11-07-2024  10:15 pm   •   PDX and SEA Weather

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NORTHWEST NEWS

In Portland, Political Outsider Keith Wilson Elected Mayor After Homelessness-focused Race

Wilson, a Portland native and CEO of a trucking company, ran on an ambitious pledge to end unsheltered homelessness within a year of taking office.

‘Black Friday’ Screening Honors Black Portlanders, Encourages Sense of Belonging

The second annual event will be held Nov. 8 at the Hollywood Theatre.

Democratic Attorney General Bob Ferguson Wins Governor’s Race in Washington

Ferguson came to national prominence by repeatedly suing the administration of former President Donald Trump, including bringing the lawsuit that blocked Trump’s initial travel ban on citizens of several majority Muslim nations. 

African American Alliance On Homeownership Turns 25, Honors The Skanner Cofounder Bernie Foster

AAAH's executive director Cheryl Roberts recalls how the efforts of Bernie Foster led to an organization that now offers one-on-one counseling for prospective home buyers, homebuyer education, foreclosure prevention services, estate planning, assistance with down payments and more.

NEWS BRIEFS

Maxine Dexter Elected to Fill Earl Blumenauer's Seat

Blumenauer: “I can think of no person I would rather have take my place” ...

Dan Rayfield Elected Oregon’s Next Attorney General

Rayfield thanks AG Ellen Rosenblum and is honored "to follow her footsteps." ...

Elizabeth Steiner Statement on State Treasurer Victory

Treasurer-elect Steiner makes history as the first woman ever elected Oregon State Treasurer. ...

Merkley Statement on the Passing of Bob Sallinger

“Bob was a trusted voice, advising me on ways to safeguard the state’s natural wonders and wildlife and fighting against climate...

Troutdale Library Now Renovation Complete

Library provides refreshed experience for patrons with new, comfortable seating and carpeting ...

In Portland, Oregon, political outsider Keith Wilson elected mayor after homelessness-focused race

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Voters in Portland, Oregon, have elected political outsider Keith Wilson as their new mayor, following a campaign in which he capitalized on years of growing frustration over homeless encampments, open drug use and quality of life concerns to outperform three City Council...

Freshman Democrat Val Hoyle wins reelection to US House in Oregon’s 4th Congressional District

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Democratic U.S. Rep. Val Hoyle has won reelection in Oregon’s 4th Congressional District. The freshman incumbent defeated Republican Monique DeSpain, an Air Force veteran who has never held elected office and pitched herself as an “outsider” candidate. ...

Oklahoma visits Missouri for the first matchup of old Big 12 rivals in the Southeastern Conference

Oklahoma (5-4, 1-4 SEC) at Missouri (6-2, 2-2), Saturday, 7:45 p.m. EST (SEC Network) BetMGM College Football Odds: Missouri by 2 1/2. Series record: Oklahoma leads 67-24-5. What’s at stake? Oklahoma and Missouri, who first played each other...

Missouri Tigers host the Howard Bison in cross-conference contest

Howard Bison (0-1) at Missouri Tigers (0-1) Columbia, Missouri; Friday, 8 p.m. EST BOTTOM LINE: Missouri hosts Howard in out-of-conference play. Missouri finished 8-24 overall with a 6-11 record at home during the 2023-24 season. The Tigers shot 43.9% from...

OPINION

Why Not Voting Could Deprioritize Black Communities

President Biden’s Justice40 initiative ensures that 40% of federal investment benefits flow to disadvantaged communities, addressing deep-seated inequities. ...

The Skanner News 2024 Presidential Endorsement

It will come as no surprise that we strongly endorse Vice President Kamala Harris for president. ...

Black Retirees Growing Older and Poorer: 2025 Social Security COLA lowest in 10 years

As Americans live longer, the ability to remain financially independent is an ongoing struggle. Especially for Black and other people of color whose lifetime incomes are often lower than that of other contemporaries, finding money to save for ‘old age’ is...

The Skanner Endorsements: Oregon State and Local Ballot Measures

Ballots are now being mailed out for this very important election. Election Day is November 5. Ballots must be received or mailed with a valid postmark by 8 p.m. Election Day. View The Skanner's ballot measure endorsements. ...

AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE NEWS

In an Israeli settlement named after Trump, residents see opportunity after the election

RAMAT TRUMP, Golan Heights (AP) — Israeli residents of “Trump Heights” are welcoming the election of their namesake, hoping Donald Trump's return to the U.S. presidency will breathe new life into this tiny, remote settlement in the central Golan Heights. During his first term,...

Racist text messages referencing slavery raise alarms in multiple states and prompt investigations

WASHINGTON (AP) — Racist text messages invoking slavery raised alarm across the country this week after they were sent to Black men, women and students, including middle schoolers, prompting inquiries by the FBI and other agencies. The messages, sent anonymously, were reported in...

Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument in New Mexico is set to reopen

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument in New Mexico, which closed in March 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, is reopening later this month. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management and Cochiti Pueblo announced Thursday the monument will reopen Nov. 21....

ENTERTAINMENT

Book Review: A man searches for meaning in Mike Fu's unnerving debut novel, 'Masquerade'

Meadow is coming up on 10 years living in New York, and he’s still adrift. His boyfriend ghosted him, his current residence is actually a housesitting gig, and his bartending job isn’t exactly filling his parents with pride. But this summer, strange things keep happening that will make or break...

Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade will feature Ariana Madix, T-Pain, 'Gabby’s Dollhouse' and pasta

NEW YORK (AP) — A eclectic group of stars — including reality TV's Ariana Madix, Broadway belter Idina Menzel, hip-hop's T-Pain, members of the WNBA champions New York Liberty and country duo Dan + Shay — will feature in this year's Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Music...

