Washington state is suing the nation's largest student loan company, joining the federal government and the state of Illinois in alleging unfair and deceptive practices with lending and debt collection. Attorney General Bob Ferguson says Navient Corp., which was spun off from lending giant Sallie Mae, made subprime, predatory loans to students who were attending for-profit colleges with low graduation rates and scant prospects of ever being able to pay them back. The company is also accused of

Advocates for equal rights and gender equity are among those most concerned about the victory of President-elect Donald Trump. Lisa Stone is executive director of Legal Voice, a non-profit that advocates for women and LGBTQ people throughout the Northwest. The morning after the election, she called an impromptu staff meeting. “So that people could express how they felt and what they thought and what the feared and what they hoped. And so we did,” she said. “And there was a lot of crying and a

Licenses for scientific research on marijuana could soon be available in Washington state, despite strict federal rules about research on the drug. Under the new state license, labs could grow pot for scientific study. Reporter Melissa Santos wrote about this issue for The News Tribune in Tacoma, where she covers state government. She spoke with KPLU's Ed Ronco .

Washington state law protects reproductive rights, such as emergency contraception, but that doesn’t always mean you can go to your local hospital in an urgent situation and get what you need. Advocates hope a new website will help patients navigate the fine print. Two years ago, the state passed a rule requiring hospitals to post their policies on reproductive health and end-of-life care. But it's not always clear if procedures such as tubal ligation and vasectomies are available. The lack of

The CEO of Washington’s biggest state-run psychiatric facility will not have to report to jail on Wednesday. The case relates to a man awaiting admission to Western State Hospital. Pierce County Superior Court Commissioner Craig Adams had ordered CEO Cheryl Strange to either admit the man to Western State or surrender herself to authorities. Now the commissioner has agreed to push back his deadline to June 21. The delay comes after the state Attorney General’s office filed a motion on Monday for

You might assume that if you go to court and secure a civil sexual assault protection order against an assailant the protection order will be permanent. But, that's not the case in Washington even though protection orders in domestic violence, harassment and stalking cases in the state are. Advocates for victims have been trying to change the law that says sexual assault protection orders are only good for two years.

A conference solely dedicated to the topic of hate crimes is happening in Burien next week. The Hate Crimes Conference is being organized by a Seattle police officer whose job involves bridging trust between police and the city’s LGBTQ community.

A year ago this month, a young man named Keaton Farris was found naked on the floor of his jail cell in Coupeville on Whidbey Island. He was dead. The cause was dehydration and malnutrition. In the wake of that terrible loss, his family has made it their mission to make sure nothing like that ever happens again at the jail. And they still await word on whether a prosecutor will file criminal charges against the people who were responsible for his care.

Last year, nearly 1,800 King County juveniles were booked into detention. Judges and attorneys say this can have a lasting, negative impact on a child.

Massive amounts of human waste and trash, as well as dirty needles litter the green belt and dirt lots under and around a stretch of I-5 known as The Jungle. These findings are laid out in a 24-page report that was put together in response to a shooting that killed two people and wounded three last month. Most of the land, which covers 150 acres between South Dearborn and South Lucille Streets, is owned by the state. At a presentation of the report to Seattle City Council, Councilwoman Sally