Washington
Rick Scott lays out Washington-changing agenda if he’s elected Senate GOP Leader
As U.S. Sen. Rick Scott runs for Senate Republican Leader, he is laying out his vision for animating Washington.
The Naples Republican released a video that splices together cartoon clips while deriding Washington norms. He asserted leaders for both parties in Washington should be drummed out.
“What if I told you there’s a magical place,” Scott says in narration, “where they can print money and you never have to pay your bills? A place where spending money you don’t have is good, term limits are bad and border security doesn’t matter?”
The video starts panning over a hand-drawn map of the U.S., turning the focus from Florida to a built-up Washington. It then splices to images of cartoon dollar bills falling from the sky.
Clips, which come chiefly from a Compass Classroom video on how industrial economies work, illustrate Scott’s words about a comic ineptness in Washington. It also shows images of Bugs Bunny, while mocking the status quo in Congress.
“It’s a place where they don’t care about crime or inflation. And where you can invent your own truth. Here it is! It’s called Washington,” Scott said, “and it’s time to throw the old leaders of both parties out!”
Scott released the video along with an extensive statement on his agenda as a candidate for leader.
He said his policy agenda would focus on issues directly important to Americans.
“How do we stop inflation and reverse it so a working family can afford a decent dinner? How do we secure our border so illegal aliens aren’t free to wander around our country and murder a young college woman out for a jog in Georgia? How do we turn things around and punish and stop crime instead of letting it get out of control and destroy our communities?” Scott said.
“Senate Republicans should be leading the way on these things, but we aren’t.”
Scott has long been critical of Republican leadership, and in 2022 became the first lawmaker to challenge Majority Leader Mitch McConnell as caucus leader since the Kentucky Republican first won that position.
Scott lost that contest, but quickly put out feelers after McConnell announced earlier this year he will step down from leadership.
The video put out by Scott suggests he doesn’t just want to take over from McConnell and keep moving in the same direction. He wants a dramatic shift in how Senate Republicans do business.
“I believe it is because we have two Republican Parties in America. One is in Washington. It’s a tired, old, Republican party led by establishment insiders,” Scott said.
“It is out of touch, not only with our problems but with our people. It cuts deals with (Senate Majority Leader) Chuck Schumer. It has secret votes and secret agendas. It’s the ‘go along to get along’ crowd. It’s yesterday’s Republican Party and it hasn’t made a dent in our problems in years.
Scott has long closely allied himself with former President Donald Trump, including endorsing him for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. The Florida Republican now has echoed the rhetoric of his fellow businessman-turned politician.
“I’ve got some really good news: There is another Republican Party, a real Republican Party outside of Washington,” Scott said. “It’s the one Washington Republicans ignore. It’s the one that respects working people and their families and their beliefs. It’s the one that’s tired of being sold out, tired of being thrown under the bus, tired of the Washington status quo. It’s the one that supports Donald Trump, instead of undermining him all the time.
“These old establishment Republicans have had their day. It’s time for a change and a fresh, new approach. We can fix all of our country’s problems. I’m confident about that. But first, we Republicans need to clean up our own house in Washington. More of the same won’t cut it. That’s why I am running for re-election to the U.S. Senate and for Republican Leader.”
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Washington
Holdout Democrats leave WA House support for income tax in doubt
Washington
Bill strengthening Washington child sex abuse material laws focuses on consciousness, AI
SEATTLE — A bill aimed at tightening Washington’s laws on child sex abuse material is headed to Gov. Bob Ferguson’s desk after clearing the Legislature unanimously.
King County Prosecuting Attorney Leesa Manion said 2ESSB 5105 passed the House unanimously Tuesday night after the Senate unanimously approved it on Jan. 28, 2026.
SEE ALSO | Washington exempts clergy from reporting abuse learned in confession after settlement
Manion called the measure one of her public safety legislative priorities.
“People who peddle in the misery of sexually abused children must be held accountable,” Manion said. “I am grateful for the work of Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Laura Harmon – both in prosecuting these cases and advocating for these legal fixes – and Senators Tina Orwall and Manka Dhingra for championing this legislation.”
