Pullers from the Puyallup Tribe head toward a landing during an annual canoe journey Wednesday in Seattle. Dozens of tribal canoes were arriving at Alki Beach in Seattle as part of an annual Native American celebration. Members of the Muckleshoot Tribe greeted the boats Wednesday afternoon as part of the 2016 Paddle to Nisqually.

Tribal canoes arrive at Seattle beach in annual celebration

SEATTLE — Dozens of tribal canoes were arriving at Alki Beach in Seattle as part of an annual Native American celebration.Members of the Muckleshoot Tribe… Continue reading

Pullers from the Puyallup Tribe head toward a landing during an annual canoe journey Wednesday in Seattle. Dozens of tribal canoes were arriving at Alki Beach in Seattle as part of an annual Native American celebration. Members of the Muckleshoot Tribe greeted the boats Wednesday afternoon as part of the 2016 Paddle to Nisqually.
This Tuesday, July 12, 2016 photo provided by the City of Bethel shows automobiles at the city's landfill in Bethel, Alaska. A decades-long tradition at one of Alaska's largest rural hubs has come to an end with a ban on the popular local practice of scavenging at the Bethel landfill. The recent clampdown in Bethel comes amid concerns that the dangerous conditions at the dump were creating a liability for the community. (Ann Capela/City of Bethel via AP)

Bethel bans tradition of scavenging at dump

ANCHORAGE — A decades-long tradition has come to an abrupt end in one of Alaska’s largest rural hubs with a ban on the popular practice… Continue reading

This Tuesday, July 12, 2016 photo provided by the City of Bethel shows automobiles at the city's landfill in Bethel, Alaska. A decades-long tradition at one of Alaska's largest rural hubs has come to an end with a ban on the popular local practice of scavenging at the Bethel landfill. The recent clampdown in Bethel comes amid concerns that the dangerous conditions at the dump were creating a liability for the community. (Ann Capela/City of Bethel via AP)

US gives tentative OK to flights to Cuba from 10 cities

WASHINGTON — The U.S. government on Thursday tentatively approved scheduled commercial airline service to Havana from 10 American cities, further bridging the gulf between countries… Continue reading

Genetically modified foods and the fight

WASHINGTON — It’s a food fight in Congress over genetically modified foods.The Senate is moving ahead on bipartisan legislation that would for the first time… Continue reading

Suicide by job: Farmers, lumberjacks, fishermen top the list

NEW YORK — Farmers, lumberjacks and fishermen have the highest suicide rate in the U.S., while librarians and educators have the lowest, according to a… Continue reading

The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol chairman J.P. Holyoak, hands over boxes of signatures to Arizona State Elections Director Eric Spencer, left, Thursday, June 30, 2016, in Phoenix. Organizers of the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol delivered signatures to state officials in an effort for their proposal to qualify for the ballot in November.

Arizona pot legalization supporters to submit petition

PHOENIX — Thousands of signatures to get an initiative legalizing marijuana in Arizona on the November ballot were submitted Thursday, likely making the state one… Continue reading

The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol chairman J.P. Holyoak, hands over boxes of signatures to Arizona State Elections Director Eric Spencer, left, Thursday, June 30, 2016, in Phoenix. Organizers of the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol delivered signatures to state officials in an effort for their proposal to qualify for the ballot in November.
In this October 2011 photo, a harbor seal pup rests on seaweed-covered rocks after coming in on the high tide in the West Seattle neighborhood of Seattle. As harbor seals are being born in the Pacific Northwest this time of year, marine mammal advocates are urging people not to touch or pick up pups that come up on beaches and shorelines to rest. At least five times this season, well-meaning people have illegally picked up seal pups in Oregon and Washington thinking they were abandoned or needed help, but that interference ultimately resulted in two deaths, said Michael Milstein, a spokesman with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

NOAA: Do not touch, pick up seal pups

SEATTLE — As harbor seals are being born in the Pacific Northwest, marine mammal advocates up and down the West Coast are urging people not… Continue reading

In this October 2011 photo, a harbor seal pup rests on seaweed-covered rocks after coming in on the high tide in the West Seattle neighborhood of Seattle. As harbor seals are being born in the Pacific Northwest this time of year, marine mammal advocates are urging people not to touch or pick up pups that come up on beaches and shorelines to rest. At least five times this season, well-meaning people have illegally picked up seal pups in Oregon and Washington thinking they were abandoned or needed help, but that interference ultimately resulted in two deaths, said Michael Milstein, a spokesman with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
ADVANCE FOR USE SATURDAY, JUNE 25 - In this photo taken June 13, 2016, Doug Russell, the manager of marine operations for the University of Washington's School of Oceanography, stands on the bridge of the research vessel Thomas G. Thompson in Seattle. The ship will be heading into dry dock for a yearlong, $34.5 million overhaul that will be paid for by the U.S. government and extend its life by another 25 to 30 years. (Johnny Andrews/The Seattle Times via AP)

Oceanographic research vessel gets a midlife overhaul

SEATTLE — Capt. Eric Haroldson calls the research ship he commands “the Buddy Hackett of oceanographic research.”“It’s kind of boxy,” he said of the gray,… Continue reading

ADVANCE FOR USE SATURDAY, JUNE 25 - In this photo taken June 13, 2016, Doug Russell, the manager of marine operations for the University of Washington's School of Oceanography, stands on the bridge of the research vessel Thomas G. Thompson in Seattle. The ship will be heading into dry dock for a yearlong, $34.5 million overhaul that will be paid for by the U.S. government and extend its life by another 25 to 30 years. (Johnny Andrews/The Seattle Times via AP)

Court limits authority of out-of-state police

PORTLAND, Ore. — The Oregon Court of Appeals has reversed a DUI conviction because the driver was pulled over by a Washington State Patrol trooper… Continue reading

Gripes grow along with marijuana-shielding fences

MURPHY, Ore. — They say good fences make good neighbors. Then there are the fences that enclose the growing number of Josephine County’s marijuana grow… Continue reading

In this June 11 photo, Damian Riniker, right, a marijuana reform advocate with the group NORML, stands by while a passerby signs a petition to get a pot club initiative on the ballot in the next election, in Denver.

