Open Newswire

Environmentalists are seeking Endangered Species Act protections for an Arctic-dwelling bird that has not been documented in Alaska since 2018. The Center for Biological Diversity last week submitted a petition to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service requesting an endangered listing for the gray-capped chickadee, a bird that dwells on the northern edge of the […]

Según el último balance presentado por el presidente de la Asamblea Nacional, Jorge Rodríguez, emitido hoy 30 de junio, el saldo letal de los terremotos del pasado 24 de junio es de 1.943 personas fallecidas, 10.571 heridas y 15.866 damnificadas. Se trata de números que posiblemente aumenten durante los próximos días, a medida que los datos se vayan recabando y actualizando. El diputado indicó que, por el momento, se registran 855 edificios afectados en todos los estados del país. Unos 189 de ellos se catalogaron como edificaciones en colapso total. En otro parte anterior también se registraron 666 como edificaciones en colapso parcial registradas. De las colapsadas, se registran en el litoral central 158 estructuras, resaltando el hecho de que aproximadamente 30 mil personas se encontraban en las zonas de mayor riesgo (Caraballeda y Catia La Mar, en el estado La Guaira) al momento exacto de los sismos. Asimismo, se ha anunciado oficialmente que 38 hospitales resultaron con daños y que 44 centros e instalaciones comerciales resultaron afectados con diversos niveles de daños estructurales o deterioros. Según distintos medios de comunicación, el Puerto de La Guaira, el segundo más importante del país, también sufrió afectaciones serias, clausurando totalmente sus operaciones. Mientras que el Aeropuerto Internacional de Maiquetía Simón Bolívar, el principal punto de conexión internacional aérea de Venezuela, fue cerrado y sometido a evaluaciones por daños evidentes. La coyuntura ha implicado una movilización extraordinaria de recursos humanos y materiales. Rodríguez señaló que más de 30 mil funcionarios públicos de instituciones civiles y militares actúan en los estados afectados. Hasta este fin de semana, se habían aglutinado más de 7 millones de kilogramos de alimentos desde distintos centros de acopio, incluyendo más de 700 mil litros de agua (números con tendencia a subir). La atención se destina especialmente a unas 80.870 familias atendidas en las zonas afectadas. De ellas, más de 12 mil habían recibido cuidados médicos hasta el momento. El foco de atención son los casi 16 mil damnificados, una cifra que probablemente siga incrementando al consolidarse a detalle el balance de pérdidas totales, tanto en infraestructuras habitacionales como en edificaciones comerciales. La población que ha perdido sus hogares ha sido organizada y alojada en campamentos temporales que demandarán un esfuerzo significativo en recursos para su atención. Rodríguez anunció que el Ejecutivo ordenó optimizar el soporte médico y psicológico en los albergues provisorios y acelerar los planes de reparación y sustitución de viviendas. Lo que sugieren estos datos es que las denominaciones y dimensiones de los costos ocasionados por el desastre son cuantiosos, inéditos en la historia venezolana. De hecho, no hay precisión hasta la fecha sobre el impacto económico total que tendrían los terremotos. Sin embargo, las estimaciones no se han hecho esperar. Veamos PRIMERAS ESTIMACIONES Una evaluación realizada por el Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo (PNUD), mediante análisis de imágenes satelitales de alta resolución, sitúa el rango total de los daños estructurales y activos económicos esenciales entre los 4.700 y 8.700 millones de dólares. Según esa estimación, el rango de daños es equivalente a entre un 5-8% del PIB. Centenares de edificaciones residenciales se derrumbaron por completo o sufrieron daños severos tras el doblete sísmico