Today's headlines:
- One Washington senator is trying to create guardrails for AI chatbots that simulate emotional attachment with people.
- Spokane tries a new approach at the legislature to avoiding the looming $8 million tax on its Waste-to-Energy plant.
- Idaho's governor says he won't raise taxes to fix his state's budget deficit.
- Abortion rights advocates in Idaho raise almost $900,000 as they try to restore access to the procedure across the state.
- A lifted injunction means Idaho can again enforce a law that prohibits trans people from changing the sex listed on their birth certificate.
- The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments today over whether states can bar transgender athletes from playing for teams that align with their gender identities.
- The two people shot by Border Patrol in Portland are out of the hospital and in federal custody after being charged with crimes.
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SPR News Today is a production of Spokane Public Radio.
Reporting contributed by Monica Nickelsburg, Eliza Billingham, Doug Nadvornick, James Dawson, Owen Henderson and Adia White.
The show is hosted and produced by Owen Henderson.
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EPISODE TRANSCRIPT:
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OWEN HENDERSON: From Spokane Public Radio, it’s SPR News Today.
I’m Owen Henderson. It’s January 13, 2026.
On today’s show, what are the risks for people who turn to artificial intelligence for emotional support?
Now that the legislative session is underway in Washington, we’ll look at one lawmaker’s attempt to put safeguards in place for those in emotional crisis who use chatbots like therapists.
Plus, the Supreme Court of the United States hears arguments today in two challenges to transgender sports bans, one of which came from Idaho. We’ll preview the case of Lindsay Hecox.
And two people were shot by U-S Border Patrol in Portland last week. Charges have now been filed in that case—against the people shot.
Those stories and more, coming up on SPR News Today.
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More and more people are treating AI chatbots like friends, even therapists.
That’s raising safety concerns for Washington state officials, especially when it comes to children.
KUOW’s Monica Nickelsburg has more.
MONICA NICKELSBURG: The governor asked Senator Lisa Wellman to come up with safeguards for AI chatbots that become companions.
LISA WELLMAN: “We have now several actual cases where chatbots are being involved in child suicide that is the visible part there are other cases where children are emotionally devastated because of AI.”
MN: Lawsuits have been brought against a handful of AI companies claiming their chatbots led to teen mental health crises.
If enacted, the bill would create new rules for chatbots that simulate emotional attachments with people.
Those chatbots would have to regularly remind users they’re robots, not humans.
And for minors, there are additional protections like referring kids to services when they talk about hurting themselves.
OH: That was Monica Nickelsburg reporting.
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Spokane didn’t succeed last legislative session in getting its Waste to Energy plant exempted from Washington’s Climate Commitment Act.
Now, as SPR’s Eliza Billingham reports, they’re trying a different approach.
ELIZA BILLINGHAM: The state wants to tax the plant about $8 million dollars per year because of how much carbon dioxide it emits.
Instead of trying to avoid the tax altogether—which failed last year—Spokane public works director Marlene Feist said the city is now proposing a plan to phase it in.
MARLENE FEIST: “That provides a compliance schedule model that allows for initial no cost credits for the city of Spokane's waste to energy facility. And then decreases that over time. So we basically allow us to have time to invest in these strategies to reduce carbon emissions.”
EB: Councilmember Paul Dillon highlighted the impact this legislation could have on anyone who throws something away in Spokane.
PAUL DILLON: “A lot of our eggs are in this basket, right? Like, if this doesn’t pass, we’re…we’re cooked.”
EB: The legislative session started yesterday. Olympia has up to 60 days to make a decision.
I’m Eliza Billingham, reporting.
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OH: As the 2026 Washington State legislative session kicked off yesterday, Speaker Laurie Jinkins told state House members that Trump administration policies will make lawmakers' work to balance the state's budget "incredibly challenging."
In his rebuttal, Auburn Republican Drew Stokesbary pointed blame instead at policies put forth by state Democrats.
Democratic Governor Bob Ferguson will give his State of the State address to a joint session of the legislature today.
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Idaho Governor Brad Little took a jab at Washington yesterday as he talked about how the two states are handling their respective budget deficits.
BRAD LITTLE: “Unlike Washington, Idaho won’t raise taxes to balance the state budget. In Idaho, we’ll right-size spending to match the peoples’ means.”
OH: But Little acknowledges that Idaho legislators will face some difficult choices as they re-balance a budget as revenue collections slow.
