Soldier: Key 'kill team' witness admitted lying
A man who was locked up with the government's key witness in the case of U.S. soldiers accused of killing three Afghan civilians for sport says the witness acknowledged fabricating stories against two of the defendants in hopes of winning leniency. Pvt. 1st Class Ronald Darnell Washington has provided a sworn statement in the case saying that Spc. Jeremy Morlock, who was a leader of the plot and has been sentenced to 24 years in prison, told him last month that Spc. Michael Wagnon and Pvt. Andrew Holmes had nothing to with staging the unjustified killings. Wagnon, of Las Vegas, and Holmes, of Boise, Idaho, both claim that they believed they were responding to legitimate threats during the killings last year. Washington's statement was first reported by The News Tribune of Tacoma on Tuesday. Morlock testified during a pretrial hearing in Wagnon's case earlier in the day and insisted that Wagnon participated with full knowledge. In all six soldiers have been charged with involvement in the conspiracy to kill civilians.
    
Woman found dead at Vancouver duplex is identified
Vancouver police have tentatively identified a homicide victim found Monday night in a duplex. Sgt. Scott Creager says that based on witness interviews, detectives believe the woman is 57-year-old Deneace L. McSpadden. Creager tells The Columbian that an autopsy will establish the cause of death. Police have not released any other details.

Gregoire's chief of staff Manning resigning
Gov. Chris Gregoire's chief of staff is leaving the job, saying he feels worn out. Jay Manning said in an interview Tuesday that he has a number of interesting professional opportunities that he wants to pursue. He says he's not departing because of Gregoire's decision to leave at the end of her second term. Manning says he didn't feel he had the energy needed to fully handle the job for the remainder of Gregoire's term. Gregoire says his ability to provide calm during times of stress will be greatly missed. Manning's last day will be July 15.
    
Inslee reports raising over $100,000 to start race
Democratic Rep. Jay Inslee has raised more than $100,000 to start his campaign for governor. Inslee said in a filing to the Public Disclosure Commission that he received the donations between Monday and Friday of last week. He officially declared his candidacy this week. Republican candidate Rob McKenna has yet to file his campaign finance reports to the agency. He has been out fundraising and previously said he expects the race will cost both sides millions of dollars.
    
Washington Supreme Court hearing on school case is lively
An engaged and prepared Washington Supreme Court sat behind the bench Tuesday to hear arguments concerning the state's obligation to pay for public school education. Every justice asked at least one question and they barely gave the attorneys a chance to present any of their prepared remarks. Many of the questions concerned whether the Legislature has made any progress lately in improving the way the state pays for basic education. Assistant Attorney General Bill Clark says lawmakers have made a lot of progress in their reform efforts. Thomas Ahearne, who represents a coalition of school districts, teachers and community groups, says the work of the Legislature is all talk and studies and no action. The Supreme Court is expected to spend months thinking about the case before making a ruling sometime this fall or winter.
    
Mossyrock, Wash., fire chief dead at 47
A spokesman for Lewis County Fire District 3 says the chief of the fire department that serves the small southwest Washington town of Mossyrock has died. Spokesman Gregg Peterson tells KING-TV that 47-year-old Matt Hadaller suffered an unspecified medical problem at his home Monday night while he was on call. He suffered a cardiac arrest as he was being taken to Morton General Hospital. Peterson says fire district medics and hospital emergency department staff were unable to revive him. KING reports services are scheduled Saturday at the Mossyrock High School football field, where Hadaller played quarterback for the Vikings' football team.
    
Seattle police leave rifle unattended on cruiser
A Seattle police spokesman says the department is embarrassed after officers left a police rifle unattended on a patrol car outside a busy downtown area. Spokesman Sgt. Sean Whitcomb says the department has launched an investigation. Whitcomb says two people spotted the rifle on the parked car. One flagged down bicycle officers to alert them. The other followed the cruiser as it drove through downtown Seattle and tracked down the driver after the car parked. The alternative weekly The Stranger first reported the incident, posting a picture that shows the rifle sitting on top of the trunk. Whitcomb says such rifles are assigned only to officers who have additional training. They're usually kept in the trunk or between the driver and passenger seats.
    
Officer fires gun in south Seattle shootout
Police say an officer on patrol in south Seattle witnessed a shootout between two men just before midnight Tuesday after they left a lounge. Police say the officer fired on both suspects. One fled. One was taken into custody. Police have recovered two handguns. The officer is not hurt. A witness told KIRO-TV he heard at least seven shots.

Hearing for 2 man accused of Seattle terror plot
Two men accused of plotting to attack a military recruiting station in Seattle are scheduled for detention hearings Wednesday as they begin the legal process that could put them in prison for life. Abu Khalid Abdul-Latif, also known as Joseph Anthony Davis, and Walli Mujahidh, also known as Frederick Domingue Jr., were arrested June 22 after an anti-terror investigation with the help of an informant. The two are accused of planning to use machine guns and grenades in an attempt to kill as many military people as possible at a Seattle center that processes military recruits. The 33-year-old Abdul-Latif is a Seattle-area resident. The 32-year-old Mujahidh is a former Seattle resident who traveled from Los Angeles.
    