de magnitudes 7,2 y 7,5. El impacto habitacional constituye el mayor porcentaje del costo económico total. Por otra parte, los mayores daños se concentran en el norte del país, afectando fuertemente a localidades de La Guaira y distritos de la capital de Caracas, principalmente Los Palos Grandes y Altamira en el municipio Chacao. También se registraron edificaciones perdidas en Tucacas (estado Falcón), en Valencia (estado Carabobo) y en Maracay (estado Aragua). Los sistemas hospitalarios y los servicios públicos esenciales en la zona de influencia de los terremotos se encuentran bajo máxima presión, lidiando con afectaciones de infraestructura. Las estimaciones iniciales incluyen la existencia de riesgos geológicos secundarios. El Servicio Geológico de los Estados Unidos (USGS) advierte que fenómenos como los deslizamientos de tierra y la licuefacción del suelo continúan agravando la destrucción de los activos económicos superficiales y las vías de transporte. El USGS, mediante un tabulador construido sobre un modelo matemático preliminar basado en la intensidad y vulnerabilidad estructural, establece un rango de daños y costos muy amplio: no menor de 10.000 millones de dólares y hasta los 100.000 millones de dólares. Es, hasta ahora, la estimación más amplia y ambigua que se haya divulgado. El economista venezolano Asdrúbal Oliveros ha estimado pérdidas directas que escalan al 8,5% del PIB al incluir comercio y logística, por un monto de 9.000 millones de dólares. Es importante destacar que, para hacer una estimación de costos con perspectiva de largo aliento, deben separarse los costos concretos en pérdidas directas registradas con el desastre de los costos adicionales que se registrarán en los próximos meses y años por diversas razones. Debe incluirse no solamente el valor neto de las infraestructuras y bienes materiales perdidos. En realidad, la crisis acarrea lidiar con costos incrementales en la atenuación de las secuelas en la economía venezolana, de considerable inflación. Además, formarán parte de la estructura de gastos la atención humanitaria a los afectados durante un periodo prolongado y otras consecuencias derivadas de los daños estructurales, riesgos geológicos, reordenamiento urbano e infraestructuras públicas y privadas que presentarán secuelas derivadas de los eventos sísmicos. Un elemento a incorporar en el balance es el lucro cesante, las actividades económicas que se han visto paralizadas, interrumpidas, y que seguirán así por tiempo indefinido y lo que ella implica en costos económicos o ganancias no devengadas. Solo en La Guaira, el Puerto de La Guaira, el Aeropuerto de Maiquetía, centros comerciales y servicios turísticos han sufrido daños muy serios; hay incertidumbre sobre la reapertura de estas actividades y esto se va a colateralizar en el desempeño económico del país de este año. Suponiendo que las pérdidas netas se registren en 8.000 o 9.000 millones de dólares, los datos sugieren un coste total a largo plazo de entre 12.000 y 15.000 millones de dólares, considerando los gastos actuales que genera la coyuntura, la atención de secuelas derivadas, la atención de las víctimas y damnificados y la inversión requerida en los próximos meses y años para levantar la infraestructura habitacional, de infraestructura y económica afectada. SANCIONES Y AYUDA INTERNACIONAL Aunque insuficiente, para mitigar el impacto humanitario y financiero de los devastadores sismos en Venezuela, la Oficina de Control de Activos Extranjeros (OFAC) del Departamento del Tesoro de los Estados Unidos emitió una medida legal clave el 25 de junio de 2026. La Licencia General N.