Mudslide stops Amtrak service

A mudslide halted Amtrak passenger train service from Seattle to Portland on Monday, amid a steady rain that returned to the region after a one-day reprieve.

The slide occurred around 1 p.m. about 18 miles south of Tacoma, said Gus Melonas, spokesman for BNSF Railway, which owns the tracks.

Amtrak was arranging bus service to transport passengers already en route to Seattle and Portland on Monday, and today's trains were canceled, Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said.

A 48-hour precautionary closure of Amtrak service was to remain in effect until 1 p.m. Wednesday.

Freight service resumed after railroad crews cleared the slide, Melonas said.

The National Weather Service reported that Sea-Tac had recorded 0.28 inch of rain by 6 p.m., and Olympia received 1.07. And it's going to keep raining. There's a chance of showers each day through the weekend, although there may be a break Sunday, said meteorologist Johnny Burg.

A heavy snow warning is in effect until noon today for the west slopes of the north and central Cascades and passes. The mountains could get 1 to 2 feet of snow through today.

Man who hit truck near mall killed

A man died when his car collided with a semi-truck east of the SuperMall in Auburn on Monday afternoon, police said.

The man, who was not identified, was driving his sedan northbound in the 1300 block of C Street Southwest when the car apparently crossed into the southbound lane, hitting the truck about 3:10 p.m. Witnesses told Auburn police the car was moving at a high speed.

Protesters arrested near sub base

Sixteen peace demonstrators were arrested after blocking the entrance highway to Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor on Sunday, holding up traffic into the base for nearly half an hour.

Activists from the Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action, who've staged other protests at the nuclear submarine base on Hood Canal, held the demonstration in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day and civil-rights hero Rosa Parks, who died last year. About 85 people turned out for the event.

Sheriff's Deputy Scott Wilson said 10 demonstrators were arrested after they walked onto Highway 308 with a replica of a bus. The demonstration was to honor Parks' historic refusal to give up her seat on a racially segregated bus in Montgomery, Ala., in 1955. Six more people were arrested for blocking the highway while holding a banner printed with quotes from King.

Another person was arrested for trespassing when he tried to deliver a message to the base commander.

All of the demonstrators were booked and released.

Flatbed driver killed in crash

The driver of a flatbed truck was killed Monday at 10:30 a.m. when his vehicle, traveling south on West Marginal Way Southwest in South Seattle, hit a semi-truck head-on, according to Seattle police.

The semi-truck driver was not injured. The drivers' names were unavailable.

Times staff and news services