Legal weed sparks debate: Why not allow pot clubs?

DENVER — Legal marijuana is giving Colorado a stinky conundrum. Visitors can buy the drug, but they can’t use it in public. Or in a… Continue reading

In this June 11 photo, Damian Riniker, right, a marijuana reform advocate with the group NORML, stands by while a passerby signs a petition to get a pot club initiative on the ballot in the next election, in Denver.

Killer appears to have been ‘homegrown extremist’

ORLANDO, Fla. — The gunman whose attack on a gay nightclub left 49 victims dead appears to have been a “homegrown extremist” who espoused support… Continue reading

Jermaine Towns, left, and Brandon Shuford wait down the street from a multiple shooting at a nightclub in Orlando, Fla., Sunday morning. Towns said his brother was in the club at the time. A gunman opened fire at a nightclub in central Florida, and multiple people have been wounded, police said Sunday.

50 slain in Orlando nightclub, worst mass shooting in US history

ORLANDO, Fla. — A gunman wielding an assault-type rifle and a handgun opened fire inside a crowded gay nightclub early Sunday, killing at least 50… Continue reading

Jermaine Towns, left, and Brandon Shuford wait down the street from a multiple shooting at a nightclub in Orlando, Fla., Sunday morning. Towns said his brother was in the club at the time. A gunman opened fire at a nightclub in central Florida, and multiple people have been wounded, police said Sunday.

State considers permanent ban on ohia transport

HILO, Hawaii (AP) — State officials are set to consider whether an emergency quarantine put into effect last summer to prevent the spread of a… Continue reading

Obama marks Memorial Day at Arlington

ARLINGTON, Va. — President Barack Obama challenged Americans on Memorial Day to fill the silence from those who died serving their country with love and… Continue reading

In this May 23 photo provided by NOAA Northwest Fisheries, an automated laboratory that will analyze seawater for algae species and toxins is lowered by researchers into the Pacific about 13 miles from La Push, Washington. After a massive toxic algae bloom closed lucrative shellfish fisheries off the West Coast last year, scientists are now turning to the new tool, dubbed "a laboratory in a can, that could provide early warning of future problems. It is expected to provide real-time data on concentrations of six species of microscopic algae and toxins they produce, including domoic acid.

Ocean ‘robot’ to help identity toxic algae off Washington

SEATTLE — After a massive toxic algae bloom closed lucrative shellfish fisheries off the West Coast last year, scientists are turning to a new tool… Continue reading

In this May 23 photo provided by NOAA Northwest Fisheries, an automated laboratory that will analyze seawater for algae species and toxins is lowered by researchers into the Pacific about 13 miles from La Push, Washington. After a massive toxic algae bloom closed lucrative shellfish fisheries off the West Coast last year, scientists are now turning to the new tool, dubbed "a laboratory in a can, that could provide early warning of future problems. It is expected to provide real-time data on concentrations of six species of microscopic algae and toxins they produce, including domoic acid.
In this file photo taken in November 2014, Juneau photographer Mark Kelley reads to students in teacher Kitty Eddy’s K-1 Tlingit Language and Culture Classroom from his recently released book titled “Once Upon Alaska: A Kids Photo Book” at Harborview Elementary School.

Teaching kids to read: Portland public schools reject usual reading approach

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Portland Public Schools, searching for a new way to teach young students to read and write after years of struggle, has… Continue reading

In this file photo taken in November 2014, Juneau photographer Mark Kelley reads to students in teacher Kitty Eddy’s K-1 Tlingit Language and Culture Classroom from his recently released book titled “Once Upon Alaska: A Kids Photo Book” at Harborview Elementary School.
In this May 9 photo, Earl Wineck, 88, poses for a photo at the Alaska Veterans Museum in Anchorage. Wineck, who scanned the skies over Alaska for Japanese warplanes during World War II, supports President Barack Obama's visit to Hiroshima later this week.

Obama’s Hiroshima visit stirs differing views across Pacific

TOKYO — Two very different visions of the hell that is war are seared into the minds of World War II survivors on opposite sides… Continue reading

In this May 9 photo, Earl Wineck, 88, poses for a photo at the Alaska Veterans Museum in Anchorage. Wineck, who scanned the skies over Alaska for Japanese warplanes during World War II, supports President Barack Obama's visit to Hiroshima later this week.

Risks in climbing Everest in focus as 3 die, 2 go missing

KATHMANDU, Nepal — An Indian climber has died while being helped down Mount Everest, just a couple of days after a Dutch and an Australian… Continue reading

Ted Cruz ends his bid for Republican presidential nomination

INDIANAPOLIS — Texas Sen. Ted Cruz ended his presidential campaign Tuesday, eliminating the biggest impediment to Donald Trump’s march to the Republican nomination.The conservative tea… Continue reading