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The National Institutes of Health is spending nearly a half a million dollars for researchers to observe how much time preschoolers in daycare spend outdoors.The project will also use GPS and light sensors to track kids’ physical activity levels in a “robust” effort to fight childhood obesity.“Physical activity lowers the risk of obesity in children, is independently associated with numerous benefits related to health and well-being, and tracks from preschool-age to adolescence,” according to a grant awarded to Seattle Children’s Hospital. “The amount of time preschoolers spend outdoors is thought to correlate with their physical activity levels.”“Yet, most US children...

Patriotic students are infuriated after the Pledge of Allegiance and the Presentation of Colors were removed from Seattle Pacific University’s Veteran’s Day chapel over fears they might offend people. The university’s Military and Veteran Support Club was outraged by the chaplain’s decision. They called it a “slap in the face” of every soldier who fought, sacrificed and died for our freedoms. SPU is a Christian university of the Free Methodist tradition – but the student population includes a diverse group of denominations – including some that ascribe to pacifism. “The organizers decided not to include the pledge of allegiance and...

As a result of China’s flooding the world market with cheap, state-subsidized aluminum and our president’s irrational aversion to fossil fuels, a 127-year-old American industry is in danger of disappearing. This week, the two largest primary aluminum producers in the United States announced curtailment of aluminum production at key smelters across the country. Alcoa announced that it was halting smelting operations at its Intalco Works (583 employees) and Wenatchee plants (428 employees) in Washington state, its Massena West plant in New York (500 employees) and that it was curtailing alumina refining capacity at its Point Comfort facility in Texas. Century...

UpdatedVeterans group outraged by 'this slap in the face'Veterans group outraged by ‘this slap in the face’An evangelical university is removing the Pledge of Allegiance from its Veterans Day chapel service in response to complaints that patriotism has no place in worship.The "presentation of the colors," in which a color guard presents or retires an American flag, has also been excised from the schedule.In a Wednesday email to Seattle Pacific University faculty members who are military veterans, obtained by The College Fix, Chaplain Bo Lim said "some people mentioned to me that they would be uncomfortable doing [the Pledge of...

This measure would decrease the state retail sales tax rate on April 15, 2016, from 6.5 percent to 5.5 percent. The sales tax rate would not be decreased if, by April 15, 2016, two-thirds of both legislative houses refer to the ballot a vote on a constitutional amendment that requires two-thirds legislative approval or voter approval to raise taxes, and majority legislative approval to set the amount of a fee increase. Initiative 1366 aimed to circumvent citizens' lack of power to initiate constitutional amendments. Eyman's 2015 initiative put the state legislature in a bind, forcing them to either put his...

Geologists have discovered a second magma chamber beneath volcano They believe this feeds the smaller chamber directly below the mountain Earthquakes in the area may be a sign of magma pumping between them Geologists still consider Mount St Helens to be of high risk of erupting Its scarred and jagged crater is a reminder of the terrible devastation that Mount St Helens wrought over the Washington countryside 35 years ago. Now a new study of the volcanic plumbing lurking beneath the 8,363ft (2,459 metre) summit suggests the volcano could yet again blow its top in an explosive eruption. Geologists studying...

Washington voters are showing once again that they like the idea of a two-thirds requirement for tax hikes. In early returns, Initiative 1366 was passing with 54 percent of the vote. This was the latest offering from professional initiative sponsor Tim Eyman. It would cut the state sales tax by a penny next spring unless Washington lawmakers send voters a constitutional amendment. That amendment would require a two-thirds vote of the legislature or a vote of the people to raise taxes. At a gathering in Seattle, Eyman declared victory. "I think it's time once and for all for us to...

GARDEN CITY, Idaho (AP) — Two men were injured at an Idaho gun show Saturday morning after a vendor from Washington state accidentally fired a rifle, Ada County Sheriff’s officials said.

In response to what the Seattle mayor calls a growing homeless crisis in the city, Ed Murray signed a proclamation declaring a civil emergency.More than 2,800 men, women, and children are without shelter on the streets of Seattle, which is a 21 percent increase from last year, according to the latest overnight count. "We are in a moment of our history where decades of service cuts, growing inequality, and untreated mental health and drug [addiction] has finally resulted in a human crisis seen in the history of our city -- indeed in the history of our nation," Murray said.(snip) Many...

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc said on Sunday it had closed all its restaurants in two West Coast markets due to a reported outbreak of E. coli bacteria that is being investigated by the company and health authorities. "After being notified by health department officials in the Seattle (Wash.) and Portland, Ore. areas that they were investigating approximately 20 cases of E. coli, including people who ate at six of our restaurants in those areas, we immediately closed all of our restaurants in the area out of an abundance of caution," Chipotle said in an emailed statement. The company said the...

