WA inspectors must be let inside Tacoma ICE detention center, Bush-appointed judge rules
TACOMA [Jake Goldstein-Street]—The private company that runs a Tacoma ICE detention center must allow state inspectors inside after years of refusing, a federal judge ruled Thursday. But U.S. District Court Judge Benjamin Settle, a Bush appointee, ruled the Florida-based operator of the Northwest ICE Processing Center, The GEO Group, doesn’t need to admit officials from […]
Let’s Go Washington turns in over half-a-million signatures on IP26-645 to repeal income tax bill
TUMWATER — Let’s Go Washington delivered 511,408 signatures Thursday to the Washington Secretary of State’s office for Initiative to the People IP26-645, an effort to repeal the state’s newly enacted 9.9% tax on annual household income above $1 million and to bar state and local governments from imposing taxes on overall individual income. The submission […]
SCOTUS Strikes Down Trump Executive Order on Birthright Citizenship: Children Born in U.S. to Undocumented Parents are Citizens
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a 6-3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday, June 30, that children born in the United States to parents who are unlawfully present or temporarily in the country are citizens at birth under the Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment. “The Fourteenth Amendment’s Citizenship Clause mirrored the common law’s […]
Executive Order on citizenship lists and mail-in voting blocked, day after USPS said ballots won’t be delivered until states provide lists
BOSTON, Mass. — U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani, a Barack Obama appointee, ruled Thursday, June 25, that key provisions of President Donald J Trump’s March 31, 2026, executive order on election integrity exceed presidential authority and violated the U.S. Constitution related to federal elections. The Trump administration and Department of Justice may appeal the decision […]
Mail-in ballots at risk: Postmaster says USPS will not deliver ballots in states refusing to turn over voter lists
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Postmaster General David Steiner testified Wednesday that the U.S. Postal Service would not deliver mail-in ballots under a proposed regulation unless states first provide their voter lists to the federal government. According to the Washington Secretary of State official Ballot Drop Box Usage reports, roughly a third of returned ballots are mailed […]
$35M campaign finance fine against Meta upheld by WA Supreme Court
OLYMPIA [Jake Goldstein-Street]—Facebook’s parent company, Meta, must pay the largest campaign finance fine in Washington state history, the state Supreme Court affirmed in a split decision Thursday. Meta urged the justices to declare a state law unconstitutional under the First Amendment to avert the $35 million penalty. The social media conglomerate repeatedly hadn’t provided required records for digital […]
Snohomish County is first in WA to end ‘Housing First’ funding preference; fentanyl exposure to children now lands you jail time
EVERETT — The Snohomish County Council on June 10 approved two ordinances aimed at expanding treatment-focused approaches to addiction and housing while protecting children from fentanyl exposure, but postponed a third measure that would have carved out dedicated funding for behavioral health facilities. “These ordinances represent a step in the right direction for our fight […]
Court strikes down Trump’s new $100,000 H-1B Visa fee, calling it a tax
SEATTLE — Washington Attorney General Nick Brown on Tuesday welcomed a federal court ruling that struck down the Trump administration’s $100,000 “tax” on new H-1B visa petitions, saying it preserves the state’s ability to recruit specialized talent for research, education and health care. Washington state was one of 20 state plaintiffs in the lawsuit against […]
Consumer alert: Workers’ compensation scam targeting Spanish-speaking workers
Attorney General Nick Brown is warning Washington residents about a scam targeting injured, Spanish-speaking workers across the Pacific Northwest. This scam has not yet been documented in Washington, but Washington workers should be aware that they may be targeted. The Scam Scammers contact the injured worker via phone, email, video call, text message, WhatsApp, Facebook […]
WA Redistricting Challenge Heads to US Supreme Court Over Alleged Racial Gerrymander
OLYMPIA [Jerry Cornfield]—The state of Washington on Tuesday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to accept a challenge against the state’s political maps, then remand it to a lower court to determine if the way the lines were drawn complies with a recent ruling in a Louisiana case. “The lower courts should be given the first […]
