WALLA WALLA, Wash. President Barack Obama has signed a law authorizing the Department of Veterans Affairs to build a new outpatient clinic at the Jonathan M. Wainwright Memorial VA Medical Center in Walla Walla, Wash.

LAKE STEVENS, Wash. After a long flight from Alaska - by jet - Marshmallow the trumpeter swan had plenty of energy left when she arrived at a private wildlife sanctuary.

SEATTLE It seems like a simple question: How much rain has to fall, and for how long, to cause the Green River to flood?

PULLMAN, Wash. Police say a 20-year-old Washington State University student fell three stories from the Alpha Kappa Lambda fraternity and landed on a parked SUV.

ANACORTES, Wash. Mark Stover was the Pacific Northwest's dog-trainer-to-the-stars. He taught obedience to the pets of Pearl Jam and Nirvana, Starbucks chairman Howard Schultz and Seattle Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki. He also trained his own dog, Dingo - for protection.

WASHINGTON Much like its death-defying dives for fish, the brown pelican has resurfaced after plummeting to the brink of extinction.

TEMPLE HILLS, Md. U.S. Park Police say a man was fatally struck by two U.S. Secret Service vehicles at a Suitland Parkway intersection.

SEATTLE Washington State Ferries says repairs and substitute boats cost $327,000 after the ferry Wenatchee ran into Seattle's Colman dock on Aug. 30 in foggy weather.

TACOMA, Wash. Pierce County's decision to eliminate the position of a superior court judge has the prosecutor, Bar Association and governor's office concerned.

SAN FRANCISCO Amazon's Kindle can read books aloud, but if you're blind it can be difficult to turn that function on without help. Now two universities say they will shun the device until Amazon changes the setup.

BREMERTON, Wash. About 40 Bremerton residents complained to police and state Corrections Department officials that eight sex offenders living in one block is too many.

KENNEWICK, Wash. The family of a man who was killed by a Kennewick police officer has filed a $10 million claim against the city that is expected to lead to a lawsuit.

EVERETT, Wash. The Everett Fire Department says the fire that destroyed Emory's restaurant on Silver Lake caused $2 million in damage.

SEATTLE One man was killed and another injured in a fire that the Seattle Fire Department says was started by smoking in bed.

SUNNYSIDE, Wash. Don't give George Villalobos a hacksaw.

OLYMPIA, Wash. Authorities are trying to determine who swiped two vials of the H1N1 vaccine from a hospice facility, taking about 20 doses of the swine flu vaccine.

PORTLAND, Ore. The new mayor of Vancouver, Wash. says he's very interested in talking about a possible move of the Triple-A Portland Beavers across the Columbia River to Vancouver.

FORT LEWIS, Wash. Seven Fort Lewis soldiers killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan were "decent, ordinary, yet extraordinary" young men to whom the nation owes more than it can repay, Vice President Joe Biden told a memorial service Tuesday.

Jane Lubchenco, head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, will be attending what is likely to be the last court hearing before a ruling on how to run hydroelectric dams in the Columbia Basin without driving wild salmon to extinction.

CHEHALIS, Wash. A jury in Lewis County ruled Tuesday the county coroner was wrong to conclude that a former state trooper who was leaving her husband committed suicide.

JARRATT, Va. Sniper John Allen Muhammad is meeting with relatives in the hours before his execution and one of his attorneys described the convicted killer as fearless.

FORT LEWIS, Wash. Vice President Joseph Biden says seven Fort Lewis soldiers killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan last month were "decent, ordinary, yet extraordinary" young men to whom the nation owes more than it can repay.

VANCOUVER, Wash. The FBI is no longer investigating a threat against Rep. Brian Baird.

HOQUIAM, Wash. A black bear has been sighted several times in recent weeks around Hoquiam and was photographed Tuesday sitting in an apple tree.

OLYMPIA, Wash. The World Health Organization has invited the director of Washington state's smoking prevention program to speak at an international conference.

OLYMPIA, Wash. State Sen. Fred Jarrett, D-Mercer Island, is leaving the Legislature to become chief deputy for new King County Executive Dow Constantine.

