Senators’ half-a-million-dollar surveillance payday exposes flawed privacy laws

When senators discovered they had been subjected to unconstitutional surveillance, they voted themselves half a million dollars each. The rest of us got nothing. Last month, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) revealed that President Joe Biden’s FBI had spied on eight Republican senators’ phones. Former Department of Justice special counsel Jack Smith, investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, secretly monitored who contacted the senators, […]
Flooding update: rescues, federal emergency, and a second coming

WASHINGTON STATE—Dozens of people were rescued in Snohomish County, from Wednesday through Thursday, due to the state, and federally, declared “emergency” flooding that swept the region, with more storms and more flooding ahead. Meteorologists working with the National Weather Service (NWS) issued weather alerts for Washington residents on Wednesday, December 10, due to, what they […]
MAGA-juana: Trump poised to reschedule Cannabis, igniting stock surge

WASHINGTON, D.C.—President Donald J Trump is preparing to issue an executive order as early as Monday directing federal agencies to reclassify marijuana from its current Schedule I status to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act, according to multiple sources familiar with the discussions. The move, first reported by The Washington Post, would mark the […]
GM of Edibles issues statement on Congress’ crack down on hemp market

Below is a statement from Thomas Winstanley, EVP & GM, Edibles.com™ (part of Edible Brands/Edible Arrangements) on a newly negotiated congressional spending bill would federally recriminalize many hemp-derived THC products, including popular items like Delta-8 THC, which were legalized under the 2018 Farm Bill. The legislation redefines legal hemp to include total THC content (not […]
WA residents encouraged to support Western Washington flood relief

OLYMPIA—Secretary of State Steve Hobbs is encouraging Washington residents, public employees, and state retirees to help residents of Western Washington affected by flooding from this week’s atmospheric river. Secretary Hobbs authorized the activation of the Disaster Relief Center (DRC), a special function of the Office of the Secretary of State’s Combined Fund Drive (CFD), and […]
Link light rail will be suspended between Capitol Hill and Stadium

Buses will replace Light Rail 1 Line trains between Capitol Hill and Stadium stations between 11 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 12 and 10 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 13, to accommodate the installation of advanced signaling in the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel. Passengers should plan ahead and expect around 30 minutes of increased travel time. During the work, […]
John Braun commentary: Soft-on-crime legislators have blood on their hands, local prosecutor says

On the surface, a pair of murders in our state nearly two months ago don’t have anything in common except for each occurring in mid-October and resulting in the arrest of a young man. One occurred in north Seattle, the other in Spokane — far from our corner of the state. Yet it’s a local […]
Everett’s Odyssey Coins-2 is just as much a museum as it is a collectible coin store

EVERETT—Located on Evergreen Way, in the South Forest Park neighborhood of Everett, lies Odyssey Coins-2, a hidden gem collectible coin store that’s just as much a living museum as it is a storefront. For 43 years and counting, Odyssey Coins-2 has offered rare, antique, coins, bullion, military artifacts and historic firearm accessories to Everett history […]