after a hasty and excruciating decision to leave his Taliban-controlled country for an uncertain future in Spain, he’s he…
House panel seeks records from tech companies in riot probe
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House panel investigating the riot at the U.S. Capitol issued sweeping document requests on Friday to social media companies, expanding the scope of its investigation as it seeks to examine th…
Report: Afghan staff details left behind at UK Kabul embassy
LONDON (AP) — The U.K.'s defense chief promised Friday to “get to the bottom of” a security lapse that saw documents identifying Afghan staff members and job applicants left behind at the abandoned British Embassy …
COVID-19 forces Idaho hospitals past capacity, toward crisis
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Hospital facilities and public health agencies are scrambling to add capacity as the number of coronavirus cases continue to rise statewide. But many Idaho residents don't seem to feel the same …
Young dad-to-be was among 13 US troops killed in Afghanistan
A young husband with a child on the way. Another man who always wanted to be in the military. A man who planned to become a sheriff’s deputy when his deployment ended. Heartwrenching details began emerging Friday a…
RFK assassin Sirhan seeks parole; DA won't challenge release
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Sirhan Sirhan faces his 16th parole hearing Friday for fatally shooting U.S. Sen. Robert F. Kennedy in 1968, and for the first time no prosecutor will be there to argue he should be kept behind bar…
'We can't do enough': Lawmakers flooded by evacuation pleas
WASHINGTON (AP) — Tissue holders sit atop the conference table where the congressman's aides field frantic requests from constituents desperate for help in getting friends and loved ones
Judge strikes Seattle homelessness measure from ballot
SEATTLE (AP) — A Washington state judge struck a Seattle measure on homelessness from the November ballot even as the city remains mired in a long-term humanitarian crisis.
US closing troubled NYC jail where Epstein killed himself
NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. government said Thursday it is shutting down a federal jail in New York City after a slew of problems that came to light following disgraced financier
Portland residents felt 'abandoned' by police during clash
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — For nearly 30 minutes, armed protesters from opposing groups — the far-right Proud Boys and far-left antifascists — clashed last weekend in the streets, business parking lots and school ground…
Latino city in Arizona grew, but census says it shrank
SOMERTON, Ariz. (AP) — It’s a Thursday evening in Somerton, Arizona, and parents and students packed inside a middle school gym are roaring for the school’s wrestling team at decibels that test the eardrum.
Eviction ban's end will allow pandemic lockouts to resume
PHOENIX (AP) — Tenant advocates and court officials were gearing up Friday for what some fear will be a wave of evictions and others predict will be just a growing trickle after a U.S. Supreme Court action allowing…