05-02-2024  8:09 pm   •   PDX and SEA Weather
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NORTHWEST NEWS

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.

A Massive Powerball Win Draws Attention to a Little-Known Immigrant Culture in the US

An immigrant from Laos who has been battling cancer won an enormous jumi.3 billion Powerball jackpot in Oregon earlier this month. But Cheng “Charlie” Saephan's luck hasn't just changed his life — it's also drawn attention to Iu Mien, a southeast Asian ethnic group with origins in China, many of whose members fled from Laos to Thailand and then settled in the U.S. following the Vietnam War.

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...

Police detain driver who accelerated toward protesters at Portland State University in Oregon

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Police said Thursday they detained the driver of a white Toyota Camry who briefly accelerated toward a crowd of pro-Palestinian demonstrators at Portland State University in Oregon and then ran off spraying what appeared to be pepper spray toward protesters who confronted...

The Latest | Arrests top 2,000 as protests against Israel-Hamas war roil college campuses

The number of people arrested in connection with protests on college campuses against the Israel-Hamas war has now topped 2,000. The Associated Press has tallied arrests at 35 schools since a tent encampment began at Columbia University on April 17. Student protests have popped up at...

Police detain driver who accelerated toward protesters at Portland State University in Oregon

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Police said Thursday they detained the driver of a white Toyota Camry who briefly accelerated toward a crowd of pro-Palestinian demonstrators at Portland State University in Oregon and then ran off spraying what appeared to be pepper spray toward protesters who confronted...

The Latest | Arrests top 2,000 as protests against Israel-Hamas war roil college campuses

The number of people arrested in connection with protests on college campuses against the Israel-Hamas war has now topped 2,000. The Associated Press has tallied arrests at 35 schools since a tent encampment began at Columbia University on April 17. Student protests have popped up at...

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

Judge grants autopsy rules requested by widow of Mississippi man found dead after vanishing

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A Mississippi judge granted a request Thursday by the widow of a deceased man who vanished under mysterious circumstances to set standards for a future independent autopsy of her late husband's body. Hinds County Chancery Judge Dewayne Thomas formalized...

Asian American Literature Festival that was canceled by the Smithsonian in 2023 to be revived

NEW YORK (AP) — A festival celebrating Asian American literary works that was suddenly canceled last year by the Smithsonian Institution is getting resurrected, organizers announced Thursday. The Asian American Literature Festival is making a return, the Asian American Literature...

Critics question if longtime Democratic congressman from Georgia is too old for reelection

CONYERS, Ga. (AP) — U.S. Rep. David Scott faces multiple Democratic primary opponents in his quest for a 12th congressional term in a sharply reconfigured suburban Atlanta district. But with early voting underway ahead of the May 21 primary elections, the 78-year-old is ignoring challengers and...

ENTERTAINMENT

Book Review: Rachel Khong’s new novel 'Real Americans' explores race, class and cultural identity

In 2017 Rachel Khong wrote a slender, darkly comic novel, “Goodbye, Vitamin,” that picked up a number of accolades and was optioned for a film. Now she has followed up her debut effort with a sweeping, multigenerational saga that is twice as long and very serious. “Real...

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...

U.S. & WORLD NEWS

Send us Patriots: Ukraine's battered energy plants seek air defenses against Russian attacks

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — At a Ukrainian power plant repeatedly hit by Russian aerial attacks, equipment department...

Maryland officials release timeline, cost estimate, for rebuilding bridge

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Maryland plans to rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge in just over four years at an...

Captain sentenced to 4 years for criminal negligence in fiery deaths of 34 aboard scuba boat

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A federal judge in Los Angeles on Thursday sentenced a scuba dive boat captain to four years...

Send us Patriots: Ukraine's battered energy plants seek air defenses against Russian attacks

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — At a Ukrainian power plant repeatedly hit by Russian aerial attacks, equipment department...

A scroll for the king, a website for the people: Coronation document to be released digitally

LONDON (AP) — It is a record fit for a king, but it’s going online for everyone to see. King...

Death toll jumps to at least 48 as a search continues in southern China highway collapse

BEIJING (AP) — The death toll from a collapsed highway in southeastern China climbed to 48 on Thursday as...

By Laura Perez Maestro and Laura Smith-Spark CNN





LDS Missionary Stephen Ward, from Bountiful, Utah, was injured on the train that derailed in Spain that killed at least 80 people. He was on his way to a missionary training center


The judge in charge of the investigation into a horrific train crash in Spain last month has presented preliminary charges against the state-run rail infrastructure company, Adif.

Until now, attention has focused on the driver of the train, which derailed near the northwestern city of Santiago de Compostela, killing 79 people and injuring scores more.

Francisco Jose Garzon faces 79 counts of homicide by professional recklessness and an undetermined number of counts of causing injury by professional recklessness.

But preliminary charges have now also been filed by Judge Luis Alaez Legeren against "the person or persons from ADIF responsible for the traffic safety in the stretch of the rail line between the stations of Ourense and Santiago on July 24," according to documents posted on a court website Tuesday.

It's not yet clear who the individuals are.

The judge also requested more information on traffic safety and speed limits on that stretch of line from both Adif and state railroad company Renfe, and asked the Transport Ministry for details of any other incidents there.

A spokeswoman for Adif declined to comment on the charges Wednesday but told CNN the company would work with authorities as far as possible.

Garzon took control of the train at Ourense station, about 35 minutes before the crash occurred, a senior rail official told lawmakers during a rail safety briefing called after the disaster.

Lawmakers heard that the route the train was on, from Madrid to Ferrol, includes a mix of conventional and high-speed track, with the latter allowing high-speed trains to travel at over 200 kilometers per hour (124 mph.)

Two different safety systems are used in Spain: the European Rail Traffic Management System for the high-speed track and another known as ASFA on conventional lines.

The train and its engineer were switching between the two kinds of track and operating system in the course of the journey. One such transition occurred shortly before the crash.

Court officials have said the train was traveling at 153 kph (95 mph) when it derailed, nearly twice the speed limit on the curve where the accident happened.

The driver, Garzon, has been given conditional release while the investigation continues but has surrendered his passport.

CNN's Laura Perez Maestro reported from Madrid, and Laura Smith-Spark wrote in London

The Skanner Foundation's 38th Annual MLK Breakfast