10-08-2024  7:33 am   •   PDX and SEA Weather

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NORTHWEST NEWS

Taxpayers in 24 States Will Be Able to File Their Returns Directly With the IRS in 2025

The pilot program in 2024 allowed people in certain states with very simple W-2s to calculate and submit their returns directly to the IRS. Those using the program claimed more than million in refunds, the IRS said.

Companies Back Away From Oregon Floating Offshore Wind Project as Opposition Grows

The federal government finalized two areas for floating offshore wind farms along the Oregon coast in February. But opposition from tribes, fishermen and coastal residents highlights some of the challenges the plan faces.

Preschool for All Growth Outpaces Enrollment Projections

Mid-year enrollment to allow greater flexibility for providers, families.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden Demands Answers From Emergency Rooms That Denied Care to Pregnant Patients

Wyden is part of a Democratic effort to focus the nation’s attention on the stories of women who have faced horrible realities since some states tightened a patchwork of abortion laws.

NEWS BRIEFS

PSU’s Coty Raven Morris Named a Semifinalist for GRAMMY 2025 Music Educator Award

Morris, the Hinckley assistant professor of choir, music education and social justice, is one of just 25 music teachers selected as...

Washington State Fines 35 Plastic Producers $416,000 For Not Using Enough Recycled Plastic

The Washington Department of Ecology issued the first penalties under a 2021 state law aimed at reducing waste and pollution from...

Oregon’s 2024-25 Teacher of the Year is Bryan Butcher Jr. of Beaumont Middle School

“From helping each of his students learn math in the way that works for them, to creating the Black Student Union at his school,...

Burn Ban Lifted in the City of Portland

Although the burn ban is being lifted, Portland Fire & Rescue would like to remind folks to only burn dried cordwood in a...

Midland Library to Reopen in October

To celebrate the opening of the updated, expanded Midland, the library is hosting two days of activities for the community...

Oregon strikes an additional 302 people from voter rolls over lack of citizenship proof

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Oregon authorities said Monday they had removed another 302 people from the state's voter rolls after determining they didn't provide proof of citizenship when they were registered to vote, in the latest revelation of improper voter registrations stemming from clerical...

Salmon swim freely in the Klamath River for 1st time in a century after dams removed

HORNBROOK, Calif. (AP) — For the first time in more than a century, salmon are swimming freely along the Klamath River and its tributaries — a major watershed near the California-Oregon border — just days after the largest dam removal project in U.S. history was completed. ...

Moss scores 3 TDs as No. 25 Texas A&M gives No. 9 Missouri its first loss in 41-10 rout

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) — Le'Veon Moss was asked if he thought No. 25 Texas A&M shocked ninth-ranked Missouri after his big game propelled the Aggies to a rout Saturday. The running back laughed before answering. “Most definitely,” he said before chuckling...

No 9 Missouri faces stiff road test in visit to No. 25 Texas A&M

No. 9 Missouri hits the road for the first time this season, facing arguably its toughest challenge so far. The Tigers (4-0, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) know the trip to No. 25 Texas A&M (4-1, 2-0) on Saturday will be tough for several reasons if they want to extend their...

OPINION

The Skanner News: 2024 City Government Endorsements

In the lead-up to a massive transformation of city government, the mayor’s office and 12 city council seats are open. These are our endorsements for candidates we find to be most aligned with the values of equity and progress in Portland, and who we feel...

No Cheek Left to Turn: Standing Up for Albina Head Start and the Low-Income Families it Serves is the Only Option

This month, Albina Head Start filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to defend itself against a misapplied rule that could force the program – and all the children it serves – to lose federal funding. ...

DOJ and State Attorneys General File Joint Consumer Lawsuit

In August, the Department of Justice and eight state Attorneys Generals filed a lawsuit charging RealPage Inc., a commercial revenue management software firm with providing apartment managers with illegal price fixing software data that violates...

America Needs Kamala Harris to Win

Because a 'House Divided Against Itself Cannot Stand' ...

AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE NEWS

Wilmer Valderrama's 'American Story' is one of service to his family and his country

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Wilmer Valderrama vowed to “never let his family down” the night that he landed his breakthrough role as foreign exchange student Fez on “That '70s Show.” “I have been given the chance to lift us all, and I won’t blow this incredible opportunity. Every...

A series of deaths and the 'Big Fight': Uncovering police force in one Midwestern city

EVANSVILLE, Ind. (AP) — It was the day of the “Big Fight” at the police academy, and rookie sheriff’s deputy Asson Hacker groaned as the hulking instructor pressed down on his chest. Playing the role of a combative suspect, the trainer challenged Hacker to battle like his life...

What polling shows about Black voters' views of Harris and Trump

WASHINGTON (AP) — Black registered voters have an overwhelmingly positive view of Vice President Kamala Harris, but they’re less sure that she would change the country for the better, according to a recent poll from the   AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. The poll,...

