KATE BROWN

The heat wave scorching the Pacific Northwest is now expected to be hotter and longer than initially predicted.

When the U.S. Supreme Court in June overturned Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that established a right to abortion, it sparked legal changes and court challenges in states nationwide.

Colorado’s simple plan to increase voter registration is already working.

The ruling created a new rallying cry for Democrats, but also revealed some divergences in the party and unsettled questions about the path forward.

Supreme Court Abortion State Access FILE - California Governor Gavin Newsom answers questions at a news conference in Los Angeles, on June 9, 2022. In California, abortion was outlawed in 1850, except when the life of the mother was in danger. Since then, the state Supreme Court has interpreted that right to privacy as a right to access abortion. Local governments in the states said they were also ready to help protect and provide abortion access. King County Executive Dow Constantine said Friday $500,000 will be allocated toward the Northwest Abortion Access Fund.

Supreme Court Abortion State Access FILE - California Governor Gavin Newsom answers questions at a news conference in Los Angeles, on June 9, 2022. In California, abortion was outlawed in 1850, except when the life of the mother was in danger. Since then, the state Supreme Court has interpreted that right to privacy as a right to access abortion. Local governments in the states said they were also ready to help protect and provide abortion access. King County Executive Dow Constantine said Friday $500,000 will be allocated toward the Northwest Abortion Access Fund.

Supreme Court Abortion State Access FILE - California Governor Gavin Newsom answers questions at a news conference in Los Angeles, on June 9, 2022. California Gov. “Democratic governors are the last line of defense against these types of extreme bills,” he said. In California, abortion was outlawed in 1850, except when the life of the mother was in danger. King County Executive Dow Constantine said Friday $500,000 will be allocated toward the Northwest Abortion Access Fund.

The three states are building a “West Coast offense” to protect patients’ access to reproductive care, California Gov. The fund also seeks to expand abortion access in Oregon’s rural communities. In California, abortion was outlawed in 1850, except when the life of the mother was in danger. Local governments in the states said they were also ready to help protect and provide abortion access. King County Executive Dow Constantine said Friday $500,000 will be allocated toward the Northwest Abortion Access Fund.

Democratic leaders across the nation are vowing to help women who travel to seek abortions.

A former lawmaker in Oregon is aiming to shake up state politics by running as an unaffiliated candidate for governor.

Oregon’s November gubernatorial election, which is usually a one-sided victory for the Democratic party, is setting up to be a competitive and contentious three-way race.

A term-limited Gov. Kate Brown means there's an open race for governor. And Democratic Rep. Kurt Schrader faces a progressive challenger.

The Republicans, an independent and a self-proclaimed "outsider" are among the candidates hoping to win over Oregon voters who say they're pessimistic about the future of the state.

Public Defender Crisis Courtroom notes showing that a Washington County, Ore., judge threatened to hold Oregon Public Defense Services in contempt of court for not providing a public defender to a criminal defendant are seen in this May 4, 2022, photo. The complaint, which seeks class-action status, was filed as state lawmakers and the Oregon Office of Public Defense Services struggle to address the huge shortage of public defenders statewide. A report by the American Bar Association released in January found Oregon has 31% of the public defenders it needs. They show up for hearings alone and have their cases pushed back because no public defenders are available. The Oregon Justice Resource Center, a legal nonprofit representing the plaintiffs, said repairs to the system shouldn't just focus on hiring more public defenders.

Criminal defendants in Oregon who have gone without public defenders for weeks have filed a lawsuit against the state claiming a violation of their constitutional rights.

Oregon Governor-Clemency FILE - Oregon Gov. Kate Brown granted clemency to Hedquist, who was serving a life sentence without parole after being convicted of murdering Nikki Thrasher when he was 17. “The executive clemency granted by Gov. Oregonians granted clemency have demonstrated they have turned their lives around and pose a low risk to the public, she said. Bill Lee, a Republican who took office in 2019, has granted clemency to 17 people.

In a story published April 27, 2022, about a controversial clemency issued by Oregon Gov. Kate Brown, The Associated Press erroneously reported that Kyle Hedquist was 17 when he committed murder.

