Washington State’s up-and-down football season finished on a high note today with a 34-21 win in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl in Boise.

As the end of the year approaches, economists recommend people fully fund their retirement accounts – for maximum tax benefit.

It’s great advice except for the fact that 40% of Americans don’t have retirement accounts.

Oregon tried to rectify that situation eight years ago by becoming the first state in the country to create its own retirement system. It now has assets of over $400 million dollars.

But as Kristian Foden-Vencil reports, there’s a twist

Forty-two people who experienced extended periods of homelessness in Clark County died over the past year. Their names were read on Sunday night during a memorial service at St. Paul Lutheran Church in downtown Vancouver.

INTRO: Driving along the I-5 in Tacoma [[Washington]], you can see a sign illuminated with red lights: Tacoma Self Storage. But every year on Black Friday, it becomes Tacoma ***Elf*** Storage.

Driving along the I-5 in Tacoma [[Washington]], you can see a sign illuminated with red lights: Tacoma Self Storage. But every year on Black Friday, it becomes Tacoma ***Elf*** Storage.

KNKX’s Izzy Ross investigated this harbinger of the holiday season.

[WRAP: Tri-Cities residents take a stroll around Bateman Island before a salmon-killing causeway comes out

122225CF_LastDayAtBateman_WRAP.wav 0:54 12/22/25 Courtney Flatt/JD]

[EDITOR’S NOTE: Kill Jan. 5, 2026. – cf]

HOST LEDE: A narrow, man-made causeway in the Tri-Cities leads to an island that’s popular with local walkers, anglers and birders. But, construction crews are preparing to remove that causeway. [N-W-P-B’s Courtney Flatt visited right before it closed to the public.] [SOQ 0:54]

If you’re looking for a last-minute holiday gift for a loved one or yourself, a Eugene-based author, artist, and birder is offering something unique. KLCC’s Rachael McDonald has more on ‘letters from Noah’.

Clackamas River Flooding

20251220_JAL_Clackamas River Flooding_FTR 3:25

JAL/al

Hundreds of Oregonians evacuated their homes Thursday [[DEC 18]] night, as the Clackamas River flooded during an atmospheric river. Many returned to find their homes had been filled with water. OPB’s Joni Auden Land was there as homeowners began to inspect the damage.

Rivers are slowly receding in the wake of the recent atmospheric systems that have moved through Washington State.

However --- the risk of levy failures remains a "moderate" possibility due to how saturated they are.

One of the most challenging parts of ending drug addiction is dealing with the cravings associated with withdrawal.