Government

The CEO of the Port of Seattle, Tay Yoshitani, can sit on the board of a private freight logistics company without creating a conflict of interest, according to an outside attorney hired by the Port of Seattle Commissioners. The attorney presented his formal opinion to the port Tuesday.

We’ve been focused on local elections and the presidential race; today we'll look at the national picture and how the balance of power in Congress may shift. How many seats do Republicans need to take the Senate? Can Democrats win back the House? Jill Jackson of CBS News joins us with a look at the races to watch.

On the campaign trail, Suzan DelBene tells the story of how her family struggled when she was a kid. Her father was laid off from his job when she was nine, and the family moved all over the country as her parents looked for work. “They never got back to a situation where they were financially stable,” she explains.

She recounts that despite her family's financial difficulties, she was able to go to college on student loans. “I was in a position to take care of my family,” she says. “I’m not sure I could tell that story today.”

Tacoma resident Jason Puracal says his fight against the Nicaraguan justice system is still not over. Puracal was recently exonerated of drug charges in Nicaragua and returned to the Northwest. Now, Nicaraguan prosecutors are appealing his case to that country’s high court.

Jason Puracal arrived in Nicaragua about a decade ago as a Peace Corps volunteer. He left there last month from a maximum security prison. He was serving a 22-year sentence following a conviction for drug trafficking and money laundering. He was freed in September after winning an appeal.

This fall, voters in Washington will decide whether to legalize charter schools in the state for the first time. Washington voters have considered charters three times before. But the details of charter school funding, oversight and independence can be confusing. So we took a red pen to claims by supporters and opponents of Initiative 1240, and gave each claim a grade to see who gets to go to the head of the class – and who needs to go back and check their work.

Democratic Rep. Jim McDermott has represented Seattle and its suburbs in Congress since 1989. He faces a Republican challenger, attorney Ron Bemis, at the polls in November. Both candidates join us in our studio for a discussion of the issues at hand in Washington's 7th District.

President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney will challenge each other on foreign policy in tonight’s third and final presidential debate. How do the candidates plan to handle hot spots like Libya, Syria, and Iran?