In 1994, Kyle Hedquist led a teenager down a remote logging road, then shot her in the back of the head because he feared she might tell police about burglaries he'd committed. Gov. Kate Brown granted clemency to Hedquist, who was serving a life sentence without parole after being convicted of murdering Nikki Thrasher when he was 17. Brown's act is unleashing a storm of criticism from prosecutors and law enforcement.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has added a contaminated island on the Columbia River to the Superfund list of toxic waste sites.

“Oregon’s agricultural workers should not be excluded from the same protections afforded to other Oregon workers,” said Sen. Kathleen Taylor, a Democrat from Portland who was one of the bill's main sponsors. Jay Inslee signed a bill last year that creates a phased-in path toward full overtime pay for agricultural workers by 2024. For 2022, they ensure overtime pay for any time worked over 55 hours a week; 48 hours a week in 2023; and 40 hours a week by 2024. Jerry Brown signed legislation into law in 2016 that makes farmworkers in the nation’s largest agricultural state entitled to the same overtime pay as most other hourly workers. The bill also creates a refundable tax credit to provide economic support to employers when they provide overtime pay for agricultural workers.

Farmworkers in Oregon would earn overtime pay for the first time in the state under a bill that the Legislature has approved.

The governors of California, Oregon and Washington have announced that schoolchildren will no longer be required to wear masks starting March 12.

Scientists say Oregon faces a potential nightmare scenario unless work is done to fortify its main fuel storage facility against a major earthquake.

Governors across the U.S. took sweeping action during earlier surges of the COVID-19 pandemic, but are taking a much different approach during the record-setting caseloads caused by the omicron variant.

We'll update this story with the latest news about coronavirus and its effects in Oregon on Tuesday, Dec. 21.

The Oregon Legislature has dedicated $25 million to combatting the proliferation of illegal marijuana farms in Oregon.

A Canadian energy company that sought to build a natural gas pipeline and marine export terminal in Oregon has pulled the plug on the controversial project after failing to obtain all necessary state permits.

The U.S. Senate has unanimously approved the nomination of Charles “Chuck” Sams III as National Park Service director, which will make him the first Native American to lead the agency that oversees more than 131,000 square miles of parks and other landmarks.

U.S. governors are taking a seat at the table as international leaders gather in Scotland at a critical moment for global efforts to reduce fossil fuel emissions and slow the planet's temperature rise.

Former New York Times reporter and columnist Nicholas Kristof has announced he is running for governor of Oregon, the state where he grew up on a sheep and cherry farm.

Kate Brown to send in the Oregon National Guard "to assist, as able, in the enforcement of laws related to the production of cannabis." Courtney said he is so concerned about the surge in illegal marijuana farms in Jackson and neighboring Josephine counties that he agrees that the Oregon National Guard should be sent in. The increasing calls for National Guard intervention recalls the drug wars of the 1990s, when the civilian-soldiers were used, including in Missouri and California. California has also been hit by industrial-scale illegal marijuana growing operations, with eradication left to local authorities, and in federal territory, to federal officers. Asked if Brown was considering deploying the Oregon National Guard, her spokeswoman, Elizabeth Merah, said the Oregon Military Department already has a full-time National Guard service member embedded in each of three law enforcement teams in southern Oregon.

Last week, police in southern Oregon raided a site that had roughly two tons of processed marijuana and 17,500 pot plants.

On the same day last week that a southern Oregon county declared a state of emergency amid a sharp increase in illegal cannabis farms, police raided a site that had about two tons of processed marijuana and 17,500 pot plants. The raid illustrates that the proliferation of industrial-scale marijuana farms has gotten so bad and so brazen that Jackson County Commissioners asked Gov. Kate Brown to send in the Oregon National Guard “to assist, as able, in the enforcement of laws related to the production of cannabis.” During last Wednesday's raid in Medford, Oregon, police found a vast outdoor growing operation, plus harvested plants hanging upside down on drying racks and 3,900 pounds (1,800 kilograms) of resinous buds stashed in huge bags and in stacks of plastic storage containers.

They divert precious water during the severe drought and abuse their workers, overwhelmed local officials say.

A county in southern Oregon says it is so overwhelmed by an increase in the number and size of illegal marijuana farms that it declared a state of emergency Wednesday, appealing to the governor and the Legislature's leaders for help. The Jackson County Board of Commissioners said law enforcement officers and county and state regulators and code enforcers are overwhelmed and warned of an “imminent threat to the public health and safety of our citizens from the illegal production of cannabis in our county.” Illegal marijuana grows have been a persistent problem throughout the West, even in states like California that have legalized pot.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has extended through the end of the October a COVID-19 state of emergency that relaxes some health care regulations to help hospitals cope with coronavirus patients.

