Bird flu has infected a commercial flock of about 800,000 fowl at an egg farm in southeast Washington, the state’s Department of Agriculture said this week.
It’s the first detection in Washington this year of highly pathogenic avian influenza in a commercial poultry operation and is one of about four dozen known commercial and domestic flocks in the state to be infected with the disease since 2022, the department said.
“It was a pretty long break we got,” said Amber Betts, a spokesperson for the state’s Department of Agriculture. She explained that the fall migration season for wild birds raises the risks of the disease spreading at poultry facilities.
As of Thursday, there were no signs the H5N1 virus had spread to humans or other types of livestock in the area where the infected flock was detected, Betts said.
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“Right now, it’s a poultry outbreak,” she said.
In response to outbreaks like this, flocks are quickly euthanized and disposed of either through composting or cremation. Left unchecked, the disease spreads quickly among birds at poultry farms and causes severe illness or death for the animals.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has a program to compensate poultry operations for losses tied to bird flu.
Here in Washington, state and federal officials will monitor other commercial bird flocks within about six miles of the Franklin County site where the latest outbreak has occurred.
Commercial poultry operations in that zone are required to monitor their flocks’ health closely, with regular surveillance testing, and must request permits from the state to move products deemed safe in or out of the area, according to the state Department of Agriculture.
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The last outbreak at a commercial poultry facility in Washington involved about 1 million birds, while domestic flocks that have been infected have ranged widely in size, Betts said.
Bird flu circulates among wild birds and can spread to agricultural flocks.
The first detections in the U.S. of the current H5N1 outbreak of the disease were in January 2022. Since then, the sickness has affected at least 103 million poultry in the U.S., according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The strain of the virus now active in the U.S. has also infected dairy cows and other mammals, including harbor seals in northwest Washington. There’ve also been at least 25 reported human cases across the country in 2024, none of them in Washington state, CDC figures show.
Bird flu infections tend to be rare in people and typically occur when people are around animals with the illness. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the risk to the general public from the virus remains low.
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Symptoms in people, according to the CDC, may include eye redness, flu-like respiratory illness, fever, cough, sore throat and in more serious cases, pneumonia.
Between 2003 and April of this year, the World Health Organization recorded 889 cases and 463 deaths in 23 countries caused by the H5N1 bird flu virus. A concern is that the virus could mutate in ways that allow it to spread more easily among people.
The judges ruled in favor of local officials who sought to force the federal government to keep the SNAP program running in November.
Volunteers, many of whom use the food bank, hand out food to clients at the Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon’s Northeast Emergency Food Program in Portland, Ore., on Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025.
Eli Imadali / OPB
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Two federal judges on Friday ordered the Trump administration to use emergency reserve money to fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program amid the ongoing federal shutdown. But Oregon and Washington SNAP recipients expecting to get benefits the first week of November could still see a delay.
Judges order the Trump administration to use contingency funds for SNAP payments during the shutdown
Judge John J. McConnell of Rhode Island directed the U.S. Department of Agriculture to use contingency funding appropriated by Congress to fund the food stamp program, which helps more than 757,000 Oregonians and more than 905,000 Washington residents buy groceries.
McConnell ordered the federal government to “ distribute the contingency money timely or as soon as possible for the Nov. 1 payments to be made,” as reported by the New York Times.
In a second ruling from Boston, a judge said the federal government would have to use an equitable approach to reducing benefits if it did not have the funds to fully pay for SNAP.
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A spokesperson for Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek did not have an immediate comment and referred questions to the Oregon Department of Human Services, which helps administer the program. A spokesperson for that agency did not immediately respond to a text message.
Oregon contracts with a third-party processor to make benefits payments, and in interviews before Friday’s court rulings, state officials told OPB that means quick changes to SNAP payment plans could overwhelm its systems.
“Due to the unprecedented and complex nature of this situation, ODHS’ EBT vendor that distributes federal SNAP money has not been able to give us a concrete timeline regarding the post-shutdown November SNAP issuance,” an Oregon Department of Human Services spokesperson said.
The Rhode Island federal court order to continue payments came one day before federal funding for the SNAP program was set to run out.
