portland
Refuge standoff trial for 8 to begin Feb. 14
A federal judge has selected Valentine’s Day as the trial date for eight of the 26 defendants indicted in the armed occupation of a national wildlife refuge in Oregon.
In a written order Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge Anna Brown said the date is firm and no delays will be granted without an extraordinary showing of good cause.
Occupation leader Ammon Bundy and eight others are scheduled to go to trial in September.
The defendants granted a delay until February 2017 include Dylan Anderson, Sandra Anderson, Sean Anderson, Duane Ehmer, Jason Patrick, Jon Ritzheimer, Jake Ryan and Darryl Thorn.
The remaining nine defendants have pleaded guilty and are waiting to be sentenced.
The occupation began Jan. 2 after a rally against prison sentences handed to two Oregon ranchers. It lasted nearly six weeks.
olympia
Only 10% of voters have returned ballots
Only about 10 percent of the state’s voters have returned their ballots in advance of Tuesday’s primary election.
The secretary of state’s office said Wednesday that counties had reported receiving 412,000 ballots as of Tuesday night. More than 4 million voters started receiving their ballots in the mail this month. Voters must have their ballots postmarked by Tuesday, or they can drop their ballot at a local drop box by 8 p.m. Tuesday.
The primary ballot in Washington is lengthy, with hundreds of candidates vying for offices ranging from U.S. Senate to the governor’s office and dozens of legislative races.
seattle
Brothers convicted in cocaine-smuggling case
A federal jury has found two brothers from Bellingham guilty of trying to smuggle cocaine into Canada.
The Bellingham Herald reported a jury found John Brown Jr., 46, and Derrick Carter, 38, guilty Monday of possessing 5 kilograms or more of cocaine and conspiring to distribute the drug.
Court documents say Carter was stopped by a deputy on Nov. 8, 2014 in Blaine. Border Patrol agents soon after saw two people running and notified the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, who arrested Carter’s cousin and another man. Police believe Brown escaped.
Backpacks were also found with 29 kilos of cocaine, smoke grenades and a loaded pistol magazine. The next day Mounties found a pistol.
Brown has been arrested in Canada and deported 10 times while authorities have done the same to Carter three times.
The brothers face up to life in prison.
kennewick
Franklin County man tests positive for Zika
Authorities say a Franklin County man in his 30s has tested positive for the Zika virus after a recent trip to Mexico.
The Tri-City Herald reported the Benton-Franklin Health District announced the diagnosis Wednesday.
Humans get the virus through bites from infected mosquitoes, but once they become infected they can spread it through sexual contact. The kind of mosquito that carries the virus doesn’t live in the Pacific Northwest.
The health district said most people who become infected have few or no symptoms, but infection during pregnancy can lead to severe birth defects, including microcephaly.