Oregon’s court of appeals reversed the murder conviction and death sentence of a Black man, saying his defense team failed to interview a key witness who saw a white man fleeing the victim’s home.

Centering analysis on the Northeast's death toll is itself political.

The Fox News troll attacked Gov. Kate Brown of Oregon for her identity, inexplicably connecting it to the COVID cases in her state.

(AP Photo/Andrew Selsky, File) (Andrew Selsky)BEND, Ore. — (AP) — The death toll from COVID-19 in Oregon is climbing so rapidly that two counties have requested refrigerated trucks to hold the bodies, the state emergency management department said Saturday. So far, Tillamook County, on Oregon's northwest coast, and Josephine County, in the southwest, have requested the trucks, said Bobbi Doan, a spokeswoman for the Oregon Office of Emergency Management. Tillamook County Emergency Director Gordon McCraw wrote in his request to the state that the county's sole funeral home “is now consistently at or exceeding their capacity” of nine bodies. Unlike their counterparts in Tillamook County, Josephine County commissioners are not promoting the vaccine. Her office is facilitating the transfer of a refrigerated morgue truck from Yamhill County to Josephine County.

The death toll from COVID-19 in Oregon is climbing so rapidly in some counties that the state has organized delivery of one refrigerated truck to hold the bodies and is sending a second one.

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown announced Tuesday that masks will be required in public outdoor spaces regardless of vaccination status, starting Friday.

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown (D) on Tuesday announced a new statewide outdoor mask mandate requiring people to wear masks in most outdoor settings regardless of vaccination status.State of play: Starting Friday, Oregonians will be required to wear masks outdoors when physical distancing is not possible. While the mandate does not apply to outdoor gatherings in private residences, masks are "strongly recommended" when people from different households cannot remain socially distanced. Get market news wo

Governors Women FILE - Republican Arizona state Sen. Kimberly Yee watches as the vote tally on a children's health insurance bill she opposed shows the measure passing on May 6, 2016, at the Capitol in Phoenix. In Arizona, where Republican Gov. Arizona already holds the record for the most women who have served as governor — four. In 2018, women's political advocates also thought they were primed for success with a record number of candidates for governor. Part of the challenge in electing women as governors is overcoming stereotypes of men as stronger, more decisive leaders, Walsh said.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is beginning her term in office with plenty of challenges.

Oregon was once the poster child for limiting the spread of the coronavirus, after its Democratic governor imposed some of the nation’s strictest safety measures, including mask mandates, limits on gatherings and an order closing restaurants.

Oregon once boasted that it had fewer hospital beds per capita than any other state. Then came the Delta variant.

Kate Brown's statewide school mask policy can use a part of the law to get an accommodation that would allow their children to opt out of the mandate. (AP Photo/Gillian Flaccus) (Gillian Flaccus)ALSEA, Ore. — (AP) — An Oregon school superintendent is telling parents they can get their children out of wearing masks by citing federal disability law. And Louisiana's attorney general has posted sample letters on his office's Facebook page for those seeking to get around the governor's mask rules. Mask and vaccine requirements vary from state to state but often allow exemptions for certain medical conditions or religious or philosophical objections. In California, the state medical board is investigating a doctor who critics say is handing out dozens of one-sentence mask exemptions for children in an attempt to evade the statewide school mask requirement.

Kate Brown's statewide school mask policy can use a part of the law to get an accommodation that would allow their children to opt out of the mandate. (AP Photo/Gillian Flaccus) (Gillian Flaccus)ALSEA, Ore. — (AP) — An Oregon school superintendent is telling parents they can get their children out of wearing masks by citing federal disability law. And Louisiana's attorney general has posted sample letters on his office's Facebook page for those seeking to get around the governor's mask rules. Mask and vaccine requirements vary from state to state but often allow exemptions for certain medical conditions or religious or philosophical objections. In California, the state medical board is investigating a doctor who critics say is handing out dozens of one-sentence mask exemptions for children in an attempt to evade the statewide school mask requirement.

