The people overseeing the cleanup of the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster are learning some valuable lessons from the long-running cleanup at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. A Japanese government delegation recently toured some of the southeast Washington site this week.

The lawyer for the family of a missing Utah woman says there's an ongoing federal investigation into Susan Powell's disappearance.

Anne Bremner made the announcement at a Seattle news conference on Tuesday, a day after local officials in Utah said they had closed their investigation into the Susan Powell case.

Microsoft thinks it has the one.

The company revealed the Xbox One, its next-generation entertainment console, during a presentation Tuesday at its headquarters in Redmond, Wash.

Emergency crews searched the broken remnants of an Oklahoma City suburb Tuesday for survivors of a massive tornado that flattened homes and demolished an elementary school. At least 24 people were killed, including at least nine children, and those numbers were expected to climb.

As the sun rose over the shattered community of Moore, the state medical examiner's office cut the estimated death toll by more than half but warned that the number was likely to climb again.

Plastics have only been in wide use since the 1940s, yet they are everywhere, from sandwich bags to phones, to keyboards, to rain gear. Even the cans of soup in the grocery aisle are lined with it.

It's hard to imagine a world before these conveniences. What would your life be like without plastics?

In our digital world of social media, blogs and the like, is the newspaper industry a dinosaur? 

Only 11 newspaper businesses are publicly owned. Is it foolish to invest in them? Legendary investor Warren Buffett doesn't think so. He's acquired 28 papers in the past couple of years.

A veteran of 32 years at The Seattle Times, financial commentator Greg Heberlein, can't help but believe Buffett is on the right track.

A monstrous tornado at least a half-mile wide roared through the Oklahoma City suburbs Monday, flattening entire neighborhoods and destroying an elementary school with a direct blow as children and teachers huddled against winds up to 200 mph. The death toll, originally at 51, was revised Tuesday morning to 24. But the death toll is expected to go back up later today.

Newly released police files say Josh Powell had an affair with a Utah woman just months before his wife disappeared.

According to a West Valley City police detective's report, investigators contacted the woman, whose full name is redacted, in August 2010, after her phone number was discovered in connection with the case.

Five years after Seattle had to get rid of its free-standing public toilet structures, Mayor Mike McGinn wants to give it another go, this time with a new design. 

Pressure is mounting on Washington state lawmakers to approve a gas tax increase to fund road projects. Backers of the 10-cents-per-gallon tax proposal rallied at the state Capitol Monday to push for a vote during the current 30-day overtime session.

Dozens in hard hats gathered on the steps of the Capitol, holding signs and chanting: “Pass it now! Pass it now!”

A number of awards were bestowed upon KPLU in the 2012 Society of Professional Journalists' (Western Washington chapter) Excellence in Journalism Competition.  This year's contest covered work produced or published in 2012 within the region.

A bird of prey can get so stressed out by city noise that it might abandon its nest—eggs and all, according to a new study by researchers at Boise State University. The study suggests human disturbances affect the American kestrel more than previously thought.