In the News

House passes bill requiring warrants for email searches

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A bill aimed at modernizing the United States's aging law covering law enforcement access to emails and other stored files passed the House Monday night.  The current law, known as the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, allows law enforcement to access any stored files without a warrant if such material is left on a third-party server for more than 180 days. But that law was…

Video: Tech on The Hill with Rep. Suzan DelBene

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When former Microsoft Corp. executive Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.) returned for the 115th Congress, it didn’t take long for her to address one of the issues racking the tech industry: President Trump’s campaign promise to create a religious registry for Muslims in the U.S. “This is a key area of concern given what’s happened with the recent executive order,”…

Democratic Reps. condemn immigration order, demand briefing

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SEATTLE - Seattle Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, D-07, and other Democratic members of the House Judiciary Committee are asking for an emergency briefing before all House members, on the extreme vetting executive order and its chaotic rollout over the weekend. A letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly cites “urgency, widespread confusion and dangerous impact…

How Your Elected Officials, and Some Really Smart Lawyers, Are Fighting Trump

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At 4:42 p.m. EST last Friday, when President Donald Trump signed a sweeping executive order banning refugees and specific travelers from entering the U.S., it launched a nationwide explosion of resistance, from the airports to the streets to the courts. In Seattle, that resistance was just as swift from elected officials and attorneys as from local residents. By early Saturday afternoon,…

Congress could change law following KOMO story

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SEATTLE-- Bipartisan action in the U.S. Congress could help bring closure for Pennie Saum, who has been fighting for decades to get justice following horrific crimes by her father. In November, the KOMO Investigators told Saum's story—how she and her brother were systematically sexually abused until their father was arrested and prosecuted. The siblings won a civil judgment…

Stop that plane: The frantic race to halt a deportation

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When Courtney Gregoire read about the chaos unfolding in New York’s John F. Kennedy airport Saturday morning, she began to wonder how President Donald Trump’s ban on travelers from seven predominantly Muslim countries would play out in Seattle. Gregoire, an attorney and the daughter of former Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire, is a commissioner of the Port of…

Whatcom County representatives testify against abortion coveragebill

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Tags: Health

A bill permanently barring federal funds for abortion coverage is headed to the U.S. Senate. The House approved the legislation Tuesday. Democrats Suzan DelBene and Rick Larsen represent Whatcom County in congress – they testified against the bill. “Millions of women marched across the country to send a clear signal to Congress and President Trump. Hear our voices and…

I actually wept: Lawyers frantic efforts stop a plane, allow 2 men to enter U.S. at Sea-Tac

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They were running for the gate, the two attorneys, one specializing in immigration law, the other a Port of Seattle commissioner. They knew they might not make it in time. An Emirates airplane was about to leave for Dubai at just after 5 p.m. Saturday, and on it were two men who had landed at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. They had been told they could not stay because of an order…

As the Feds Detained Banned Travelers at Sea-Tac, Local Political Leaders Were Given Virtually No Info About What Was Going On

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As chaos unfolded at airports across the country on Saturday, it quickly became clear that officials ranging from frontline border patrol agents to high-ranking members of the administration were unprepared for President Donald Trump's travel ban. In Washington, that turmoil translated to a group of state and federal leaders unable to find answers to questions as basic as how many people…

First Small Victory Achieved Over Immigration Ban at Sea-Tac

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Washington politicians are demanding answers after the weekend scuffle over immigration at Seattle–Tacoma International Airport. Representatives Pramila Jayapal, Suzan DelBene, governor Jay Inslee, and other officials were quick to denounce president Donald Trump’s immigration ban from seven Muslim-majority countries after two men—from Yemen and Sudan—were…