Washington Gov. Inslee signs fentanyl bill sending money to disproportionately affected tribes

TULALIP, Wash. (AP) — Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has signed a multimillion-dollar measure to send state money to tribes and Indigenous people in the state who die from opioid overdoses at disproportionately high rates in Washington. It was one of seven fentanyl-related bills...

Washington state achieves bipartisan support to ban hog-tying by police and address opioid crisis

SEATTLE (AP) — Over a busy, 60-day legislative session, Washington state lawmakers made strides to address the opioid crisis and ban a controversial policing practice with bipartisan support, but fell short in getting some of the most progressive bills across the finish line. The...

LGBTQ+ advocacy group sues Texas AG, says it won't identify transgender families

A national LGBTQ+ advocacy group is suing the Texas Attorney General's office rather than hand over information about its support of transgender children receiving gender-confirming medical care. According to the lawsuit filed Wednesday in Texas court, PFLAG National says Republican...

Bill to set minimum marriage age to 18 in Washington state heads to governor

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — A law to establish 18 as the minimum marriage age in Washington state is headed to the governor's desk for his signature. State lawmakers in the House and Senate passed House Bill 1455 this session after the measure stalled in the Senate last year and other...

Longtime GOP Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington state says she will not seek reelection

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Republican U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington state says she will not seek reelection after two decades in Congress. McMorris Rodgers, 54, the chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said in a statement Thursday she made the decision...

Washington state reaches a nearly $150 million settlement with Johnson & Johnson over opioid crisis

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — The Washington state attorney general announced a $149.5 million settlement Wednesday with drugmaker Johnson & Johnson, more than four years after the state sued the company over its role in the opioid addiction crisis. "They knew what the harm was. They...

Drugmaker Johnson & Johnson to pay Washington state and local governments nearly $150 million over role in opioid crisis

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Drugmaker Johnson & Johnson to pay Washington state and local governments nearly $150 million over role in opioid crisis.