05-04-2024  6:01 pm   •   PDX and SEA Weather
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NORTHWEST NEWS

Police Detain Driver Who Accelerated Toward Protesters at Portland State University in Oregon

The Portland Police Bureau said in a written statement late Thursday afternoon that the man was taken to a hospital on a police mental health hold. They did not release his name. The vehicle appeared to accelerate from a stop toward the crowd but braked before it reached anyone. 

Portland Government Will Change On Jan. 1. The City’s Transition Team Explains What We Can Expect.

‘It’s a learning curve that everyone has to be intentional about‘

What Marijuana Reclassification Means for the United States

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is moving toward reclassifying marijuana as a less dangerous drug. The Justice Department proposal would recognize the medical uses of cannabis but wouldn’t legalize it for recreational use. Some advocates for legalized weed say the move doesn't go far enough, while opponents say it goes too far.

US Long-Term Care Costs Are Sky-High, but Washington State’s New Way to Help Pay for Them Could Be Nixed

A group funded by hedge fund executive Brian Heywood is attempting to undermine the financial stability of Washington state's new long-term care social insurance program.

NEWS BRIEFS

April 30 is the Registration Deadline for the May Primary Election

Voters can register or update their registration online at OregonVotes.gov until 11:59 p.m. on April 30. ...

Chair Jessica Vega Pederson Releases $3.96 Billion Executive Budget for Fiscal Year 2024-2025

Investments will boost shelter and homeless services, tackle the fentanyl crisis, strengthen the safety net and support a...

New Funding Will Invest in Promising Oregon Technology and Science Startups

Today Business Oregon and its Oregon Innovation Council announced a million award to the Portland Seed Fund that will...

Unity in Prayer: Interfaith Vigil and Memorial Service Honoring Youth Affected by Violence

As part of the 2024 National Youth Violence Prevention Week, the Multnomah County Prevention and Health Promotion Community Adolescent...

Escaped zebra captured near Seattle after gallivanting around Cascade mountain foothills for days

SEATTLE (AP) — A zebra that has been hoofing through the foothills of western Washington for days was recaptured Friday evening, nearly a week after she escaped with three other zebras from a trailer near Seattle. Local residents and animal control officers corralled the zebra...

Safety lapses contributed to patient assaults at Oregon State Hospital, federal report says

Safety lapses at the Oregon State Hospital contributed to recent patient-on-patient assaults, a federal report on the state's most secure inpatient psychiatric facility has found. The investigation by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services found that staff didn't always...

The Bo Nix era begins in Denver, and the Broncos also drafted his top target at Oregon

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — For the first time in his 17 seasons as a coach, Sean Payton has a rookie quarterback to nurture. Payton's Denver Broncos took Bo Nix in the first round of the NFL draft. The coach then helped out both himself and Nix by moving up to draft his new QB's top...

Elliss, Jenkins, McCaffrey join Harrison and Alt in following their fathers into the NFL

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Marvin Harrison Jr., Joe Alt, Kris Jenkins, Jonah Ellis and Luke McCaffrey have turned the NFL draft into a family affair. The sons of former pro football stars, they've followed their fathers' formidable footsteps into the league. Elliss was...

OPINION

New White House Plan Could Reduce or Eliminate Accumulated Interest for 30 Million Student Loan Borrowers

Multiple recent announcements from the Biden administration offer new hope for the 43.2 million borrowers hoping to get relief from the onerous burden of a collective

Op-Ed: Why MAGA Policies Are Detrimental to Black Communities

NNPA NEWSWIRE – MAGA proponents peddle baseless claims of widespread voter fraud to justify voter suppression tactics that disproportionately target Black voters. From restrictive voter ID laws to purging voter rolls to limiting early voting hours, these...

Loving and Embracing the Differences in Our Youngest Learners

Yet our responsibility to all parents and society at large means we must do more to share insights, especially with underserved and under-resourced communities. ...

Gallup Finds Black Generational Divide on Affirmative Action

Each spring, many aspiring students and their families begin receiving college acceptance letters and offers of financial aid packages. This year’s college decisions will add yet another consideration: the effects of a 2023 Supreme Court, 6-3 ruling that...

AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE NEWS

The Kentucky Derby is turning 150 years old. It's survived world wars and controversies of all kinds

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — As a record crowd cheered, American Pharoah rallied from behind and took aim at his remaining two rivals in the stretch. The bay colt and jockey Victor Espinoza surged to the lead with a furlong to go and thundered across the finish line a length ahead in the 2015 Kentucky...

Congressman praises heckling of war protesters, including 1 who made monkey gestures at Black woman

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Israel-Hamas war demonstrations at the University of Mississippi turned ugly this week when one counter-protester appeared to make monkey noises and gestures at a Black student in a raucous gathering that was endorsed by a far-right congressman from Georgia. ...

