Rescuers work to save elk stuck in the freezing Kettle River on Christmas Eve. (Rylee Stuart)

Northwest

Rescuers save 6 of 12 elk trapped in icy Ferry County river

More than two dozen people used ropes, kayaks and a winch attached to a truck to save the…

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in SeaTac on Sunday night, after a day of snowfall. (Chuck Taylor / The Herald) 20211226

Northwest

COVID, snow force flight cancellations at Sea-Tac Airport

Travelers are experiencing cancellations, delays, lost luggage, unexpected hotel stays and mounting frustration.

Northwest

Record number of deaths in Washington, Oregon in 2021

COVID is only part of the reason. Drug overdoses and last summer’s heat wave also added to the…

FILE - Chief Justice Mary Fairhurst, left, leads Whatcom County Superior Court Judge Raquel Montoya-Lewis, center, and Gov. Jay Inslee before Montoya-Lewis' introduction as the newest member of the state Supreme Court, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2019, in Olympia, Wash. Fairhurst, who had been fighting cancer, died Tuesday, Dec. 28, 2021. She was 64. She had retired from the court in 2020. AP Photo/Elaine Thompson,File)

Northwest

Former state Supreme Court Justice Mary Fairhurst dies at 64

She was first elected to the court in 2002, and was elected chief justice by her colleagues in…

FILE - A protester gathers containers that look like OxyContin bottles at an anti-opioid demonstration in front of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services headquarters in Washington, on April 5, 2019. A judge has kept lawsuits against OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma and members of the Sackler family who own it on hold until Feb. 1, 2022, but ordered the parties involved to negotiate a new settlement. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

Northwest

Suits against OxyContin owners on hold; negotiations ordered

Washington is one of two states saying suits against the Sacklers should be allowed to move ahead immediately.

FILE - Travelers wear masks as they wait in a line for a TSA security check, Dec. 10, 2021, at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in Seattle. President Joe Biden on Monday, Dec. 13, 2021, will sign an executive order aimed at saving Americans time and frustration when seeking a broad array of federal services, like renewing passports, applying for Social Security benefits and getting aid after natural disasters. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)

Northwest

Record number of COVID-19 infections reported in King County

More and more fully vaccinated people are testing positive for the virus.

Addisyn Hager, 11, and James Hager take to the slopes of Forest Park Sunday afternoon in Everett on December 26, 2021.  (Kevin Clark / The Herald)

Local News

Winter storm brings high winds, snow to the Northwest

Scenes from a white Boxing Day around Everett.

FILE - In this Aug. 26, 2019, file photo, Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson speaks at a news conference in Seattle. Washington state sued Johnson & Johnson on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2020, claiming the company was negligent when it used deceptive marketing to say the drugs were effective for treating pain and were unlikely to cause addiction. The lawsuit filed Thursday says the company that supplies raw materials used to make opiates drove the pharmaceutical industry to recklessly expand the production of the drugs. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)

Northwest

State attorney general tests positive for COVID-19

Bob Ferguson said via Twitter on Thursday that he had tested positive and was isolating at home.

Initiative promoter Tim Eyman talks to reporters, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2020, in front of the Temple of Justice at the Capitol in Olympia, Wash. The Washington Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously struck down Eyman's Initiative 976, a measure that would have steeply discounted the price of car registrations at $30 while gutting transportation budgets across Washington state. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Northwest

Tim Eyman’s assets to be sold to satisfy $5 million debt to state

The Initiative promoter has missed his last four payments of $10,000 per month.

FILE - Former New York Times journalist Nicholas Kristof talks about his candidacy for governor of Oregon, Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2021, in Portland, Ore.  Elections officials in Oregon are seeking more information to determine whether Kristof meets the residency requirements to run for the office. (AP Photo/Sara Cline, File)

Northwest

Kristof faces residency questions in Oregon governor’s race

The former New York Times columnist has to show he was an Oregon resident for 3 years prior…

A grain elevator and the rolling hills of the Palouse farmland are shown from the top of Steptoe Butte near Colfax, Wash., on Oct. 28, 2019. The Moscow-Pullman Daily News reported Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2021 that the largest remaining area of native Palouse prairie in southeastern Washington state will be preserved thanks to a recent transaction that moved hundreds of acres of the butte into public ownership by the Washington Department of Natural Resources. The top of the butte is a Washington State park but much of its flanks were in private ownership. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Northwest

State buys more Steptoe Butte land to preserve it

Two families from western Washington purchased the property in 2016 to protect it from development.

Police respond to a multi-vehicle collision Tuesday morning on northbound I-5 at N Lake Samish, south of Bellingham. One man was killed. (Washington State Patrol)

Northwest

Bellingham man dies after he’s involved in 3 crashes on icy I-5

The second accident involved a Marysville woman who lost control of her car.

Northwest

Delta still dominant COVID strain in WA, but officials worry

At least 400 cases of the omnicron variant have been confirmed in Washington as of Tuesday.

This Statement of Offense document in the government's case against Devlyn Thompson is photographed Monday, Dec. 20, 2021. Thompson, who joined a mob in one of the most violent attacks on police during the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol has been sentenced to nearly four years in prison. Thompson expressed remorse for his actions before U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth sentenced him on Dec. 20 to three years and 10 months in prison.(AP Photo/Jon Elswick)

Northwest

Man who joined Capitol melee gets nearly 4 years in prison

The ex-Washington state resident’s defense attorney cited his autism in asking for a one-year sentence. He got nearly…

In this 2019 photo, King County Detective Kathleen Decker speaks at a news conference, while Sheriff Mitzi G. Johanknecht looks on, at right, in Seattle. Decker, a now-retired 33-year veteran of the King County Sheriff's Office, made several false statements under oath when she obtained a search warrant in a murder case in 2019, resulting in a man’s false arrest on drug charges, newly unsealed federal court orders show. (Greg Gilbert/The Seattle Times via AP)

Northwest

Judge: Detective made false statements to obtain warrant

Detective Kathleen Decker, now retired, falsely claimed a suspect’s gun was used in a homicide, and also lied…

Washington Sen. Doug Ericksen, R-Ferndale, talks to reporters, Thursday, Feb. 2, 2017, at the Capitol in Olympia, Wash. Ericksen, who is currently serving as both a state senator and a member of President Donald Trump's transition team, said that the Republican majority in the state Senate can rely on him, and that he's able to do both jobs. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Northwest

State Sen. Doug Ericksen dies after COVID battle

Washington Sen. Doug Ericksen, R-Ferndale, died Friday after contracting coronavirus weeks ago.

Northwest

Former Cascade High student and sister died several days before father

A father may have lived several days after his two teenage daughters died in his Renton apartment.

The logo for Boeing appears on a screen above a trading post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on July 13, 2021. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, file)

Business

Boeing sells its Commercial Airplanes headquarters for $100M

The sale completes a series of large real estate divestments by Boeing this year.

People hold signs in protest of the vaccine mandate after Boeing announced it would terminate workers who do not comply on Friday, Oct. 15, 2021 in Everett, Wa. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

Northwest

Boeing drops vaccine mandate for U.S. employees

About 10,000 unvaccinated workers had been under the threat of possible termination.

Close-up of senior woman hand on wheel of wheelchair during walk in hospital

Northwest

Inslee, leaders opt to pause the state’s WA Cares payroll tax

People are learning that they would be paying into the program without receiving any benefits.