In his own budget proposal, Little would make his three-percent budget cuts permanent, along with more than 500 million dollars in cuts to clean water, transportation and Medicaid.
But he thinks things could be worse if the state hadn’t taken a number of steps to keep itself in good fiscal shape and earn a Triple-A credit rating.
Democrats say Idaho would be in a better financial place if it hadn’t cut taxes so many years in a row and suggest using the state’s rainy day funds to fill the projected gap.
Lawmakers, including the budget committee, begin work today.
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The group behind Idaho’s abortion rights initiative raised nearly 890-thousand dollars last year as it tries to restore access to the procedure that’s largely illegal in the state.
James Dawson has more.
JAMES DAWSON: In all, Idahoans United for Women and Families took in $887,188 over the last 12 months.
That smashed past the group’s initial goal of three quarters of a million dollars, according to executive director Melanie Folwell.
More than 90% of that cash came from Idaho residents, with locals making up a similar percentage of overall donors.
If the initiative makes it on the ballot and is passed by voters, state lawmakers could not restrict access to abortions before fetal viability.
It would also protect access to birth control and emergency contraception, like Plan B.
Idahoans United still has about $600,000 cash on hand as they work to gather the last of their remaining signatures to qualify for the ballot.
Those signatures collected from all across the state must be turned in later this spring.
James Dawson, Boise State Public Radio News.
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OH: Idaho can once again enforce a law that stops transgender people from changing the sex listed on their birth certificates.
For years, a federal court order blocked the state from acting on the law. But last year, the Supreme Court restricted the scope of such injunctions, and late last week, a federal judge lifted the court order.
State Attorney General Raul Labrador celebrated the decision, writing in a statement that birth certificates should not be “subject to how an individual may feel.”
Lambda Legal Senior Counsel Peter Renn represented the trans Idahoans who challenged the law in 2017.
He says this latest step doesn’t change the underlying facts of the case.
PETER RENN: “Having to out yourself as transgender whenever you have to present an identity document to a bank or to an employer or to a government official endangers your very basic safety and puts you at risk of discrimination and harassment, and sometimes even violence.”
OH: Renn says it’s still possible for a similar injunction to block the law again, but it would need to come from a class action lawsuit.
Because updated birth certificates are required to change the gender marker on Idaho drivers’ licenses, he says more people may be motivated to come forward and challenge the law.
This comes as the Supreme Court is set to hear another Idaho case today [TUES] on trans rights, this one involving whether states can ban a trans athlete from playing on a sports team that align with their gender identity.
Lindsay Hecox wanted to try out for the Boise State University track team in 2020. But because she’s trans, Idaho law would have required her to run for the men’s team, not the women’s. So, she sued.
Courts initially sided with Hecox, then narrowed the ruling to only apply to her and not other athletes. In 2024, Idaho appealed to the high court.
Peter Renn says the decision in this case could be fairly narrow.
PR: “What we've seen historically from this court is that it tends to rule in cases in this field on fairly case-specific grounds rather than reaching out and deciding questions that it doesn't have to decide today.”
OH: ACLU Idaho will represent Hecox. In a statement, it said this law is part of an effort to “exclude transgender people from public life and undermine civil rights for all.”
Twenty nine states currently restrict trans athletes’ participation in sports.
In his own statement, Idaho Attorney General Raul Labrador said it’s an “injustice” to allow trans women to compete with athletes assigned female at birth.
Hecox had asked the court to drop the case, saying she wanted to focus on graduating. A federal judge declined to do so, but the high court may still dismiss the case after hearing arguments.
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The two people shot in Portland last week by U.S. Border Patrol are facing criminal charges.
Both have been released from Portland hospitals and into federal custody.
The U.S. Department of Justice charged Luis David Nino-Moncada for aggravated assault on a federal officer with a deadly or dangerous weapon—and for depredation of federal property.
A federal judge set his preliminary hearing for later this week.
The woman who was shot by Border Patrol in Portland has been charged in Texas with illegal entry into the United States.
She is being held at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, according to facility records.
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SPR News Today is a production of Spokane Public Radio.
Reporting today was contributed by Monica Nickelsburg, Eliza Billingham, Doug Nadvornick, James Dawson, Adia White and me, Owen Henderson. I’m also the host and producer.
Thanks for listening.
It’s SPR.
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