Manion’s office said the current state law has gaps that can prevent prosecutors from holding offenders accountable in some cases.
Under current law, prosecutors cannot charge defendants for creating images of child sex abuse unless the child victim was conscious or knew they were being recorded.
The office also said that possessing sexually explicit fabricated (AI) images of non-identifiable minors is not considered child sex abuse material under Washington law.
The bill would update RCW 9.68A.040 to remove the requirement that a child be aware of an abusive recording. It would also update the definition of child sex abuse material to include fabricated (AI) images of non-identifiable minors.
The legislation would also increase the statute of limitations to 10 years for depiction crimes. Manion’s office said the current statute of limitations is three years, and argued that because the images can remain online indefinitely, victims can be re-traumatized for decades.
Washington
Utah Starts Road Trip with Win in Washington | Utah Mammoth
Both of Utah’s power play units scored in the win. Sergachev scored his 10th goal of the season on the power play 13 and a half minutes into the first period. Peterka scored his 21st of the season, on the man-advantage, in the final two minutes of the middle frame.
Peterka has three power play goals in the 2025-26 campaign while Sergachev has matched a career-high with five power play goals this season. Overall, Utah’s power play has scored six goals in the last six games. That output matches the Mammoth’s total from their previous 18 games (per Mammoth PR). Tourigny discussed what’s changed with the team’s performance in recent games.
“(The) puck gets in,” Tourigny laughed. “But, no, I think there’s a number of things. The most important thing is we’re aggressive. We’re attacking.
“…If you look at our goal, the first one, it’s a direct play to the net and then on the loose puck recovery we take a shot with traffic and we score,” Tourigny continued. “On the second one, it’s a slot pass, a great shot by (Peterka). I think we had that attack mindset.”
Guenther, who is on the Mammoth’s top power play unit, agreed with Tourigny’s assessment of attacking more.
“I think just attacking, less predictable,” Guenther explained. “Shooting it more, I think (it is) just work really. Trying to play like a 5-on-5 mindset but on the (power play).”
The Mammoth made several line changes for tonight’s game and the new lines started to find chemistry, despite it being the first game with these changes.
“I like them,” Tourigny said of the changes. “Obviously (Guenther) got a goal, but Cooley’s line was really good. I was looking at the expected goals at the end, I think they were above 90%. So that’s pretty, pretty awesome. Then I think (Barrett Hayton’s) line worked really hard. They’re heavy on pucks and they play well defensively. I did like (Michael Carcone’s) line in (the) previous three games, and I did like them again tonight.”
When Washington pushed back with a power play goal and multiple close chances in the third period, Utah fought hard against the momentum swing to secure the win.
“I thought we did a pretty good job,” Keller explained. “Weathering the storm as much as we could. They’re a great veteran team. They made it hard on us. They pressured us all over the ice, but I was proud of the way we fought there towards the end.”
Utah’s bench was positive and calm throughout the game, especially late in the third. This helped the Mammoth through the momentum swings. Keller, who had two assists in the win, was one of the key voices for the Mammoth.
“He’s one of the guys who was really positive on the bench,” Tourigny explained. “(All the players) were but (Keller) was really vocal. He was really good energy on the bench. So that was really good.”
Additional Notes from Tonight (per Mammoth PR)
- Guenther had two points in the win (1G, 1A) and the forward has earned a team-high nine points (5G, 4A) through six road games in 2026. He has become the third Mammoth skater to reach the 50-point mark this season (28G, 23A) and established a new career-high in goals.
- Sergachev has 18 power play points this season (5G, 13A) and is tied with Keller for the team lead this season.
- Keller has recorded multiple primary assists in a game for the seventh time this season and the 27th time in his NHL career. He has now tallied multiple points in four of his last six contests (2G, 8A), with three multi-assist outings over that span.
The Mammoth continue their five-game road trip in Philadelphia on Thursday night. Game time is 5 p.m. MT and available to watch on Mammoth+ and Utah16.
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