Political
Need information regarding current political news? Here we'll keep you updated on the latest political news, locally and nationally.
Preliminary primary results set stage for November races across Columbia Basin
EPHRATA — Initial results from Washington's Aug. 5 primary election show several closely watched races beginning t…
Justices to weigh Trump census plan to exclude noncitizens
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court agreed Friday to take up President Donald Trump's policy, blocked by a lower court, to exclude people living in the U.S. illegally from the census count that will be used to allo…
First lady: 'Self-serving adults' push rumors about her
DORAL, Fla. (AP) — Melania Trump lashed out Friday at “self-serving adults” for focusing on her falling out with a friend and adviser, writing that the attention paid to “salacious claims” about the broken relation…
Virus surges in key battleground states as election nears
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Rising coronavirus cases in key presidential battleground states a little more than two weeks before Election Day are the latest worry for election officials and voters fearing chaos or exposur…
Torres Small keeps big money edge in key US House race
LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) — Democratic U.S. House Rep. Xochitl Torres Small has kept the money edge in a crucial House race in southern New Mexico that Republicans hope to flip, new campaign finance reports show.
Virginia lawmakers pass new budget amid coronavirus pandemic
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia lawmakers all but wrapped up a special legislative session Friday by approving a new state budget that gives bonuses to police, pays for a host of new criminal justice reforms, and ext…
Adviser: Trump tweet about Afghanistan withdrawal was a wish
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's national security adviser on Friday doubled down on his assertion that the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan will shrink to 2,500 early next year, while suggesting that…
Arizona's daily average for virus cases still rising
PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona continues to see a slow yet steady increase in the average number of coronavirus cases reported each day as a decline that lasted through August and September reverses.
Wolf vetoes bill to let restaurants operate at full capacity
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf vetoed a Republican-sponsored bill Friday that would have let restaurants and bars reopen at up to full capacity, saying it would have jeopardized public health and…
Amid more strong wind, new burst for Colorado's biggest fire
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — More strong wind Friday made the biggest wildfire in Colorado history even worse, keeping firefighting aircraft on the ground and forcing evacuations along a highway leading to Rocky Mountain …
GOP senator mispronounces Kamala Harris' name at Trump rally
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Sen. David Perdue mocked Kamala Harris, his Senate colleague and the Democratic vice presidential nominee, on Friday by repeatedly mispronouncing her name at a Georgia rally for Preside…
Judge: Alaska governor used veto power to punish courts
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy unconstitutionally used his veto powers to punish the courts following a state Supreme Court decision that invalidated proposed abortion restrictions, a judge ruled F…
Post mandate, doctor 'disappointed' at lack of mask wearing
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi's state health officer said he overestimated the number of people who would continue to wear face coverings to prevent the spread of
After census ruling, judges dismiss part of similar case
A three-judge panel in Maryland has dismissed part of a case challenging the decision of President Donald Trump’s administration to end data collection for the 2020 census early after the Supreme Court ruled the on…
California jobless rate dips as jobs added despite pandemic
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California has regained more than a third of the 2.6 million nonfarm jobs the nation's most populous state lost to the coronavirus pandemic in March and April, state officials said Friday.
SF Zoo cites child for finding lemur, police arrest suspect
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Police said Friday they arrested a man suspected of stealing a ring-tailed lemur from the San Francisco Zoo, where officials rewarded a 5-year-old boy who helped recapture the endangered primat…