ENTERTAINMENT

Movie armorer's conviction upheld in fatal ‘Rust’ set shooting by Alec Baldwin

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A New Mexico judge on Monday upheld an involuntary manslaughter conviction against a movie armorer in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer by Alec Baldwin on the set of the Western film “Rust.” Armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed asked a court to dismiss her...

Frank Fritz of the reality TV Show 'American Pickers' dies at 60

Frank Fritz, part of a two-man team who drove around the U.S. looking for antiques and collectibles to buy and resell on the reality show “American Pickers,” has died. He died Monday night at a hospice facility in Davenport, Iowa, said Annette Oberlander, a longtime friend. She...

Music Review: black midi's Geordie Greep aims for 'The New Sound' on his solo debut. And he hits it

Geordie Greep’s “The New Sound” is not going to be for everyone. Fans of his former act, the experimental British rock band black midi, which disbanded in August, have never been faint of heart. And Greep’s solo debut further pushes the envelope. Reminiscent of Frank Zappa’s...

U.S. & WORLD NEWS

Supreme Court will hear a challenge to a Biden administration rule on ghost guns

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court will hear a challenge Tuesday to a Biden administration regulation on ghost...

Biden makes rare dip into battleground state fray with a visit to Pennsylvania and Wisconsin

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is making a rare jump into the 2024 political battleground fray since...

Middle East latest: Israel says it killed a senior Hezbollah commander as more rockets are fired

The Israeli military said Tuesday it killed a senior Hezbollah commander in a strike on Beirut while the militant...

Water gushes through palm trees and sand dunes after rare rain in the Sahara Desert

RABAT, Morocco (AP) — A rare deluge of rainfall left blue lagoons of water amid the palm trees and sand dunes of...

German court acquits McCann suspect of unrelated sexual offense charges

BRAUNSCHWEIG, Germany (AP) — A German court on Tuesday acquitted a man who is also under investigation in the...

German leader Scholz's party moves fast to replace an official in a key campaign post

BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's party moved quickly to replace a top official who stepped down...

By Dominique Debucquoy-Dodley CNN

The FBI extensively monitored the Occupy Wall Street movement around the United States, using counterterrorism agents and other resources, according to recently released FBI internal documents.

The heavily redacted documents indicate that FBI counterterrorism agents were in close communication with law enforcement agencies, businesses, universities and other organizations across the country about the Occupy Wall Street movement, even before Occupy Wall Street set up a camp in New York's Zuccotti Park in September 2011.

In August 2011 the FBI informed New York Stock Exchange officials of a "planned Anarchist protest titled Occupy Wall Street" scheduled for September 17, 2011. The FBI also notified several New York businesses of the impending protests, according to the documents.

The documents, released under a Freedom of Information Act request, contain references to an October 2011 FBI domestic terrorism briefing in Jacksonville, Florida, regarding the spread of the Occupy Wall Street movement and "the emergence of Occupy chapters in and around the North Florida area." FBI officials also recommended setting up tripwires with Occupy event organizers.

The FBI was concerned that the Occupy venues could provide "an outlet for a lone offender exploiting the movement for reasons associated with general government dissatisfaction," according to the documents

At a Joint Terrorism Task Force meeting in November 2011, FBI agents reported about Occupy Wall Street activities in Anchorage, Alaska, according to the documents.

The documents also described instances from California, Colorado Mississippi, Virginia, and other states involving cooperation between the FBI and other agencies.

FBI counterterrorism agents are traditionally tasked with investigating and curtailing both domestic and foreign terrorism threats.

The agency prepared surveillance and precautionary measures despite acknowledging that Occupy Wall Street organizers "did not condone the use of violence during their events" and, and that the organizers had called for peaceful protest, according to the documents.

The Partnership for Civil Justice Fund, which describes itself on its website as a Washington-based organization "dedicated to the defense of human and civil rights secured by law, the protection of free speech and dissent, and the elimination of prejudice and discrimination," obtained the documents through the Freedom of Information Act.

"This production, which we believe is just the tip of the iceberg, is a window into the nationwide scope of the FBI's surveillance, monitoring, and reporting on peaceful protestors organizing with the Occupy movement," stated Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, executive director of the organization.

"These documents show that the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security are treating protests against the corporate and banking structure of America as potential criminal and terrorist activity."

The FBI, responding to the release of the documents regarding Occupy, said it recognizes the rights of individuals and groups to engage in constitutionally protected activity but must take precautions to deal with any potential threats of violence.

"While the FBI is obligated to thoroughly investigate any serious allegations involving threats of violence, we do not open investigations based solely on First Amendment activity," FBI spokesman Paul Bresson said in a statement to CNN. "In fact, the Department of Justice and the F.B.I.'s own internal guidelines on domestic operations strictly forbid that."

The Partnership for Civil Justice Fund said it believes the FBI is withholding more information regarding its surveillance of the Occupy movement, and will be filing an appeal demanding full disclosure of its operations, according to Verheyden-Hilliard.