º 60 (LG 60). Se trata de una autorización por tiempo bastante delimitado y vencerá el 23 de octubre de 2026. Esta orden administrativa flexibiliza de manera temporal el régimen de sanciones vigentes sobre el país para agilizar la asistencia internacional. El documento autoriza todas las operaciones y transacciones financieras destinadas a las labores de socorro, asistencia humanitaria, evacuación y recuperación derivadas de la emergencia sísmica. El Departamento del Tesoro aclara en sus notas que se aprueba expresamente el procesamiento o transferencia de fondos de personas o entidades de terceros países hacia o desde Venezuela, abriendo una ruta legal crítica para donaciones de actores sancionados o no regulados previamente. Exime de responsabilidades a las instituciones financieras de Estados Unidos y transmisores de dinero registrados. Estos bancos pueden tramitar remesas y fondos de emergencia confiando en la información del emisor sobre el cumplimiento de la norma. La licencia también establece ciertos límites claves: queda prohibido expresamente el desbloqueo de cualquier tipo de propiedad congelada de forma previa bajo el Reglamento de Sanciones contra Venezuela. En el presente, Venezuela tiene retenidos miles de millones de dólares en activos líquidos, oro y bienes (como la empresa Citgo Petroleum, en suelo estadounidense) que superan el valor de 20.000 millones; según algunas estimaciones, el monto arriba hasta los 30.000 millones de dólares. Estos elementos indican que las sanciones ilegales extranjeras siguen siendo un contrapeso muy grande que afecta las posibilidades de recuperación de Venezuela en todos los plazos. De hecho, la LG 60 podría considerarse una prueba irrefutable del carácter agresivo y destructivo del régimen de sanciones contra la población venezolana, pues desnuda dos realidades fundamentales: la primera es que Venezuela ha sido tan vetada del sistema internacional que ni siquiera contaba con aval para recibir la ayuda humanitaria extranjera, la misma que líderes opositores venezolanos azuzaron tanto durante años. En segundo lugar, que el mismo gobierno estadounidense debe crear garantías frente a sus bancos de que no actuarán contra ellos por procesar el flujo de ayuda financiera, demostrando así el problema del "sobrecumplimiento" (overcompliance) en el marco del estricto régimen de sanciones. Si bien parte de los efectos de los terremotos pudieran mitigarse a partir de la ayuda internacional, los montos que podrían recibirse no pueden estimarse claramente en el presente, ya que la mayoría de la ayuda recibida, hasta el momento, se concentra en bienes humanitarios y recursos humanos para atender la catástrofe, pero ello no sugiere una recuperación efectiva de los bienes perdidos en el corto plazo. Una de las posibilidades que abre la licencia es que, en el contexto coyuntural, Venezuela pueda recibir donaciones masivas mediante un mecanismo internacional de recaudación, lo cual podría incluir la participación de entes internacionales, como el Sistema de Naciones Unidas, que pudieran destinar ciertos recursos para la recuperación. Pero esto, viniendo de la mano de la ONU, es incierto, dando por sentada la insolvencia financiera que hoy afecta al ente. Esto sugiere que las oportunidades reales para Venezuela yacen en poder construir mecanismos efectivos de recaudación mediante mecanismos sólidos, que permitan canalizar la ayuda financiera o en bienes, de parte de gobiernos, organizaciones, instituciones y personas particulares venezolanas o extranjeras. El gran obstáculo de ello sería la discrecionalidad estadounidense bajo el paraguas del régimen de restricciones, esto pese a que hoy exista una ventana abierta en forma de licencia que se cerrará en octubre. De ahí que sea muy probable que el gobierno venezolano continúe mediando su situación frente a Estados Unidos, abogando por un desmantelamiento definitivo de las sanciones ilegales. 30 Jun 2026, 8:04 pm. Etiquetas:  Economía, Venezuela, Terremoto, Bloque tematico Lupa económica Foto Sección Venezuela Tendencia Especial Antetítulo Estimaciones y aristas de una economía sancionada

