Washington

Veteran faces extradition to Philippines over unfounded allegations, lawyer says

Published

1 year ago

December 21, 2024

Veteran faces extradition to Philippines over unfounded allegations, lawyer says

A 66-year-old American citizen has been in the DC jail for almost 10 months awaiting extradition to the Philippines for a crime her attorneys say there’s no evidence she committed.

Air Force veteran Grace Lourenco earned commendations for her service. In 1981, she was part of the flight crew aboard the Air Force plane that returned 53 U.S. diplomats and citizens who had been held hostage in Iran, her family said – a moment seen around the world.

She went on to earn a business degree, get married and have a daughter.

Court filings from a 2023 divorce proceeding between Lourenco and her husband, Hans Brunner, show a D.C. judge believed her statements that she had suffered physical abuse in the marriage.

The decree of divorce also contains the judge’s assessment of the alleged crime for which Lourenco was arrested at her Georgetown home earlier this year. It describes an incident in October 2018 at a home the couple owned in the Philippines, where Brunner worked.

“After lunch, on the ride back to their Manila home, Mr. Brunner told Ms. Lourenco he wanted to have an open relationship with [a German woman he’d met] and that he wanted to open a trust fund for her.”

“[Lourenco] remembers waking up in a hospital a couple days later,” said her attorney, William Zapf. “She had been unconscious, and it is believed that she had taken some medication that made her unconscious.”

The judge’s conclusions went on to say: “Later … while standing on the balcony, Mr. Brunner was attacked from behind. The perpetrator hit Mr. Brunner on the back of the head with a sharp, hard weapon. He did not see who attacked him.

“He was in a coma for two days.

“He asserts Ms. Lourenco was the perpetrator. Not only did Mr. Brunner fail to present evidence that Ms. Lourenco was the perpetrator, but he also failed to present evidence that (she) had wanted to kill him to get his pension.”

The judge concluded: “Both parties have committed intrafamily offenses against the other, but Mr. Brunner committed more offenses against Ms. Lourenco, and the Court finds (him) to have been the primary aggressor.”

Lourenco’s attorneys say her future is in the hands of the U.S. State Department.

“In cases like this where there are very serious humanitarian concerns about our client, Grace, this is the type of case where the Secretary of State can say no and should say no,” Zapf said.

Several people she served with in the Air Force have written letters supporting Lourenco.

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Washington

Holdout Democrats leave WA House support for income tax in doubt

Published

51 minutes ago

March 5, 2026

Press Room

Holdout Democrats leave WA House support for income tax in doubt

The votes weren’t there yet late Wednesday for Democrats’ income tax bill in the Washington state House.Democratic members are withholding support for the proposed income tax on millionaires, saying they want to see if a new version of the controversial legislation, possibly due out Thursday, will satisfy their concerns.

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Washington

Bill strengthening Washington child sex abuse material laws focuses on consciousness, AI

Published

13 hours ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

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.

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Washington

Utah Starts Road Trip with Win in Washington | Utah Mammoth

Published

1 day ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

Utah Starts Road Trip with Win in Washington | Utah Mammoth

Both of Utah’s power play units scored in the win. Sergachev scored his 10^th goal of the season on the power play 13 and a half minutes into the first period. Peterka scored his 21^st 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 27^th 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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