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Steve Ringman/The Seattle Times/TNS

What Trump's order on cutting federal forests could mean for the Pacific Northwest

Current News / News & Features /

SEATTLE — President Donald Trump has instructed federal agencies to plan to log national forests harder, working around environmental protections, including for endangered species.

His directive, issued in an executive order March 1, is counter to decades of environmental policy in the Pacific Northwest, where federal forests have been ...Read more

Karen Ducey/Getty Images North America/TNS

For Indian Country, federal cuts decimate core tribal programs

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President Donald Trump’s sweeping cuts to the federal workforce and government spending have reverberated across Indian Country, leaving tribes with deep uncertainty about their health clinics, schools, police agencies and wildfire crews.

Native officials say the cuts could hit a vast array of core public services in tribal communities — ...Read more

Contamination fears drive push to remake state cannabis agency in California

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Criticism that California is failing to fully address contamination in its weed crop has prompted a push for the governor and lawmakers to step in and remove that authority from the state agency in charge.

The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors last week asked the governor and Legislature to shift responsibility for pesticides in cannabis ...Read more

Alfredo Estrella/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

Asylum requests surge in Mexico amid US border crackdown

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NAUCALPAN DE JUÁREZ, Mexico — It wasn't long ago that record numbers of migrants were claiming asylum at the U.S. southern border, overwhelming federal agents and backlogging the immigration courts.

Now the border is the quietest it's been in years, largely because the Trump administration has stopped processing asylum claims there — and ...Read more

Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Spotted owls are disappearing fast, and federal cuts could mean no one's left to count them

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It’s breeding season for the rapidly declining California spotted owl, and Ben Vizzachero was about to lead an effort to survey the stately conifer forests and oak woodlands of Los Padres National Forest for the elusive raptor.

Then Vizzachero was ripped out of the picture. The 30-year-old wildlife biologist was among roughly 2,000 U.S. ...Read more

Alex Wong/Getty Images North America/TNS

DOGE firings provoke heated confrontations, shouts of 'Nazi,' at Republican town halls

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YUCCA VALLEY, Calif. — By the time U.S. Rep. Jay Obernolte, a Big Bear Lake Republican, tried asking for unity at his “community coffee” event, his audience had screamed, cussed and called him a Nazi.

“We’re not on team liberal or conservative; we’re not on team Republican or Democrat. We all play for team United States of America,...Read more

Nick Wagner/The Seattle Times/TNS

Trump's English order may impact a number of Seattle-area residents

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SEATTLE — President Donald Trump signed an executive order Saturday making English the official language of the United States. Many other countries have an official language, but the U.S. had never had one until now.

According to the White House, designating English as the official language "promotes unity, establishes efficiency in ...Read more

Samuel Corum/Getty Images North America/TNS

Slotkin slams Trump over tariffs and Musk in Democratic response

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Democratic Senator Elissa Slotkin assailed President Donald Trump’s economic agenda after his address to Congress, accusing him and his billionaire adviser Elon Musk of targeting Social Security and other benefits.

“Trump is trying to deliver an unprecedented giveaway to his billionaire friends. He’s on the hunt to find trillions of ...Read more

Trump is the kinglike president many feared when arguing over the US Constitution in 1789 – and his address to Congress showed it

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If there are any limits to a president’s power, it wasn’t evident from Donald Trump’s speech before a joint session of Congress on March 4, 2025.

In that speech, the first before lawmakers of Trump’s second term, the president declared vast accomplishments during the brief six weeks of his presidency. He claimed to have “...Read more

Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

Heavy on migrant crime, light on inflation: 8 takeaways from Trump's speech to Congress

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WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump laid out an aggressive approach to “renewing the American dream” in his address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday, heavily emphasizing his crackdown on immigration, diversity policies and the federal workforce while giving passing mention to his administration’s approach to the rising costs of...Read more

Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

Trump blasts Georgia Democrat Stacey Abrams in congressional address

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President Donald Trump attacked Georgia Democrat Stacey Abrams in his address to a joint session of Congress Tuesday night, suggesting she was involved in wasteful government spending uncovered by his Department of Government Efficiency.

