Washington AG Bob Ferguson announces campaign for governor
May 2, 2023 GMTSEATTLE (AP) — Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson launched an exploratory campaign for governor on Tuesday, one day after incumbent Jay Inslee announced he won't run again.
Gun shop faces fine for selling high-capacity ammo magazines
April 12, 2023 GMTSEATTLE (AP) — A judge has ruled against a suburban Seattle gun shop owner who sold high-capacity ammunition magazines despite a state ban.
Court rejects deception charges against Savers Value Village
February 23, 2023 GMTSEATTLE (AP) — The Washington state Supreme Court handed the thrift store chain Savers Value Village a unanimous win Thursday in a long-running legal fight with Attorney General Bob Ferguson, finding that its marketing practices constitute protected free speech.
Judge orders Federal Way gun store to stop magazine sales
January 7, 2023 GMTSEATTLE (AP) — A King County Superior Court judge has ordered a Federal Way gun shop to stop selling high-capacity magazines in violation of a state ban.
Judge Michael Scott on Friday granted Attorney General Bob Ferguson's motion for preliminary injunction against Federal Way Discount Guns and its owner, Mohammed Reza Baghai.
Democrats propose assault weapon ban, gun purchase permit
December 20, 2022 GMTTUKWILA, Wash. (AP) — Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced legislative proposals on Monday that would prohibit assault weapons, require a permit to purchase a gun and make gun sellers potentially liable for negligent sales in the state.
Appeals court upholds most Eyman campaign finance violations
December 7, 2022 GMTSEATTLE (AP) — A Washington state Court of Appeals on Tuesday upheld most of the campaign finance violations that longtime anti-tax initiative promoter Tim Eyman was found liable for last year.
Albertsons $4B payout to shareholders amid merger paused
November 4, 2022 GMTSEATTLE (AP) — A judge in Washington state has temporarily blocked Albertsons from paying a $4 billion dividend to investors as part of the grocery retailer’s proposed merger with rival Kroger.
State attorneys general sue to block Albertsons’ $4B payout
November 2, 2022 GMTThe attorneys general of California, Illinois and the District of Columbia are suing Albertsons in an effort to stop the grocery chain from paying a nearly $4 billion dividend to its shareholders.
Meta fined $24.7M for campaign finance disclosure violations
October 27, 2022 GMTSEATTLE (AP) — A Washington state judge on Wednesday fined Facebook parent company Meta nearly $25 million for repeatedly and intentionally violating campaign finance disclosure law, in what is believed to be the largest campaign finance penalty in U.S.
$500M-plus from opioid deal starts heading to Washington
October 3, 2022 GMTSEATTLE (AP) — The first payments from a $518 million settlement with the nation's three largest opioid distributors will begin reaching Washington communities in December, providing much-needed cash officials can use to hire first responders or direct toward prevention, treatment and other services, Attorney General Bob Ferguson said Monday.
Court: Meta violated Washington state campaign finance law
September 2, 2022 GMTSEATTLE (AP) — A judge ruled on Friday that Facebook owner Meta repeatedly and intentionally violated Washington campaign-finance law, and must pay penalties, the Washington state Attorney General’s Office said.
Former Washington St coach files wrongful termination claim
August 10, 2022 GMTPULLMAN, Wash. (AP) — Former Washington State football coach Nick Rolovich has filed a claim against the university seeking $25 million for wrongful termination after he was fired last year for refusing to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
Washington Supreme Court to decide capital gains tax case
July 13, 2022 GMTOLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — The Washington Supreme Court has agreed to review a decision by a lower court that overturned a new capital gains tax on high profit stocks, bonds and other assets.
Attorney General Bob Ferguson appealed the March ruling directly to the state Supreme Court, and the court's order Wednesday means the case will be decided by the high court instead of first going to the Court of Appeals.
Genetic genealogy grants help solve Washington cold cases
July 11, 2022 GMTSEATTLE (AP) — Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson said Monday that grants from his office have recently helped local law enforcement agencies solve three cold cases using genetic genealogy, and 20 more investigations are underway.
Sorority to pay University of Washington students $250K
July 7, 2022 GMTOLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — A sorority accused of charging University of Washington students for housing they couldn’t stay in during the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic will pay more than $250,000 in refunds.
