A bill introduced in the Washington state legislature would require drivers with a history of speeding to have a speed limiting device placed on their cars.

House Bill 1596 was proposed after supporters say an increase in fatal accidents was caused by speeding. The bill was heard in the House Transportation Committee on Thursday and would require an "intelligent speed assistance device" to be installed in the cars of certain drivers, according to Fox 13.

The device limits the speed of the car using GPS technology to follow the speed limit where the vehicle is being driven. These drivers could exceed the speed limit up to three times a month.

A driver would have the device on their car if they have a new restricted license established by the bill. This is similar to how ignition interlock devices are used for people with a history of drunk driving.

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Drivers would also receive the device during the probation period after their license was suspended for racing or "excessive speeding," which is defined as driving at least 20 miles per hour over the speed limit. Drivers could also be ordered by a court to have a speed-limiting device on their car.

"We’re losing Washingtonians and family members are losing loved ones unnecessarily, tragically and preventably," Democrat state Rep. Mari Leavitt, a prime sponsor of the bill, said.

"These aren’t accidents," she added. "They’re intentionally folks choosing behavior that is harming and often killing folks."

According to data in 2023 from the Washington Traffic Safety Commission, one in three fatal crashes in the state involved a speeding driver. The total number of fatal crashes and the number involving speeding has been trending upward since 2019.

"Between 2019 and 2024, tickets to speeding drivers in excess of 50 miles an hour over the speed limit increased by 200%," the commission's Shelly Baldwin testified. "So we know that this is an increasing problem that we’ve been dealing with."

Republican state Rep. Gloria Mendoza questioned how the bill helps keep people safe by allowing speeders to continue driving.

"So we're trying to help them get back their license by giving them this tool," Mendoza said. "So how is this helping save lives?"

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Leavitt responded: "We want to find a way for them to be able to drive lawfully, but safely. And having them on the road in a safe manner is going to save lives, because they’re driving anyway, and they’re driving fast. And this device, these speed limiters, are going to ensure that they can't."

The bill has not yet been scheduled for a vote out of committee.

An American figure skater’s social media post sparked concern about his whereabouts as it appeared he was on the plane that collided with a U.S. Army helicopter on Wednesday night.

Spencer Lane posted a photo on his Instagram while the American Airlines flight was on the runway at Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport. The plane appeared to be waiting to take off for Reagan International Airport near Washington, D.C.

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"ICT (to) DCA," the post on his Instagram Stories read.

Lane did not post anything else after that. Another post on his Instagram Stories showed him warming up with Kohaku Murai. He had also shared a collage of pictures with other team members who were in Wichita, Kansas.

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Later Thursday, Skating Club of Boston CEO Doug Zeghibe named Lane as one of those who were lost in the crash.

"Our sport and this Club have suffered a horrible loss with this tragedy," Zeghibe said in a statement posted to social media. "Skating is a tight-knit community where parents and kids come together 6 of 7 days a week to train and work together. Everyone is like family. Of the skaters, coaches and parents on the plane, we believe six were from The Skating Club of Boston. We are devastated and completely at a loss for words.

"These athletes, coaches, parents were returning from U.S. Figure Skating’s National Development Camp, following last week’s U.S. Championships in Wichita. This camp is for young competitive skaters of tomorrow with the promise to be a champion of tomorrow. The club sent 18 athletes to compete at the U.S. Championships. It sent 12 athletes to the National Development Camp."

U.S. Figure Skating said earlier Thursday that athletes, coaches and family members involved with its organization were on board the flight.

"U.S. Figure Skating can confirm that several members of our skating community were sadly aboard American Airlines Flight 5342, which collided with a helicopter yesterday evening in Washington, D.C.," the organization said. "These athletes, coaches, and family members were returning home from the National Development Camp held in conjunction with the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, Kansas

"We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the victims’ families closely in our hearts. We will continue to monitor the situation and will release more information as it becomes available."

