News
Seattle Times Politics
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High-capacity gun magazines stay illegal in WA, court commissioner rules
The state Supreme Court commissioner's decision means the magazine ban, passed by the Washington Legislature in 2022, remains in place pending appeal. |
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Feds greenlight return of grizzlies to WA’s North Cascades
Grizzly bears will be brought to Washington from elsewhere over the next five to 10 summers. The goal is to eventually have 200 bears here. |
The Chronicle - Centralia
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Man arrested after showing up in tactical gear near an Eastern Washington elementary school
A man wearing tactical gear outside a Kennewick elementary school on Wednesday allegedly led police on a chase before hiding under a porch. A paraeducator spotted Jacob Corbin, 28, acting strange in a field next to Amon Creek Elementary School about 8:15 a.m. About the same time, a concerned parent noticed Corbin was dressed in black, had a backpack and appeared to have "tactical" gear, according to a news release from Kennewick police. Corbin was reportedly doing "karate motions in the air." The parent and the paraeducator contacted a school security officer. The district and the police department recently partnered on a program to hire retired police officers for Kennewick's elementary schools. The parent continued to watch Corbin while the security officer radioed police. The school also was placed on a lockdown. When Richland and Kennewick officers arrived on the school, Corbin started heading south. Corbin reportedly began jumping fences in the Hanson Park neighborhood on the 8600 block of West Third Avenue. He was found under the deck of a home and refused to come out. When police tried talking with him, he wouldn't respond, said the release. "This became a complicated situation as it was unknown what Corbin possessed and he would not communicate or make an attempt to exit the porch," the news release said. Officers attempted to use pepperballs, which are paintballs filled with the same chemical that is in pepper spray. They fired them into the ground, hoping the fumes would be enough to force him out. They also fired a rubber baton at him, which hit his leg. After he still didn't respond, officers cut a hole in the deck to reach him. Corbin did not have a weapon but he was wearing a garment around his waist that is used to hold rifle magazines. He was booked into the Benton County jail on suspicion of three counts of second-degree trespassing, obstructing an officer, resisting arrest and possession of methamphetamine. Kennewick Commander Isaac Merkl stressed the importance of people reporting suspicious activity. "This is especially important around our schools," the release said. "We are grateful for the quick actions of the paraeducator and parent, the actions and communications from the school safety officer and the strong relationship with the Kennewick School District." ___ (c)2024 Tri-City Herald (Kennewick, Wash.) Visit Tri-City Herald (Kennewick, Wash.) at www.tri-cityherald.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. |
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Woman, 24, sentenced for Pierce County drunk-driving crash that killed one
A 24-year-old woman who lost control of her car at high speed near the Roy Y intersection, went airborne and crashed, killing a man in her passenger's seat, has been sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison. Brie Ana Nicole Chmielewski pleaded guilty March 15 to vehicular homicide in the June 24, 2022 drunk-driving crash on state Route 7 that killed 22-year-old David Escobar. Pierce County Superior Court Judge Pro Tempore Brian Tollefson handed down the punishment Monday, sentencing Chmielewski to 78 months, the low end of the standard sentencing range for defendants prosecuted in similar cases. Chmielewski has no prior criminal convictions. Relatives of Escobar addressed the court during the hearing, court records show. In a fundraiser for funeral expenses, a family friend said Escobar's death was a "tragic, cruel and horrible mistake." The two were traveling south on the highway in a 2013 Ford Taurus when Chmielewski failed to negotiate "the sweeping left curve of the intersection," according to charging documents. The car went off the road and went airborne, colliding with a guardrail and then a group of trees. One witness estimated the driver was going 100 mph before the crash, records state. Another said he was stopping at the intersection when he saw the Ford leave the road into the grass, go airborne and sail over the hood of his vehicle before hitting the trees. Chmielewski's blood-alcohol content was 0.12 within two hours of the incident, according to court records. That's above the state's limit of 0.08. Chmielewski told Washington State Patrol troopers she had two alcoholic drinks, records state, and a trooper reported seeing a can of hard seltzer on the car's floorboard. As part of her sentence, the defendant was ordered to undergo an evaluation for substance abuse. The crash occurred late at night on state Route 7, a five-lane highway that includes a center turn lane with a speed limit of 40 mph in the area of the crash. State Route 7, which becomes Pacific Avenue in Spanaway, Parkland and Tacoma, has been one target of local and state advocates working to improve road safety in Pierce County. Chmielewski was trapped in the driver's seat when troopers were dispatched at about 12:49 a.m., according to the probable cause document. Emergency personnel extricated her from the vehicle, and she was later transported to St. Joseph's Medical Center to be treated. Escobar was pronounced dead at the scene. Troopers said he hadn't been wearing a seat belt. The driver was wearing one. ___ (c)2024 The News Tribune (Tacoma, Wash.) Visit The News Tribune (Tacoma, Wash.) at www.TheNewsTribune.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. |
