11-08-2024  10:48 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

Volunteers of America Oregon Announces Retirement CEO, Kay Toran

Toran's tenure at VOA Oregon is marked by decades of dedicated public service in the State of Oregon and unwavering commitment to...

NAACP Launches Innovative $200 Million Fund of Funds to Transform the Venture Capital Landscape

The fund will invest in fund managers and startups that are focused on closing gaps facing communities of color. ...

Legal Services Corporation Announces 2025 Grant Awards for Civil Legal Services

The grants are part of LSC's ongoing effort to support legal aid organizations in providing essential services to underserved...

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." ...

Police arrest a man after 9 people are stabbed over 2 days in Seattle

SEATTLE (AP) — A man has been arrested in connection with a spate of random stabbings over two days in Seattle, in which nine people were injured -- five of them on Friday afternoon, police said. “This incident was apparently one individual over a 38-hour period of time committing...

Democrat Andrea Salinas wins reelection in Oregon’s 6th District

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Democratic U.S. Rep. Andrea Salinas has won reelection in Oregon’s 6th Congressional District, beating Republican Mike Erickson to earn a second term in Congress after outraising him by millions of dollars. Oregon’s newest congressional district, the 6th...

Davis scores 22, Southern Illinois defeats Missouri S&T 86-64

CARBONDALE, Ill. (AP) — Kennard Davis scored 22 points as Southern Illinois beat Missouri S&T 86-64 on Friday night. Davis also had five rebounds, eight assists, and seven steals for the Salukis (1-1). Elijah Elliott scored 14 points, going 5 of 10 from the floor, including 1...

Tamar Bates scores 17 and Mark Mitchell has 16 to lead Missouri past Howard 77-62

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Tamar Bates scored 17 points, Mark Mitchell added 16 and Missouri defeated Howard 77-62 on Friday night. Missouri (1-1) led by 12 at halftime but it took a late second-half run to put the game away. The Tigers' lead was only 61-57 after Howard's Marcus Dockery...

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

Majority Black Louisiana elementary school to shut down amid lawsuits over toxic air exposure

RESERVE, La. (AP) — A southeast Louisiana school board voted on Thursday to shut down a predominantly Black elementary school adjacent to a petrochemical facility embroiled in multiple lawsuits linked to its high levels of toxic emissions. Denka Performance Elastomer LLC produces...

FBI, Justice Department investigating racist mass texts sent following the election

WASHINGTON (AP) — Several federal and state agencies are investigating how racist mass texts were sent to Black people across the country in the wake of the presidential election this week. The text messages invoking slavery were sent to Black men, women and children, prompting...

Mississippi Senate paid Black attorney less than white ones, US Justice Department says

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The Mississippi Senate discriminated against a Black attorney by paying her about half of what her white colleagues were paid for doing the same job, the U.S. Justice Department says in a lawsuit it filed Friday. “Discriminatory employment practices, like...

ENTERTAINMENT

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,”...

Music Review: State Champs’ self-titled album is enjoyable, quintessential, predictable pop-punk

New York pop-punk band State Champs’ self-titled album is one fans of the genre have heard before — a band musing about awkward interactions at parties, overthinking their romantic relationships and scorning the mundane. Across 12 tracks, the album is charming, but unchallenging. ...

U.S. & WORLD NEWS

The story of how Trump went from diminished ex-president to a victor once again

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — As he bid farewell to Washington in January 2021, deeply unpopular and diminished,...

The US election was largely trouble-free, but a flood of misinformation raises future concerns

WASHINGTON (AP) — A relatively trouble-free presidential election was good news for those working to restore...

Beyoncé leads the 2025 Grammy noms, becoming the most nominated artist in the show’s history

NEW YORK (AP) — Welcome toBeyoncé country. When it comes to the 2025 Grammy Award nominations, “Cowboy...

German chancellor’s last remaining coalition ally makes his move before expected early election

BERLIN (AP) — Germany's economy minister said Friday that he hopes to become his Green Party's candidate for...

Greece and Turkey press ahead with talks in effort to smooth often volatile relations

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Recent efforts to smooth the frequently volatile ties between neighbors and regional...

Weather extremes influence illegal migration and return between the U.S. and Mexico, study finds

Extreme weather is contributing to undocumented migration and return between Mexico and the United States,...

By Laura Smith-Spark CNN

Lawyers acting for David Miranda, the partner of journalist Glenn Greenwald, said they will bring his case to the High Court in London on Thursday after he was detained at Heathrow Airport.

Greenwald, who works for The Guardian newspaper, has been at the forefront of high-profile reports exposing secrets in U.S. intelligence programs, based on leaks from former U.S. National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden.

Miranda, a Brazilian citizen, spent nearly nine hours in detention Sunday being questioned under a provision of Britain's terrorism laws. He was stopped as he passed through London on his way from Berlin to his home in Brazil.

Authorities confiscated Miranda's electronic equipment, including his mobile phone, laptop, memory sticks, smart watch, DVDs and games consoles, lawyer Gwendolen Morgan wrote in the court filing Wednesday.

