Washington

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Man Gunned Down in Iran Was No 'History Prof': NYT

Abu Muhammad al-Masri was shot while driving in Tehran this summer, officials say

(Newser) - Al-Qaeda's second-in-command was apparently gunned down in August—but where it happened, and what that means, might be as big as the killing itself. Intelligence officials tell the New York Times that Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah, also known as Abu Muhammad al-Masri, was shot by Israeli agents on Aug. 7...

Clinton Sees 'Unresolved Questions' on Pot Laws

Ex-president supports states' rights—much like Hillary does

(Newser) - Bill Clinton still isn't inhaling, apparently—or at least he's not high on America's wave of marijuana legalization efforts, Politico reports. On Meet the Press, the ex-president sounded more like a states-rights advocate when David Gregory asked about Colorado's legalization of weed. Clinton did joke about...

Hunter Killed as Storms Lash Northwest

Flood warnings issued in Washington state

(Newser) - Residents in Washington and Oregon braced for more wet weather after a fierce storm swamped streets, toppled trees and large trucks, cut power to nearly 50,000 residents, and caused at least one death in Oregon, where a hunter was killed yesterday morning when a tree crashed on his tent...

Condi Rice Strikes Back in New Memoir

She recalls clashes with Cheney, Rumsfeld, Bush

(Newser) - It's time for Dick Cheney to take a little return fire from Condi Rice. Less than 2 months after his memoir described her as turning tearful during a political discussion , Condoleezza Rice has written her own book, No Higher Honor, which comes out next month, the New York Times...

Jail Lets Alleged Child Rapist Watch Videos of His Attacks

Acting as own lawyer, Weldon Gilbert must be given access to evidence

(Newser) - A loophole in Washington state law allows a man charged with sexually assaulting children to watch child porn—in a county jail, no less, KIRO-FM reports. Weldon Gilbert has chosen to defend himself, and all evidence in his case must be made available to the defense, including video of Gilbert...

Teen Leads City's Fight on Red-Light Cameras

17-year-old Josh Sutinen running initiative to ban them in Longview, Washington

(Newser) - Josh Sutinen isn't old enough to vote and only got his driver's license last month, but he's already among the leaders in a national backlash against cameras that issue traffic tickets. The 17-year-old has worked for most of this year pushing an initiative to ban red-light and...

Ferry Workers Fight to Keep 'Vomit Pay'

Washington state senator says it's an unfair perk

(Newser) - Washington state Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen thinks it’s time to get rid of a benefit long enjoyed by the state’s ferry workers: cleaning up puke. Thanks to the so-called “vomit clause” in workers' contracts, they get paid double-time whenever they have to mop up after a hurling...

Guy Sets Motel Room Fire Because Satan Lived There

Totally makes sense, right?

(Newser) - There’s only one obvious reason a person might set his motel room blankets on fire: Because he thinks he’s sharing the room with Satan. That’s the excuse a 52-year-old Washington man gave to cops after allegedly starting the motel room fire Friday, the Herald reports. He had...

For Bad Border Collies, a Solution: Rented Sheep

How to keep an antsy city herder happy

(Newser) - Sue Foster knew just what to do when her antsy border collie Taff got naughty: Rent him some sheep. Now Foster owns a herd of sheep, some land in Washington state, and two more border collies. "I never dreamed it would go this far," Foster tells the Wall ...

Boy's Foot Washes Ashore in Washington State

It's the second in four months

(Newser) - Police are looking for answers after a small human foot washed ashore near Tacoma, Washington. The foot was still lodged inside a boy’s size 6 hiking boot, and likely belonged to a juvenile or small adult, police tell the AP . It’s the second foot to wash ashore in...

Indian Tribe Doesn't Want US Trash on Sacred Land

It's fighting a plan to ship Hawaii garbage to Washington state

(Newser) - Hawaii's landfill space is in such short supply, the state decided to transport thousands of tons of trash 2,600 miles to Washington. Making the journey even more bizarre: The waste would travel over the Yakama Indians' sacred hunting grounds to get to its destination, and the tribe is none...

3 Dead, 4 Injured in Refinery Fire
 3 Dead, 4 Injured 
 in Refinery Fire 
updated

3 Dead, 4 Injured in Refinery Fire

Midnight explosion rocks plant in Washington state

(Newser) - An explosion and fire at a Washington state oil refinery shook homes and shot flames into the night sky early today, killing three people and critically injuring four others. The fire struck the Tesoro Corp. refinery in Anacortes, about 70 miles north of Seattle, at about 12:30am. The blaze...

GOP AGs Will Sue to Overturn Health Reform

Eleven states plan to cite constitutionality of newly passed measure

(Newser) - Florida and nine other states—all of which have Republican attorneys general—will sue to overturn health care reform, arguing that it’s unconstitutional. Florida AG Bill McCollum, who is running for governor, said today he views the expansion of Medicaid as a violation of states' rights, and called the...

Cops Hunt for Missing 'Erratic' Mom, Son

She's spotted falling in parking lot, asking for directions

(Newser) - Washington cops continue to hunt for a young "erratic" mom and her 8-year-old son after her minivan was found half-submerged off a Puget Sound road. Backsliding alcoholic Shantina Smiley, 29, was spotted falling in an Olympia parking lot and asking strangers for directions before heading off the opposite way...

South the Big Winner in New Census
South the Big Winner in
New Census

South the Big Winner in New Census

Northeast, Midwest would lose seats if today's census was used

(Newser) - The South is gaining population and power at the expense of the Northeast and Midwest, according to Census Bureau estimates released yesterday. If House seats were distributed based on the estimates, which are believed to be a strong predictor of the 2010 census results, Texas would be the big winner,...

Backwards Lip Sync Vid a YouTube Hit

High school singers learn reverse-syllable song

(Newser) - A wacky lip sync video at a Washington high school has become a YouTube hit. The video, filmed at Shorewood High School, at first looks like a straight-forward—though impressive—student music creation involving most of the school. But the crowds around the various singers seem to be performing strange...

US, Iran May Meet One-on-One on Nukes

Meeting tomorrow could be most direct engagement since the revolution

(Newser) - US diplomats will try to meet one-on-one with their Iranian counterparts during tomorrow’s multi-nation negotiations on Tehran’s nuclear program. It would be the most significant direct engagement between the two countries since the Iranian revolution. An anonymous official tells the Washington Post that the one-on-one talks would "...

Bikini Baristas Charged With Prostitution

Girls at Grab-n-Go coffee shop gave customers a little extra

(Newser) - Five bikini baristas at a Washington coffee stand were charged with prostitution today after an undercover police investigation. Police say the women sold extra services from the stand—quick flashes of nudity, licking whipped cream off their co-workers, allowing customers to grope them, etc. That kind of for-pay touching, the...

Cops Catch Insane Killer Who Fled Field Trip in Wash.

Phillip Paul sparked state manhunt

(Newser) - A schizophrenic killer who ducked out of a mental hospital field trip has been caught in south-central Washington, the Spokesman-Review reports. Phillip A. Paul, 47, slipped away at the Spokane County Interstate Fair on Thursday and triggered a police manhunt. A sherriff's deputy caught him today trying to hitch a...

Sorry, Jimmy: Race Ain't the Only Card in the Deck

Obama anger not just about skin color: Rich

(Newser) - Jimmy Carter and other Obama defenders playing the race card must remember that it’s just one in a deck that’s driving the I’ve-had-it-up-to-here rhetoric of Joe Wilson and Glenn Beck, Frank Rich writes in the New York Times. “There is a national conversation we must have...

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