KATE BROWN

Liberal Democrat Tina Kotek unveiled measures to combat homelessness as she was sworn in as Oregon's new governor.

There are far fewer death sentences and executions than there used to be. It now happens exclusively in Republican-voting states.

The report called 2022 the "Year of the Botched Execution" as seven of the 20 execution attempts in the U.S. were visibly problematic or took an inordinate amount of time.

An annual report on capital punishment says public support and use of the death penalty continued a more than two-decade decline in the U.S. in 2022.

In her final weeks in office, Brown commuted the sentences of all 17 people on death row in the state. Capital punishment is legal in Oregon, though its last execution was in 1997.

NPR's Rachel Martin speaks with Oregon Gov. Kate Brown, who has commuted the sentences of all 17 people on death row in the state. The move has sparked strong pushback from Republicans.

Kate Brown said they'll get life in prison without the possibility of parole instead. A leading Republican state lawmaker said, "Democrats have consistently chosen criminals over victims."

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown said she is commuting the sentences of all 17 inmates on the state's death row. They will serve life in prison without parole.

Gov. Kate Brown (D) commuted the death sentences to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, saying that “justice is not advanced by taking a life.”

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown has announced she is commuting the sentences of all of the state's 17 inmates awaiting execution.

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown announced Tuesday that she is commuting the sentences of all of the state's 17 inmates awaiting execution, saying their death sentences will be changed to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Brown, a Democrat with less than a month remaining in office, said she was using her executive clemency powers to commute the sentences and that her order will take effect on Wednesday. “I have long believed that justice is not advanced by taking a life, and the state should not be in the business of executing people — even if a terrible crime placed them in prison," Brown said in a statement.

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown has announced she is pardoning an estimated 45,000 people convicted of simple possession of marijuana, a month after President Joe Biden did the same under federal law.

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown announced Monday she is pardoning an estimated 45,000 people convicted of simple possession of marijuana, a month after President Joe Biden did the same under federal law. “No one deserves to be forever saddled with the impacts of a conviction for simple possession of marijuana — a crime that is no longer on the books in Oregon,” said Brown, who is also forgiving more than $14 million in unpaid fines and fees. Biden has been calling on governors to issue pardons for those convicted of state marijuana offenses, which reflect the vast majority of marijuana possession cases.

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown and her husband contracted coronavirus after attending the Vietnam-United States Trade Forum overseas. The governor says they are recuperating at home.

Sherman County Sheriff Brad Lohrey and the Oregon Firearms Federation filed a lawsuit challenging a gun control law that was approved by voters during the midterms.

A record 12 women will take their seats as their states' highest-ranking elected officials when the nation's governors are sworn in this winter.

Republican candidate for Oregon governor Christine Drazan conceded on Friday that she lost the race to Democrat Tina Kotek. Drazan said the math shows that, even with ballots remaining to be counted, she cannot win. “This is a unique moment in Oregon’s history and an extraordinary opportunity for leadership that recognizes the dynamics of this race that call for moderation and inclusivity moving forward,” Drazan said in a statement.

Tina Kotek has won election as Oregon’s next governor, extending Democratic control of the state’s top political office for at least four more years.

November's election could be a landmark one for the state of Oregon, whose voters will decide on a major gun measure and could elect the first Republican governor in decades.

Democratic Oregon gubernatorial candidate Tina Kotek has begun attacking fellow Democrat and current governor Kate Brown as Republican Christine Drazan builds momentum in the race.

The U.S. House race in Oregon's newly created 6th Congressional District is closer than expected.

Oregon is typically known as a bastion of West Coast liberalism where Democrats are easily elected and a Republican hasn’t served as governor since the 1980s.

The increase in violent crime in Portland, Oregon, between 2020 and 2021 was higher than the rest of the US, according to the latest crime figures from FBI data.

President Joe Biden is on a three-state swing out West aimed at promoting his administration’s accomplishments and rallying the party faithful.

Oregon may be on the verge of electing its first Republican governor in a generation next month. It would be a heavy blow for Democrats, an indictment of the party’s brand in what has been one of the most progressive states in the country.

The University of Oregon issued an apology, saying the chant went against "everything the university stands for."

The blaze east of Eugene forced nearly 1,500 people to evacuate their homes. Nearly 6,500 more were told to be ready to evacuate.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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"

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.

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

The Nevada school district for Las Vegas and the rest of Clark County says fully vaccinated students and staff are no longer required to wear masks in most situations.

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

Businesses in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut can begin operating at full capacity on May 19.

The coronavirus is making a comeback in Oregon, leading Gov. Kate Brown to reimpose restrictions on restaurants and bars.

New York City is on the verge of reopening while states in the Pacific Northwest are facing another surge.

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.

Several Democratic governors are criticizing the Trump administration for apparently misleading public health officials about holding a stockpile of Covid-19 vaccines in reserve. The newspaper, citing state and federal officials, said the Trump administration had already started shipping its available supply in December. The Democratic state leaders say the lack of a federal reserve will upset plans to increase the speed and scope of their vaccination campaigns. It's time for the Trump administration to do the right thing and help us end this pandemic," the governors wrote. We started releasing those second doses at the end of December so people could get their second doses.

Kate Brown on Friday announced a "two-week freeze" on most activities and nonessential business across the state to curb what she described as an "alarming spike" in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations. "One week ago, I announced a two-week pause on social activities to slow the spread of Covid-19 in several of our counties across the state," Brown said. "Unfortunately, since then, we've seen an alarming spike in both cases and Covid-19 hospitalizations." As the virus resurges this fall, state and city officials have taken more targeted action to address the rise in cases and hospitalizations. Dr. Dean Sidelinger, Oregon state epidemiologist, said Covid-19 hospitalizations are up 50% in the past week and 100% over the past month.