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SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Smoke from big wildfires east of the Cascade Range grounded helicopters and airplanes that have been battling the flames in Washington state. The dense smoke also was causing respiratory problems for people far from the fire lines. In Spokane County the air quality was rated as unhealthy.
MOSCOW, Idaho (AP) — Moscow Police are not filing any charges against a group of University of Idaho football players who took $400 worth of clothing from the campus store after football coach Paul Petrino returned the items. The Moscow-Pullman Daily News reports that a VandalStore manager called police Aug. 16 after he spotted three men on security footage taking clothing during a time when the store was only open to the football team.
WILDER, Idaho (AP) — A Canyon County high school student has been asked to remove a Confederate flag from his truck because administrators worry it is a gang symbol. KIVI-TV reports that Cossa Academy student Jordan Beattie says he hung the flag from his truck after his girlfriend gave it to him as a gift. Caldwell Police say they don't consider the Confederate flag a gang symbol.
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says his agency plans to spend more than $200 million over the next three years on programs to protect greater sage grouse — regardless of whether the bird receives federal protections. Vilsack told The Associated Press he wants to almost double protected habitat for the chicken-sized bird to 8 million acres across the West. A formal announcement is planned today.
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