Ferguson: Supreme Court decision won’t hurt Hanford workers
June 21, 2022 GMTSPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — While the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled against a 2018 state law that protected workers at a former nuclear weapons production site, Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson said an updated law passed earlier this year remains in place.
Washington group fined for meritless voter fraud lawsuit
June 2, 2022 GMTSEATTLE (AP) — The Washington state Supreme Court has fined a nonprofit group and its lawyer more than $28,000 for making legally meritless claims alleging widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election.
Washington reaches $518M settlement with opioid distributors
May 3, 2022 GMTSEATTLE (AP) — Months into a complex trial over their role in flooding Washington with highly addictive painkillers, the nation's three largest opioid distributors agreed Tuesday to pay the state $518 million, with the vast majority being directed toward easing the addiction epidemic.
Juul to pay $22.5 million to settle Washington vaping suit
April 13, 2022 GMTOLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — E-cigarette giant Juul Labs will pay Washington state $22.5 million and has agreed to a variety of reforms to prevent underage use and sales under a settlement announced Wednesday by state Attorney General Bob Ferguson.
Providence agrees to pay $22 million in medical fraud case
April 13, 2022 GMTSPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Providence Health & Services Washington has agreed to pay $22.6 million to resolve allegations that its Walla Walla hospital fraudulently billed Medicare, Medicaid and other federal health care programs for medically unnecessary neurosurgery procedures, prosecutors said Tuesday.
Ex-judge pleads guilty to sexual assaults at courthouse
April 5, 2022 GMTASOTIN, Wash. (AP) — A former judge in southeastern Washington state faces 13 to 27 months in prison after pleading guilty to allegations that he sexually assaulted two former court employees over several years.
Washington Legislature OKs missing Indigenous women alert
March 8, 2022 GMTOLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — The Washington Legislature on Monday approved an alert system to help identify and locate missing Indigenous people.
The system, which Attorney General Bob Ferguson said is the first of its kind in the nation, will be similar to so-called “silver alerts” that are currently in place for missing vulnerable adults.
Trade group settles GMO-labeling case for $9 million
March 2, 2022 GMTSEATTLE (AP) — A trade group that represents some of the biggest U.S. food companies has agreed to pay $9 million for violations of Washington campaign finance laws, after the state Supreme Court upheld a penalty twice that much.
Lawsuit accuses COVID-19 testing company of faking results
February 1, 2022 GMTOLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson has filed a lawsuit against an Illinois-based COVID-19 testing company, accusing it of improperly handling tests and providing fake results.
Washington AG: $45M settlement with student loan company
January 13, 2022 GMTOLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson says a major student loan servicer will provide about $45 million in debt relief and restitution to settle the state's lawsuit that alleged it deceived loan seekers and engaged in unfair practices.
WA attorney general tests positive for COVID-19
December 24, 2021 GMTOLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson said on Thursday he has tested positive for COVID-19.
The Democrat said via Twitter Thursday evening that he had just received word of the positive test and that he’s been isolating at home since he started experiencing symptoms on Sunday.
Eyman assets to be sold to satisfy $5M million debt
December 23, 2021 GMTSEATTLE (AP) — Initiative promoter Tim Eyman, who earlier this year was found liable for years of violations of Washington’s campaign finance laws and owes the state more than $5 million, is facing the court-ordered sale of his assets.
Washington seeks over $38 billion from opioid distributors
November 15, 2021 GMTSEATTLE (AP) — After rejecting a half-billion-dollar settlement, Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson on Monday took the state's case against the nation's three biggest drug distributors to trial, saying they must be held accountable for their role in the nation's opioid epidemic.
GEO ordered to pay $23.2M in detainee minimum wage cases
November 3, 2021 GMTSEATTLE (AP) — A private prison company has been ordered to pay more than $23 million over lawsuits that accused it of running its for-profit immigration lockup in Washington state on the backs of detainees.
Jury: GEO Group owes immigrant detainees $17M in back pay
October 30, 2021 GMTSEATTLE (AP) — A federal jury has determined that The GEO Group must pay nearly $17.3 million to immigration detainees who were paid $1 a day to perform tasks such as cooking and cleaning at the company's for-profit detention center in Washington state.
