Latest News & Opinion Stories

Oregon/Northwest News

Oregon Republicans push to use emergency funding for ODOT maintenance

U.S. Coast Guard seeks public comment on new Interstate 5 bridge – but not from everyone

Oregon Parents Disproportionately Exempt School-Age Children From Vaccines

Oregon parents disproportionately exempt school-age children from vaccines

Oregon Political News

Budget cuts threaten Oregon program for helping people get jobs after prison

Confronted by a Grassroots Backlash, Democrats Consider Repealing Unpopular Gas Tax Hike

Health issues delay investigation into Portland-area lawmaker’s conduct

Portland/Metro News

Lightopia glistens in Hillsboro one last time before reimagining next year

Flooding damages multiple homes in Clackamas County, as residents take stock

Legacy Health tells striking workers they will lose health coverage on Jan. 1

Multnomah County jail health director exits after less than a year

Oregon Coast News

Craving crab? Oregon’s first Dungeness crabs of the season are in and they are large

Oregon asks judge to block potential ICE detention center in Newport

Rail speeder toy drive spreads holiday spirit along a scenic track on the Oregon Coast

The Champions of a Coos Bay Shipping Port Have a Lot on the Line

Oregon State Parks will host Winter Whale Watch Week along the Oregon Coast

Willamette Valley/Salem News

Boil water notice issued in Sheridan

Following Corvallis train bridge collapse, state demands railroad check all trestles

Wind and rain comes for Albany, here’s how many calls the city received

Southern Oregon News

Barnett’s fate in hands of voters

Gate is closing Monday for Bear Camp Road’s winter hibernation

Oregon DOJ investigation is scrutinizing firings at Rogue Workforce

Eagle Point school officials, law enforcement express concerns over student behavior, safety

Routine inspection prompts urgent Windsor chairlift replacement at Mt. Ashland

Medford secures $147 million loan to fund upgrades at Regional Water Reclamation Facility

Main Street Grants Pass hiring executive director to revitalize downtown

Grants Pass to create redevelopment plan of vacant property

Wet Weather Creates Hazardous Driving Conditions Across Southern Oregon

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Trump AI czar David Sacks starts to worry the industry

Mast introduces bill allowing Congress to block AI chip exports to adversaries

Business & Economic News

Sportsbooks enter prediction markets battle

Don’t call it a tax hike? Trump’s demand for a cut of Nvidia’s China profits raises novel questions.

The 20-something billionaires ushering in a betting bonanza in Trump’s Washington

3 changes may impact retirement in 2026: What to know

Apple, Google tell workers on visas to avoid leaving the U.S. amid Trump immigration crackdown

Energy & Environment News

Trump administration backs continued Dakota Access pipeline operations

EPA, state lawmakers could consider regulating abortion pills as pollutants in 2026

Health News

RFK Jr. wants states to ban junk food. No one knows what counts.

Trump’s base growing impatient on abortion pill action

New York City hit hard by ‘super flu’ subclade K variant

Who decides what vaccines a child should get?

Immigration/ICE News

Trump’s new crackdown: Collective punishment for legal immigrants

DOJ vowed to punish those who disrupt Trump’s immigration crackdown. Dozens of cases have crumbled

Natural Resource/Agriculture News

Mike Lee backs off change that advocates called a ‘green light’ to sell national parks

Oregon wolf cattle kills rise in 2025, but state lacks funding for proper payments

Epstein News

Epstein files include thousands of new images, audio, records and videos

DOJ releases new Epstein docs as lawmakers steam about first tranche

Trump administration turns the Epstein files into WikiLeaks 2.0

Blanche says all Trump material in Epstein files will be released

Justice Department releases Epstein investigative documents

Available to download Friday, some Epstein files no longer there Saturday afternoon

Top Trump administration official defends partial release of Epstein files as Democrats cry foul

Justice & Court News

DOJ defends removing Trump photo from Epstein files

DOJ defiant as it appeals Comey, James dismissals

Federal judge weighs Trump’s claim he is immune from civil litigation over Capitol attack

Judge points to Trump’s authority in challenge to H-1B visa hike

International News

U.S. boards un-sanctioned tanker with Venezuelan oil to tighten blockade

Maduro tests Trump with “Plan B” oil tanker strategy

Ukraine talks proceeding ‘constructively’ in Miami, Russia’s envoy says

National Campaign News

MAGA media mess deepens at Turning Point convention

Stefanik drops bid for N.Y. gov, retiring from Congress

Kayleigh McEnany urges GOP to seek competitive primary in 2028: ‘It makes you tougher’

Wyoming Sen. Cynthia Lummis will not run for reelection in 2026

Turning Point showcases the discord that Republicans like Vance will need to navigate in the future

Trump’s ‘A+++++’ economy collides with reality in a Pennsylvania city critical to the midterms

Polls/Surveys

Where Trump’s polling stands at end of first year back in office

Most Americans say Trump’s Rob Reiner comments were ‘inappropriate’: Poll

Already thinking about the 2028 election? You’re not alone

National Political news

The cash bazooka: Why Trump wants to send you money

Mike Johnson’s House schedule fuels GOP frustration, stalled agenda

Hakeem Jeffries says Obamacare subsidy extension ‘will pass with a bipartisan majority’

Democrats see health care subsidies leverage in shutdown deadline

Trump’s push to make Maduro ‘cry uncle’ ramps up, but endgame murky

Lankford: Americans will decide whether to blame GOP for lapsed Obamacare subsidies

White House threatens to withhold Smithsonian funds amid review

The Trump administration says it will ‘review’ the nation’s wildlife refuges

Congress leaves for Christmas, closes the books on 2025

Cracks emerge as members of Congress try to curb their own stock trading

Government Agency/Employee News

Why ‘very large’ tax refunds are coming in 2026, according to officials

Military/Defense

U.S. conducts strikes on ISIS targets in Syria in retaliation for killing of American soldiers
US seizes second oil tanker off Venezuela’s coast as Trump ups pressure on Maduro

Hegseth hails new seizure of Venezuelan oil tanker

Opinion

Telemedicine abortion is winning — and that terrifies the right 

The Trump administration deserves a solid F-minus for transparency 

Trump administration’s disjointed approach to China is a national security vulnerability

Holidays without my husband: What US immigration policy costs families

How Trump and DOGE broke the U.S. government

The Utah GOP Surrenders to Public Unions

Another Half-Measure for Ukraine

At college, is bigger better?

Opinion: Portland’s broken affordable housing promise

Editorial cartoons for Dec. 21, 2025: Trump economy speech, health insurance hikes, Rob Reiner