Rancher approved to kill 2 wolves — Oregon wildlife officials will allow a cattle rancher in remote Northeast Oregon to kill any two wolves — including a pregnant one — from a new pack that’s been attacking calves. The wolves in the new pack, dubbed the Pine Creek Pack, killed three calves and injured four more over a two-day period, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife said Tuesday. The pack roams along the Idaho state line and has eight members, including a breeding male and female and five yearlings. The female is believed to be pregnant. Wolf advocates blasted the decision and called it cruel to single out the pack when the breeding female was pregnant. The rancher has until May 4 to kill up to two wolves, and Oregon wildlife officials can also kill them if they encounter them. Ranchers must prove they have tried nonlethal methods to scare the wolves away.

State prison may miss target for reforms — A report released Tuesday by the watchdog Disability Rights Oregon says a prison facility housing mentally ill inmates — the Behavioral Health Unit, part of the Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem — isn’t fixing problems fast enough to meet a timeline agreed to by the state. While some of the worst conditions have been fixed, advocates say the state isn’t making enough progress to complete a top priority: ending de facto solitary confinement for mentally ill inmates by allowing them at least 20 hours per week outside of their cells.