Federal jury: Immigrant detainees are owed minimum wage
October 27, 2021 GMTSEATTLE (AP) — A federal jury has determined that The GEO Group must pay minimum wage — rather than $1 a day — to immigration detainees who perform tasks like cooking and cleaning at its for-profit detention center in Washington state.
Washington sheriff charged over confrontation with Black man
October 19, 2021 GMTTACOMA, Wash. (AP) — The Washington state attorney general on Tuesday filed two misdemeanor criminal charges against a county sheriff stemming from his confrontation with a Black newspaper carrier in January.
Washington AG: Facebook gave false info in campaign suit
October 13, 2021 GMTSEATTLE (AP) — Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson says a Facebook representative provided false testimony in a lawsuit that accuses the company of violating state campaign finance laws.
Greyhound settles lawsuit over immigration sweeps on buses
September 27, 2021 GMTSPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Greyhound Lines Inc. will pay $2.2 million to settle a lawsuit over the bus line’s practice of allowing U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents to board its buses in Washington state to conduct warrantless immigration sweeps, the state attorney general said Monday.
Biden slammed for challenging nuclear workplace health law
September 16, 2021 GMTSPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Officials in Washington state are upset the Biden administration is challenging a law making it easier for workers who become ill at a former nuclear weapons production site to be compensated.
State has major win in Buckhorn mine Clean Water Act case
June 18, 2021 GMTSPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — A federal judge has issued a summary judgment in favor of Washington state against two gold mining companies over years of water pollution stemming from the Buckhorn Mountain gold mine in Okanogan County.
Mistrial halts case on minimum wage for immigrant detainees
June 17, 2021 GMTSEATTLE (AP) — A trial over whether the GEO Group must pay minimum wage — instead of $1 a day — to immigration detainees who perform tasks like cooking and cleaning at its for-profit detention center in Washington state has ended with a hung jury.
Jury deciding if immigration detainees must get minimum wage
June 15, 2021 GMTSEATTLE (AP) — A federal jury is deciding whether one of the nation's biggest private prison companies must pay minimum wage — instead of $1 a day — to immigration detainees who perform tasks like cooking and cleaning at its jail in Washington state.
Trial to determine if GEO must pay detainees minimum wage
June 2, 2021 GMTSEATTLE (AP) — After nearly four years of litigation and pandemic-related delays, a trial is underway to determine whether the GEO Group must pay minimum wage to detainees who perform cooking, cleaning and other tasks at its immigration detention center in Washington state.
3 officers plead not guilty in Black man’s restraint death
May 28, 2021 GMTSEATTLE (AP) — Five weeks after ex-Minneapolis policeman Derek Chauvin was convicted of murdering George Floyd, three Washington state police officers pleaded not guilty Friday in the death of Manuel Ellis, another Black man who pleaded for breath under an officer’s knee.
Officers face charges in restraint death of Black man
May 28, 2021 GMTSEATTLE (AP) — The Washington state attorney general on Thursday charged two Tacoma police officers with murder and another with manslaughter in the death of Manuel Ellis, a Black man who died after repeatedly telling them he couldn’t breathe as he was being restrained.
Eyman ordered to pay $2.9M for Washington AG’s legal costs
April 16, 2021 GMTSEATTLE (AP) — Anti-tax initiative promoter Tim Eyman must pay almost $2.9 million to cover the legal fees and costs of Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s long-running lawsuit against Eyman for campaign finance violations, a Thurston County Superior Court judge ruled Friday...
Senate OKs bill prohibiting price gouging during emergencies
March 4, 2021 GMTOLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — The Washington Senate has approved a measure that would prohibit price gouging for certain goods and services during a state of emergency, like the current COVID-19 pandemic...
Washington AG vows lawsuit over fast National Archives sale
December 5, 2020 GMTSEATTLE (AP) — Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson has vowed to fight the rapid sale of the National Archives facility in Seattle in court, saying it’s “outrageous” that there wasn’t more public notice given about an Oct...
Judge orders Postal Service to take extraordinary measures
October 31, 2020 GMTSALEM, Ore. (AP) — A federal judge has ordered the U.S. Postal Service to take “extraordinary measures” to deliver ballots in time to be counted in Wisconsin and around Detroit, including using a priority mail service...
