Bloglander

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Cathy would have if she could have
You might have heard about the kerfuffle in the House of Representatives yesterday, where Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers chaired the closed-door meeting of Republican representatives that ended up closing down an office dedicated to keeping government ethical and working with whistleblower complaints from workers in "the swamp." At least, the GOP briefly shut down the Office of Congressional Ethics, until a bevy of citizens called to complain about the action, and President-elect Trump questioned the timing of the action via Twitter. McMorris Rodgers told KIRO/Cox Media should would have supported changes to the ethics office if they were part of a larger package of rules changes. (Spokesman-Review, AP, KIRO)

This guy looks familiar
The same man was caught on video robbing credit unions inside two Spokane Safeway stores, and he appears to be the same guy who robbed similar outlets in Utah a little while ago. (KXLY)

The state can take a break
A Spokane man on death row for murdering two women 20 years ago died of an apparent heart attack. He was one of nine inmates on death row in the state, where Gov. Inslee has suspended all death sentences from being executed. (KREM)

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He just won't stop
President-elect Trump took to Twitter, as he is wont to do, to mock U.S. intelligence agencies and their accusations of Russia trying to influence the election. Also Tuesday, Wikileaks main man Julian Assange claimed Russia didn't provide his group with Democratic National Committe emails. (CNN)

Healthy debates
President Barack Obama is meeting with Democrats to figure out some ways to protect aspects of the Affordable Care Act, while Republicans are meeting to figure out ways to get rid of the legislation that provided more than 20 million previously uninsured Americans with health insurance. (Washington Post)

Off the rails
A Long Island Rail Road train derailed this morning in New York City, injuring more than 100 commuters. (New York Times)

What would have happened if he lost?
Minnesota Gophers football coach Tracy Claeys recently led the team to a win over WSU in the Holiday Bowl. Now he's out of work after being fired essentially for supporting the players who decided to briefly boycott all football activities as a means of supporting 10 suspended players accused of sexual assault. (ESPN)