Keep Pushing: We Get 10 More Days to Reform Section 702 In a dramatic middle-of-the-night stand off, a bipartisan set of lawmakers pushing for true reform and privacy protections for Americans bought us some more time to fight! They are holding out for, at...

Privacy stalwarts in Congress just bought us 10 more days to put together a bill that actually reforms Section 702. Keep pushing.

Texas Medical Board Sanctions Three Doctors for Delayed Care That Led to the Deaths of Two Pregnant Women The two women died during miscarriages. The state’s medical board has ruled that substandard care led to their deaths.

NEW: Porsha Ngumezi and Nevaeh Crain died during miscarriages in Texas after doctors delayed treatment.

The state’s medical board has ruled that substandard care led to the deaths, but the doctors were given minimal punishment.

By Kavitha Surana and Lizzie Presser

Robo-Cops: AI Is Coming For Your Local Police As Northwest police departments adopt artificial intelligence, some see a dystopian nightmare. Others see an inevitable future

If you've not signed up for @thewesternedge.bsky.social yet, do it. It's top-notch investigative reporting in the PNW.

Take for example this chilling dive into Axon, as law enforcement agencies weigh the pros and cons of using AI in their work.

www.thewesternedge.media/p/robo-cops-...

@aurora.nws-bot.us @noaacomms.noaa.gov What happened to the data? Like, were is the data?

Also, where did this missing data graphic come from -- it's kind of wild!

(Guess I'll just have to look at the sky tonight and see what I see.)

Whatcom County courts expand virtual access after immigration arrests | Cascadia Daily News Series of immigration-related arrests outside courthouse prompted judges to take action

Showing how local officials are pushing back on federal immigration enforcement efforts from @annietodd.bsky.social

www.cascadiadaily.com/2026/apr/15/...

State court sides with Healthy Children's Fund supporters against tax repeal initiative | Cascadia Daily News Whatcom County judge's 2024 decision affirmed by court of appeals

The state Court of Appeals has upheld Whatcom County's voter-approved Healthy Children's Fund.

Border wall blasting hits a treasured New Mexico mountain - High Country News A planned 1.3-mile wall across Mount Cristo Rey has drawn opposition from environmentalists and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces.

A planned 1.3-mile wall across Mount Cristo Rey has drawn opposition from environmentalists and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces, shares Puente News Collaborative.

Famed mountaineer Jim Whittaker, first American atop Mount Everest, dies at 97 | Cascadia Daily News Longtime Port Townsend resident inspired generations of alpinists, defined an active NW outdoor lifestyle

An American hero passes: Jim Whittaker, a Northwest icon and climbing legend who in 1963 became the first American to stand atop Mount Everest, has died in Port Townsend at the age of 97.

Wildlife Conservation Police Are Searching Thousands of Flock Cameras for ICE Ron DeSantis has empowered hundreds of Florida conservation police to work directly with ICE.

Wildlife conservation police are searching thousands of Flock cameras for ICE. Shows that ICE surveillance may come through even the most unlikely agencies. Searches explicitly mention immigration and ICE www.404media.co/floridas-wil...

Hearing Examiner scolds Whatcom County for AltaGas permitting process, orders redo | Cascadia Daily News Environmentalists hail decision as victory for Salish Sea

The Hearing examiner kicked the projects’ review back to the county permitting department on Tuesday, March 31, requiring it to conduct a fresh assessment of the terminal’s capacity and redo its environmental analysis based on those findings...

www.cascadiadaily.com/2026/apr/01/...

"The people of this state do not yield their sovereignty to the agencies that serve them. The people, in delegating authority, do not give their public servants the right to decide what is good for the people to know and what is not good for them to know," Washington State Legislative declaration.

Because the people must trust government employees to follow public record laws, it is always troubling to discover any discrepancies.

That said, I appreciate that the County takes this huge responsibility so seriously as it faces an increase in the number and complexity of records requests.

Archiver glitch leads to unfulfilled public records requests at Whatcom County | Cascadia Daily News CDN request triggers internal review after receiving ‘zero’ responsive records

It is so important to never forget that the government works for us. We pay for the computers government employees use and the time they spend writing emails and creating all sorts of records -- records that belong to us.

#PublicRecords @cascadiadaily.com

www.cascadiadaily.com/2026/jan/28/...

John Wesselink, Bellingham's local tree expert, dies at 80 | Cascadia Daily News Retired mail deliverer mapped city's exceptional trees

A beautifully written news obituary by @j-tell.bsky.social. I never met Wesselink, but this piece has inspired me to plant a tree in his honor.

