Bloglander

On Inlander.com:

An armed rally at the federal courthouse in downtown Spokane is set for 10 am this morning, in support of unsuccessful Yakima County Sheriff's candidate Anthony Bosworth. After appearing on the steps of the courthouse earlier this year carrying an AK-47 and a 9 mm pistol, Bosworth was asked to leave and, when he failed to comply, was arrested. Local gun owners at the rally want to protest their rights to carry firearms on publicly accessible federal property. 

Other headlines: 

Reports are coming out of the Middle East that a 7.5 magnitude earthquake has hit Afghanistan and Pakistan. Early reports say more than 100 people were killed in the quake, and the death toll is expected to rise. Buildings shook for around two minutes, and people fled buildings into the street. (New York Times)

Everything in moderation, folks. The World Health Organization now considers processed meats — sausage, hot dogs, bacon — a group 1 carcinogen, lumping it into the same category as tobacco and asbestos. The biggest risk is developing colorectal cancer, and the risk is said to increase based on the amount of meat consumed. Even though red and processed meats are lumped into the same category as, say, cigarettes, the WHO's cancer research branch doesn't compare the risk of cancer between substances in the same category. Smoking is still much, much worse. (Reuters)

Infamous serial killer Gary Ridgeway is headed back within Washington state borders. The Green River Killer was transferred to the state penitentiary in Walla Walla this weekend from Colorado, because his presence there was upsetting to family members of his victims, and investigators in the case. Ridgeway is serving life without parole for killing dozens of women over two decades. In the Colorado prison Ridgeway was allowed to live in the general prison population, but now back in Washington he's in solitary confinement, which means anytime he leaves he must be accompanied. (Spokesman Review)

A fourth orca baby born this year has been spotted near the San Juan Islands, born into the J Pod group of whales. The baby was born to a 38-year-old whale, who's also a grandmother to other orcas in the group. Baby orcas have a 50 percent chance of surviving their first year in the wild, but researches are optimistic because the members of the J Pod are most experienced when it comes to raising babies compared to other Pacific Coast pods. (Seattle Times)