ເຈົ້າໜ້າທີ່ສາທາ ຊີ້ແຈງຜົນກວດເບື້ອງຕົ້ນ ບໍ່ມີສານພິດໃນໂຮງງານນໍ້າດື່ມ.

Hizkuntza eskakizunen gaian, EAJren proposamenak egin du aurrera Eusko legebiltzarrean, EH Bildu abstenituta. Josu Aztiria EH Bilduko legebiltzarkidea negoziazioetan aritu da. Jeltzaleen proposamenaren edukietan ados ez egonda, ibilbidea negoziatu dute: EAJrena ez bada eraginkorra oldarraldiari eusteko, Galiziako eta Kataluniako ereduetarako bidea abiatuko dute, alegia, EH Bilduren proposamenak oinarria duen norabidean. ARGIAk bi alderdi politikoei eskatu die elkarrizketa, eta EAJk ezezkoa eman du.

Funding for the Mass. Department of Early Education and Care increased by 125 percent between 2020 and 2025, helping support providers and expand capacity.

Lincoln Avenue School alumni and parents of current students were heartbroken Tuesday to learn that the school was destroyed in a blaze. The post ‘More than just a building’: South Side residents devastated over massive Lincoln Avenue School fire appeared first on Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service.

အများပြည်သူဆိုင်ရာချောင်းမြေပေါ်မှာ ခွင့်ပြုချက်မရှိဘဲ ဆောက်ထားတာလို့ဆိုပေမယ့် ဂရန်ပေါက်ပြီးသားအိမ်တွေလည်းပါနေ။

აშშ-ის უზენაესმა სასამართლომ დაადგინა, რომ აშშ-ში დაბადებულ ბავშვებს აქვთ მოქალაქეობის კონსტიტუციური უფლება, რითაც უარყო დონალდ ტრამპის მცდელობა გაეუქმებინა აშშ-ის 150-წლიანი პოლიტიკა მის ტერიტორიაზე დაბადებული ბავშვებისთვის მოქალაქეობის მინიჭებაზე. 9-დან 6-მა მსაჯულმა დაუჭირა მხარი გადაწყვეტილებას, რომ, კონსტიტუციის მე-14 შესწორების თანახმად, აშშ-ში „უკანონოდ ან დროებით მყოფი მშობლების“ შვილები, რომლებიც დაიბადნენ აშშ-ის ტერიტორიაზე, „დაბადებისთანავე მოქალაქეები არიან“. პრეზიდენტ ტრამპს...

New Jersey lawmakers approved a fee on companies that have at least 50 workers covered by Medicaid to raise $145 million for the state.

After winning every game in their group for the first time in their history, Mexico faces their toughest opponent yet.

(The Center Square) – California’s gas tax is going up 2.2 cents Wednesday, bringing the tax to 63.4 cents a gallon in a state that often sees the nation's highest gas prices. The state’s gas tax is scheduled to go up every year on July 1 under a 2017 law, Senate Bill 1, in order to pay for California’s roads, highways and public transportation systems, according to a bill analysis. That law required the gas tax to be adjusted annually based on the California Consumer Price Index, a list of the average price Californians pay for various goods and services. According to a transportation funding report from the Legislative Analyst’s Office, the gas tax was expected to generate $7.6 billion in fiscal year 2025-26. Of that money, roughly $1.9 billion went to the road maintenance and rehabilitation account, $2.5 billion went to cities and counties to pay for their roads and public transit, and $4 billion was put into the State Highway Account. However, some lawmakers like Sen. Tony Strickland, R-Huntington Beach, think of the money generated by the gas tax as a way to pay for failing transportation projects such as the long-delayed, high-speed rail. “A large reason why they did this back in 2017 is having a funding source for what I call the high-speed fail,” Strickland told The Center Square on Tuesday morning. “We should pull the plug on that, and then we wouldn’t have to raise taxes on hardworking California families at the gas pump.” Paired with other taxes and fees on gasoline, California’s gas tax and fee burden is already the highest in the country, hitting 70.9 cents per gallon, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. By comparison, the lowest gas tax and fee burden in the country is in Alaska, at only nine cents a gallon. Data from The California Department of Tax and Fee Administration shows that since 2017, the state’s gas tax has gone up, generating $7.94 billion in revenue in fiscal year 2024-25 to pay for the state’s transportation system. Numbers showing how much revenue the state collected from the gas tax in fiscal year 2025-2026 have not yet been published. Despite the state’s gas tax getting even higher this year, Assemblymember Alex Lee, D-Milpitas, said the price at the pump is going up, in large part, due to the conflict with Iran. He also placed much of the blame on the federal administration in driving up gas prices. “President Trump has inarguably worsened the gas price crisis because when he launched an unbridled and unmitigated attack on Iran, gas prices have become very, very volatile and they could go back up again,” Lee told The Center Square on Tuesday afternoon. Lee also said the increase in the state’s gas tax is needed to generate enough revenue to maintain the state’s transportation system. “I do think it’s necessary for the upkeep of our roads,” Lee said. “Our roads need that because there’s so many cars on the road right now, and especially as we figure out how EV drivers factor into the equation. We have to figure out how EV drivers pay for road maintenance.” A bill introduced earlier this year, Assembly Bill 1421, proposed the study of a per-mile road use charge to increase state revenues to help pay for roads, highways and other taxpayer-funded transit infrastructure. That bill aimed to increase revenues that have been declining in recent years because of the number of electric vehicles sold in California and because the number of gallons sold statewide each year has gone down, The Center Square previously reported. According to AAA, the average price of a gallon of gas in California on Tuesday was $5.43, above the national average of $3.85. The only state with a higher price was Hawaii at $5.47 a gallon. In California, the counties with the highest average gas prices included Mono with $6.74 a gallon, Inyo at $6.16 a gallon and Sierra with $6.10 a gallon. The cheapest gas in the state on Tuesday was in Sutter County, at $5.17 a gallon. The state with the cheapest gas in the country on Tuesday was Indiana, at $3.18 a gallon.

