05-13-2024  4:35 pm   •   PDX and SEA Weather
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NORTHWEST NEWS

Portland OKs New Homeless Camping Rules That Threaten Fines or Jail in Some Cases

The mayor's office says it seeks to comply with a state law requiring cities to have “objectively reasonable” restrictions on camping.

Safety Lapses Contributed to Patient Assaults at Oregon State Hospital

A federal report says safety lapses at the Oregon State Hospital contributed to recent patient-on-patient assaults. The report by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services investigated a recent choking attack and sexual assault, among other incidents. It found that staff didn't always adequately supervise their patients, and that the hospital didn't fully investigate the incidents. In a statement, the hospital said it was dedicated to its patients and working to improve conditions. It has 10 days from receiving the report to submit a plan of correction. The hospital is Oregon's most secure inpatient psychiatric facility

Police Detain Driver Who Accelerated Toward Protesters at Portland State University in Oregon

The Portland Police Bureau said in a written statement late Thursday afternoon that the man was taken to a hospital on a police mental health hold. They did not release his name. The vehicle appeared to accelerate from a stop toward the crowd but braked before it reached anyone. 

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‘

NEWS BRIEFS

Governor Kotek Issues Statement on Role of First Spouse

"I take responsibility for not being more thoughtful in my approach to exploring the role of the First Spouse." ...

Legislature Makes Major Investments to Increase Housing Affordability and Expand Treatment in Multnomah County

Over million in new funding will help build a behavioral health drop in center, expand violence prevention programs, and...

Poor People’s Campaign and National Partners Announce, “Mass Poor People’s and Low-Wage Workers’ Assembly and Moral March on Washington, D.C. and to the Polls” Ahead of 2024 Elections

Scheduled for June 29th, the “Mass Poor People’s and Low-Wage Workers’ Assembly and Moral March on Washington, D.C.: A Call to...

Legendary Civil Rights Leader Medgar Wiley Evers Receives Presidential Medal of Freedom

Evers family overwhelmed with gratitude after Biden announces highest civilian honor. ...

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. ...

No criminal charges in rare liquor probe at Oregon alcohol agency, state report says

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Criminal charges are not warranted in the rare liquor probe that shook Oregon’s alcohol agency last year and forced its executive director to resign, state justice officials said Monday. In February 2023, the Oregon Department of Justice began investigating...

Truck driver accused of intentionally killing Utah officer had been holding a woman against her will

A truck driver accused of intentionally killing a police officer during a traffic stop on a Utah highway had been holding a woman against her will inside the cab of his truck, new court documents reveal. Michael Aaron Jayne, 42, is accused of driving his rig into Santaquin Police Sgt....

Defending national champion LSU boosts its postseason hopes with series win against Texas A&M

With two weeks left in the regular season, LSU is scrambling to avoid becoming the third straight defending national champion to miss the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers (31-18, 9-15) won two of three against then-No. 1 Texas A&M to take a giant step over the weekend, but they...

The Bo Nix era begins in Denver, and the Broncos also drafted his top target at Oregon

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — For the first time in his 17 seasons as a coach, Sean Payton has a rookie quarterback to nurture. Payton's Denver Broncos took Bo Nix in the first round of the NFL draft. The coach then helped out both himself and Nix by moving up to draft his new QB's top...

OPINION

The Skanner News May 2024 Primary Endorsements

Read The Skanner News endorsements and vote today. Candidates for mayor and city council will appear on the November general election ballot. ...

Nation’s Growing Racial and Gender Wealth Gaps Need Policy Reform

Never-married Black women have 8 cents in wealth for every dollar held by while males. ...

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...

AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE NEWS

Iowa county jail's fees helped fund cotton candy and laser tag for department, lawsuit says

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — Civil rights groups filed a class action lawsuit on Monday accusing an Iowa sheriff’s department of mishandling the collection of jail fees, some of which helped fund recreational expenses like laser tag and a cotton candy machine at a shooting range. The...

UNC board slashes diversity program funding to divert money to public safety resources

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — As North Carolina's public university system considers a vote on changing its diversity policy, the system's flagship university board voted Monday to cut funding for diversity programs in next year's budget. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill...

Plans unveiled for memorial honoring victims of racist mass shooting at Buffalo supermarket

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — A permanent memorial honoring the 10 Black victims of a racist mass shooting at a Buffalo supermarket will feature interconnected stone pillars and arches, and a windowed building where exhibitions and events will be held, community and elected leaders announced Monday. ...

ENTERTAINMENT

Doug Liman, Matt Damon and the Afflecks made a heist comedy for Apple. 'The Instigators'

Filmmaker Doug Liman realized quickly he wasn't on his home turf anymore. Matt Damon, who he’d directed in “The Bourne Identity” over 20 years ago, had recruited Liman for his new movie “The Instigators,” an action-comedy about a heist gone wrong. Though two decades of...

Book Review: Coming-of-age meets quarter-life crisis in Fiona Warnick's ambitious debut 'The Skunks'

Usually when I see a book described as an “ambitious debut” I read it as a cop-out. Isn’t a debut inherently ambitious? What does that even mean? “The Skunks” is what that means. And Fiona Warnick makes it look effortless. A coming-of-age novel with a...

