Latest Washington Headlines

All the headlines from our Washington Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Suspected Gas Explosion in Pennsylvania Reduces Home to Rubble; Five Injured

Aug 5 2019 // An explosion believed to have been caused by a gas leak reduced a western Pennsylvania home to a pile of rubble and injured five people.The blast just before 4 p.m. Wednesday near a high school in North Franklin Township...

Regulator Says U.S. Railroads Still Have Work to Do Installing Key Safety Technology

Aug 2 2019 // The railroad industry has installed safety technology on nearly 90% of tracks where it is required, federal officials said Wednesday, but “significant work” is needed to ensure the technology is completely...

Sun Valley Climate Conference’s Broad Agenda: Wildfires, Military, Insurance, Resilience

Aug 1 2019 // Washington had a record 1,850 responses to wildfires on Department of Natural Resources lands last year.Over the last five years, wildfires have continued to hit the state hard. One state official, who believes climate...

Kentucky Teen’s $250M Defamation Suit Against Washington Post Dismissed

Jul 31 2019 // A federal judge has thrown out a Kentucky teen’s lawsuit accusing the Washington Post of falsely labeling him a racist following an encounter with a Native American man at the Lincoln Memorial.Nicholas Sandmann, a...

Washington Commissioner Fined Carriers, Producers and Others $724K in June

Jul 25 2019 // Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler disciplined and issued fines in July totaling $724,000 against insurance companies, agents and brokers and others who violated state insurance regulations.Following are the...

Roundup Not Only Monsanto Legal Woe For Bayer; PCB Claims Still Coming

Jul 24 2019 // The widening legal nightmare over Roundup weedkillers isn’t the only potential multi-billion-dollar liability Bayer AG inherited last year when it acquired Monsanto Co.While thousands of damage claims over Roundup...

Washington Woman Charged with Running Construction Business While on Disability

Jul 23 2019 // A Spokane, Wash.-area woman faces a felony theft charge for allegedly running a construction business while claiming she was too disabled to work.Deborah J. Steeneck, 59, is accused of stealing more than $11,000 in...

Judge Permits Short-Term Health Plans in Blow to Obamacare Supporters

Jul 19 2019 // The Trump administration can expand the sale of short-term health insurance policies that don’t meet the standards of the Affordable Care Act, a federal judge ruled, advancing the government’s efforts to undo...

Boeing Creates $50M Crash Victims’ Fund; Hires Feinberg to Oversee

Jul 18 2019 // Boeing Co. said on Wednesday it will dedicate half of a $100 million fund it created after two crashes of its 737 MAX planes to provide payments to families of those killed, with veteran U.S. compensation expert Ken...

Premera Blue Cross in Northwest to Pay States $10M in Data Breach

Jul 16 2019 // Premera Blue Cross, the largest health insurer in the Pacific Northwest, has agreed to pay $10 million to 30 states following an investigation into a data breach that exposed confidential information on more than 10...

4.6, 3.5 Magnitude Earthquakes Rattle Greater Seattle Area

Jul 15 2019 // Two earthquakes shook the Puget Sound region in Washington state early Friday morning, with the temblors felt into British Columbia and across the Cascade Mountains into the eastern part of the state.There were no...

Alliant Acquires Degginger McIntosh & Associates in Washington

Jul 8 2019 // Alliant Insurance Services Inc. has acquired Degginger McIntosh & Associates in Washington.Keith Degginger, the firm’s president, along with fellow principal Ken McIntosh and the entire Degginger McIntosh team,...

Trump Administration to Ease Rules on Truckers’ Maximum Hours on Road

Jul 3 2019 // Truck driver Lucson Francois was forced to hit the brakes just five minutes from his home in Pennsylvania.He’d reached the maximum number of hours in a day he’s allowed to be on duty. Francois couldn’t...

Complacency Cited in Fatal 2017 Washington Train Crash

Jun 27 2019 // The vice chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board in the final report on a deadly Amtrak derailment in Washington in 2017 blasted what he described as a “Titanic-like complacency” among those...

Former Washington Agent Pleads Guilty to Writing Fake Auto Policies

Jun 26 2019 // Lilibeth Brulotte, a former Washington insurance agent, pleaded guilty in Pierce County Superior Court to third-degree theft in connection with writing fake auto insurance policies.Brulotte’s sentence was deferred...

Washington State Utility Caused Fatal Fire, Lawsuit Contends

Jun 26 2019 // The family of a Washington man who died in a house fire has filed a lawsuit against a public utility.The Everett Herald reported that the family of 93-year-old Glen Allen filed the wrongful death lawsuit against the...

Washington Hotel Owner Faces Charges Over Asbestos Removal, Fined $355K

Jun 24 2019 // A Seattle, Wash. hotel owner is facing a felony perjury charge and state Clean Air Act violations after authorities said he lied about having uncertified workers remove asbestos during a renovation.Attorney General Bob...

Oil Shippers Continue Sailing Through Strait of Hormuz – with Heightened Security

Jun 21 2019 // A series of attacks on oil tankers near the Persian Gulf has ratcheted up tensions between the U.S. and Iran – and raised fears over the safety of one of Asia’s most vital energy trade routes, where about a fifth...

Washington Supreme Court Rules Against Florist in Gay Wedding Case

Jun 17 2019 // A florist who refused to provide floral arrangements for the wedding of a same-sex couple violated the state’s consumer protection and anti-discrimination laws, Washington’s Supreme Court has ruled.The ruling...

Washington Proposes Changes to Safety Rules for Refinery Workers

Jun 17 2019 // Washington state officials are working to revise regulations that aim to keep oil refinery workers safe.The state Department of Labor and Industries has developed a new set of rules that include updates to equipment safety...