(The Center Square) - Criminal defense attorney Karim Merchant is positioning himself as a candidate willing to challenge what he describes as an establishment culture on the Washington Supreme Court. Merchant, a former King County public defender who now operates his own practice, is challenging Chief Justice Debra Stephens for Position 7. Family law attorney David Shelvey and tax attorney Todd Bloom are also running, but only the top two candidates will advance to the fall election. Stephens has sat on the left-leaning court since former Gov. Christine Gregoire appointed her in 2007, and five of her eight peers sitting on the bench were also initially appointed by Democratic governors. The crowded August primary comes as a lawsuit challenging the state’s new income tax moves through the courts. Merchant said that, if elected, he would “apply the law as written” rather than making decisions based on “partisan politics and ideology.” He argues that the Supreme Court needs a fresh perspective from someone who has spent their career representing the people rather than corporations or government. In a recent interview with The Center Square, Merchant discussed his judicial philosophy and a lack of experience as a judge, the court’s role in tax litigation, his thoughts on the Quinn ruling, which upheld the state’s capital gains tax as an excise tax rather than an income tax, the Blake decision and more. The following Q&A has been edited for length, clarity and readability. The Center Square: For voters just starting to pay attention to this race, can you explain your judicial philosophy and why you decided to run for the Washington Supreme Court? Merchant: My judicial philosophy is pretty straightforward: follow the Constitution. I feel like, over the last couple of decades, our Supreme Court has strayed away from its institutional responsibility, which is to faithfully interpret the Constitution, responsibly consider the separation of powers and respect the rule of law. I believe the opinions from the Supreme Court have become politicized over the years. If elected, I would be the voice of reason on the court, and I intend to bring an unseen level of transparency. Since I filed on May 8, I have had an opportunity to really examine the history of the Supreme Court. I’ve followed the court for quite some time because of my practice as a criminal defense attorney, but when you start to look at the policies and decisions that come out, especially on tax and spending, it is clear to me that the Washington Supreme Court is applying inconsistent standards. When it comes to tax increases, the court makes it incredibly difficult to invalidate them. When it comes to relief, like the $30 car tabs, they use a different standard that makes it easier to invalidate. Washingtonians need someone who will fight for them when nine lawyers make decisions behind closed chambers. I believe I’m the one who is going to be fighting for them. The Center Square: You’re up against Chief Justice Debra Stephens, who has served on the bench for years. Why should voters replace her with someone who has never been a judge? Merchant: What sets me apart is that I’ve been in the trenches. For the first 15 years of my career, I was a public defender in King County Superior Court. When it comes to the criminal justice system, whether you’re a prosecutor, public defender or judge, we’re all lawyers, and we all feel a sense of duty, but we do it for different reasons. I wasn’t a public defender because I’m an abolitionist or because I’m trying to tear down the system. I did it because it is necessary. I believe the system can work as long as everyone does their job. I wanted to represent real people. I have experience in the trial court, having been trained by the best, working with the best colleagues, and going up against the best prosecutors. I know what it’s like to be in the trial court creating a record. I don’t think my opponent has that type of experience. She has done a ton of appellate work and, in my opinion, is one of the smartest lawyers we have. Stephens has an exceptional legal mind. There is no dispute about that, but I don’t know that she has ever been in a trial court, on the ground, representing real people and understanding the impacts of Supreme Court rulings. I think I can distinguish myself from everyone else running right now. The Center Square: Your campaign emphasizes that you’ve represented individuals rather than corporations or government entities. Why is that background valuable for a justice? Merchant: It seems like corporations and institutions are often the ones that get a seat at the table, and everyday people get left behind. In our democracy, five out of nine lawyers decide the law. They have the final say. Right now, we don’t have that type of representation on the Supreme Court. All of my clients have struggled in some way. I’ve represented small business owners. I’ve seen parents lose their children. I’ve represented juveniles in juvenile court. I’ve represented the mentally ill. I’ve represented so many different walks of life, and I’ve seen what they go through. My upbringing is somewhat unique. I was born in Cleveland, Ohio. My parents are immigrants and were working class. We always had a roof over our heads and food on the table, but we struggled financially. We had to work for everything we