The lawyers, hired by The Guardian to represent Miranda, are trying to recover his property and prevent the government from inspecting the items or sharing what data they may have already gleaned from them.

"What they're essentially seeking right now is a declaration from the British court that what the British authorities did is illegal, because the only thing they're allowed to detain and question people over is investigations relating to terrorism, and they had nothing to do with terrorism, they went well beyond the scope of the law," Greenwald told CNN's AC360 on Tuesday.

"And, secondly, to order them to return all the items they stole from David and to order that they are barred from using them in any way or sharing them with anybody else."

Pressure on The Guardian?

Meanwhile, new claims have emerged that the pressure placed on The Guardian over its reporting on information leaked by Snowden came from the highest levels of government.

The British newspaper The Independent reported Wednesday that Prime Minister David Cameron ordered the country's top civil servant, Sir Jeremy Heywood, "to contact the Guardian to spell out the serious consequences that could follow if it failed to hand over classified material received from Edward Snowden."

Asked about the report by CNN, Cameron's office did not deny it.

"We won't go in to specific cases, but if highly sensitive information was being held insecurely, the government would have a responsibility to secure it," a Downing Street press officer said. She declined to be named in line with policy.

The Guardian's editor, Alan Rusbridger, said in an editorial published Monday that the paper had physically destroyed computer hard drives under the eyes of representatives of Britain's General Communications Headquarters -- the UK equivalent of the NSA.

The move followed several meetings with "a very senior government official claiming to represent the views of the prime minister" and "shadowy Whitehall figures," Rusbridger said. They demanded The Guardian hand over the Snowden material or destroy it, he said.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, the head of Cameron's Liberal Democrat coalition partners, considered the request "reasonable," his office said.

‪"The Deputy Prime Minister felt this was a preferable approach to taking legal action," according to a statement issued Wednesday evening. "He was keen to protect the Guardian's freedom to publish, whilst taking the necessary steps to safeguard security."

Greenwald broke the story of the existence of a U.S. National Security Agency program that is thought to have collected large amounts of phone and Internet data. The Guardian also claimed, based on documents provided by Snowden, that GCHQ made use of the NSA program, known as PRISM, to illegally spy on UK citizens.

A UK parliamentary committee subsequently found "no basis" for this claim. The UK government says GCHQ acts within a strong legal framework.

'Journalistic material'

Miranda was stopped as he returned to the couple's Rio de Janeiro home after staying in Berlin with filmmaker Laura Poitras, who has been working with Greenwald on NSA-related stories.

Miranda will seek a judicial review on the grounds that the legislation under which he was detained was misused, his solicitor Morgan said Tuesday.

Morgan wrote to Home Secretary Theresa May and the Metropolitan Police chief asking for assurances that "there will be no inspection, copying, disclosure, transfer, distribution or interference, in any way, with our client's data pending determination of our client's claim."

The law firm has also demanded the same from any third party, either domestic or foreign, that may have been given access to the material.

The letter, seen by CNN, claims that Schedule 7 of Terrorism Act 2000 was used to detain Miranda "in order to obtain access to journalistic material" and that this "is of exceptional and grave concern."

Miranda has said he does not know what data he was carrying back with him.

'Huge black eye' for British government

Britain's Home Office on Tuesday defended Miranda's questioning, saying the government and police "have a duty to protect the public and our national security."

"If the police believe that an individual is in possession of highly sensitive stolen information that would help terrorism, then they should act and the law provides them with a framework to do that," it said. "Those who oppose this sort of action need to think about what they are condoning."

In a statement that didn't name Miranda but referred to his detention, the Metropolitan Police called what happened "legally and procedurally sound" and said it came after "a detailed decision-making process."

The statement describes the law under which Miranda was detained as "a key part of our national security capability which is used regularly and carefully by the Metropolitan Police Service to help keep the public safe."

But that's not how Miranda and Greenwald view the law, or at least how it was applied in this case.

Sitting alongside his partner, Greenwald said the detention gave the British government "a huge black eye in the world, (made) them look thuggish and authoritarian (for) interfering in the journalism process (and created) international incidents with the government of Brazil, which is indignant about this."

Greenwald added, "To start detaining people who they think they are reporting on what they're doing under terrorism laws, that is as dangerous and oppressive as it gets."

Miranda, who didn't have an interpreter on hand during his detention despite English being a second language for him, said: "They didn't ask me anything about terrorism, not one question."

He added, "They were just telling me: 'If you don't answer this, you are going to jail.'"

Greenwald said the entire episode was designed to intimidate him and other investigative journalists from using classified information and digging into stories critical of the British and allied governments. But, he said, it will have the reverse effect on him, making him more determined to carry on.

The seizure of material from Miranda will not stop the newspaper reporting on the story, he added.

"Of course, we have multiple copies of every single thing that we're working on," Greenwald said. "Nobody would ever travel with only one copy of anything."

CNN's Bryony Jones, Greg Botelho, Caroline Paterson and Stephanie Halasz contributed to this report.

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