Celebrity birthdays for the week of Nov. 10-16

Celebrity birthdays for the week of Nov. 10-16: Nov. 10: Blues singer Bobby Rush is 90. Actor Albert Hall (“Ally McBeal,” ″Beloved”) is 87. Country singer Donna Fargo is 83. Lyricist Tim Rice is 80. Actor Jack Scalia is 74. Director Roland Emmerich (“The Patriot,”...

U.S. & WORLD NEWS

Trump's win brings uncertainty to borrowers hoping for student loan forgiveness

Savannah Britt owes about ,000 on loans she took out to attend college at Rutgers University, a debt she was...

The Berlin Wall: a divide that once shaped German women's lives apart still echoes today

BERLIN (AP) — Like many other young women living in communist East Germany, Solveig Leo thought nothing about...

Why people with disabilities in Nairobi are looking beyond public transport to navigate busy city

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Caroline Mwikali lost her ability to walk at age 13 after an illness. She quickly learned...

Putin congratulates Trump on his election victory in his first public comments on the US vote

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday congratulated Donald Trump on his election victory in...

AP Week in Pictures: Global

Nov. 1-7, 2024 Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris looks at a monitor of...

The Temple of Satan gains ground in Chile as faith in traditional religions wanes

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — It’s Friday night in Downtown Santiago, the capital of Chile, and a group of 15 people...

Elizabeth Cohen Senior Medical Correspondent

(CNN) -- Those who were diagnosed with cancer after working at the World Trade Center site following the September 11, 2001, terror attacks were relieved earlier this week to find out that the federal government would compensate them for their illnesses.

But the news came too late for Jevon Thomas, a worker who died of a rare cancer in April, penniless and distraught. He was 45.

Thomas spent more than a year working on "the pile," breathing in fumes from burning jet fuel and asbestos. For 10 years, federal authorities said it was impossible to make a link between his work and his illness.

"He was so depressed. He didn't want to talk to anybody," says his daughter, Monet Thomas. "If he could have heard this news, it would have made him so happy."

It's not known how many of those who worked at ground zero have died of cancer, according to Dr. Michael Crane, director of the World Trade Center Health Program Clinical Center at New York's Mount Sinai School of Medicine.

While relatives of deceased workers may file claims, the federal program provides no financial or emotional solace for the workers who have died.

"I'm so grateful cancers were included, but when I'm reminded of the people who've died, I get a pain in my heart," Crane says. "It's a real tragedy."

Didn't hesitate to say 'yes'

Thomas was working for a company that installs portable toilets when the planes hit the World Trade Center.

He didn't hesitate to say yes when his boss asked him to set up toilets at ground zero for the emergency workers. He told CNN in an interview two years ago that he worked there without a mask for 10 hours a day, seven days a week, for about 14 months.

Around the time he stopped working at ground zero, he noticed a lump on his hand. It turned out to be a rare cancer called epithelioid sarcoma.

Thomas had several surgeries and rounds of chemotherapy and had to quit his $65,000-a-year job.

His physician, Dr. Iris Udasin at Rutgers University, found him as much charity care as possible, but his family suffered financially as Thomas' wife is disabled and couldn't work to support their two young children.

At the time, workers could apply for money from the federal September 11th Victim Compensation Fund if they suffered respiratory problems -- but not cancer, because a scientific link had not been found between the disease and breathing in the fumes at ground zero.

"Instead of everyone uniting, coming together, and figuring out a way to help you, they're figuring out a way of not helping you to save a dollar," Thomas said in 2010. "And that's what it all boils down to. A dollar."

What hurt Thomas the most, his daughter says, is that after graduating high school with honors, she got accepted to a community college, attended orientation and then had to leave because her family couldn't pay the tuition. More than anything, her father had wanted her to be the first in their family to attend college.

"He didn't care about himself. All he cared about was me and my brother," Monet Thomas says through tears. "He knew we needed help."

Her brother hasn't been able to find work, her mother is too sick to work and Monet, 21, supports the family by working as a hotel clerk in Secaucus, New Jersey.

"I feel like I'm going nowhere," she says.

'Tension between two poles'

When CNN interviewed Thomas two years ago, he said he was "100% sure" his cancer came from his work at ground zero.

"You can't work in an environment with so many different chemicals and carcinogens ... for a year straight, day in and day out, and not come down with something," he said.

But scientists weren't so sure. While someone's cancer might be because of his or her work at ground zero, it might also have been a coincidence -- Thomas might have gotten cancer anyway.

The long lag time makes it particularly difficult to study the link between ground zero and cancer. Cancer doesn't develop quickly after breathing in something toxic, the way asthma might. Instead, leukemia can take five to six years to develop, and solid tumors can take 10 to 20 years.

"People were very concerned that they were going to pull the trigger on the (federal) coverage too soon and they would end up covering people who didn't have a World Trade Center cancer," Crane says.

"They were trying to do this in an absolutely scientific way, according to rigorous principles of epidemiology, which is important to do," Crane adds. "But on the other hand, you have to balance that against the needs of needy and really sick people. There's a tension between those two poles."

In the end, a study of firefighters helped persuade the government to include cancers. In the study, firefighters who worked at ground zero were 19% more likely to develop cancer than firefighters who did not.

'He would never take it back'

Monet Thomas says her father would be "grateful" for the decision to compensate cancer victims who worked at ground zero, even though it took more than a decade.

"He would be crying right now," she said when she heard about the decision.

Even though her father was depressed, destitute and felt alone at the end of his life, she says he never regretted his work on the pile.

"He was proud of what he did," she says. "He was a hero, and he would never take it back."

CNN's Stephanie Smith, William Hudson and Georgiann Caruso contributed to this report.

 

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