10-04-2024  11:55 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

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...

U.S. Congressman Al Green Commends Biden Administration on Launching Investigation into 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre; Mulls Congressional Action

The thriving African American community of Greenwood, popularly known as Black Wall Street, was criminally leveled by a white mob...

Governor Kotek, Oregon Housing and Community Services Announce Current and Projected Homelessness Initiative Outcomes

The announcement is accompanied by a data dashboard that shows the progress for the goals set within the...

Man deemed violent predator caught after removing GPS monitor, escaping and prompting 3-day search

SEATTLE (AP) — Officials are investigating how a man convicted of assaulting a woman was able to cut off his GPS monitor and escape from a restrictive housing complex in Washington state, prompting a multistate search until he was captured Thursday. Damion Blevins, 33, was arrested...

Senators ask Justice Department to take tougher action against Boeing executives over safety issues

Two U.S. senators have asked the Department of Justice to take tougher action against Boeing executives by holding them criminally accountable for safety issues that have impacted its airplanes. In a letter dated Wednesday and sent to Attorney General Merrick Garland, Democratic...

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...

No. 9 Missouri looks to improve to 5-0 in visit to No. 25 Texas A&M

No. 9 Missouri (4-0, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) at No. 25 Texas A&M (4-1, 2-0), Saturday, 12 p.m. ET (ABC). BetMGM College Football Odds: Texas A&M by 2 1/2. Series record: Texas A&M leads 9-7. WHAT’S AT STAKE? The winner will...

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

In Michigan, Harris works to solidify union support amid signs some of it could be slipping to Trump

REDFORD CHARTER TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris is visiting the union stronghold of Flint in the critical swing state of Michigan on Friday as she battles with Donald Trump for working-class voters who could tip the scales in this year's election. Her appearance...

For Pittsburgh Jews, attack anniversary adds to an already grim October

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Jewish communities everywhere reacted with horror at last year's Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on Israel, but the approaching one-year commemoration of the assault hits home particularly hard in Pittsburgh's Jewish community, which already marks a grim anniversary each October. ...

Civilization 7 makers work with Shawnee to bring sincere representation of the tribe to the game

MIAMI, Okla. (AP) — Shawnee Tribe Chief Ben Barnes grew up playing video games, including “probably hundreds of hours” colonizing a distant planet in the 1999 title Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri. So when that same game studio, Firaxis, approached the tribal nation a quarter-century...

ENTERTAINMENT

Book Review: 'The Last Dream,' short stories scattered with the seeds of Pedro Almodovar films

The seeds of Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar's later cinematic work are scattered throughout the pages of “The Last Dream,” his newly published collection of short writings. The stories and essays were gathered together by Almodóvar's longtime assistant, including many pieces...

Book Review: Louise Erdrich writes about love and loss in North Dakota in ’The Mighty Red’

Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Louise Erdrich (“The Night Watchman,” 2021) returns with a story close to her heart, “The Mighty Red.” Set in the author’s native North Dakota, the title refers to the river that serves as a metaphor for life in the Red River Valley. It also carries a...

Book Review: 'Revenge of the Tipping Point' is fan service for readers of Gladwell's 2000 book

It's been nearly 25 years since Malcolm Gladwell published “The Tipping Point," and it's still easy to catch it being read on airplanes, displayed prominently on executives' bookshelves or hear its jargon slipped into conversations. It's no surprise that a sequel was the next logical step. ...

U.S. & WORLD NEWS

A year later, Israeli survivors reflect on the lingering toll of Oct. 7

Lilach Almog walks past the remains of a police station seized by Hamas militants and buildings pockmarked by...

Supreme Court steps into a fight over plans to store nuclear waste in rural Texas and New Mexico

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court agreed on Friday to step into a fight over plans to store nuclear waste at...

Cousins throws for 509 yards, hits Hodge in OT to give Falcons 36-30 win over Bucs

ATLANTA (AP) — Kirk Cousins sure earned all that money Thursday night. The 0 million...

US arranges flights to bring Americans out of Lebanon as others seek escape

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S.-arranged flights have brought about 350 Americans and their immediate relatives out of...

Clashes in Kenya as people discuss the deputy president's impeachment motion

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Supporters and opponents of Kenya's deputy president clashed Friday at public forums over...

Rainstorms and heavy floods hit large parts of Bosnia, killing at least 16 people

KISELJAK, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — A severe rainstorm struck Bosnia overnight Friday, killing at least 16...

Amanda Sloane Hlntv.com

(CNN) -- Jurors in the George Zimmerman trial got to hear his story again Tuesday, this time from Chris Serino, the lead Sanford police investigator in the case, and Zimmerman's best friend, Mark Osterman.

