Inslee's child-killer reprieve, Putin's surprising response and morning headlines

ON INLANDER.COM

ARTS & CULTURE: Celebrate the Inlander poetry issue with us at Marmot Art Space Jan. 5.

NEWS: Washington attorney general Bob Ferguson won his first battle in a lawsuit against cable giant Comcast.

NEWS: Four people charged with federal crimes in Eastern Washington received special attention from President Barack Obama in his historic clemency efforts.

IN OTHER NEWS

Two women dead
When a neighbor noticed newspapers had been piling up outside a home, police came and found two women dead in the Spokane house. Detectives are investigating. (KXLY)

Death sentence reprieved
A man who raped and murder a 14-year-old girl in 1995, and was then sentenced to death, has now been granted a reprieve by Gov. Jay Inslee. The Whatcom County prosecutor had asked Inslee to make an exception on the governor's death-penalty ban. (Bellingham Herald)

A solution to snow in driveways?
The city of Spokane is testing out a "snow boot," which would prevent snow from piling up onto sidewalks and driveways when plowed. That sounds great, of course, except that they end up breaking too often and take twice as much time to plow the streets.  (KREM)

No tit-for-tat response from Russia
The United States imposed sanctions on Russia for interfering with the presidential election, and those sanctions included expelling Russian diplomats. But Vladimir Putin, while saying the move was "aimed at further undermining Russian-American relations," said he would not expel U.S. diplomats.

College in Canada?
Apparently, more college-bound students are considering Canada for their higher education in the wake of Donald Trump's election.