Officials said Thursday they didn’t think there were any survivors.

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Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov were a Russian figure skating pair who competed in multiple Olympic Games and medaled in multiple world championships.

The Kremlin said Thursday the figure skating stars were among those aboard an American Airlines flight that collided with a U.S. Army helicopter near Reagan International Airport on Wednesday night.

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Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Shishkova and Naumov were on the plane.

"Unfortunately, we see that this sad information is being confirmed. There were other fellow citizens there. Bad news today from Washington. We are sorry and send condolences to the families and friends who lost those of our fellow citizens who died in the plane crash," he said.

It was Naumov’s coach who introduced the pair in 1985, wanting them to work together despite Naumov rebuffing the idea at first. They began to work together in 1987 and competed and won bronze in the 1991 European Championships while representing the former Soviet Union. The pair would go on to win two more bronze and silver medals in the event.

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Shishkova and Naumov earned accolades on the world stage as well. At the 1993 World Championships, the two earned a bronze medal. The following year in Chiba, Japan, the two picked up their first gold medal. They finished with a silver in 1995 in Birmingham, United Kingdom.

The pair competed in the 1992 Olympics in Albertville, France, and the 1994 Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway. They finished in fifth in 1992 and fourth in 1994.

Shishkova and Naumov married in Saint Petersburg, Russia, in 1995, and they moved to Connecticut. They had a son, Maxim, who competed in men’s singles in the U.S.

The Russian pair were listed as professional pairs coaches on the Skating Club of Boston’s website.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Washington State University (WSU) is offering free "Queer Pole Fit" classes to help challenge the stigma surrounding pole dancing and offer an inclusive "safe space" for "queer" people.

The free classes, hosted each Friday, do not require registration and are "open to all who identify as LGBTQ+ and allies!" according to a description on the university's website. 

"Queer Pole Fit is meant to create a community and environment that helps folks feel safe and disrupt stereotypical ideas about pole dancing. Taught by our queer pole instructors, come as you are, and enjoy this fun and challenging format," the class description continues.

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Laura Yasinitsky, the University Recreation fitness coordinator, told The Daily Evergreen – the university's news source – in a recent piece that the classes serve a purpose of welcoming those who are traditionally left out or not "supported" in their fitness journey.

"This is labeled queer. You’re allowed to present however you are, and you will be seen exactly in that way," she said.

Yasinitsky added that the program's goal is to "break" boundaries and welcome beginners to a "safe space" that allows them to "try something new."

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Ri Scovel, a Queer Pole Fit instructor, told the outlet that, by focusing on the "queer" demographic, the course challenges the pattern of pole classes being addressed to "ladies," expanding the sport to a frequently ignored group while also granting space to a stigmatized method of dance.

The university began offering the classes last January and continues to attract new people, reports say.

Fox News Digital has reached out to Washington State University for additional comment about the course but has yet to receive a response. 

Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson, a Democrat, has ordered flags to fly at full-staff on Monday for President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration.

"I hereby direct that Washington State and United States flags at all state agency facilities be raised to full-staff on Monday, January 20, 2025, in honor of Inauguration Day," Ferguson said.

This, despite the official order by President Biden after the death of former President Jimmy Carter on Dec. 29 that flags at all government and public buildings and grounds across the country fly at half-staff for a 30-day mourning period, which just happens to include Inauguration Day.

It is a tradition when a former president dies to order a 30-day mourning period and order flags at half-staff.

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Biden said the U.S. flag "should be displayed at half-staff at the White House and on all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all naval vessels of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its Territories and possessions."

Flags will return to half-staff in Washington state on Tuesday to continue the mourning period for Carter.

"Flags should return to half-staff at sunrise on Tuesday, January 21, 2025, and should remain at half-staff until the close of business or sunset on Wednesday, January 29, 2025, in continuance of honoring former President Jimmy Carter for 30 days following his death," Ferguson said.

