All eyes are on Texas as Republicans work to draw new congressional districts ahead of

26. But the battle for control of Congress runs through Southwest Washington, home to one of the

most competitive districts in the country. And that's where incumbent Marie Glucent-Camp

Perez has a new challenger. He's the Republican leader in the state Senate. Meet John Braun,

a moderate who could deliver the third district in the state Senate. Meet John Braun, a moderate who

could deliver the third district to the GOP this week on sound politics, wherever you get your

podcasts.

Good afternoon. Happy Tuesday. From the KUOW Newsroom, I'm Paige Browning, and this is Seattle now. Here's our roundup of today's top stories. It's Tuesday, May 20th. Starting with the long-awaited release of a Washington man imprisoned abroad, a Kitsap County family, said today their son, Joseph St. Clairir is coming home after he was released from a

Venezuelan prison. His parents say he'd been wrongfully detained for several months. The 33-year-old

U.S. Air Force veteran had traveled to the nation of Colombia to seek treatment for post-traumatic

stress disorder. The Seattle Times reports it's not clear how he ended up in

Venezuelan hands. But today, Democratic Senator Maria Cantwell thanked the Trump administration

for working on St. Clair's release. The big news out of Olympia today, state lawmakers will

not need a special session to hash out the state budget. Washington Governor Bob Ferguson

signed a new budget package this afternoon. It includes a mix of new taxes and cuts. Ferguson said he

vetoed a few items in the package, but approved $1 billion in new spending on K-12 education

and funding for immigrant and refugee services.

The package also preserves the state's rainy day fund, which Ferguson says may be needed if federal

cuts to Washington programs continue under the Trump administration. The legislature negotiated this

package last month with the aim of closing the state's looming

multibillion-dollar budget shortfall. It was a busy day for Governor Ferguson, who signed a couple

dozen bills into law on top of the budget decision. Among them were new laws on guns and changes

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