Latest news, sports, business, and entertainment from Washington at 1:20 am PDT
IDAHO RECORDING
Shooting in Idaho: Very Few School Incidents by Girls
BOISE, Idaho (AP) – Authorities say they are trying to find out what prompted a young girl to open fire in a rural Idaho middle school, one of the few school shootings in which the suspect is female. Police say the girl pulled a gun from her backpack on Thursday morning and shot two other students and an adult steward. All three victims were shot in the extremities and none had life-threatening injuries. Steve Anderson, Jefferson County’s sheriff, says the investigation will likely “take a considerable amount of time”. Figures compiled by the group The Violence Project show that girls and women only commit 2% of mass and school shootings in the United States
TIRE CONTROL CRASH
Meineke Car Care pays 12.5 million in tire inspection lawsuit
SEATTLE (AP) – Meineke Car Care Centers paid $ 12.5 million to settle a lawsuit by an Everett woman who alleged a safety inspection missed a defective tire that caused an accident. Attorney Lawrence Kahn says the Meineke franchise notified Janyce MacKenzie that her tires had been checked when she visited the store in 2016. MacKenzie was driving on I-90 in Montana when the tire suddenly tore apart and she lost control of the SUV. She was thrown from the vehicle and suffered a traumatic brain injury and a leg injury that left her permanently in a wheelchair. Meineke’s lawyers have not returned any calls asking for comment.
OREGON LAWMAKER BREACH COVID
GOP lawmakers in Oregon Capitol to protest has indicted COVID
SALEM, Ore. (AP) – A Republican lawmaker who authorities said allowed violent protesters to enter the Oregon Capitol in December says he has contracted COVID-19. Rep. Mike Nearman said on a conservative radio talk show that he had a really bad case of COVID and was a little bit on the mend. Nearman will be heard Tuesday in Marion County Circuit Court for first degree misconduct and second degree felony for violating the State Capitol on December 21 by people protesting coronavirus restrictions. Nearman says he will go to court.
NEWSPAPER ADAPTER
Public Prosecutor: The paper carrier acted in self-defense when shooting
Clark County Attorneys will not file a criminal complaint against a contract newspaper owner who fatally shot and killed a man in Vancouver, Washington last month. According to Colombian reporting authorities, the man who was killed, identified as 29-year-old Kin K. Bossy, tried to steal the aircraft carrier’s car on the Vancouver waterfront on April 17 when he was shot multiple times. The Columbian independent newspaper hauler, identified by police as 35-year-old Justyn Vallandingham, shot Bossy after finding him in his vehicle. In a letter to a Vancouver police officer, Assistant Attorney General Jeff McCarty wrote Thursday that Bossy appeared to have committed a crime against Vallandingham who feared imminent danger or death.
GIG HARBOR BODY CAMERAS
Interference is hindering Gig Harbor’s police cameras
GIG HARBOR, Washington (AP) – A series of incidents has plagued the use of body cameras at the Gig Harbor, Washington Police Department. The News Tribune reports that the project has been in the works for almost a year, but technical issues have made it a rocky rollout. One of them happened in March when officials discovered that their car batteries were dead. It turns out that a bluetooth receiver drained the batteries by constantly checking to see if the camera was active. Police Chief Kelly Busey says 10 of the department’s 14 patrol cars are now equipped with the technology. Busey hopes the program will put her at the forefront in what he sees as a likely reform to be carried out nationwide.
PAINTED SWASTIKAS
Painted swastikas in Edmonds, Tulalip
EDMONDS, Washington (AP) – Police said they had responded to two separate reports of painted swastikas in Edmonds and Tulalip in the past week. The Daily Herald reported Monday that a Tulalip resident discovered a swastika and other Nazi symbols on an Interstate 5 flyover and notified a councilor. Last week, a resident of Edmonds saw swastikas on trees in Southwest County Park and reported them to a councilor. A joint statement by Executive Dave Somers and Snohomish County Council states that people must unite against any people or groups who use hate symbols, hate speech or hate crimes to intimidate or harm members of the community. The Nazi symbols have been removed.
FOUR STABBED LARGE PARTY
4 people threw a big party northeast of Bellingham
BELLINGHAM, Washington (AP) – Authorities say a Lynden man was arrested after four men were stabbed to death in a large group northeast of Bellingham in Everson. The Bellingham Herald reports that Whatcom County’s office booked Antonio Santiago Vazquez on Wednesday on suspicion of three knife attacks and one attack in the Whatcom County prison. The sheriff’s office says law enforcement responded around 2 a.m. on Wednesday. In the sheriff’s office it is said that a “several hundred” party was held at the Glen Echo Community Center. In the sheriff’s office it is said that a fight with “numerous” people has broken out. It was not immediately known whether Santiago Vazquez had a lawyer to comment on the case.
GRAND CANYON HIKE
Man accused of lying about a large group hike at the Grand Canyon
FLAGSTAFF, Arizona (AP) – A Washington state man is accused of breaking federal regulations by organizing a large group hike in the Grand Canyon. A complaint filed this week in the US Magistrate Court in Flagstaff claims Joseph Don Mount took more than 150 people into the gorge for a rim-to-rim hike in October. A special usage permit is required for groups of 12 to 30 people in normal years. Larger groups are not allowed, even if they split up. The park further restricted group size during the pandemic. Mount didn’t return a message from The Associated Press on Thursday. He is due to go to trial later this month.
ASIAN AMERICANS – HEALTH CARE AND HATE
Asian-American health workers fight viruses and racial attacks
NEW YORK (AP) – Asian and Pacific islanders’ health workers say they faced racial abuse and sometimes physical attack during the coronavirus pandemic. They feel the harrowing fear of being racially attacked for the virus as they strive to prevent people from dying from it. Around 100 medical professionals dressed in white coats gathered in New York in March to denounce anti-Asian hate crimes. Since the virus was first identified in China and then turned into a global crisis, there have been increasing reports of such crimes in the US.
AP-US-SNAKE-RIVER-DAMS
Feuds over dams on the Snake River arise among GOP legislators
SPOKANE, Washington (AP) – Some Northwest Republican Congressmen are accusing an Idaho legislature of secretly negotiating with the Democratic governor of Oregon over a controversial proposal to break four dams on the Snake River to save endangered salmon runs. But Idaho Republican MP Mike Simpson says he has been telling “anyone who would listen” for several years about his proposal for a comprehensive salmon rescue solution. On Wednesday, Washington Republican Representatives Dan Newhouse and Cathy McMorris Rodgers, as well as Oregon Republican Representative Cliff Bentz, issued a bold press release upon learning of a Freedom of Information Act release that clarified coordination between the Simpson offices and Oregon Governor Kate Brown detailed the proposal to break the four dams.