KPLU News Staff

King County's inquest into the death of native woodcarver John T. Williams at the hands of a Seattle policeman is expected to last all week. The fact-finding work will review last August's shooting, and will determine whether prosecutors bring any charges against Officer Ian Birk.

Making headlines today:

• Legislature convenes today
• State worker job losses add up
• Seahawks get Chicago next

The Seattle Seahawks sent shock waves around the NFL Saturday by beating steep odds and pulling off one of the biggest upsets in league history, defeating the defending Super Bowl-champion New Orleans Saints, 41 to 36. 

Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck threw four touchdown passes, lifting the 'Hawks offense, tallying 272 yards in the air. It was Hasselbeck's best passing performance in a playoff game. 

An informant's tip has led authorities to find four homemade explosive devices and other weapons buried at a Puyallup site.

Traffic was diverted Friday afternoon from the site on Shaw Road East and several homes were briefly evacuated. Puyallup police, federal Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents and members of the Pierce County sheriff's bomb squad responded.

ATF spokeswoman Cheryl Bishop says the cache may be tied to a fugitive killed in a confrontation with bail bond agents in Lakewood more than two years ago.

Eastern Washington's Eagles staged a thrilling comeback against the University of Delaware to win the NCAA Division 1 football title, the first for the school. 

After trailing much of the game, Eastern rallied for a 20-19 victory in Frisco, Texas, before a crowd that included enthusiastic Delaware alum Joe Biden. The Vice President and Mrs. Biden. 

The state's newest Supreme Court justice was sworn in Friday afternoon. Charlie Wiggins defeated incumbent Justice Richard Sanders by just 13,000 votes in November's election. 

The Bainbridge Island attorney challenged Sanders, who had served three terms, and who was sometimes the center of controversy. 

Gene Johnson of the Associated Press covered today's swearing in, and the Wiggins-Sanders race last fall:

The deal is official, but the political fight simmers. The state has put its signature on the contract to build the world's largest deep-bore tunnel, under Seattle's waterfront. It would replace the elevated Alaskan Way Viaduct, SR 99. 

Making headlines today:

• Gov's ferry proposal draws fire
• Red light cameras in the hot seat
• A bottlenose dolphin spotted in south Sound

If you challenge a speeding ticket in traffic court, you’ve had a good chance of getting it thrown out in recent years.  That’s because prosecutors in western Washington have been cutting their budgets and prioritizing for bigger crimes. 

Prosecutors have been absent from traffic court for at least five years, according to The Seattle Times.  At the urging of presiding King County District Court judge Barbara Linde, that's changing. 

Making headlines this morning:

• Flap Over Govenor's Education Proposal Intensifies
• Domestic violence victims face system "failures"
• Governors meet to discuss Columbia River coal-shipping terminal

Home sales bumped up in December, in King County.  Analysts disagree over whether it’s sign of an important trend or not.  The Seattle Times calls it the biggest month for home sales since a federal tax credit expired last summer. 

But the Seattle P-I quotes Glenn Crellin of Washington State University as saying the real estate market is likely to stay sluggish for several months or longer:

Reporter Ruth Teichroeb has been keeping tabs on her former Seattle PI co-workers since she and 140 colleagues lost their jobs after the Hearst Corporation shuttered print operations.  Did they find new work? If so, were those journalism jobs?

Making headlines today:

• Republicans give powerful post to Congressman Hastings
• Former Sen. Gorton to help redraw political boundaries
• Tacoma group wants to buy Rainiers
• One state Mega Millions Winner

People in Seattle will hear a familiar noise from the sky tomorrow. The Navy's Blue Angel #7 is making a one-day visit, part of the preparation for Seafair's annual summer event. 

Washington banks among most stressed in US, push to reform higher education funding, and a recall on sprouts after a salmonella outbreak.