Northwest News Roundup – April 3 – Breaking Stories from WA, OR, and Idaho

Here's the latest breaking stories from the Associated Press and Newstalk 870.

Oregon Man Leads Police on 120 MPH Chase

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Oregon State Police say a fleeing driver reached a speed of 120 miles per hour with his 3-year-old son in the back seat during a 40-mile chase on Interstate 5 yesterday afternoon north of Eugene. The chase ended when the fleeing car collided with another car on an off ramp. No one was injured. Troopers arrested 32-year-old Kameron Payne of McCleary, Wash. The boy who was in a child safety seat was taken into protective custody by state welfare workers.

Pierce County Man Arrested for Allegedly Whipping 4- Year Old Child With Belt

TACOMA, Wash. (AP) — A Pierce County man accused of hitting his 4-year-old daughter multiple times with a belt after she refused to eat her dinner has been charged with second-degree child assault. The News Tribune says 37-year-old Marcellus White of Bonney Lake pleaded not guilty yesterday. The girl's mother took her to police Monday and showed officers the welts on the child's left arm. She was taken to a hospital.

Unemployment Rate in Oregon Nearly Double What was Reported by State Officials

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — If you include people who gave up looking for work and underemployed people in part-time jobs, Oregon's unemployment rate last year was more than 17 percent of the workforce — almost double the state's official jobless rate. Figures just released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show 173,300 Oregonians were unemployed in 2012. Another 167,800 were underemployed or unemployed and not counted.