06-17-2025  3:21 am   •   PDX and SEA Weather

  • President Donald Trump arrives on Air Force One at Calgary International Airport, Sunday, June 15, 2025, in Calgary, Canada, ahead of the G7 Summit. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

    Trump Attends G7 Summit Amid his Trade War with US Allies 

    President Donald Trump has arrived for the G7, or Group of Seven, summit in Canada, a country he’s suggested should be annexed, as he wages a trade war with America’s longstanding allies. If there’s a shared mission at this year’s G7 summit, which begins Monday in the Rocky Mountains, it’s a desire to minimize any fireworks at a moment of combustible tensions Read More
  • U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents detain a man outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs building during a protest Saturday, June 14, 2025, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

    Anti-Trump demonstrators crowd streets, parks and plazas across the US

    PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Demonstrators came out in cities across the U.S. to protest President Donald Trump. Organizers of Saturday's “No Kings” demonstrations said millions marched in hundreds of events. Huge, boisterous crowds marched in Philadelphia, New York, Denver, Chicago, Houston and Los Angeles. Atlanta’s 5,000-capacity rally quickly reached its limit in front of the state Capitol. In Minnesota, organizers canceled demonstrations as police tracked a suspect in the shootings of two Read More
  • Pictured, clockwise from top left: Michael Alexander, Donovan Scribes, Intisar Abioto, Devin Boss will appear onstage during the Power of Place Roadshow for Juneteenth. (Image courtesy PAM)

    Juneteenth 2025 Celebrations in Portland and Seattle

    Juneteenth is a young federal holiday, but the Black day of independence has been observed since June 19, 1865. Read More
  • Trump Administration’s DEI Rollback Leaves Black Women in Federal Jobs Vulnerable

    Trump Administration’s DEI Rollback Leaves Black Women in Federal Jobs Vulnerable

    The Education Department previously had a staff that was majority nonwhite, with Black women making up about 28% of the workforce. Since the Trump administration’s return, the department’s staff has reportedly been reduced by 46%. Read More
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NORTHWEST NEWS

Juneteenth 2025 Celebrations in Portland and Seattle

Juneteenth is a young federal holiday, but the Black day of independence has been observed since June 19, 1865.

City Council Approves and Increases Central Albina Settlement

Black residents who were forcibly relocated for Emanuel Hospital expansion that never happened, and their descendants, sued over loss of property, wealth and community.

VanPort Mosaic Festival Fights Cultural Amnesia

Two-week event honors survivors of VanPort flood, their descendants and survivors of Japanese Internment in annual festival.

Prosper Portland Fights For Continued City Funding

Two city councilors suggest ending city’s funding to wide-reaching economic development agency. 

NEWS BRIEFS

Oregon in Multi-State Legal Fight to Protect Genetic Information in 23andMe Bankruptcy Case

AG Rayfield: People did not submit their personal data to 23andMe thinking their genetic blueprint would be sold off to the highest...

Volunteers Needed: “Beautifying MLK” Black-Led Community Clean-Up Day of Service Set for This Saturday

Led by: The Coalition of Black Men in partnership with Soul District Business Association and fueled by Reimagine Oregon grant funds...

Parklane Park Grand Reopening Event On June 12 - Free for Everyone

Food, face painting, basketball, arts activities, music, and more ...

Class of 2025: Panthers Star Headed to University After Back-to-Back Titles

Hillsboro’s Edy Essien was on PCC’s men’s basketball team that repeated as NWAC regional basketball titles and excelled in...

WA Launches Police Use-of-Force Database

The exchange is a publicly available, cloud-based platform to help the public see and analyze police use-of-force data. ...

OPINION

Policymakers Should Support Patients With Chronic Conditions

As it exists today, 340B too often serves institutional financial gain rather than directly benefiting patients, leaving patients to ask “What about me?” ...

The Skanner News: Half a Century of Reporting on How Black Lives Matter

Publishing in one of the whitest cities in America – long before George Floyd ...

Cuts to Minority Business Development Agency Leaves 3 Staff

6B CDFI affordable capital for local investment also at risk ...

The Courage of Rep. Al Green: A Mandate for the People, Not the Powerful

If his colleagues truly believed in the cause, they would have risen in protest beside him, marched out of that chamber arm in arm with him, and defended him from censure rather than allowing Republicans to frame the narrative. ...

AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE NEWS

ENTERTAINMENT

U.S. & WORLD NEWS

Derrik J. Lang AP Entertainment Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- It was as if Heavy D knew that it would be his last tweet.

The self-proclaimed "overweight lover" of hip hop, who became one of rap's top hit makers with his charming combination of humor and positivity, enthusiastically told his Twitter followers Tuesday morning to "BE INSPIRED!"

He later collapsed outside his Beverly Hills home following a shopping trip, unable to breathe, before he was transported to a nearby hospital where he died. He was 44. Detectives found no signs of foul play and believe his death was medically related, said police Lt. Mark Rosen.

"BE INSPIRED!" was typical of the positive tweets Heavy D would send, and as his final tweet, it was fitting for the life that Heavy D lived.

The Jamaica-born rapper, who grew up in New York, became one of the genre's most integral stars in the late 1980s and early 1990s, as it relied on new voices and star power to fuel its phenomenal growth in the mainstream. Heavy D and his crew - Heavy D and the Boyz - unabashedly burst onto the rap scene in 1987 with their debut album "Living Large."

The deep-voiced rapper's earliest hit, "The Overweight Lover's in the House," played up his hefty frame. But while that nickname would stick, his weight did not become his shtick like the Fat Boys. What drew people to his music was his singular style celebrating an easygoing, party vibe - sometimes humorous, sometimes inspiring and usually positive.

Combined with the fusion of the "New Jack Swing" musical style, Heavy D was a constant presence on the charts, and a go-to figure for several performers. He collaborated with Michael Jackson on the 1991 single "Jam," rapped with a young Notorious B.I.G. in 1993 on "A Buncha N-----" and dueted with B.B. King on the 1997 tune "Keep It Coming."

Heavy D, who was never afraid to bust a move or perform as a character, also found success on the screen. He created the theme songs for the sketch comedy shows "In Living Color" and "MADtv" and acted on such TV shows as "Boston Public," "The Tracy Morgan Show" and "Law & Order: SVU," as well as in the films "Life," "Step Up" and most recently "Tower Heist."

While switching between acting and performing in the late 1990s, Heavy D wasn't as musically successful with his later Boyz-free albums. He attempted a reggae-fueled comeback in 2008 with the album "Vibes," which didn't contain any rapping, before he returned to his lyrical roots on his most recent effort, "Love Opus," which was released in September.

A lighter Heavy D - coming in at apparently 135 pounds less than his former weight - returned to the stage for a pair of energetic performances last month. He delivered a medley of past hits at the 2011 BET Hip Hop Awards in Atlanta, and joined La Toya Jackson on stage for a rendition of "Jam" at the tribute concert for Michael Jackson in Cardiff, Wales.

The impact of Heavy D's inspiration was omnipresent Tuesday among the hip-hop community on Twitter. His sudden death prompted "Law & Order" actor and rapper Ice T to remind everyone to "stop for a second, take a breath and realize how lucky you are to be alive," while reminding MC Hammer that Heavy D was always "part of what's good about the world."

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AP Music Writer Nekesa Mumbi Moody in Los Angeles and AP Writer Mesfin Fekadu in New York contributed to this report.

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AP Entertainment Writer Derrik J. Lang can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/derrikjlang/ .

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