Defendant could be zapped during Seattle testimony
A man charged in a brutal rape and stabbing attack on a lesbian couple in Seattle two summers ago is expected to testify Wednesday wearing an electroshock device. Isaiah Kalebu has been so disruptive he has been barred from attending his own trial, which has been going on for three weeks. A guard is prepared to activate the stun device if Kalebu has a violent outburst when he testifies in his own defense. The 25-year-old is charged with aggravated murder, attempted murder, rape and burglary in the July 2009 attack. Teresa Butz was killed. If Kalebu is convicted as charged, he faces a sentence of life in prison without parole.
 
Mercer Island to pay $90,000 for withholding records
A federal judge has ordered the city of Mercer Island to pay $90,560 plus attorneys' fees for withholding documents requested by a former city official under the state Public Records Act. Former deputy city manager Londi Lindell sought the records as she sued Mercer Island, claiming she lost her job in 2008 because she objected to the whitewashing of an investigation of city employees. The city refused to turn over some documents that it had no right to withhold, including Lindell's calendar from when she had been employed. It claimed some of the documents were protected by attorney-client privilege -- even though among the records was an email in which the city agreed to waive that privilege. The city didn't disclose that email even existed until U.S. District Judge James Robart saw it when he reviewed the documents in his chambers. Robart called the city's handling of the case troubling.
    
Obama holds news conference, welcomes WNBA champs
President Barack Obama meets the press in his first formal news conference since March. The question-and-answer session comes in the midst of the president's debt and budget negotiations with Congress. On a lighter note, Obama will welcome the WNBA champion Seattle Storm to the White House Rose Garden. The Storm swept the Atlanta Dream last September. The president also will deliver remarks at an East Room reception observing Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month. In the evening, the president and first lady Michelle Obama will host a private farewell dinner for Defense Secretary Robert Gates. Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, will also attend.
    
Boeing labor dispute turns into headache for Obama
The government's labor dispute with Boeing Co. is turning into a political headache for President Barack Obama. Outraged Republicans are keeping up a steady drumbeat of criticism over the National Labor Relations Board's lawsuit against the aerospace giant. And GOP presidential hopefuls are using the issue to attack Obama's economic policies. The NLRB says Boeing retaliated against its unionized workforce in Washington state by opening a new production line for its 787 airplane in South Carolina. The agency wants a judge to order Boeing to return the work to Washington. Boeing says it did nothing wrong. The lawsuit is a major story in South Carolina, a crucial early primary state in the GOP presidential race. Republican presidential hopefuls are playing up the issue at debates and campaign stops.
    
Experts contest DNA evidence at Knox trial
Independent forensic experts are disputing much of the forensic evidence collected against Amanda Knox, saying that some of the DNA traces used to convict the American student and her co-defendant may have been contaminated. Prosecutors maintained in the first trial that Knox's DNA was found on the handle of a kitchen knife they believe to be the murder weapon, and that the DNA of victim Meredith Kercher was found on the blade. They say the DNA of co-defendant Raffaele Sollecito was found on the clasp of Kercher's bra. The court-appointed experts said in a report Wednesday obtained by The Associated Press that the genetic profile attributed to Kercher is "unreliable" and that results may have been contaminated on both the blade and bra clasp.
    
Washington man gets more than 67 years for murder
A Kennewick man has been sentenced to more than 67 years in prison for fatally shooting a Pasco father and critically wounding the man's wife in 2008. Ramon Garcia-Morales was sentenced Tuesday in Franklin County Superior Court. Jurors earlier this month convicted the 31-year-old man of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, two counts of assault and firearms charges. The Tri-City Herald reports that 42-year-old Alfredo Garcia was killed in a confrontation at his home. His wife, Maria Ramirez de Garcia, was also shot. She is now paralyzed and must use a wheelchair. A trial for a second man charged in the case is on hold while he undergoes competency treatment at Eastern State Hospital.
    
Man, woman, dog on motorcycle crash in Spokane
A man, woman and a dog were riding on a motorcycle that collided with a pickup truck in Spokane. KHQ reports the man and woman were taken to a hospital Tuesday with serious injuries. The pickup truck driver was not injured. There's no word on the dog's condition.
    
Salazar, Ashe to visit Wyoming to talk wolves
Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead says he hopes a meeting with U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar results in a concrete agreement on wolf management. Salazar is scheduled to visit Wyoming next month. He'll be joined by Daniel Ashe, President Barack Obama's nominee to lead the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. An Interior Department spokeswoman says Salazar and Ashe plan to talk about "developing a sound, science-based wolf management plan." Wyoming Republican Sen. John Barrasso also says he will lift his hold on Ashe's nomination because the federal government has decided to "aggressively pursue" a resolution to the wolves' status in Wyoming. Fish and Wildlife last month removed wolves from Endangered Species Act protection in five Western states - Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Utah and Washington. There are about 1,650 wolves in the five states.