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Woman sentenced for 2021 crash that killed her friend in Pierce County
A 29-year-old woman has been sentenced after pleading guilty to crashing a stolen car in 2021 that killed a passenger in Buckley. Brittany McClain was charged with vehicular homicide, felony driving under the influence and reckless driving for the June 10, 2021 incident that killed 26-year-old Michael Vernon Woody. McClain was driving with methamphetamine in her system prior to the crash, records show. McClain pleaded guilty to the charges on Thursday in Pierce County Superior Court. She also pleaded guilty to taking a motor vehicle without permission and attempting to elude in unrelated incidents. On April 19, 2020, McClain refused to stop after a police officer in King County attempted to pull her over. A day earlier in King County, she drove a stolen Acura, documents show. Pierce County judge Gary Johnson sentenced McClain to four years in prison on Thursday, records show. Incident Details McClain was driving east on state Route 410 into Buckley just after midnight when she lost control at an intersection. The car crashed into a pole, causing the vehicle to roll onto its roof, documents show. Woody was unconscious and bleeding when police arrived. Woody was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital in Puyallup where he was pronounced deceased. An obituary for Woody states that he was a father to a 2-year-old boy. McClain also wrote in her guilty plea document that Woody was her friend. McClain was taken to the hospital for her injuries. Her blood was drawn, and a toxicology reported returned in June showing that she had 0.74 mg/L of methamphetamine in her system, prosecutors wrote. Documents show that a police officer witnessed the crash and was at the scene within seconds. He reported seeing the two-door sedan going the speed limit on the highway behind a pickup truck. Both vehicles "accelerated rapidly" in the 29000 block of state Route 410. The Honda lost control and crashed. Prosecutors wrote that McClain crawled out of the vehicle. While she was checked for injuries, she told police she was in the backseat, and the driver had run away. A witness had video of the crash which did not show anyone running away. Detectives determined it was McClain who was driving the sedan that was reported stolen from Kent. McClain claimed she had not used meth in a month, but drug paraphernalia was recovered inside the vehicle. ___ (c)2024 The News Tribune (Tacoma, Wash.) Visit The News Tribune (Tacoma, Wash.) at www.TheNewsTribune.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. |
Washington State News
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Former Storm star Sue Bird joins team's ownership group
(Photo credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports)
Former Seattle Storm star Sue Bird joined the team's ownership group ahead of the 2024 WNBA season.
Financial terms were not disclosed for Bird, who played her entire career with the Storm after they selected her with the top overall pick of the 2002 WNBA Draft out of UConn.
Bird helped the Storm win four WNBA titles (2004, 2010, 2018 and 2020). She also is a 13-time All-Star,
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NYT Politics
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U.S. to Withdraw Troops From Chad
The departure of U.S. military personnel in Chad and Niger comes as both countries are turning away from years of cooperation with the United States and forming partnerships with Russia.
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Meet the Lawyers Arguing Trump’s Immunity Case: Michael Dreeben and John Sauer
Michael Dreeben, speaking for the government, and D. John Sauer, the lawyer for Donald J. Trump, have played roles in some of the legal battles stemming from his term in office.
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Key Solar Panel Ingredient Is Made in the U.S.A. Again
REC Silicon says it will soon start shipping polysilicon, which has come mostly from China, reviving a Washington State factory that shut down in 2019.
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Portland Business News
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As the Portland Business Journal turns 40, a look back at years of covering the Rose City
Insights from past publishers and editors mark 40 years of covering Portland's top business stories.
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