Across the U.S., some public officials and other community leaders are trying to help people come up with ways to get exempted from having to wear masks or get vaccinated against COVID-19.

An Oregon school superintendent is telling parents they can get their children out of wearing masks by citing federal disability law. A pastor at a California megachurch is offering religious exemptions for anyone morally conflicted over vaccine requirements. While proponents of these workarounds say they are looking out for children's health and parents' rights, others say such stratagems are dishonest and irresponsible and could undermine efforts to beat back the highly contagious delta variant.

Officers from U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized the cards in the last week as they arrived in small packages. On Thursday, the state’s seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases hit 713, up 56% from two weeks ago. The announcement was made Thursday amid a surge in coronavirus cases in the state and as hospitals near capacity. ___TOPEKA, Kan. — Officials in some Kansas communities are battling a rise in COVID-19 cases by mandating masks for kids, issuing emergency orders and requiring vaccines. North Carolina on Thursday registered more than 7,000 daily COVID-19 cases, the highest in seven months.

Poland has sent one million COVID-19 vaccines to Sydney where the delta variant continues to spread, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Sunday.

Virus Outbrteak Oregon FILE - In this Wednesday, June 30, 2021, file photo, Oregon Gov. Troops will be sent to 20 hospitals around Oregon. “I cannot emphasize enough the seriousness of this crisis for all Oregonians, especially those needing emergency and intensive care,” Brown said, reiterating that message. “The harsh, and frustrating reality is that the Delta variant has changed everything," the governor said. Oregon, once viewed as a pandemic success story, has seen that progress slip away in recent weeks as the highly contagious Delta variant gains a foothold in counties with lower vaccination rates.

PORTLAND, Ore. — (AP) — Oregon’s governor said Friday she will send up to 1,500 National Guard troops to hospitals around the state to support healthcare workers as the COVID-19 surges amid the rapid spread of the Delta variant. Kate Brown, a Democrat, said the first group of 500 Guard members will be deployed next Friday to serve as material and equipment runners in the most stricken hospitals and to help with COVID-19 testing. There are 733 people hospitalized with the virus in Oregon as of Friday, including 185 people in intensive care units, she said in a statement. “I cannot emphasize enough the seriousness of this crisis for all Oregonians, especially those needing emergency and intensive care," Brown said, reiterating that message. "When our hospitals are full with COVID-19 patients, there may not be room for someone needing care after a car crash, a heart attack, or other emergency situation.”Copyright 2021 The Associated Press.

Oregon's governor says she will deploy up to 1,500 National Guard troops to hospitals around the state to support healthcare workers as COVID-19 surges amid the rapid spread of the Delta variant.

Oregon’s governor said Friday she will send up to 1,500 National Guard troops to hospitals around the state to assist healthcare workers who are being pushed to the brink by a surge of COVID-19 cases driven by the Delta variant. Gov. Kate Brown, a Democrat, said the first group of 500 Guard members will be deployed next Friday to serve as material and equipment runners in the most stricken hospitals and to help with COVID-19 testing, among other things. Troops will be sent to 20 hospitals around Oregon.

A new Oregon law that suspends a requirement for a basic-skills test in math, reading and writing to graduate high school is being praised by advocates as a way to rethink education standards and sharply criticized by others as a misguided effort that will hurt children’s learning in the long run.

Kate Brown on Tuesday announced a statewide indoor mask requirement in Oregon as coronavirus hospitalizations and cases reach record high numbers in the state and health care systems are overwhelmed. Brown had urged local officials to implement their own mandates, but almost none did. The newest coronavirus health and safety measure in Oregon applies to all indoor public spaces, including businesses, grocery stores, indoor entertainment venues and gyms. Earlier this month, the governor announced that masks would be required in K-12 schools and in any indoor state agency building. “OHSU believes the entire state should be masking,” Renee Edwards, the chief medical officer at Oregon Health & Science University, said Monday.

Beginning Friday, everyone who is 5 years or older in Oregon — regardless of vaccination status — will be required to wear masks in indoor public spaces. Brown had urged local officials to implement their own mandates, but almost none did. The newest coronavirus health and safety measure in Oregon applies to all indoor public spaces, including businesses, grocery stores, indoor entertainment venues and gyms. Earlier this month, the governor announced that masks would be required in K-12 schools and in any indoor state agency building. In addition the state health authority made a statewide recommendation that people, vaccinated or not, wear masks while in indoor public spaces, but again stopped short of reinstating an indoor mask mandate.