got. There are many Washingtonians who have lived that same walk of life, and that representation is not on the Supreme Court right now. I believe I would bring that. The Center Square: You’ve argued that the court needs a different kind of candidate. Do you believe Washington has a partisan or establishment judiciary, and if so, what would you do differently if elected? Merchant: Yes. I do think there is an establishment. I feel like our court clearly leans left. They use double standards on issues that generally come down to whether someone leans left or leans right. People need to have confidence that when they go to the Supreme Court, it’s not political and that the issues being decided have not been prejudged. Everybody will always look at the outcome. That’s fair. We are an adversarial system. Someone wins, and someone loses, but the justice system is about process. It’s great that our justices engage in social media and outreach. I applaud many of the ways they do that, and I want them to continue, but there are instances where I think they show a political ideology. For example, last year, the governor and the Legislature had a Pride flag-raising ceremony in front of the Capitol and the Supreme Court. I don’t take issue with the substance. I’m talking about process. The governor and Legislature don’t have impartiality embedded in their oath as the judiciary does. At least three justices were there, joining the governor and the Legislature. This year, the courts promoted a similar event hosted by the governor. I think it gives the appearance that issues that could come before the court have already been prejudged. The bench hasn’t decided any issues relating to trans rights. That's going to be on the ballot as an initiative, and it will likely be challenged and go before the court. When you see justices hoisting this flag up in front of the Supreme Court, it feels like they have already made up their mind on that issue. The Center Square: When it comes to taxes, spending and state fiscal policy, where do you believe the court’s role begins and ends? Merchant: The judiciary’s job is not to substitute its judgment for the Legislature's. My judicial philosophy is to apply the law as written. The people elected legislators to make laws. That is their job. They use precise words when they make those laws, and it’s the job of the judiciary to interpret them. It is not art. It is not subject to the eye of the beholder. The court’s job is to read what the Legislature has passed and follow that law. I find many instances where the Supreme Court inserts language into a statute to ascertain intent. I think that’s problematic. The court should not piece together what it subjectively believes the Legislature intended, because that allows justices to insert their own political ideology. The Center Square: In Quinn, the court upheld Washington’s capital gains tax by ruling it was an excise tax rather than an income tax or property tax. What did you make of that ruling, and what, if anything, do you believe Stephens and the majority got wrong? Merchant: If something is an excise tax, the Legislature has complete discretion. They can tax that to the moon. They can tax and tax, and there is nothing that can stop them from imposing an excise tax, which is generally a tax on the benefit of using something or some transaction. A great example is a car. We have the privilege of using a car, so the Legislature can tax things related to cars, whether it’s gas or car tabs. That is within their constitutional authority, but they are incredibly limited in their ability to tax property, and prior court rulings recognize income as property. The Quinn decision determined that capital gains are not income and that the tax is an excise tax. Step back and think reasonably about this basic business concept: If I buy something for $2 and then sell it for $3, I have a $1 profit. I have a $1 gain. The Supreme Court is saying that $1 gain is not income. The IRS sees it differently. That took me back for a second. Then you start thinking about whether the capital gains tax is really an excise tax. If it taxes the transaction, yes, that would be an excise tax, but it only taxes the transaction when there is a gain. It doesn’t tax the transaction when you break even. It doesn’t tax the transaction when there is a loss. So, is that really an excise tax? Any time it takes 52 pages to explain why capital gains are not income or property, you have to unpack it. It’s trickery. I think the Supreme Court got Quinn wrong. The Center Square: A lawsuit over the state’s new income tax is expected to reach the bench. Without asking how you would rule, how should justices approach tax cases where the Legislature’s view of the law conflicts with arguments about constitutional limits? Merchant: Washington has about 93 years of precedent holding that income is property, and I think the procedural posture of those cases is often overlooked. In 1930, the Legislature and a majority of the people amended the state Constitution so that property is everything subject to ownership. Two years later, our Supreme Court held that income was property. The Constitution is incredibly hard to amend, and they came together in the most democratic way to accomplish that. If they wanted to create an exception for income, they could have included income. When you look at