Biden awards the Medal of Freedom to Nancy Pelosi, Medgar Evers, Michelle Yeoh and 15 others

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Friday bestowed the Presidential Medal of Freedom on 19 people, including civil rights icons such as the late Medgar Evers, prominent political leaders such as former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rep. James Clyburn, and actor Michelle Yeoh. ...

ENTERTAINMENT

Celebrity birthdays for the week of May 5-11

Celebrity birthdays for the week of May 5-11: May 5: Actor Michael Murphy is 86. Actor Lance Henriksen (“Millennium,” ″Aliens”) is 84. Comedian-actor Michael Palin (Monty Python) is 81. Actor John Rhys-Davies (“Lord of the Rings,” ″Raiders of the Lost Ark”) is 80....

Select list of nominees for 2024 Tony Awards

NEW YORK (AP) — Select nominations for the 2024 Tony Awards, announced Tuesday. Best Musical: “Hell's Kitchen'': ”Illinoise"; “The Outsiders”; “Suffs”; “Water for Elephants” Best Play: “Jaja’s African Hair Braiding”; “Mary Jane”; “Mother...

Book Review: 'Crow Talk' provides a path for healing in a meditative and hopeful novel on grief

Crows have long been associated with death, but Eileen Garvin’s novel “Crow Talk” offers a fresh perspective; creepy, dark and morbid becomes beautiful, wondrous and transformative. “Crow Talk” provides a path for healing in a meditative and hopeful novel on grief, largely...

U.S. & WORLD NEWS

Drone footage shows Ukrainian village battered to ruins as residents flee Russian advance

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The Ukrainian village of Ocheretyne has been battered by fighting, drone footage obtained...

Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas vows to continue his bid for an 11th term despite bribery indictment

WASHINGTON (AP) — For two decades, U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar has stood out as a moderate Democrat along the...

Fans pack the track for the 150th Run for the Roses

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — When Lori Hennesy imagined her outfit for the 150th running of the Kentucky Derby, she...

As China's Xi Jinping visits Europe, Ukraine, trade and investment are likely to top the agenda

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Ukraine, trade and investment are expected to dominate Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s first...

AP PHOTOS: South and Southeast Asian countries cope with a weekslong heat wave

South and Southeast Asian countries have been coping with a weekslong heat wave rendering record high temperatures...

Israel has briefed US on plan to evacuate Palestinian civilians ahead of potential Rafah operation

WASHINGTON (AP) — Israel this week briefed Biden administration officials on a plan to evacuate Palestinian...

Madison Park CNN

(CNN) -- A priest known for his collection of religious art is under investigation for possible involvement in the illegal ivory trade, according to a Philippine law enforcement agency.

Monsignor Cristobal Garcia was quoted in the October issue of National Geographic directing a reporter to ivory carvers and traders, and also dispensing advice on how to smuggle the banned item into the United States.

According to the National Geographic article, Garcia told the journalist, Bryan Christy, to wrap ivory in "old, stinky underwear and pour ketchup on it," to disguise it as a soiled piece of clothing to get it through U.S. customs. He was with the Cebu Archdiocese when he allegedly made his remarks to the magazine.

This caught the Philippines authorities' interest.

Garcia was known as "one of the best known ivory collectors in the Philippines," according to National Geographic.

An investigation concerning Garcia is ongoing, said Sixto Comia, the chief of the environmental and wildlife investigation division of the National Bureau of Investigation. Garcia has not been charged with any crime and his collection has not been confiscated.

Comia said the agency takes illegal trade of ivory seriously.

Elephants, valued for their tusks, are being killed in Africa at an alarming rate by well-armed poachers, according to conservation groups. The highly coveted ivory tusks are often traded in Asia, where there is high demand -- especially in China and Thailand.

National Geographic described Garcia owning a "mini-museum" filled with ivory religious figures.

Garcia was removed from his position in June stemming from a U.S. case in the 1980s, said Monsignor Achilles Dakay, the Cebu archdiocese media liaison officer.

National Geographic's article alluded to a dismissed lawsuit filed against Garcia when he served as priest in Los Angeles in the 1980s for sexual abuse of an altar boy.

The Cebu Archdiocese released a statement Wednesday saying that Garcia's past "has been elevated to the Holy See," the Vatican City government of the Catholic Church.

"The Church is also aware of the gravity of the crime of pederasty. In recent pronouncements, the Church has stated her regret for the failure to address the problem in a more decisive and effective way," according to the Archdiocese statement.

Garcia has since taken ill, Dakay said, and is unable to be reached for comment.

The church's statement, attributed to Cebu Archbishop Jose S. Palma, also condemned the ivory trade, saying, "the Church does not condone ivory smuggling or other illegal activities, although in the past, ivory was one of the materials used in the adornment of liturgical worship."

The church also stated that Garcia has rights to a "fair and just hearing" on the ivory trade allegations.

The church said the National Geographic Magazine story "needs to be assessed as to its veracity, considering that the article smacks of bias against religious practices."

The Skanner Foundation's 38th Annual MLK Breakfast