National News
National News
![](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/ap_17174023673327-3-8fd3f448317191b06fd41d42f858756f1ca6cb67-500x500.jpg)
Supreme Court Justices Push Government On Allowing Guantanamo Inmate To Testify
Both liberal and conservative Supreme Court justices pressed the government’s lawyer about why a detainee at Guantanamo Bay couldn’t testify about his own torture at the hands of the CIA.
![Iowa state Rep. Joe Mitchell was first elected at age 21 and is now the co-founder of an organization looking to recruit fellow young conservatives to seek public office.](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/ap_19014662167774-b9ac238b69e5f5cd2eb6c39d90eee87fb269577b.jpg)
Snapchat is adding a feature to help young users run for political office
Young people in the U.S. made history in the 2020 elections, voting at a record high rate. And now the technology company behind a popular social media app is hoping to help some of those young voters become political candidates in their own right.
![CVS Pharmacist Raphael Lynne (left), D., MBA, and Stephanie Garcia, a Pharmacy tech., check the medication disposal box where people can drop off their expired, unused or unwanted medications for safe disposal.](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/gettyimages-1045629568_slide-f291e08c1e353897c69882ad7adc0c88e1c12766-500x500.jpg)
A landmark opioid trial puts spotlight on pharmacy chains CVS, Walmart and Walgreens
On Monday in a federal courtroom in Cleveland, Ohio, the nation’s legal reckoning over the opioid crisis shifts to four name-brand pharmacy chains: CVS, Giant Eagle, Walgreens, and Walmart.
![Oil is seen on the beach in Huntington Beach, California on October 3, 2021, after a pipeline breach connected to an oil rig off shore started leaking oil, according to an Orange County Supervisor.](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/gettyimages-1235671167_custom-241dad529e6268017df5b9afcf4cba04eaff254e-500x500.jpg)
A massive oil spill in the Pacific Ocean has reached the Southern California coast
More than 120,000 gallons of oil that spilled into the Pacific Ocean has reached the Southern California coastline, closing parts of the beach as officials warn residents to stay away from the slick.
![A journalist-led investigation found that a woman had acquired a waterfront property in Monaco after she reportedly had a child with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Here, yachts are seen moored at the Hercules Port in Monaco.](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/pandora-papers-500x500.png)
What the ‘Pandora Papers’ show about how the powerful hide money from public view
A massive investigation from more than 600 journalists across the globe sheds new light into the shadowy world of offshore banking — and the high-powered elites who use the system to their benefit.
![Travelers wearing protective face masks wait in line at a Transportation Security Administration screening at LaGuardia Airport in New York last month. U.S. aviation regulators are calling on the nation's airports to crack down on the defiantly unmasked.](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/gettyimages-1234504688-edit_custom-76972d647a5017f79ca164f1483cd0eceb000df4-500x500.jpg)
TSA Is Doubling Fines For Those Who Refuse To Wear A Mask While Flying
President Biden and the Transportation Security Administration are cracking down on those who defy mask mandates on airplanes with one simple message: “If you break the rules, be prepared to pay.”
![The monorail at Expo '86 in Vancouver, Canada, the last time a Northwest city hosted the global cultural gathering. Seattle, Portland and Spokane have hosted as well. CREDIT: Colin Rose, CC BY 2.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/1986_WorldsFair_Expo_86_monorail_Vancouver_Canada-500x500.jpg)
Vancouver Expo ’86: Remembering Cascadia’s Last Great World’s Fair 35 Years Later
When Vancouver hosted a modern expo in 1986, it joined the Northwest’s other major cities, Portland (1905), Seattle (1909, 1962) and Spokane (1974) as exposition hosts. In the years since Expo ’86, Vancouver’s has also gained important symbolism as the last expo hosted in North America. It was a kind of golden moment.
![Sharon Rivera adjusts flowers at daughter Victoria's grave at Calvary Cemetery in New York City in 2020. Her daughter, 21, died of a drug overdose in 2019. According to new CDC data, drug overdose deaths soared to more than 93,000 last year. Kathy Willens/AP](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/ap21194728296208-edit_custom-748fe068618de9d21b6a0f55dcdd1073bf87457e-500x500.jpg)
Drug Overdoses Killed A Record Number Of Americans In 2020, Jumping By Nearly 30%
More than 93,000 people died of a drug overdose in the U.S. last year — a record number of cases that reflects a rise of nearly 30% from 2019, according to new data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Officials said the increase was driven by the lethal prevalence of fentanyl as well as pandemic-related stressors and problems in accessing care.
![President Biden walks with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., at the Capitol on Wednesday as he arrives to discuss the latest progress on his infrastructure agenda. CREDIT: Andrew Harnik/AP](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/ap_21195623407772_wide-d1d979dee196d765b63b2ea19b377d12c8f9acd7-500x500.jpg)
President Biden Makes A Push For Democrats To Unite Around $3.5 Trillion Budget Plan
President Biden heads to Capitol Hill Wednesday to begin the push to unite Democrats from both the progressive and moderate wings of his party around the $3.5 trillion budget blueprint unveiled late Tuesday by Democrats on the Senate budget panel.
![Vice President Harris speaks about voting rights at the White House complex on June 23. President Biden tapped her to lead the administration's efforts on the issue. CREDIT: Jacquelyn Martin/AP](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/ap_21174643324562_wide-a0f784c97dbe34b119e17ab2d690a75635f81a2c-500x500.jpg)
Vice President Harris Hints That She Has Discussed Filibuster Changes With Senators
BY ASMA KHALID & ARNIE SEIPEL With voting rights legislation stalled in the Senate because of Republican opposition, Vice President Harris suggested that she has talked to senators about exceptions
![SARS-CoV-2 virus particles, shown in red, have heavily infected a cell in this colorized scanning electron micrograph. SARS-CoV-2 is the virus that causes COVID-19. NIAID/NIH/Flickr](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/sars-cov2-1-f9eb28d7b787fedde6ec7af7f988c53bb7fd697f-500x500.jpg)
A Woman Died Of COVID After Contracting 2 Variants At The Same Time, Researchers Say
BY BILL CHAPPELL The patient came to the hospital because she was repeatedly falling down. She was breathing fine, and her blood oxygen levels were good. But tests showed that
![Manatees crowd together near the warm-water outflows from Florida Power & Light's plant in Riviera Beach, Fla., on Feb. 5. More manatees have died already in 2021 than in any other year in Florida's recorded history, primarily from starvation due to the loss of seagrass beds. Greg Lovett/AP](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/ap21192810744489-f4465059053ee28c0263709ea1e786c81b95f495-500x500.jpg)
Florida Breaks Annual Manatee Death Record In First 6 Months Of 2021
More manatees have died already this year than in any other year in Florida’s recorded history, primarily from starvation due to the loss of seagrass beds, state officials said.