Gov. Kate Brown on Tuesday announced a statewide indoor mask requirement because of the spike in coronavirus hospitalizations and cases, warning that the state’s health care system could be overwhelmed.

Gov. Kate Brown on Tuesday announced a statewide indoor mask requirement in Oregon as coronavirus hospitalizations and cases reach record high numbers in the state and health care systems are overwhelmed. Beginning Friday, everyone who is 5 years or older in Oregon — regardless of vaccination status — will be required to wear masks in indoor public spaces. The newest coronavirus health and safety measure in Oregon applies to all indoor public spaces, including businesses, grocery stores, indoor entertainment venues and gyms.

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown (D) will resume a statewide indoor mask mandate for all residents, regardless of their vaccination status, to combat a rise in COVID-19 cases, her office announced Tuesday.The big picture: Oregon is the third state, after Hawaii and Louisiana, to require residents who are fully vaccinated against the virus to wear masks. Get market news worthy of your time with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free.Oregon, which has recorded some of the lowest numbers of cases and deaths from

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown privately signed a bill last month ending the requirement for high school students to prove proficiency in reading, writing, and arithmetic before graduation.

President Joe Biden is sounding the alarm about the need for more resources to fight a series of wildfires in Western states.

The Dixie Fire in California was one of at least 88 major wildfires raging across 13 states. The fire has destroyed more than 20 homes and buildings.

Illinois is leading a handful of Democratic-run states in extending health insurance coverage to adult immigrants living in the country illegally, including seniors.

Firefighters are working around the clock to contain massive wildfires burning across 13 states, charring 1.3 million acres and forcing evacuations.

A rapidly growing wildfire south of California's Lake Tahoe jumped a highway, prompted more evacuation orders and canceled an extreme bike ride through the Sierra Nevada on Saturday as critically dangerous wildfire weather loomed.

A rapidly growing wildfire south of Lake Tahoe jumped a highway, prompting more evacuation orders and the cancellation of an extreme bike ride through the Sierra Nevada on Saturday as critically dangerous wildfire weather loomed in the coming days. The Tamarack Fire, which was sparked by lightning on July 4, exploded overnight and was over 32 square miles (82 square kilometers) as of Saturday evening, according to the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. It has destroyed at least three structures, authorities said, and was burning toward the Alpine County Airport after jumping a highway.

The Bootleg Fire, which started in Klamath County, has destroyed 54 structures and 21 homes.

The largest of the Navajo Nation casinos is preparing to reopen for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic began.

(AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit) (Sakchai Lalit)TOPEKA, Kan. — Kansas has reported its biggest surge in COVID-19 cases in more than three months with the faster-spreading delta variant becoming a growing public health issue. ___PHOENIX: Arizona on Friday reported 921 additional confirmed COVID-19 cases, the biggest daily increase in two months, as the coronavirus continued to spread among unvaccinated people. Unusually large daily case reports often occur after holiday weekends slow data collection or after public health officials clear data backlogs that occur for various reasons. Government figures Friday showed another 35,707 confirmed lab cases, the highest daily tally since Jan. 22 with more than 40,000 reported cases. Indonesia Food and Drug Monitoring Agency also announced the emergency use of the COVID-19 vaccine produced by Moderna.

President Joe Biden is relaunching the council of governors.

Portland, the largest city in the Beaver State, broke its all-time temperature record for three straight days, topping out at 116 degrees on June 28.

The following is a transcript of an interview with Oregon Governor Kate Brown that aired on Sunday, July 4, 2021, on "Face the Nation."

White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Jeffrey Zients, Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett, and more appear on Sunday's "Face the Nation"

New Mexico is set to reopen Thursday, marking a return to business in all mainland U.S. states following 16 months of disruption and more than 600,000 lives lost. Washington state also saw the nation’s first deadly outbreak, at a nursing home east of Seattle. In Washington state, restaurants, bars, gyms and stores are also allowed to resume full indoor capacity, up from the most recent limit of 50%, and physical distancing requirements have been lifted. Republican lawmakers, business owners and parents have criticized the Democratic governor for waiting to ease the remaining public health restrictions. David Ige has said he is hopeful public health outcomes will allow the state to lift more restrictions in August.

