Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek has begun meeting with Democratic and Republican leaders of the statehouse to try to end a three-week-old boycott by GOP senators. The governor's office says this year’s troubled legislative session has reached “a crucial point.” No progress was announced, however, with only one month remaining in the session that began on Jan. 17. Over 100 bills that have emerged from committees remain in limbo and both the Senate and House must approve state budgets for the next two years before the session closes by a June 25 deadline.

Yellowstone National Park officials say they had to kill a newborn bison after a man picked it up and the animal's herd wouldn't take it back. Park officials say in a statement the calf became separated from its mother when the herd crossed the Lamar River in northeastern Yellowstone on Saturday. The unidentified man pushed the struggling calf up from the river and onto a roadway. Park rangers tried repeatedly to reunite the calf with the herd but were unsuccessful. Visitors saw the calf walking up to and following cars and people, creating a hazard, so park staff killed the animal.

Caregivers at a South Florida ocean park are taking steps to prepare an orca whale named Lolita for a possible return to her home waters in Washington’s Puget Sound. She's been held captive for more than a half-century at the Miami Seaquarium. The park’s owner and a nonprofit announced a plan in March to possibly move the 57-year-old orca to a natural sea pen. But the move isn’t a done deal. Veterinarians and trainers are working to make sure the whale is strong enough for the journey and can acclimate to her new home.

Officials in Colorado and Montana have issued air quality alerts due to smoke from dozens of wildfires in Canada that has drifted south into the United States. Colorado's Department of Public Health and Environment put out an advisory for Saturday afternoon through Sunday afternoon for much of the eastern half of the state, including Denver. The agency warned that air quality in the region is unhealthy. Montana's air quality alert was also in effect Saturday. The wildfires in Canada have been burning mostly in the province of Alberta, where thousands of residents have evacuated and regional officials have issued emergency alerts. There have also been fires in British Columbia.

Police say the driver of a semitruck that slammed into a passenger van on Interstate 5 in western Oregon has been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter, DUI and other charges. Oregon State Police say 11 people were in the van when it was struck. Six people died at the scene, one more died after being airlifted to a hospital and four were injured. Police say Lincoln Clayton Smith was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of intoxicants, reckless driving, manslaughter and assault. He was arraigned Friday. The state public defender's office did not immediately say whether an attorney had been assigned to his case yet. Thursday's crash near Albany is one of Oregon's deadliest in recent years.

Best-selling novelist James Patterson is teaming up with investigative journalist Vicky Ward on a book about the 2022 killing of four University of Idaho students. Little, Brown and Company announced Friday that Patterson and Ward will “draw from dozens of exclusive interviews, extensive on-the-ground reporting, copious court transcripts” and their own planned attendance at the trial of suspect Bryan Kohberger, who was indicated this week by a grand jury in Boise. Kohberger is accused of killing Xana Kernodle, Ethan Chapin, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves at a rental home in Moscow, Idaho, near the University of Idaho campus.

Washington lawmakers approved and Gov. Jay Inslee quickly signed a major new drug policy, saying it strikes a balance between public order and compassion for those struggling with substance abuse. Democratic and Republican leaders reached a compromise between liberals who believe drugs should be decriminalized and conservatives who insist the threat of jail is necessary to force people into treatment. The bill retains criminal penalties for drug possession, but police and prosecutors would be encouraged to divert cases for treatment. The measure provides millions to create new diversion programs and addiction treatment centers. Inslee called lawmakers into the special session that began Tuesday.

The Biden administration says it has completed a court-ordered review that should ensure construction continues at a Nevada lithium mine, despite legal challenges brought by conservationists and tribal leaders. The Interior Department also announced Tuesday it's taking additional steps to help facilitate President Joe Biden's clean energy agenda in response to recent U.S. court rulings that more strictly interpret a Civil War-era mining law. The department says the new solicitor's opinion will help clarify mineral rights under the 1872 law to reflect the “realities of the 21st century.” A federal appeals court plans to hear oral arguments next month as tribes and environmentalists fight the Nevada mine at Thacker Pass.

Democratic and Republican leaders in the Washington Statehouse have reached a tentative deal on a major new drug policy, one that would avoid making the state the second to decriminalize the possession of controlled substances. Lawmakers will consider the compromise Tuesday when they return to Olympia for a special session. Gov. Jay Inslee called them back to work after they failed to pass a new drug policy before adjourning late last month. A temporary, 2-year-old law that makes intentional drug possession illegal is due to expire July 1. So unless the compromise passes, drug possession — even of fentanyl and other dangerous opiates — will become decriminalized under state law.

An early May heat wave this weekend could surpass daily records in parts of the Pacific Northwest. The National Weather Service has issued an excessive heat warning for much of the western parts of both Oregon and Washington. Temperatures in Portland are forecast to hover in the mid-90s throughout the weekend. Temperatures could hit the low 90s in Seattle. Residents and officials in the Northwest have been trying to adjust to the likely reality of more frequent heat waves following the fatal “heat dome” weather event that prompted record temperatures and deaths in 2021. Many of those who died were older people who lived alone.

Officials in a rural county in northeastern Oregon have voted to give tax breaks worth an estimated $1 billion to Amazon for five more data centers there. The Oregonian/OregonLive reports Wednesday’s unanimous vote by Port of Morrow's five commissioners was the last step in securing the enterprise zone incentives. Local officials hope the incentives will bring $12 billion in new Amazon spending in their county, about 160 miles up the Columbia River from Portland. Amazon already has four giant data centers in Morrow County and several hundred local jobs tied to its operations. But its growth has produced contentious debate over how the Seattle company secured its incentives and an ongoing probe over possible self-dealing among those awarding its tax breaks.

An Idaho man who traveled to Washington in a car loaded with weapons and was photographed dangling from the Senate balcony during the Capitol riot was sentenced Wednesday to 15 months in prison. Josiah Colt was one of the first rioters to reach the Senate floor on Jan. 6, 2021. He later pleaded guilty that year to obstructing Congress’ certification of Joe Biden’s White House victory. Also on Wednesday, a man who accompanied Colt to the District of Columbia in a rental car with weapons and gear was sentenced to about three years in prison, according to court records. Las Vegas resident Nathaniel DeGrave had pleaded guilty to conspiracy and assault charges last year.