"On why the free market won’t develop new forms of energy fast enough: ...Without a substantial carbon tax, there’s no incentive for innovators or plant buyers to switch."

High school football coach Joe Kennedy was suspended Wednesday for praying after games at the 50-yard line. It’s like straight out of a movie. High school football coach Joe Kennedy, inspired by the Christian faith-based film “Facing the Giants,” walks to the 50-yard line after games to thank God for the players he has the opportunity to coach. As of Wednesday, Kennedy has been suspended and is no longer able to participate in football program activities because of his post-game prayers. A letter sent to Kennedy by the school district informed the coach that he has been placed on paid...

BREMERTON -- When the Bremerton Knights take the field against Sequim on Thursday, a group of Satanists dressed in ceremonial robes will be watching from the stands. The members of The Satanic Temple of Seattle say they are coming to the game to advocate for religious equality, in light of the controversy sparked by Bremerton High School assistant football coach Joe Kennedy, who has threatened to sue the school district if he is not allowed to pray on the field after games. Bremerton School District spokeswoman Patty Glaser confirmed Wednesday the district has received a request from the Satanic Temple...

Joe Kennedy, who coaches football at Bremerton High School in Washington State, has been suspended for praying after a Friday night football game that Satanists had threatened to protest. A student had invited The Satanic Temple of Seattle to attend the game to protest the school’s tolerance of the coach’s prayer, and to force the Bremerton School District to clarify its policy. Although Kennedy does not instruct or encourage any students to join him when he prays, the school board had ordered him never again to pray in public. …

Coach Joe Kennedy has been booted from the locker room at Bremerton High School in Washington State, Fox News has learned exclusively. Superintendent Aaron Leavell placed the longtime coach on administrative leave after he refused to stop his post-game prayers.“Effective immediately, pending further District review of your conduct, you are placed on paid administrative leave from your position as an assistant coach with the Bremerton High School football program,” Level wrote to the coach in an Oct. 28th letter. “You may not participate, in any capacity, in BHS football program activities.”

A 15-year-old Washington boy and his 17-year-old brother operated a prostitution ring that employed underage hookers who kicked back money to the duo’s mother, according to investigators.The accused pimps--Dionte Hunter and his older brother Thaishaun--are locked up on felony charges stemming from the prostitution business, which operated from their Spokane home.According to an October 20 court filing, Dionte’s involvement in the prostitution operation began when the 4’ 10”, 100-pound defendant was still 14. The Hunter brothers (Thaishaun is at left) are pictured in the adjacent Facebook photo.Police first learned that the brothers were turning out several women via backpage.com ads...

SEATTLE -- An early morning fire intentionally set at an East African community center in West Seattle's High Point Neighborhood has raised a disturbing question. Muslim leaders and members of 21st Century Basic Human Services want to know if their center was the target of a hate crime.

SEATTLE -- Laura Dodson knows a thing or two about numbers. Dodson, an accountant, was doing yard work at her boyfriend's Maple Leaf home earlier this month when workers for the Move Seattle levy came knocking. He expressed his disapproval for the ballot measure, which asks voters to allocate $930 million for walking, cycling, and transportation improvements in Seattle. "Absolutely, he did not agree with this levy at all," Dodson said. "He disagreed a bit with the proposition and so (the worker) backed off and said, 'oh, okay.'" For a woman who has a built a career on mathematics, calculations,...

A landlord who cares deeply about your health? Well, that’s the story, anyway. Jinesh Varia, who is renting out a three-bedroom townhouse with a fireplace and a Jacuzzi tub in Bothell, WA, a Seattle suburb, is offering a $200 discount on the $2,200 monthly rent to prospective tenants who pledge not to eat meat. Is it a canny attempt to publicize his rental property with a nifty discount? Or a blatant effort to blast the word about his favorite cause, environmental activism via vegetarianism? Well, maybe it’s a bit of both. Varia is a member of Vegetarians of Washington, a...

On September 24, 2015, the federal Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) published a Notice of Proposed Withdrawal (“BLM notice”), proposing to withdraw from mineral location and entry federal lands identified as “sagebrush focal areas” in Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming. The BLM notice commences a two-year temporary segregation period, prohibiting location and entry of new mining claims on BLM and U.S. Forest Service lands in these sagebrush focal areas. If the BLM decides to withdraw the area at the end of the segregation period, the withdrawal will last up to 20 years, but could be extended in the...