That would have left millions of Americans without the benefits they rely on to put food on their tables. Congress has yet to pass a short-term spending bill to fund programs like SNAP, and the Trump administration said it would not use contingency funds to pay for food assistance.
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In Oregon, more than half of SNAP recipients are seniors, children and people with disabilities.
This is a breaking story. Watch for updates.
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A third teenager has been arrested and charged in the shooting death of a University of Massachusetts student who was working as a congressional intern in Washington, D.C. this summer.
Eric Tarpinian-Jachym, 21, of Granby, Massachusetts, was an innocent bystander when he was shot four times near the convention center in Washington on June 30. Investigators say three armed suspects exited a stolen vehicle and began firing shots at two young men.
Tarpinian-Jachym was rushed to the hospital where he died the next day. Five other people were assaulted or injured in the incident, prosecutors said.
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On Wednesday night, 18-year-old Naqwan Antonio Lucas of the District of Columbia, was arrested in Montgomery Village, Maryland and charged in Tarpinian-Jachym’s murder.
Last month, 17-year-old Kelvin Thomas, Jr. and Naqwan Lucas’ brother, 17-year-old Jailen Lucas, were arrested and charged as adults on counts of first-degree murder while armed in connection with Tarpinian-Jachym’s murder.
Tarpinian-Jachym was a rising senior at UMass Amherst and was spending the summer in Washington as a congressional intern for Rep. Ron Estes, a Republican from Kansas.
Naqwan Lucas pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in D.C. Superior Court on Thursday afternoon. He is being held until a status hearing with his co-defendants on November 7.
Naqwan Lucas was also charged in the July 4 murder of 17-year-old Zoey Kelley, who was found dead of a gunshot wound to the head in a bedroom closet of an apartment in Washington, D.C.
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Last week, the Metropolitan Police Department and FBI announced a $75,000 reward for information leading to Lucas’ arrest.
The 1-2 Washington Wizards are taking on the red hot, 3-0 Philadelphia 76ers. Though early in the season, Philadelphia looks like one of the teams to beat in the eastern conference — even more impressive considering their banged up roster.
Joel Embiid, Paul George and Jared McCain have all missed time thus far this season. McCain will remain out for the foreseeable future, but George and Embiids’ status remains up in the air. Despite the 76ers seemingly being a daunting opponent, there are still a few things that the Wizards can do in order to pull out the win.
Much like the last game, the Wizards are matched up with a 76ers team who is on the tail end of a back-to-back. Washington did come out hot last game, jumping out to an early lead. However, they didn’t sustain that pace throughout the course of the game, allowing the Charlotte Hornets to take over down the stretch. Washington has proven to have the ball handlers and depth necessary to sustain a high pace over the course of a game, its up to them to execute it.
Oct 26, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Wizards guard CJ McCollum (3) attempts a shot in front of Charlotte Hornets forward Moussa Diabate (14) during the third quarter at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images / Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images
With the 76ers stacked roster, it will be inherently difficult for the Wizards to slow down their momentum. Between Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid, Paul George and VJ Edgecombe, the Wizards quite the handful. Because of this, Washington will be forced to focus on one or two players in order to have success. Its difficult to eliminate players of their caliber from games, especially considering the Wizards lack of perimeter defense.
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However, Washington’s best bet would be to try and overwhelm Embiid and Edgecombe. Embiid is well past him prime years and lingering lower body injuries have really slowed him down. As a result, the Wizards pace of play coupled with consistent physical play could effectively remove him from the game. Edgecombe is of course a rookie, allowing Washington to possibly exploit his lack of experience.
Oct 26, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Wizards guard Will Riley (27) attempts a jump shot over Charlotte Hornets center Ryan Kalkbrenner (11) and forward Tidjane Salaun (31) during the second quarter at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images / Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images
The one thing that has held consistent for Washington over the course of this season is the offense. Their offense is the base for all of their success and has kept them in every game this season. Philadelphia will undoubtedly have a high powered offense versus the Wizards lack-luster defense, so as a result, Washington will have to get their offense rolling early on in order to keep up.
Kyshawn George and Tre Johnson have brought the heat night in and night out, but Washington will have to get some other guys going in order to keep up. Look for CJ McCollum or Bub Carrington to break out of the slumps they have been in, having their first big games of the season.
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