Oregon and Washington have lifted most of their COVID-19 restrictions to become two of the last states to broadly ease virus orders put in place in the very first days of the pandemic.

With Oregon set to end pandemic restrictions, Pastor Shon Neyland is fighting to get his congregation vaccinated. The vaccination rate within Black communities lags behind the state's overall numbers.

The state that launched the movement to offer millions of dollars in incentives to boost vaccination rates is concluding its program still unable to crack the 50% vaccination threshold.

SALEM, Ore. — (AP) — Legislators have brought guns into the Oregon State Capitol for personal protection. The new law also mandates the safe storage of guns. The bill also bans guns from the Oregon Capitol, changing a law that allowed concealed handgun licensees to bring firearms into the building. In Colorado, a gun storage bill was signed into law on April by Gov. States that have passed laws requiring some level of firearms safe storage in past years include California, Connecticut and New York, Anderman said.

Legislators have brought guns into the Oregon State Capitol for personal protection.

The president of the Philippines warns he will jail village leaders and police officers who don't enforce pandemic lockdown restrictions.

Virus Outbreak Oregon Reopening FILE - In this Sept. 21, 2020, file photo, Vanessa Mendez hugs her son, Evan Seppa, as he prepares to head into Elizabeth Page Elementary School for his first day of kindergarten in Springfield, Ore. It was a sharp contrast to places such as Florida or Texas, where many COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted for weeks. “We are just so done with this,” said Tootie Smith, chairwoman of the Clackamas County Board of Supervisors and a former Republican Oregon State House Representative. And earlier this month, state workforce safety regulators extended indefinitely a rule requiring employees to wear masks at all times, regardless of their inoculation status. "We can’t keep shutting down our society for months,”But even once restrictions are lifted in Oregon, not everyone may opt to return to a pre-coronavirus life.

Virus Outbreak Oregon Reopening FILE - In this Sept. 21, 2020, file photo, Vanessa Mendez hugs her son, Evan Seppa, as he prepares to head into Elizabeth Page Elementary School for his first day of kindergarten in Springfield, Ore. It was a sharp contrast to places such as Florida or Texas, where many COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted for weeks. “We are just so done with this,” said Tootie Smith, chairwoman of the Clackamas County Board of Supervisors and a former Republican Oregon State House Representative. And earlier this month, state workforce safety regulators extended indefinitely a rule requiring employees to wear masks at all times, regardless of their inoculation status. "We can’t keep shutting down our society for months,”But even once restrictions are lifted in Oregon, not everyone may opt to return to a pre-coronavirus life.

Even as the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention moved earlier this month to ease indoor mask-wearing guidance for fully vaccinated people, some blue states like Oregon and Washington are still holding on to certain longtime coronavirus restrictions.

The Oregon Senate passed a bill Wednesday, May 5, 2021, that would mandate safe storage of guns and ban them from the state Capitol. AP Photo/Andrew Selsky, File) (Andrew Selsky)SALEM, Ore. — (AP) — The Oregon Senate passed a bill Wednesday that would mandate safe storage of guns and ban them from the state Capitol. “You have to take care of yourself, and this bill prevents that in many ways.”The bill also bans guns from the Oregon State Capitol. In Colorado, a gun storage bill was signed into law on April by Gov. States that have passed laws requiring some level of firearms safe storage in past years include California, Connecticut and New York, Anderman said.

The Oregon Senate has passed a bill that would mandate safe storage of guns and ban them from the state Capitol.

When the coronavirus pandemic hit the Pacific Northwest states of Oregon and Washington, their governors quickly reacted with shutdowns.

Federal officials announced Wednesday that farmers who rely on a massive irrigation project spanning the Oregon-California border will get 8% of the deliveries they need amid a severe drought.

But Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchison announced Tuesday he is dropping the state’s mask mandate immediately, a day earlier than previously announced. Gretchen Whitmer to ask whether the White House has considered surging additional vaccines to states with rapidly increasing infection rates. Kay Ivey intends for her state’s mask mandate to end on April 9 as planned, though she urged people to wear masks as a matter of personal responsibility. Eric Holcomb, to reconsider dropping the state’s mask mandate.