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Ferguson joins California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis as the Democrats who have broken tradition and ordered flags to be raised for Trump's inauguration before the mourning period ends Jan. 28.

The orders from the Democratic governors follow several Republicans who have directed flags to be raised on Monday, including Idaho Gov. Brad Little, North Dakota Gov. Kelly Armstrong, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.

House Speaker Mike Johnson also ordered flags at the U.S. Capitol to be flown at full-staff on Inauguration Day.

Trump has criticized the possibility of flags being displayed at half-staff for his inauguration following Carter's death.

"The Democrats are all 'giddy' about our magnificent American Flag potentially being at 'half mast' during my Inauguration," Trump wrote on Truth Social on Jan. 3. "They think it’s so great, and are so happy about it because, in actuality, they don't love our Country, they only think about themselves."

"Look at what they’ve done to our once GREAT America over the past four years - It’s a total mess! In any event, because of the death of President Jimmy Carter, the Flag may, for the first time ever during an Inauguration of a future President, be at half mast," he continued. "Nobody wants to see this, and no American can be happy about it. Let’s see how it plays out. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"

Flags were flown at half-staff when former President Nixon was sworn-in for his second term in 1973 after Nixon ordered the flags to be lowered following the death of former President Truman.

A Washington state Democrat is floating a policy to help protect unemployed illegal immigrants who are unable to receive unemployment benefits.

The news comes as President-elect Trump and his border czar-designate Thomas Homan signal a crackdown on illegal immigration and talk of "mass deportation" plans in a reversal of the Biden-era status quo.

State Sen. Rebecca Saldaña is introducing a bill that would ensure Washington residents legally ineligible to work in the U.S. – a group for which illegal immigrants compose the vast majority – have access to assistance.

Saldaña, of Seattle, declined to comment further on her bill to Fox News Digital, but a representative for the lawmaker noted she had previously highlighted "undocumented workers' … substantial contributions to Washington’s economy."

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That group collectively paid almost $400 million in unemployment taxes over the past 10 years, and the bill will aim to ensure those who pay into the system are able to rely on it when they need to, her office said.

The representative said Saldaña has reintroduced similar legislation during both Democrat and Republican administrations in the past because the "inequities in our immigration system" are systemic and longstanding.

Saldaña has previously argued that providing unemployment benefits to undocumented workers who qualify will help stabilize the workforce and prevent future cases of poverty and homelessness due to job loss.

It will therefore have lasting positive effects on the Evergreen State’s economy, her office said.

Senate Minority Leader John Braun, R-Centralia, said he had not seen the text of the bill as of Monday afternoon but was aware of the proposal itself.

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"We have a lot of work to do on immigration, both on undocumented immigrants and on legal immigration in our state. That's largely a federal issue," Braun said.

"I look for the folks in D.C. to handle [the immigration issue] and for us [in state government] to stay clear."

Under federal law, illegal immigrants are not eligible to apply for work permits and, therefore, unable to register or file for unemployment compensation. Neither are individuals with expired work authorizations and dependents of people living in the U.S. under several visa classifications.

The excluded visa classes include O – "extraordinary ability"; R – Religious worker; and F – student visas.

According to a 1985 memo from the Department of Labor, "an alien must be legally authorized to work in the United States to be considered ‘available for work’ – Therefore, an alien without current, valid authorization to work from the INS is not legally ‘available for work’ and not eligible for benefits."

The memo referred to the INS, or Immigration and Naturalization Service, a predecessor entity to today’s Department of Homeland Security.

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Elsewhere in the U.S., the Colorado Office of New Americans allows undocumented workers to access a "Benefit Recovery Fund" to help those who have been "separated from employment through no fault of their own" and meet several other specifications.

In California, however, Democrat lawmakers sought to offer assistance similar to that Saldaña is seeking but were blocked by fellow liberal Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Newsom vetoed that legislation in September and also blocked a proposal that would have allowed illegal immigrants better access to home loans and mortgages.