Rob Hotakainen

WASHINGTON ? In 1973, the Suquamish Indian Tribe of Washington state accused a non-Indian man of assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest and ordered him to appear in tribal court. In 1978, the U.S. Supreme Court threw out the charges, saying the tribe had no authority to try or punish the man.

Decades after the landmark ruling, it remains a source of irritation and frustration for tribal officials across the country, who complain they?re powerless to bring non-Indians to justice when they commit crimes on Indian lands. Tribal leaders say it?s particularly hard to prosecute rape cases.

- The News Tribune

Meghashyam Mali

Sen. Patty Murray, (D-Wash), chairwoman of the Senate Veterans' Affairs committee, on Sunday said lawmakers needed to better address the long-term funding needs of Iraq and Afghan war veterans over the coming decades. ?We weren?t prepared for a war that?s lasted this long with that many soldiers who had repeated deployments,? said Murray on CNN?s ?State of the Union.? Murray said she feared Congress had failed to appreciate the resources that would need to be directed to care for veterans from over a decade of conflict. ?This is a question our country needs to come to grips with,? she said. ?This is not just going to be what do we next year or what do we need as we pull our soldiers from Iraq.

- The Hill

Andy Nystrom

U.S. Sen. Patty Murray from Bothell teamed up with some Seattle Sounders Women players today to celebrate 40 years of Title IX, which allowed women equal access to athletic opportunities. Murray, Sounders players Megan Rapinoe, Stephanie Cox and Sydney Leroux and one Garfield High student-athlete spoke to a crowd of female athletes this afternoon at Garfield High. "Forty years ago, 37 words threw open the doors to athletics, education and success for millions of young women in our country," Murray said. Title IX reads: No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance. "That law was simple, it was powerful and it has delivered amazing results. Over the past 40 years, participation in girls high-school sports has increased over 900 percent. We went from 32,000 women who were participating in college athletics in 1972, when I was in college, to almost 200,000 today," Murray added. "In 1972, fewer than 300,000 women across the country played competitive sports. Forty years since this law has passed, today this number is approaching 3 million."

- Bothell Reporter

Leslie Slape

Lower Columbia College student Chance Stewart, 25, used a college loan to turn his life around. "I'm the first person in my family to graduate high school, let alone attend college," the Castle Rock resident told Sen. Patty Murray Thursday at a roundtable discussion at LCC about legislation to keep student loan rates low. Stewart, who was homeless twice by the time he was 24, is an honor student on a general transfer degree and is considering a career in music or higher education administration. He has several more years of school ahead of him, and the possibility of interest jumping from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent on a federally subsidized Stafford loan "scares me to death," Stewart said. "Without loans I wouldn't be able to find a place to eat, let alone live," he said. Murray, who went to college on student loans herself, shares his viewpoint.

- The Daily News