On the trial's seventh day in a Florida courtroom, both of them recounted the story Zimmerman told them about the confrontation with Trayvon Martin with minor variations.

Zimmerman, a former neighborhood watch captain, is charged with second-degree murder for killing 17-year-old Martin in Sanford, Florida, on February 26, 2012. Zimmerman told police he was pursuing the teenager throughout the neighborhood because there had been a series of break-ins in the area. The two fought, and Zimmerman said he was forced to draw his gun and kill Martin in self-defense.

Serino said he felt Zimmerman exaggerated the number of times he was hit that night but said he didn't feel any "active deception" on Zimmerman's part when he said he got out of his vehicle while pursuing Martin to see what street he was on.

Osterman, who wrote a book about the case, said that when he took Zimmerman home from the police station after the shooting, Zimmerman wasn't acting like himself. "He had a stunned look on his face. Wide-eyed, just kind of a little bit detached," Osterman said on the stand Tuesday.

Judge Debra Nelson started the day by asking jurors to dismiss Serino's earlier testimony in which he said he believed Zimmerman was being truthful about what happened the night he shot Martin.

The court reporter read the exchange between defense attorney Mark O'Mara and Serino, a detective with the Sanford Police Department.

"So if we were to take pathological liar off the table as a possibility, you think (Zimmerman) was telling the truth?" asked O'Mara.

"Yes," said Serino.

The judge told jurors to dismiss the question and the answer, telling them it was an improper statement made by the witness about Zimmerman's credibility.

On his second day on the stand, Serino was asked by prosecutor Bernie de la Rionda if he thought Zimmerman was profiling Martin.

"If I were to believe that somebody was committing a crime, could that not be profiling that person?" asked de la Rionda.

"It could be construed as such, yes," said Serino.

"Was there any evidence that Trayvon Martin was committing a crime that evening, sir?" asked de la Rionda.

"No, sir," said Serino.

"Was there any evidence that that young man was armed?" asked de la Rionda.

"No, sir," said Serino.

The prosecutor also wanted to know Serino's thoughts on the language Zimmerman used in his non-emergency call to police when he said, "these (expletive) punks always get away."

"Is that something you would use in reference to somebody that you're going to invite over to dinner?" asked de la Rionda.

"No, sir, I would not," said Serino.

"Does that seem like a friendly comment about somebody else?" asked de la Rionda.

"No, sir, it does not," said Serino.

Serino also agreed that calling someone "(expletive) punks" is ill will and spite. To prove second-degree murder, prosecutors have to show Zimmerman acted with a "depraved mind" without regard for human life.

The prosecutor then started to dig into some of the details of Zimmerman's statement on the shooting to police, asking Serino about inconsistencies.

Serino said there was evidence to suggest that Zimmerman was still following Martin after the non-emergency operator told him not to. And Serino said red flags were raised for him when Zimmerman didn't know the names of the streets in his neighborhood, because there are only three.

However, Serino also said that he didn't feel there was "active deception" on Zimmerman's part when he said he didn't know where he was and had to get out of his vehicle to look at a street sign.

About the fight that allegedly ensued between Zimmerman and Martin, Serino also said Zimmerman's nose may have been bleeding back into his mouth, which could explain why Martin didn't have blood on his hands. And he agreed with O'Mara that the purported smothering of Zimmerman by Martin could have happened only momentarily, perhaps not long enough to be heard on the 911 call made by a neighbor.

When questioned again by the prosecution, Serino admitted that he was speculating on the details of how the fight played out.

The last witness to take the stand before court recessed for lunch was Mark Osterman, who called Zimmerman "the best friend I've ever had."

Osterman has worked in law enforcement for more than 20 years and said he's the one who helped Zimmerman purchase his gun. "He asked whether he should or shouldn't -- to start with -- and I recommended that he should. Anybody who's a non-convicted felon should carry a firearm. The police aren't always there," said Osterman.

Osterman also recounted the story of the shooting that Zimmerman told him. He said that as the two scuffled, Zimmerman's jacket came up, potentially exposing his gun to Martin. Osterman said Zimmerman was mostly focused on Martin's hands, which he said were keeping him from breathing.

"It was critical. He was losing oxygen. He felt he was not able to breathe. That's why he was desperate to clear an airway," said Osterman.

Osterman said Zimmerman felt Martin grab either his gun or the holster.

"That's when he had to -- he freed one of his hands and got the gun. He either broke contact or knocked Trayvon's hand away, and then he drew it," said Osterman.

Osterman said Zimmerman shot Martin, crawled out from under him, holstered his weapon, got on Martin's back and held his arms out, pinning them down.

But a photograph snapped by a neighbor shows Martin's hands under his body. Osterman said he wasn't aware of this fact.

Martin died of a single gunshot wound to the chest.