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A Minneapolis family shares their story to raise awareness on the groundbreaking treatment that has helped their daughter. SEATTLE — Artificial intelligence is helping tackle the overwhelming task of treating what's known as "ultra-rare" genetic conditions, many of which lack a cure.  Two-year-old Jorie Kraus has such a condition, known as DeSanto-Shinawi syndrome, a rare genetic disease that affects only dozens of estimated cases worldwide.  Jorie's parents, Dave and Joanie Kraus, are sharing their story to bring awareness to a potential treatment. "I just don't think we would be able to live with ourselves if we have this information, couldn't share it with other people," said father Dave, who splits his time between Twin Cities, Minnesota, and Bellevue, Washington, where he works for Amazon. Doctors at the Mayo Clinic have harnessed the power of AI to develop a personalized treatment for Jorie, calling it a breakthrough. DeSanto-Shinawi syndrome is caused by a missing piece of chromosome 10. It affects heart development and causes severe neurodevelopmental delays. Her parents learned of the diagnosis after Jorie's birth, despite genetic testing after Jorie was conceived via IVF. "When you think you get the testing, you think, oh, I'm gonna have a healthy baby, and they don't realize that that testing only takes care of a small fraction of really what could be when it comes to especially rare diseases or Jorie's case, ultra rare diseases," said Joanie. Unlike other medical challenges the family had faced, this condition presented unique difficulties.  "Everything else had a surgery that she was dealing with. And when it came to this, there was, there was no fix," Dave said.  AI-Driven Drug Discovery The breakthrough came when the Krauses connected with Mayo Clinic doctors Laura Lambert and Whitney Thompson, who utilized the clinic's "BabyFORce" program. The team turned to AI to search through thousands of FDA-approved medications, looking for something that could help Jorie produce more of an important protein that she was missing. The AI identified a commonly-used pediatric neurologic medication that could "upregulate" Jorie's remaining functional gene, essentially boosting production of the protein her body desperately needed. "It's very unlikely that we would have seen it without the AI tool," said Dr. Lambert. Before administering the medication to Jorie, the medical team took an additional precautionary step by testing it on her cells in a laboratory to prove it would work. "What is unique about what we're doing is that we are taking the patient's own cells and taking that extra step of testing the drug in their cells to see if it works before we recommend that it be prescribed to the patient," Dr. Lambert said. "Remarkable Results" Since starting treatment in April, Jorie has shown unprecedented progress. She has gained new skills, including walking with a walker for the first time and saying her first words. Blood tests confirmed that her protein levels have normalized, and a recent MRI showed improvements in her brain. "We've been blown away by how well she's done since starting treatment. So she only started the medication in early April, and even within weeks of starting the medication, we were hearing from her parents that she was gaining new skills," Thompson said.  Future Applications The Mayo Clinic team is now working toward clinical trials to help other children with the same condition and exploring how this AI-driven approach could be applied to other rare genetic diseases. "It gives us a lot of hope too that, you know, not only for this condition, but for other rare genetic conditions, this is a potential approach that could work," Dr. Thompson said. Family's Mission This breakthrough represents a significant advancement in personalized medicine for ultra-rare genetic diseases, potentially opening new pathways for treatment where none previously existed. The Kraus family, motivated by their experience, started a nonprofit called The Jorie Effect to raise funds for this specialized therapy and continue raising hope for Jorie and others facing similar challenges. The family's perspective on their journey reflects the reality many families with medically complex children face.  "Anybody that has a child that's medically complex, I think that's the first thing they'll say is that we don't take anything for granted," Joanie Kraus said.