Police investigating shooting outside Drake's mansion that left security guard wounded

TORONTO (AP) — Police are investigating a shooting outside rapper Drake's mansion in Toronto that left a security guard seriously wounded. Authorities did not confirm whether Drake was at home at the time of the shooting, but said his team is cooperating. The shooting happened...

U.S. & WORLD NEWS

Charter flights for WNBA road games was an early Mother's Day gift for players with children

NEW YORK (AP) — Indiana's Katie Lou Samuelson says life as first-time mom got a littler easier with the WNBA’s...

Melinda French Gates resigns as Gates Foundation co-chair, 3 years after her divorce from Bill Gates

NEW YORK (AP) — Melinda French Gates will step down as co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the...

Trump suggests Chinese migrants are in the US to build an 'army.' The migrants tell another story

NEW YORK (AP) — It was 7 a.m. on a recent Friday when Wang Gang, a 36-year-old Chinese immigrant, jostled for a...

Greek and Turkish leaders seek to stress thawing relations but tensions remain under the surface

ISTANBUL (AP) — The leaders of Greece and Turkey met Monday for talks aimed at underlining their efforts to put...

Death toll up to 32 in South Africa building collapse but rescue efforts boosted by 1 more survivor

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Rescue teams in South Africa forged ahead Monday with efforts to find more...

Belfast judge says parts of the UK's migrant deportation law shouldn't apply to Northern Ireland

LONDON (AP) — The United Kingdom's law to deport asylum-seekers shouldn't apply in Northern Ireland, because...

Cannon Lambert Sr. and family members at a news conference
By The Skanner News | The Skanner News

 MICHAEL GRACZYK, JASON KEYSER, Associated Press

HEMPSTEAD, Texas (AP) — While Sandra Bland's family maintains that the woman found dead in a Texas jail cell would not have taken her own life, authorities are pointing to mounting evidence that they say shows she hanged herself.

An autopsy showed that marks around Bland's neck were consistent with suicide by hanging, and her body showed no signs of defensive injuries suggesting a struggle, according to Waller County prosecutor Warren Diepraam.

The 28-year-old Bland had about 30 small cuts on her wrist that were probably self-inflicted within the last few weeks, Diepraam said. Some lacerations or abrasions also were found on her wrists that he said were consistent with a struggle while being handcuffed.

Bland, who was from the Chicago area, was arrested during a traffic stop in Texas three days before she was found hanging in her cell on July 13. Her family and friends dispute the official finding that she killed herself using a noose fashioned from a plastic garbage bag.

Texas Rangers and the FBI are investigating. The county district attorney has said the matter will be turned over to a grand jury, which does not meet again until August.

A woman who occupied a jail cell next to Bland said Bland was emotional and wept often during her three days in jail.

Alexandria Pyle told KTRK-TV of Houston that Blandwas "sort of distraught" that a friend had not come to bail her out of jail. She said Bland told her she "was not equipped" for incarceration and thought she was the victim of an injustice.

Pyle said she heard no signs of a struggle in the cell.

Booking documents filled out for Bland after her arrest indicate she told staff at the jail that she was taking medication for epilepsy, though other documents said she wasn't taking medication.

Her sister, Sharon Cooper, told The Associated Press on Thursday that Bland suffered from seizures about a decade ago but had not in recent years and wasn't on medication.

Jail-intake documents also contained other inconsistencies. For example, one questionnaire said Bland took pills in 2015 in an attempt to kill herself after losing a baby, but a separate form filled out by another jail employee said the suicide attempt occurred in 2014.

Authorities said any contradictions in the jail documents were the result ofBland'sinconsistent answers to jailers' questions.

Cooper said her sister had a miscarriage in May 2014 but got through it. Cooper also said she was not aware of any suicide attempt.

Asked if her sister could have been getting treatment without relatives knowing, Cooper said the family's five sisters were "above board" with each other and, if anything, "overshared."

"If it was happening, I would have known," she said.

Preliminary results of an independent autopsy arranged by the family showed bruising to deep muscle tissue in Bland's back, consistent with the officer having his knee there, Cooper said. She would not say if there were other findings. Full results will not be in for a couple of weeks.

Preliminary results of the Texas autopsy also showed thatBlandhad marijuana in her system, which Diepraam said was worth noting because it could be "relevant to her state of mind."

Bland's death comes after nearly a year of heightened national scrutiny of police and their dealings with black suspects, especially those who have been killed by officers or died in police custody. Bland's case has resonated on social media, with posts questioning the official account and featuring the hashtags #JusticeForSandy and #WhatHappenedToSandyBland.

Bland's family has said she was not despondent and was looking forward to starting a new job at her alma mater, Prairie View A&M University.

Blandposted a video to her Facebook page in March, saying she was suffering from "a little bit of depression as well as PTSD," or post-traumatic stress disorder.

Cooper said that "everyone has peaks and valleys" and that the Facebook video might indicate her sister was just having a bad day or a bad few days.

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Keyser reported from Chicago.

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Online:

Dashcam video from the Texas Department of Public Safety:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaW09Ymr2BA

The Skanner Foundation's 38th Annual MLK Breakfast