Politics

On Friday, the Democratic governors of Oregon, California and Washington announced a coordinated effort to strengthen legal protections for abortion providers and patients who travel to the West Coast from states where the practice is banned.

An initiative that would alter the way Seattle elects mayors, city attorneys and City Council members is headed toward the November ballot. Under the proposal, a voter would be able to select multiple candidates in each primary race rather than only one.

With Pride events scheduled throughout the month of June, organizers in multiple cities say the arrests in Coeur d'Alene have put safety back at the top of their agendas.

The mass shootings in Uvalde, Texas, and Tulsa, Oklahoma, are again putting the focus on gun control measures such as waiting periods to buy firearms. Washington is one of nine states, plus Washington, D.C., that have explicit waiting periods before people can purchase at least some types of firearms.

Four members of U.S. Congress toured Ice Harbor Dam on the Snake River near Pasco, Washington.

Dozens of high school and middle school students in Olympia, Washington, walked out to protest gun violence Wednesday after 19 children and two teachers were shot and killed last week at a school in Uvalde, Texas. Student walkouts have also happened in Seattle and Tacoma in support of measures to reduce gun violence.

Gun control measures are likely going nowhere in Congress, and they have also become increasingly scarce in most states. Aside from several Democratic-controlled states, most states have taken no action on gun control in recent years or have moved aggressively to expand gun rights.

Members of Washington's Congressional delegation are reacting to yesterday's mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. Multiple elected leaders call for strengthening gun laws, both at the local and national level, to prevent another school shooting.

Musician John Legend is using his national platform to elevate local races for district attorney — endorsing progressive prosecutors who prioritize preventative solutions over incarceration.

President Biden is on his first trip to Asia since taking office. In South Korea and Japan, he'll try to coordinate more closely with them on priorities including strategic competition with China.