The recalls now expand beyond shrimp sold at Walmart. More companies are recalling tens of thousands of packages of imported shrimp sold at Walmart, Kroger and other U.S. stores because they may contain radioactive contamination, according to federal notices. AquaStar USA Corp. of Seattle is recalling more than 26,000 packages of refrigerated cocktail shrimp sold at Walmart stores in 27 states between July 31 and Aug. 16. The company is also recalling about 18,000 bags of Kroger-branded cooked, medium peeled, tail-off shrimp sold at stores in 17 states between July 24 and Aug. 11. At the same time, H&N Group Inc., a wholesale seafood distributor in Vernon, California, is recalling more than 17,000 cases of frozen shrimp sold to grocery stores on the East Coast, according to a notice from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. That recall began on Aug. 12. The products have been pulled because they may be contaminated with Cesium-137, a radioactive isotope that is a byproduct of nuclear reactions. The risk appears to be small, but the shrimp could pose a “potential health concern” for people exposed to low levels of Cesium-137 over time, FDA officials said. The FDA issued a safety alert this month warning consumers not to eat certain frozen shrimp imported from PT. Bahari Makmur Sejati, an Indonesian company doing business as BMS Foods. Cesium-137 was detected in shipping containers from the company sent to U.S. ports and in a sample of frozen breaded shrimp. FDA has also added PT. Bahari Makmur Sejati to a new import alert for chemical contamination to stop products from this firm from coming into the U.S. It remains unclear how the containers or the shrimp became contaminated. Federal officials said they are investigating and declined to respond to detailed questions from The Associated Press about the source or extent of the contamination. None of the shrimp that triggered alerts or tested positive for Cesium-137 was released for sale, the FDA said. But other shipments sent to stores may have been manufactured under conditions that allowed the products to become contaminated, the agency said. Officials with U.S. Customs and Border Protection first detected the potential radioactive contamination in shipping containers sent to U.S. ports in Los Angeles, Houston, Miami and Savannah, Georgia. Customs officials alerted the FDA, which conducted tests of packaged shrimp and confirmed Cesium-137 in a single sample. Experts in nuclear radiation agreed that the health risk is low, but said it's important to determine the source of the contamination and share that information with the public. The level of Cesium-137 detected in the frozen shrimp was about 68 becquerels per kilogram, a measure of radioactivity. That is far below the FDA's level of 1,200 becquerels per kilogram that could trigger the need for health protections. It is unusual to see this concentration of Cesium-137 in shrimp, said Steve Biegalski, who chairs the Nuclear and Radiological Engineering and Medical Physics program at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Routine levels detected in shrimp from the Pacific Ocean are about 100 times lower than those found in the BMS shrimp, according to the American Nuclear Society. “We sometimes can see Cesium-137 from historic nuclear weapons fallout, nuclear accidents such as Fukushima or Chernobyl, but the levels in the environment are super, super, super low right now and cannot explain what's going on here,” Biegalski said. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

The move comes months after the company emerged from a Chapter 11 reorganization. WASHINGTON — Budget carrier Spirit Airlines said Friday that it has filed for fresh bankruptcy protection months after emerging from a Chapter 11 reorganization. The no-frills airline said it intends to conduct business as normal during the restructuring process, meaning passengers can continue to book trips and use their tickets, credits and loyalty points. The company said its employees and contractors would still be paid. Spirit President and CEO Dave Davis said the airline's previous Chapter 11 petition focused on reducing debt and raising capital, and since exiting that process in March "it has become clear that there is much more work to be done and many more tools are available to best position Spirit for the future.“ In a quarterly report issued earlier this month, Spirit Aviation Holdings, the carrier's parent company, said it had “substantial doubt” about its ability to continue as a going concern over the next year — which is accounting-speak for running out of money. Spirit cited “adverse market conditions" the company faced after its most recent restructuring and other efforts to revive its business. That included weak demand for domestic leisure travel, which Spirit said persisted in the second quarter of its fiscal year, and “uncertainties in its business operations” that the Florida company expects to continue “for at least the remainder of 2025.” Known for its no-frills, low-cost flights on a fleet of bright yellow planes, Spirit has struggled to recover and compete since the COVID-19 pandemic. Rising operation costs and mounting debt eventually led the company to seek bankruptcy protection in November. By the time of that Chapter 11 filing, the airline had lost more than $2.5 billion since the start of 2020. When Spirit emerged from bankruptcy protection in March, the company successfully restructured some of its debt obligations and secured new financing for future operations. Spirit has continued to make other cost-cutting efforts since — including plans to furlough about 270 pilots and downgrade some 140 captains to first officers in the coming months. The furloughs and downgrades announced last month go into effect Oct. 1 and Nov. 1 to align with Spirit's “projected flight volume for 2026,” the company noted in its quarterly report. They also follow previous furloughs and job cuts before the company's bankruptcy filing last year. Despite these and other cost-cutting efforts, Spirit has said it needs more cash. As a result, the company said it may also sell certain aircraft and real estate. And as discount carriers struggle to compete with bigger airlines — many of which have snagged budget-conscious customers through their own tiered offerings — Spirit is attempting to tap into the growing market for more upscale travel. It is now offering flight options with tiered prices, the higher-priced tickets coming with more amenities. The company pointed to the new strategy again on Monday. Spirit’s aircraft fleet is relatively young, which has also made the airline an attractive takeover target. But such buyout attempts from budget rivals like JetBlue and Frontier were unsuccessful both before and during the bankruptcy process. Spirit operates 5,013 flights to 88 destinations in the U.S., the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America, Panama and Colombia, according to travel search engine Skyscanner.net Copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.     

