NPR News

The state of Oregon is about to take the first step in deciding the future of five juvenile murderers. The state's Commission on Prison Terms will meet Thursday afternoon in response to a recent Supreme Court ruling.

Last month, the high court found the state has treated these five juvenile lifers more harshly than older killers.

President Obama's announcement that all remaining U-S troops in Iraq will withdraw by the end of the year was welcome news at Joint Base Lewis-McChord .

The 420 Washington-based soldiers remaining there were already scheduled to return home. But the base has a long and painful history in Iraq.

Since the invasion in 2003, 200 soldiers and one airman from Joint Base Lewis-McChord have lost their lives there. The peak of the casualties came during the troop surge of 2007.

SEATTLE – A tsunami expert from Japan shared this advice at a meeting of West Coast emergency planners and earthquake scientists Friday: make greater use of mobile phones to spread tsunami warnings.

More than a hundred disaster planners gathered in Seattle to parse the lessons from last March's devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

Japan has the world's most advanced earthquake warning system. It's so fast that sometimes a text alert reaches cellphone owners before the ground even starts shaking where they are.

SEATTLE - Some seafood sold in the Northwest isn't what it seems. Mislabeled fish is more common than you might think according to the few cops trying to make sure you get the species you paid for. Now those who are on patrol are looking for higher penalties to deter fish cheaters.

Washington Fish and Wildlife Officer Erik Olsen trained to become a game warden, but his job has also turned him into a seafood connoisseur.

The host of a public radio opera show that is distributed nationally by NPR will keep her job after drawing criticism for her involvement with an offshoot of the Occupy Wall Street protests.

Lisa Simeone, the freelance host of the show World of Opera, also has been acting as a spokeswoman for Washington, D.C., protesters affiliated with the "October 2011" group.

More than 13,000 years ago, hairy elephant-like creatures with giant tusks roamed North America. These mastodons were hunted by some of the earliest people to live here, and scientists recently learned a bit more about those mysterious cultures by taking a new look at an old mastodon bone.

Washington farmers produced more wheat per acre than ever before this year. And Oregon and Idaho farmers did well also. It comes at a time when wheat prices are down.

Washington harvested 167 million bushels of wheat this year. That's enough wheat that if you filled 18-wheeler grain trucks and lined them end-to-end they could stretch from Seattle almost to Jacksonville, Florida.

Oregon and Idaho didn't break any records, but had a productive year for wheat too.

OLYMPIA, Wash. – Washington Governor Chris Gregoire is currently in China talking about trade. But she should also be discussing human rights. That was the message Wednesday from a Tibetan monk who was held for more than 30 years as a political prisoner.

Palden Gyatso visited Gregoire's office in Olympia and delivered a ceremonial Tibetan scarf. He was joined the president of the Tibetan Association of Washington. Jampa Jorkhang says trade relations are important, but human rights must come first.

OLYMPIA, Wash. - The latest jobs report from Washington state Wednesday is sending mixed signals. The statewide unemployment rate for September fell to 9.1 percent, down from 9.3 percent in August.

But at the same time, a survey of business payrolls shows steep month-over-month job losses.

On a conference call with reporters, Washington's chief labor economist Dave Wallace said the numbers need more corroboration to discern any trend.

"You know, it's confusing. It’s baffling," Wallace said. "It's something we're going to continue looking at."

After more than 30 days, the Occupy Wall Street movement has evolved from a protest in New York City into a growing international movement. And it all started in July, as a single blog post inspired by the Arab Spring.

Here's a look at significant developments in the Occupy Wall Street timeline, as the movement gathered momentum and spread to other U.S. cities.

Timeline: Tracking Occupy Wall Street's Growth

Don't "drunk dial" an old lover.

Double check the "To" address before sending an email about your incompetent boss.

And if someone really ticks you off, sleep on it before posting about what happened. You might decide in the morning that it's best left unsaid.

That last bit of advice comes to mind with the story of a Seattle bartender who exposed a "nasty non-tipper" on her Facebook page and mistakenly identified the wrong guy — causing headaches not only for him but for her as well.

"We'll stay here as long as we can. We shall have our voices heard."

This message echoed through the crowd of protesters gathered at Occupy Berlin this Saturday. Around 3,000 people occupied the Platz der Republik in front of the Reichstag, which is within the "Bannmeile" around the Bundestag. (Public protests and assemblies are forbidden within this zone.)

After just a few hours, Berlin police cleared the anti-capitalism protesters from their makeshift camp in front of the federal parliament building.

Apple announced today that its iPhone 4S has sold more than four million units in the three days after it went on sale.

Northwest senators are trying to block new federal guidelines for school lunches. An amendment introduced Monday to an agriculture appropriations bill is a response to a recommended cutback on potato servings. Both of Idaho's senators and Oregon Senator Ron Wyden are backing the amendment.

The USDA is recommending that districts in the National School Lunch Program limit servings of starchy vegetables to one cup a week per student. The means fewer dollops of corn, lima beans and most politically charged — potatoes.

OLYMPIA, Wash. – Washington Governor Chris Gregoire hopes to drum up business for Northwest companies in China. She leaves Monday on a trade mission. It's her second trip to the country since last year.

Monday, Washington's Lt. Governor Brad Owen leaves on his own trade mission to Spain. His office reports his trip is not taxpayer funded.]