That increased the state’s totals to 839,334 confirmed cases and 16,912 confirmed deaths. Ad___RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazil accounts for a quarter of the daily coronavirus global deaths, more than any other nation. AdThere have been 12.4 million confirmed cases and more than 307,000 confirmed deaths in Brazil, second only to the United States. AdPakistan has reported 649,824 total confirmed cases and 14,158 confirmed deaths. The nation of 10.7 million had 1.5 million confirmed cases with 25,639 deaths.

(AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)LAS VEGAS — The University of Nevada, Las Vegas is changing course and now plans in-person spring graduation ceremonies in May as the coronavirus outbreak slows. UNLV President Keith Whitfield on Friday announced the change from plans announced in February to hold graduation virtually. ___LONDON — The U.K. says half of the country’s adults have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine. AdThe government on Saturday reported cases topping the previous record in June. AdJust one third of Italy’s 7.3 million vaccine doses administered so far have gone to people in that age group.

Vials of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine sit in the pharmacy of National Jewish Hospital for distribution early Saturday, March 6, 2021, in east Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)DETROIT — People who are homeless will be eligible for COVID-19 vaccines in Michigan starting Monday. The single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine and the two-shot Moderna vaccine are approved for individuals 18 and older. But Limassol city authorities aren’t letting the festive spirit completely wither away, organizing some events that comply with virus restrictions. Ad___COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka has received its first batch of COVID-19 vaccines under the COVAX program.

Gavin Newsom signed into law Friday to try to pressure districts to reopen classrooms by the end of March. I don’t know,” said Dan Lee, a father in San Francisco, a city that sued its own school district to reopen classrooms. Chicago and New York City, the nation’s largest school district, have now reopened classrooms to elementary school students, but neither city has a plan for high school students. Newsom signed it via Zoom, unintentionally mimicking how most of the state’s 6.1 million public school students have been learning for the past year. That's prompted fears that some districts could return students just one day per week and still be eligible for the money.

(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. -- The Navajo Nation has continued on a downward trend in the number of daily coronavirus cases. Canada regulators have approved AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine. Gavin Newsom expects California to start administering the new Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine next week. Addition of the J&J vaccine would come as California is seeing dramatic drops in virus cases and hospitalizations after record highs in early January. While they only comprise about 48% of coronavirus cases, they account for 74% of vaccinations.

(AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)LAKE OSWEGO, Ore. – A winter storm blanketed the Pacific Northwest with ice and snow Saturday, leaving hundreds of thousands of people without power and disrupting travel across the region. Freezing rain left roads, power lines and trees coated in ice in the Portland, Oregon, region, and by Saturday morning more than 270,000 people were without power. The “unsettled winter conditions” would likely continue throughout the week, the National Weather Service said Saturday morning. Rain falling on accumulated snow raised the possibility of urban flooding happening Sunday night or Monday in some areas, according to the National Weather Service. Idaho's neighbors to the east were blasted by brutally frigid weather, with the National Weather Service warning of dangerous wind chills in Montana and Wyoming.

Authorities in Greece have extended a curfew in the country's two largest cities after a new rise in COVID-19 cases . ___THE VIRUS OUTBREAK:Spain surpasses 3 million coronavirus cases, seventh highest total in the world. The governor got his Pfizer shot along with Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin and several other state officials who are newly able under Louisiana’s latest eligibility criteria. Health officials reported 1,526 new confirmed infections Tuesday — half in the greater Athens region — and another 20 deaths. AdAcross the state, officials have started to vaccinate people 65 and older and some workers who can’t do their jobs remotely.

Its recommendations are not binding but offer key guidance on vaccine distribution. AdThe committee was formed with the goal of keeping fairness at the heart of Oregon's vaccine rollout. Some, such as Tennessee, proposed reserving 5% of its allocation for “high-disadvantage areas,” while states like Ohio plan to use social vulnerability factors to decide where to distribute vaccine, he said. Ad“The point is not, ‘We want to make sure that the Obama family gets the vaccine before the Clinton family.’ We don’t care. It’s not about race, it’s about race and disadvantage.”In Oregon, health leaders are working on a social vulnerability index, including looking at U.S. census data and then layering on things like occupational status and income levels, said Rachael Banks, public health division director at the Oregon Health Authority.