(It's hard to imagine how many beautiful stories of people's lives in communities across the U.S. are lost because of news deserts.)

shorturl.at/JecAL

Caption: Flood waters spread out across Deming as the Nooksack recedes on Dec. 10.

“I feel like we weren’t prepared for 2021 at all, and we worked really hard to be prepared, and we still weren’t prepared for this one,” Deming resident Alexandra Williams said of the community of about 600 people.

A swift water rescue was deployed to save one woman from her RV after floodwaters trapped, and dozens of homes and buildings were inundated overnight. Unbeknownst to the residents, the new county alert system they registered for was never operational, according to a @cascadiadaily.com investigation.

It did not.

While other communities in the county did receive alerts, Deming and much of unincorporated Whatcom County were left to make their own call on when to evacuate.

Deming residents expected flood evacuation alert from county — it never came | Cascadia Daily News Warning system they signed up for was never operational, according to CDN investigation

🧵 Deming residents signed up for a new county alert system in 2023 after the life-threatening flood in 2021 devastated the unincorporated community in Whatcom County.

So when flooding was predicted on Dec. 9, they assumed an evacuation alert would go out...

www.cascadiadaily.com/2026/jan/26/...

What's the Deal With: The collection of old farm equipment near Deming? | Cascadia Daily News Dennis Vander Yacht has collected pieces of his family history

For Dennis Vander Yacht, the old farm and logging equipment spread across his property near Deming tells the story of his family history.

Here are three steps you can take to start organizing your hospital to defend patients and staff against ICE. This is based on the experience of workers and rights groups in Minneapolis.

Share it with the healthcare workers in your life and read more at the piece linked down thread.

Agents detain and send 2-year-old girl and her father to Texas despite court order to release toddler Attorneys for the family say they were asylum-seekers who were pulled over without a warrant and did not have a final order for removal.

ICE grabbed a 2 year old child and her father as they were coming home from a grocery store.

There was a court order that the child was to be released… ICE put her on a plane to Texas instead.

Chloe Renata Tipan Villacis is only 2 and has already had her rights violated

F.B.I. Agent Who Tried to Investigate ICE Officer in Shooting Resigns

Breaking NYT:

The FBI agent who sought to investigate the federal immigration officer who fatally shot Renee Good has resigned from the bureau, according to two people familiar with the matter, after leadership pressured her to discontinue a civil rights inquiry into the officer.

For tribes in NW WA, flooding is a fact of life — but it’s getting worse | Cascadia Daily News Tribes in Whatcom, Skagit counties talk river management after December flooding

Tribes in Whatcom and Skagit counties are talking river management after December's destructive flooding.

Police records: Alleged D.C. shooter was assaulted, robbed in Bellingham last year | Cascadia Daily News Person who provided gun to Lakanwal believed it was for personal protection, says FBI

The man accused of shooting two National Guard members in November 2025 in Washington, D.C., was pepper-sprayed and robbed in downtown Bellingham months before purchasing the firearm used in the fatal attack, according to Bellingham Police Department records.

www.cascadiadaily.com/2026/jan/22/...

Weighing responsibilities: When reporter navigates floodwaters at home, work | Cascadia Daily News Facing failure to prioritize family during initial warnings

As reporters, we’re prepared to cover disasters. As local journalists, we know those tragedies will be within our community. But what I failed to consider was how to navigate a natural disaster that threatens both communities in our coverage area and my family.

www.cascadiadaily.com/2026/jan/11/...

They were approved for FEMA money to flood-proof their homes. They flooded anyway | Cascadia Daily News Sixteen Whatcom County homes are waiting for home-elevation funds to be released

A stellar piece by @annietodd.bsky.social detailing how FEMA grant holdups allowed for houses flooded in 2021 to be inundated with water again this December.

The glacial pace of government has real-world impacts on individuals and communities.

www.cascadiadaily.com/2026/jan/17/...

National Guard shooting suspect ‘fell through the cracks’ in Bellingham | Cascadia Daily News Patchwork of mental health resources available for Afghan refugees who fought for U.S.

We very rarely have to compete with national outlets on coverage but @simonelli.bsky.social proves here that CDN is absolutely up to the task.

Last year when I wrote about prison staff jumping ship for ICE, I reported that BOP had lost a net of at least 1400 employees by late fall.

I just got new data showing they lost a net of ~1700 by mid-December -- though w/EOY retirements the final 2025 figures will likely be higher.

BIG FIGHT AT POLAND’S WROCLAW ZOO!!!