SEATTLE A former Burien couple have pleaded not guilty to charges that they streamed their sexual abuse of a 4-year-old girl over the Internet.

NEW YORK Google, Yahoo, eBay and Microsoft, competitors on the Web, all have the same idea for marketing themselves this holiday season: temporarily providing free Wi-Fi access in airports, airplanes and public places.

JARRATT, Va. Virginia's governor refused to spare the life of John Allen Muhammad and cleared the way for his execution Tuesday night for the 2002 sniper attacks that left 10 dead and spread such fear that people were reluctant to go shopping, cut grass or pump gas.

SEATTLE Hundreds of people attended a community meeting in Seattle's Greenwood neighborhood to hear what police and fire officials are doing about an arson spree.

SEATTLE Gil Conte, a longtime friend of Seattle strip club boss Frank Colacurcio Sr., has pleaded guilty in a federal racketeering case aimed at putting Colacurcio's operation out of business.

LYNNWOOD, Wash. As a crossing guard, Lulu's hard to miss.

SPOKANE, Wash. The number of existing homes sold in Washington increased in the third quarter compared with the previous three months, the Washington Center for Real Estate Research reported Tuesday.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. A Fresno-to-Seattle flight has made an emergency landing at Sacramento International Airport after the jet experienced problems with its left engine.

CONCORD, N.H. A bill to legalize assisted suicide in New Hampshire lost key backing Tuesday from a legislative committee when both supporters and opponents joined forces to reject it.

SPOKANE, Wash. Michele Squires once owned the 1965 Volkswagen van that was found recently in a shipping container at a Southern California port - 35 years after she had it stolen from a repair shop.

SPOKANE, Wash. Michele Squires used to own the 1965 Volkswagen microbus that was found recently in a shipping container at the port of Long Beach/Los Angeles.

SEATTLE The King County Council has adopted an ordinance ensuring that county services are available to all residents regardless of citizenship.

TACOMA, Wash. Officials believe the deadly spree that culminated in the D.C. sniper shootings in the fall of 2002 began earlier in the year when John Allen Muhammad and accomplice Lee Boyd Malvo lived in Tacoma.

SEATTLE Lt. Gov. Brad Owen's 37-year-old son Mark has been discharged Tuesday from Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

SEATTLE An estimated 100 gallons of fuel leaked from a 40-foot tug boat that partially sank Tuesday morning at a dock in the Duwamish River at Seattle, at Harbor Island Marina.

FORT LEWIS, Wash. Vice President Joe Biden is speaking at Tuesday's memorial service at Fort Lewis for seven soldiers killed by a roadside bomb on Oct. 27 in Afghanistan.

OLYMPIA, Wash. No winning tickets were sold for the Washington State Lottery's $5.8 million Lotto jackpot or the $120,000 Hit 5 cashpot Monday night, so prizes will increase to $5.9 million in Lotto and $150,000 in Hit 5.

SEATTLE A close friend of Washington Lt. Gov. Brad Owen shot one of Owen's sons in an apparent workplace dispute Monday afternoon and then shot himself in the head, the lieutenant governor said.

BERKELEY, Calif. Berkeley officials are expected to make a decision Tuesday on the hiring of a new police chief.

SEATTLE Cell phone executive Joe Mallahan conceded defeat Monday in the race for Seattle mayor, handing environmental attorney Mike McGinn a victory in the state's biggest city.

SEATTLE Lt. Gov. Brad Owen says one of his close friends shot Owen's son in a workplace dispute, before apparently shooting himself.

MEDFORD, Ore. Federal indictments were unsealed Monday against members of an alleged Southern Oregon heroin ring that was broken up last month.

ELLENSBURG, Wash. Puget Sound Energy says its Wild Horse wind farm in the hills of Central Washington has added another 22 turbines producing power.

SEATTLE T-Mobile executive Joe Mallahan has conceded defeat in the race to be Seattle's next mayor, handing environmental attorney Mike McGinn an unorthodox victory in the state's biggest city.