Pierce County deputies found a loaded 9mm gun in the teen's bag. GRAHAM, Wash. — A 14-year-old boy was arrested and charged after bringing a loaded gun to the first day of school at Graham-Kapowsin High School in Graham. “This could have been a serious incident if it had not been [sic] from the Campus Safety’s amazing situational awareness and swift actions,” a spokesperson for the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. “Amazing work by all.” The Pierce County Sheriff’s Office responded to the school Wednesday just after 1 p.m., after the school notified deputies that the boy had a gun. School staff told deputies that the boy and three other current and former students had been “avoiding and running away” from campus security and staff  “all day.” The boy, who is a student at a junior high school in the Puyallup School District, was found with a loaded 9mm gun, according to probable cause documents. Deputies said the gun had two rounds inside the magazine and one round was loaded in the chamber. A cellphone that was found with the boy had a picture of him holding the gun on the lock screen, according to documents. The boy also had a balaclava and a bandana. The boy told deputies he wasn’t planning on shooting anyone, according to documents. The boy was booked into Remann Hall Pierce County Juvenile Detention Center. He was charged Thursday with first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm and possessing dangerous weapons on school facilities. KING 5 typically does not name juvenile defendants. The three other current and former Graham-Kapowsin students were also detained. The boy’s next court appearance is Sept. 3.

Funding was rescinded on Friday for projects in 11 states, including $435 million for a floating wind farm in Northern California. WASHINGTON — The Transportation Department on Friday canceled $679 million in federal funding for a dozen offshore wind projects, the latest attack by the Trump administration on the reeling U.S. offshore wind industry. Funding for projects in 11 states was rescinded, including $435 million for a floating wind farm in Northern California and $47 million to boost an offshore wind project in Maryland that the Interior Department has pledged to cancel. “Wasteful, wind projects are using resources that could otherwise go towards revitalizing America’s maritime industry,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a statement. “Thanks to President Trump, we are prioritizing real infrastructure improvements over fantasy wind projects that cost much and offer little.” It's the latest step by the administration against renewable energy sources The Trump administration has stepped up its crusade against wind and other renewable energy sources in recent weeks, cutting federal funding and canceling projects approved by the Biden administration in a sustained attack on clean energy sources that scientists say are crucial to the fight against climate change. President Donald Trump has vowed to restore U.S. “energy dominance” in the global market and has pushed to increase U.S. reliance on fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas that emit planet-warming greenhouse gases. California Rep. Jared Huffman, the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, called Duffy’s action “outrageous” and deeply disappointing. Trump and his Cabinet “have a stubborn and mystifying hatred of clean energy,” Huffman said in an interview. “It’s so dogmatic. They are willing to eliminate thousands of jobs and an entire sector that can bring cheap, reliable power to American consumers.” The canceled funding will be redirected to upgrade ports and other infrastructure in the U.S., where possible, the Transportation Department said. Other wind projects are also being halted Separately, Trump’s Energy Department said Friday it is withdrawing a $716 million loan guarantee approved by the Biden administration to upgrade and expand transmission infrastructure to accommodate a now-threatened offshore wind project in New Jersey. The moves come as the administration abruptly halted construction last week of a nearly complete wind farm off the coast of Rhode Island and Connecticut. The Interior Department said the government needs to review the $4 billion Revolution Wind project and address national security concerns. It did not specify what those concerns are. Democratic governors, lawmakers and union workers in New England have called for Trump and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to reverse course. Trump has long expressed disdain for wind power, frequently calling it an ugly and expensive form of energy that “smart” countries don’t use. Earlier this month, the Interior Department canceled a major wind farm in Idaho, a project approved late in former President Joe Biden’s term that had drawn criticism for its proximity to a historic site where Japanese Americans were incarcerated during World War II. Trump blames renewable power for rising energy prices Last week, with U.S. electricity prices rising at more than twice the rate of inflation, Trump lashed out, falsely blaming renewable power for skyrocketing energy costs. He called wind and solar energy “THE SCAM OF THE CENTURY!” in a social media post and vowed not to approve any wind or solar projects. “We’re