the 1933 ruling as a whole, where is the argument that income is not property? The Center Square: In Blake, the court struck down Washington’s felony drug-possession law, leading to major public-safety and legislative fallout. What did you take away from that decision? Merchant: There are two ways to look at the Blake decision: as a constitutional decision, which I believe it is, and correctly decided, or as a political, outcome-driven decision to legislate from the bench. I’m not convinced of the second one. In criminal law, to be guilty of a crime, you generally need conduct and intent. The Legislature defines what is criminal, but generally speaking, it has to have both. The drug possession statute in Blake made it a felony to possess any controlled substance, but as written, it did not say you had to knowingly possess drugs. It only said you had to possess them. That criminalizes innocent conduct. Imagine there's a dealer packaging drugs and they ship them through the mail, and the mailman is about to deliver the drug dealer's mail to the drug runner. Under this statute, he's guilty of a felony for possessing those drugs that he didn't know were there. The Legislature should have included a mens rea element to comply with due process. The Supreme Court had no choice but to strike it down as unconstitutional, and I believe that was correctly decided. When critics say Blake created costs for taxpayers, I put that 100% on the Legislature. They pass the laws. They decide what is criminal and what is not criminal. The Legislature had been warned more than once that there was a constitutional problem and did not fix it. The Center Square: You recently posted about proposing a new court rule. What rule are you proposing, what problem are you trying to solve, and why is that something the Supreme Court should address through rulemaking rather than leaving it to the Legislature? Merchant: One rule I suggested was to create a new plea, specifically with misdemeanors and maybe even felonies: a no-contest plea. Right now, the available pleas through court rules are guilty, not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity. Why not add a fourth plea that says no contest? Through the rulemaking process, the court could hear from stakeholders about which crimes should be excluded. I think DUIs and most domestic violence offenses would be reasonable to exclude. But there are other crimes where we could make this possibility available. If someone enters a no-contest plea, it is a conviction and goes on their record. But after a specific period of time, the court could administratively review it and, if that amount of time has passed, dismiss the case. It would expedite the court process. Convictions would still happen and stay on a person’s record for a period of time, but maybe we need to start thinking about new ways to resolve cases that are less serious than domestic violence and DUI. I think that would significantly reduce caseloads. The Center Square: The Northwest Progressive Institute’s recent poll had Stephens leading at 18%, you and Bloom at 8%, Shelvey at 6%, and 60% of voters were still unsure. What do you take from that survey, and what should voters be asking heading into August? Merchant: Are you sure? I was happy to take 6% because I’m the least known. I’m the only one who has never run before, so I’ll take it either way; 6% means I’m only down 12 points, and 60% of voters out there still need to ask themselves one question: Are they satisfied with the status quo? I would invite them to vote for one of the other candidates if they think their judicial philosophies are the answer. Suppose they consider what I have to say and still vote for someone else, great. That’s how democracy works. I’m glad they’re making informed decisions, which rarely happens in judicial races. I’m thrilled to be where I am. I hope I can reach those voters. The poll is really promising. I would expect, for a chief justice who has been on the court for 18 years, that she’d be much higher than 18%. It’s encouraging that 60% of voters are pausing. Maybe every other year, they relied on endorsements, filled in the bubble or didn’t bother because judicial races are at the bottom of the ballot. People are starting to realize this election is going to shape Washington law for potentially generations.

法國極右翼政黨國民聯盟黨及其歐洲議會盟友涉嫌挪用歐盟資金一案正在取得重要進展。

法国极右翼政党国民联盟党及其欧洲议会盟友涉嫌挪用欧盟资金一案正在取得重要进展。

City Council members traded insults before the 5-4 vote blocked an effort to apply for up to $120 million in federal grants to help build the treatment plant.

Abbott previously outlined a broad regulatory framework around data centers amid backlash from rural communities around their impact on residential neighborhoods.

بر اساس یک گزارش تازه، تعداد میلیونرهای جهان (دلار آمریکا) در سال ۲۰۲۵ افزایش یافته و نسبت به سال قبل ۱.۵ درصد رشد داشته است.

It’s a landmark moment for the endeavor known as WA Cares, envisioned as a means to help Washington’s workforce afford long-term care and services as they age. Starting Wednesday, insurance coverage through the state-run program will begin. Dozens of applications for benefits have already rolled in. It’s been a bumpy journey since majority Democrats in […]

The settlement is unusually large, especially as a report by the county's lawyers contradicted the family's wrongful death lawsuit allegations.