Twitter to pay $100,000 over campaign finance violations
October 13, 2020 GMTOLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Twitter is the latest social media giant to pay for violations of Washington state’s campaign finance disclosure rules...
Amazon will stop selling Redskins merchandise
July 9, 2020 GMTOLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Amazon will stop selling Washington Redskins merchandise after the football team said it would undergo a review of its name, which is considered a racial slur...
Monsanto to pay $95M over PCB pollution in Washington state
June 24, 2020 GMTSEATTLE (AP) — The agrochemical giant Monsanto has agreed to pay Washington state $95 million to settle a lawsuit that blamed it for pervasive pollution from PCBs — toxic industrial chemicals that have accumulated in plants, fish and people around the globe for decades...
Bankruptcy judge orders Eyman to pay $270K in contempt fines
April 11, 2020 GMTSEATTLE (AP) — Tim Eyman, the anti-tax voter initiative promoter and Republican candidate for governor, has until April 19 to pay $270,000 in fines and attorneys’ fees accumulated for refusing to follow court orders in a Washington state campaign finance case...
AP Exclusive: Agency memo contradicts Greyhound on bus raids
February 14, 2020 GMTSEATTLE (AP) — A Customs and Border Protection memo obtained by The Associated Press confirms that bus companies such as Greyhound do not have to allow Border Patrol agents on board to conduct routine checks for immigrants in the country illegally, which is contrary to the company's long insistence that it has no choice but to do so...
Navy settles lawsuit, won’t scrape ship hulls in Puget Sound
January 29, 2020 GMTTACOMA, Wash. (AP) — The U.S. Navy on Wednesday agreed to a 10-year moratorium on scraping the hulls of decommissioned vessels in Puget Sound...
17 states sue feds over Endangered Species Act rules
September 25, 2019 GMTSEATTLE (AP) — Seventeen states sued the Trump administration Wednesday to block rules weakening the Endangered Species Act, saying the changes would make it tougher to protect wildlife even in the midst of a global extinction crisis...
DOJ: Immigration facility shouldn’t have to pay minimum wage
August 23, 2019 GMTSEATTLE (AP) — The Trump administration is opposing Washington state's effort to make a privately run, for-profit immigration detention center pay detainees minimum wage for the work they do...
Surgeons fear pelvic mesh lawsuits will spook patients
January 11, 2019 GMTSEATTLE (AP) — Doctors who specialize in female pelvic medicine say lawsuits by four states, including Washington and California, over products used to treat pelvic floor disorders and incontinence might scare patients away from the best treatment options — or maybe even push the products off the market...
US agrees to improve worker safety at polluted nuclear site
September 19, 2018 GMTSEATTLE (AP) — The U.S. government will test and implement a new system to capture and destroy dangerous vapors released at the nation's most polluted nuclear weapons production site as part of a settlement agreement reached Wednesday.
Judge blocks release of blueprints for 3D-printed guns
August 1, 2018 GMTSEATTLE (AP) — A federal judge on Tuesday stopped the release of blueprints to make untraceable and undetectable 3D-printed plastic guns as President Donald Trump questioned whether his administration should have agreed to allow the plans to be posted online...
Washington, other states plan to sue over family separations
June 22, 2018 GMTSEATAC, Wash. (AP) — Washington, California and at least nine other states are planning to sue the Trump administration over its separation of immigrant families at the U.S.-Mexico border, saying the president's executive order halting the practice is riddled with caveats and fails to reunite parents and children who have already been torn apart.
State uses sting operation to fine companies accused of veteran housing discrimination
March 1, 2018 GMTThree Spokane-area rental companies illegally discriminated against veterans who use federal housing vouchers, according to the Washington state attorney general’s office.
The companies – KPS Realty, Domus Urbis and Country Homes Realty – are among 10 companies statewide targeted by an undercover sting operation that refused the use of Veterans Affairs Supporting Housing vouchers, part of a joint program between the U.S.
Washington joins another suit against Trump Administration, challenges coal leasing order
May 9, 2017 GMTOLYMPIA – Washington and three other states want to block the Trump Administration’s decision to resume coal mining on federal lands.
The four states filed a lawsuit Tuesday challenging a recent order by the U.S.