not allowing any windmills to go up unless there’s a legal situation where somebody committed to it a long time ago,” Trump said at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday. Energy analysts say renewable sources have little to do with recent price hikes, which are based on increased demand from artificial intelligence and energy-hungry data centers, along with aging infrastructure and increasingly extreme weather events such as wildfires that are exacerbated by climate change. Revolution Wind’s developer, Danish energy company Orsted, said it is evaluating the financial impact of stopping construction on the New England project and is considering legal proceedings. Revolution Wind was expected to be Rhode Island and Connecticut’s first commercial-scale offshore wind farm, capable of powering more than 350,000 homes. In addition to hampering the states' climate goals, losing out on all that renewable power could drive up electricity prices throughout the region, Democratic officials say. Critics say climate and jobs are at risk Trump has made sweeping strides to prioritize fossil fuels and hinder renewable energy projects. Those include reviewing wind and solar energy permits, canceling plans to use large areas of federal waters for new offshore wind development and stopping work on another offshore wind project for New York, although construction was later allowed to resume. Some critics say the steps to cancel projects put Americans' livelihoods at risk. “It’s an attack on our jobs,” Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee said of the move to stop construction of Revolution Wind. “It’s an attack on our energy. It’s an attack on our families and their ability to pay the bills.” Patrick Crowley, president of the Rhode Island AFL-CIO, said his union is “going to fight (Trump) every step of the way, no matter how long it takes.” Under Biden, the U.S. held the first-ever auction of leases for floating wind farms in December 2022. Deep waters off the West Coast are better suited for floating projects than those that are anchored in the seabed, officials said. Copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.     

He used what's called a 'pocket recession,' which effectively cut the budget without going through the legislative branch. WASHINGTON, D.C., USA — President Donald Trump has told House Speaker Mike Johnson that he won't be spending $4.9 billion in congressionally approved foreign aid, effectively cutting the budget without going through the legislative branch. Trump, who sent a letter to Johnson, R-La., on Thursday, is using what’s known as a pocket rescission — when a president submits a request to Congress to not spend approved funds toward the end of the fiscal year, so Congress cannot act on the request in a 45-day timeframe and the money goes unspent as a result. It's the first time in nearly 50 years a president has used one. The fiscal year draws to a close at the end of September. The letter was posted Friday morning on the X account of the White House Office of Management and Budget. It said the funding would be cut from the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, an early target of Trump's efforts to cut foreign aid. If the White House standardizes this move, the president could effectively bypass Congress on key spending choices and potentially throw into disarray efforts in the House and the Senate to keep the government funded when the next fiscal year starts in October. The use of a pocket rescission fits part a broader pattern by the Trump administration to exact greater control over the U.S. government, eroding the power of Congress and agencies such as the Federal Reserve and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, among others. The administration has already fired federal workers and imposed a historic increase in tariffs without going through Congress, putting the burden on the judicial branch to determine the limits of presidential power. A White House official, who insisted on anonymity on a call with reporters to discuss the move, declined to say how the administration might use pocket rescissions in the coming years or what the upper limits of it might be as a tool. The official expressed confidence the administration would prevail in any legal challenges and said a goal of the proposed spending cuts was to make the cleanest case possible for these types of clawbacks. Winding down USAID Secretary of State Marco Rubio posted on X that USAID is essentially being shuttered and congratulated White House budget director Russ Vought for managing the process. “USAID is officially in close out mode,” Rubio said. “Russ is now at the helm to oversee the closeout of an agency that long ago went off the rails.” The 1974 Impoundment Control Act gives the president the authority to propose canceling funds approved by Congress. Congress can within 45 days vote on pulling back the funds or sustaining them, but by proposing the rescission so close to Sept. 30 the White House argues that the money won't be spent and the funding lapses. What was essentially the last pocket rescission occurred in 1977 by Democratic then-President Jimmy Carter, and the Trump administration argues it’s a legally permissible tool despite some murkiness as Carter had initially proposed the clawback well ahead of the 45-day deadline. Pushback against pocket rescissions The move by the Trump administration drew immediate backlash in parts of the Senate over its legality. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said in a statement that the Constitution “makes clear that Congress has the responsibility for the power of the purse” and any effort to claw back funds “without congressional approval is a clear violation of the law.” “Instead of this attempt to undermine the law, the appropriate way is to identify ways to reduce excessive spending through the bipartisan, annual appropriations process," Collins said. Congress approves rescissions regularly as part of this process." Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York warned that Trump's use of the pocket veto could undermine the normal funding process and risk “a painful and entirely unnecessary shutdown.” After all, any budget agreements reached in the Senate could lack authority if the Trump White House has the power to withhold spending as it sees fit. Schumer said in a statement that Republican leaders have yet to meet with Democrats on a path to fund the government after the fiscal year ends on Sept. 30 just as Trump tries an “unlawful gambit to circumvent the Congress all together.” "But if Republicans are insistent on going it alone, Democrats won’t be party to their destruction,” Schumer said. ‘No exceptions’ Eloise Pasachoff, a Georgetown University law professor and expert on federal spending issues, has written that the Impoundment Control Act allows rescissions only if Congress acts within 45 days, meaning the the White House alone cannot decide to not spend the funds. “This mandatory language admits no exceptions, indicating that Congress expects the funds to be used as intended before the end of the fiscal year if it does not approve the proposed rescission,” Pasachoff wrote in an academic paper last year. What's in the funding? The funds in the pocket rescission package include $3.2 billion in development assistance grants, $520 million for the United Nations, $838 million for international peacekeeping operations and $322 million to encourage democratic values in other countries. Trump had previously sought to get congressional backing for rescissions and succeeded in doing so in July when the House and the Senate approved $9 billion worth of cuts. Those rescissions clawed back funding for public broadcasting and foreign aid. The Trump administration has made deep reductions to foreign aid one of its hallmark policies, despite the relatively meager savings relative to the deficit and possible damage to America's reputation abroad as foreign populations lose access to food supplies and development programs. In February, the administration said it would eliminate almost all of USAID's foreign aid contracts and $60 billion in overall assistance abroad. USAID has since been dismantled, and its few remaining programs have been placed under State Department control. The Trump administration on Wednesday appealed to the Supreme Court to stop lower court decisions that have preserved foreign aid, including for global health and HIV and AIDS programs, that Trump has tried to freeze. The New York Post first reported the pocket rescission. AP writers Mark Sherman and Stephen Groves contributed to this report. Copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.     

Officials say the bones will be analyzed to determine whether they are animal or human. LEAVENWORTH, Wash. — The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) confirmed Friday that it recovered bones during a two-day search at the campground where Travis Decker is believed to have killed and left his three young daughters in May. On Thursday, the FBI announced that it had uncovered "several items" that were considered "potential evidence" during the search at Rock Island Campground. Decker's three daughters, Paityn, Evelyn and Olivia, were found there on June 2 and Decker has not been seen since he is believed to have kidnapped the girls on May 30. The FBI says the bones will be analyzed to determine whether they are animal human. No further information about the bones was released. In total, the search involved over 100 personnel who spent the two-day search documenting about 247 acres. The FBI worked with both the Chelan and Spokane County sheriff's offices, the U.S. Marshals Service, Port of Seattle Police Department, Yakima Police Department and other federal and state officials. Police found Decker’s truck at the campground on June 2, and the girls were found dead nearby. The discovery prompted a manhunt for Decker throughout the Cascades; however, he has evaded authorities for nearly three months.  Search efforts have slowed in recent weeks. Earlier this month, the King County Sheriff’s Office sent patrols to Snoqualmie Pass after a reported sighting of Decker but called off the search after several hours. The U.S. Marshals Service has worked with Chelan County to search tens of thousands of acres near Blewett Pass and the Enchantments. Anyone who sees Decker is urged to call 911 immediately and not to try contacting or approaching him. The U.S. Marshals Service is still offering a reward of up to $20,000 for information leading directly to his arrest.

