House OKs bill making police intervene to stop undue force

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — The Washington state House on Wednesday approved a measure requiring police to intervene if they see a fellow officer using, or attempting to use, excessive force.

No timetable for withdrawal of troops after US, Iraq talks

BAGHDAD (AP) — The mission of U.S. forces in Iraq has shifted to training and advisory roles, allowing for redeployment of combat forces remaining in the country, U.S. and Iraq delegates said Wednesday, after a thi…

Virginia becomes first Southern state to legalize marijuana

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia became the first Southern state to legalize marijuana Wednesday, as lawmakers voted to approve Gov. Ralph Northam’s proposed changes to a bill that will allow adults to possess and cul…

EXPLAINER: Is the US border with Mexico in crisis?

Gaetz associate working toward plea deal with prosecutors

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — An associate of Rep. Matt Gaetz's is working toward a plea deal with federal prosecutors investigating a sex trafficking operation, potentially escalating the

China warns Washington not to boycott Winter Olympics

BEIJING (AP) — China's government warned Washington on Wednesday not to boycott next year’s Winter Olympics in Beijing after the Biden administration said it was talking with allies about

Lawmaker apologizes for doing video hearing while driving

SEATTLE (AP) — A state senator from Washington has apologized after she participated in a legislative video hearing while she drove a car to the Capitol.

Grim view of global future offered in intelligence report

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. intelligence officials are painting a dark picture of the world's future, writing in a report released Thursday that the coronavirus pandemic has deepened economic inequality, strained govern…

A year after pandemic hit, Haiti awaits vaccines amid apathy

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Haiti does not have a single vaccine to offer its more than 11 million people over a year after the pandemic began, raising concerns among health experts that the well-being of Haitians…

Gov. Inslee signs bill to restore voting rights to parolees

SEATTLE (AP) — Gov. Jay Inslee on Wednesday signed a bill automatically restoring voting rights to people who have been released from prison after committing felonies, even if they are still on parole — a measure s…

Lawyer: Russian opposition leader Navalny has spinal hernias

MOSCOW (AP) — A lawyer for imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who has complained of serious back and leg pain in custody, said Wednesday that doctors have found him to be suffering from two spinal…

'Leave no Tigrayan': In Ethiopia, an ethnicity is erased

HAMDAYET, Sudan (AP) — The atrocities have been seared into the skin and the minds of Tigrayans, who take shelter by the thousands within sight of the homeland they fled in northern Ethiopia.

Policy changes help drive US migrant crossings to new highs

BROWNSVILLE, Texas (AP) — Paying a smuggler, Edgar Mejia could afford to take only one child with him to the United States. He chose his 3-year-old “warrior” son, leaving his 7- and 12-year-olds with their mother i…

Private sales emerge as obstacle to Senate action on guns

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats in Congress are trying to pass the first major gun control legislation in more than two decades with the support of President Joe Biden, who said Thursday that it is “long past time” to …

Senate approves ban on Native American mascots at schools

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — The Washington Senate has approved a measure to ban the use of Native American names, symbols and images as school mascots, logos and team names at most public schools in Washington.