Trump mentioned the two-time nominee for governor as he rattled off a list of questionable projects that ...Read more

Jim Watson/AFP/GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/TNS

China ramps up military spending while US looks to cut costs

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China is set to increase its defense spending by about 7.2% in 2025, matching last year’s growth and reflecting President Xi Jinping’s ambition to build a military that can challenge the U.S.

The outlay will rise to about 1.78 trillion yuan ($245 billion) this year, according to a Finance Ministry report released Wednesday at an annual ...Read more

Win McNamee/Getty Images North America/TNS

Trump warns of tariff 'disturbance' as he touts trade plans in address to Congress

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WASHINGTON — While acknowledging there may be an “adjustment period” as his tariffs take effect, President Donald Trump defended his push to remake the U.S. economy and declared “momentum is back” in a prime-time speech to Congress Tuesday night.

“Tariffs are about making America rich again and making America great again. And it’s...Read more

Bashar Taleb/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

Arab leaders endorse a Gaza rebuilding plan to counter Trump's

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Leaders of Arab countries endorsed Egypt’s Gaza reconstruction plan, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi announced, in a move to counter the controversial ideas of U.S. President Donald Trump, though a number of crucial details remain to be ironed out.

The proposition was endorsed at an extraordinary Arab League summit held on Tuesday, ...Read more

Robin Buckson/The Detroit News/TNS

Protesters march in southwest Detroit to oppose deportation push by feds

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DETROIT — Several hundred people took to the streets of southwest Detroit on Tuesday to protest stepped-up deportation efforts by the federal government and call on the Trump administration to "Escucha, estamos en la lucha" — "Listen, we are in the fight."

The group assembled at Clark Park just as nearby schools were letting out for the day...Read more

Martin Bernetti/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

BlackRock's ports deal in Panama marks new reach, hands win to Trump

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BlackRock Inc. led one of the biggest acquisitions of the year in a deal that marked both the firm’s expanded reach in infrastructure and a win for U.S. President Donald Trump, who had raised concerns over control of key ports near the Panama Canal.

The world’s biggest asset manager led a consortium that will buy a controlling stake in ...Read more

Daniel Pearson/Las Vegas Review-Journal/TNS

GSA fires Nevada employees, impact unclear

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All General Services Administration employees in Nevada have been fired, according to Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto.

Approximately 12 staff split between Las Vegas and Reno were notified Monday evening that their unit has been abolished, according to Cortez Masto’s office.

The employees were placed on paid administrative leave and will receive...Read more

Win McNamee/Getty Images North America/TNS

Trump warns of tariff 'disturbance' as he touts trade plans

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WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump acknowledged there may be an “adjustment period” as his tariffs take effect, but defended his push to remake the U.S. economy and declared “momentum is back” in a primetime speech to Congress on Tuesday night.

“Tariffs are about making America rich again and making America great again. And it’s ...Read more

Olivier Douliery/Abaca Press/TNS

Trump highlights Georgia nursing student Laken Riley in joint address to Congress

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WASHINGTON — Saying her life had been cut short by a violent criminal and undocumented immigrant who should have never have been allowed to remain in the country, President Donald Trump spent several minutes during his joint address to Congress Tuesday night honoring the life of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley.

Riley’s mother and sister...Read more

Idaho Statesman/Idaho Statesman/TNS

Idaho Gov. Brad Little overturned past ban on mask mandates. Now, he's signed one into law

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BOISE, Idaho — When Idaho Gov. Brad Little left the state for a day in 2021, his lieutenant governor signed an executive order to ban mask mandates. It brought to a head months of simmering resentment and protests over requirements in some Idaho cities and counties to wear masks to help slow the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Little ...Read more