The judges upheld a lower court ruling that maintained temporary protected status for Venezuelans while the case proceeded through court. WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court on Friday blocked the Trump administration’s plans to end protections for 600,000 people from Venezuela who have had permission to live and work in the United States. A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously upheld a lower court ruling that maintained temporary protected status for Venezuelans while the case proceeded through court. An email to the Department of Homeland Security for comment was not immediately returned. The 9th Circuit judges found that plaintiffs were likely to succeed on their claim that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem had no authority to vacate or set aside a prior extension of temporary protected status because the governing statute written by Congress does not permit it. Then-President Joe Biden's Democratic administration had extended temporary protected status for people from Venezuela. “In enacting the TPS statute, Congress designed a system of temporary status that was predictable, dependable, and insulated from electoral politics,” Judge Kim Wardlaw, who was nominated by President Bill Clinton, a Democrat, wrote for panel. The other two judges on the panel were also nominated by Democratic presidents. U.S. District Judge Edward Chen of San Francisco found in March that plaintiffs were likely to prevail on their claim that President Donald Trump's Republican administration overstepped its authority in terminating the protections and were motivated by racial animus in doing so. Chen ordered a freeze on the terminations, but the Supreme Court reversed him without explanation, which is common in emergency appeals. It is unclear what effect Friday’s ruling will have on the estimated 350,000 Venezuelans in the group of 600,000 whose protections expired in April. Their lawyers say some have already been fired from jobs, detained in immigration jails, separated from their U.S. citizen children and even deported. Protections for the remaining 250,000 Venezuelans are set to expire Sept. 10. Congress authorized temporary protected status, or TPS, as part of the Immigration Act of 1990. It allows the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security to grant legal immigration status to people fleeing countries experiencing civil strife, environmental disaster or other “extraordinary and temporary conditions” that prevent a safe return to that home country. In ending the protections, Noem said that conditions in Venezuela had improved and that it was not in the U.S. national interest to allow migrants from there to stay on for what is a temporary program. Millions of Venezuelans have fled political unrest, mass unemployment and hunger. Their country is mired in a prolonged crisis brought on by years of hyperinflation, political corruption, economic mismanagement and an ineffectual government. Attorneys for the U.S. government argued the Homeland Security secretary’s clear and broad authority to make determinations related to the TPS program were not subject to judicial review. They also denied that Noem's actions were motivated by racial animus. Copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.     

The man was switching from one anchor to another when he fell. He was not able to complete the switch, Sky Valley Fire confirmed. INDEX, Wash. — A man in his 20s has died after he fell 200 feet while climbing in Index on Thursday.  The man was climbing at Town Wall, which is considered a "climber's trail" in Index. The Washington Trails Association notes the trail is "steep, features cliffy drop-offs and is extremely eroded." The Index Town Wall draws climbers from around the region and is a dangerous spot known to first responders.  The man was switching over from one anchor to another while climbing, but wasn't able to completely click into it, according to Sky Valley Fire.  The department attempted a rescue, but that turned into a recovery mission after they discovered the man had died. The man's body was turned over to the Snohomish County medical examiner. The Snohomish County Sheriff's Office will investigate further what led to the man's fall.  Back in 2023, a man who was climbing that same wall was killed after falling due to an "equipment failure."  RELATED: Volunteer firefighter dies in Index rock climbing accident More recently, a climber was injured at that same climbing wall back in April. A 47-year-old woman was climbing about 60 feet off the ground with two others when she fell from the Lower Town Wall onto a ledge that was 30 feet below.  Officials said the woman hurt her knee and head in the fall. She was treated for injuries at Providence Hospital. RELATED: Woman climbing Index Wall falls 30 feet

Photo Credit: City of Bellevue The City of Bellevue has released a draft version of its 2026–2030 Sustainable Bellevue Plan and is asking the public to share feedback. Comments can be submitted online through Monday, September 8. The draft plan is an update to the city’s current 2021–2025 plan, which was adopted in 2020. Work on the new version began in October 2024, and staff have already gathered input from more than 1,000 residents and local organizations. That feedback helped shape the priorities included in the draft. Bellevue’s long-term goal is to reach carbon neutrality by 2050, with the city aiming to make its own operations carbon-neutral by 2040. To support these goals, the draft plan outlines strategies in five areas: climate change, energy and buildings, mobility and land use, materials and waste, and natural systems. Along with reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the plan highlights growing Bellevue’s tree canopy, adding more transportation options, and preparing for climate change impacts. A main goal is building resilience so the city stays livable for everyone in the future. The City Council is expected to review and adopt the updated Sustainable Bellevue Plan in late 2025. Residents can read the draft and share feedback on the Sustainable Bellevue Plan Update page on Engaging Bellevue. For questions, contact project manager Colin Munson at cmunson@bellevuewa.gov.