KATE BROWN

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.

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.

An increasing number of COVID-19 vaccination sites around the U.S. are canceling appointments because of vaccine shortages in a rollout so rife with confusion and unexplained bottlenecks. However, state officials did not explain how regional per capita virus cases and transmission rates that also were released might influence how much ICU space will be available in four weeks. Last week, state health officials told The Associated Press they were keeping all the data secret because it is complicated and might mislead the public. State health officials said Monday that the Brazil P.1 variant was found in a specimen from a Minnesota resident who had recently been to Brazil. Health officials are also worried about variants that were first reported in the U.K. and South Africa.

Crowley submitted public comments to Oregon's vaccine advisory committee to criticize the state's controversial decision to vaccinate its teachers and early childhood care givers ahead of its oldest residents. Oregon's decision underscores the difficult moral dilemma facing local and state public health officials as they weigh which populations need the vaccine most urgently amid a nationwide dose shortage. Now, the state's vaccine advisory committee is wrestling with how to prioritize the next groups. Dr. Kalani Raphael, a kidney specialist at Oregon Health & Science University and a Native Hawaiian on the advisory committee, said minority communities' health care experiences are often invisible, particularly with COVID-19. While Oregon health officials grapple with who will be eligible next, vaccines started Monday for teachers and early childhood educators.

(AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)PHOENIX -- Health officials say the number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in Arizona are declining despite the state having the worst infection rate in the country. Lucky few get COVID-19 vaccine because of rare extra doses in U.S. New Chinese film praises Wuhan ahead of lockdown anniversary. Members of Idaho’s COVID-19 Vaccine Advisory Committee met Friday to help clarify exactly who should have first dibs on the state’s doses. ___SEATTLE -- A suburban Seattle man who advertised a supposed COVID-19 “vaccine” he said he created in his personal lab, has been arrested. At that time, there was no authorized COVID-19 vaccine on the market.

Military leaders spent chunks of Thursday evening and Friday calling states in an unprecedented appeal for more National Guard troops to help lock down much of the city in the days before President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration. Kate Brown said she turned down the federal request to send at least 100 more National Guard troops to D.C. “I didn’t think that we could safely fill that commitment,” Brown said. Oregon has already agreed to send 30 to Washington, but state leaders are worried about violence at the state capitol in Salem. At that point, the new round of calls to the state governors and military leaders began. Roy Cooper initially agreed to send 200 Guard, and on Friday spokesman Ford Porter said the state will send 100 more.

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.

(Reuters) - The Oregon Supreme court stayed on Monday a ruling by a Baker County judge that had invalidated statewide curbs imposed by Governor Kate Brown to rein in the coronavirus. The move comes after Wisconsins supreme court struck down a sweeping stay-at-home order last week, saying state officials did not have the authority to unilaterally confine residents to homes or bar them from working. After the Oregon supreme courts order, Brown said the emergency statewide orders would remain while the court heard arguments in the case. With 3,687 infections and 138 deaths by Monday, Oregon has extended its state of emergency through July 6. (bit.ly/2TjCGjh)Shortly after the county court ruling to overturn Browns orders, the governor had said reopening too quickly without sticking to physical distancing norms could jeopardise public health and cost lives, decrying such a move as irresponsible.

As in many states locking down commerce to curb the spread of COVID-19, the governor allowed carry-out and deliveries. Boulden said in a weekend interview with Reuters that in desperation he suggested in a Twitter message that the club would send its dancers out to deliver food. An exotic dancer wears personal protective equipment while taking a tip in a drive-through go-go dance tent offered by the Lucky Devil Lounge strip club in the wake of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) restrictions in Portland, Oregon, U.S. April 24, 2020. PPE AND PAISTIESThe clubs drive-through, promoted on social media with the hashtag Food 2 Go-Go, drew a steady stream of cars on Friday night. Its a safe way to have some fun, said one of them, Dani Valdes, who works in Seattle-area bars and restaurants and follows some of the Lucky Devil dancers on social media.

FILE PHOTO: Oregon Governor Kate Brown speaks at the state capital building in Salem, Oregon, February 20, 2015. REUTERS/Steve Dipaola(Reuters) - Oregon Governor Kate Brown declared a 60-day state of emergency on Sunday as coronavirus cases in the state doubled to 14. We will do everything in our power to keep Oregonians safe, Brown said at a news conference.

A parade of trucks and tractors circled the Oregon Capitol on Thursday in support of Republican lawmakers who have walked out to block emissions-lowering climate legislation in a political crisis that stretched into an eighth day. Hundreds of farmers, loggers and truckers rallied at the Capitol in solidarity with the Republican senators, pushing them to stay away until the legislative session ends Sunday. The climate plan has exposed lingering tensions between cities like Portland and more rural areas of the state. Miller announced in May that he would lay off at least 60 timber workers at a mill near Portland in anticipation of the climate legislation and other policies pursued by Democrats. Democrats say the legislation is critical to make Oregon a leader in the fight against climate change and will ultimately create jobs and transform the economy.

Salem, Oregon Republican state senators in Oregon haven't shown up for work since last Thursday when they went into hiding to block Democrats from voting on a climate bill. State Democrats even made a wanted poster, evoking the days of the wild west. "I'm not going to be a political prisoner in the state of Oregon," he said. She said she had no choice but to send the state police to find the state senators who are in hiding. With just five days left in the legislative session, the Senate president said there won't be enough votes to pass the climate bill and urged Republicans to return.

Ten people, including the gunman, were killed in a mass shooting at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon. Oregon Gov. Kate Brown joins CBSN to discuss.