Northwest News Roundup – Breaking Stories From WA , OR and Idaho April 5

Here are the latest stories from the Associated Press and Newstalk 870.

Children Ordered to Divulge Information about Spokane Mother's Alleged Murder

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Five pre-teen children have been ordered by a judge to provide information that may be used against their father who is accused of strangling their mother at their Deer Park home. Prosecutors want the children to reveal what they know before the murder trial begins May 6 for Clay Starbuck. He's accused of killing his ex-wife Chanin Starbuck in December 2011. KXLY reports the children are now in the care of an adult brother and they are standing by their father and resisting questioning.

Intruders Reportedly Shot by Seattle Area Property Owner

MAPLE VALLEY, Wash. (AP) — A man is dead and a woman is wounded after a shooting about 4 this morning in Maple Valley. King County sheriff's Sgt. Cindi West says a property owner called 911 to report intruders were trying to break into a container. West says the line went dead. Then, the man called back and said he had shot the intruders. The 66-year-old man had previously reported intruders on his property in the rural residential area.

Portland Officials Try to Block Out Land for Huge Tech Project

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Some Oregon lawmakers are prepared to block land use laws to land an electronics factory that would invest more than $1 billion and employ at least 1,000 workers. The Oregonian reports Hillsboro is reportedly one of three finalists for the unannounced project. A lawyer for 1,000 Friends of Oregon says the legislation would create a huge loophole in the state's land use rules.

Idaho Couple Arrested for Home Squatting

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A woman and her son have been charged with misdemeanor unlawful entry and trespassing after police say they moved into a bank-owned, $340,000 home in southwest Idaho in an apparent attempt to own it by occupying it.

The Idaho Statesman reports that 44-year-old Tara Mashburn and 21-year-old Kassidy McDaid were arrested Thursday.

Police say four children living in the house have been sent to live with relatives.

Authorities say Mashburn paid $2,000 in property taxes on the home and then sent a letter to the Ada County Sheriff's Office on March 26 informing officials of her intentions.

Ada County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Roger Bourne says Mashburn might have been attempting to use a real estate law where a person pays taxes on a property and then moves in with the hope of eventually claiming the legal title.