On Steps of US Supreme Court, AG Rosenblum Rallies Abortion Rights Supporters
Speaking at an ACLU-organized rally on the steps of the United States Supreme Court this morning, Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum made an impassioned defense of abortion as essential healthcare, and of medication abortion as a key part of those healthcare rights. The rally coincided with arguments being presented inside the Supreme Court in the AHM (Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine) v. FDA (Food & Drug Administration) case.
Should College Essays Touch on Race? Some Feel the Affirmative Action Ruling Leaves Them No Choice
When the Supreme Court ended affirmative action, it left the college essay as one of few places where race can play a role in admissions decisions. Yet the added weight of the college essay has fallen unevenly on students of color, who often feel pressure to exploit their hardships as they compete for a spot on campus.
Bird Flu, Weather and Inflation Conspire to Keep Egg Prices Near Historic Highs for Easter
The cost of filling a basket or completing a Seder plate reflect a market scrambled by disease, high demand and growing costs for farmers. While global prices are lower than they were at this time last year, they remain elevated.
Strippers' Bill of Rights Bill Signed Into Law in Washington State
Gov. Jay Inslee signed the measure on Monday which creates safer working conditions for people in the adult entertainment industry. The law requires employee training in establishments to prevent sexual harassment, identify and report human trafficking, deescalate conflict and provide first aid.
The Portland Art Museum presents Future Now: Virtual Sneakers to Cutting-Edge Kicks
Exhibition on view March 30 - August 11, 2024. Programs to include sneaker-focused Summer Camps and in-gallery activities ...
Portland Street Response Hosts Town Hall
PCCEP is seeking community input to help shape their recommendation in support of Portland Street Response. ...
Joint Center Responds to the U.S. House Office of Diversity and Inclusion Disbandment
This decision jeopardizes the establishment of policies to support diverse communities and threatens the pursuit of inclusivity for...
Bonamici, Kaine Praise Billion Dollar Increase for Child Care, Early Childhood Learning
Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) and Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) —members of the House Committee on Education and Workforce and the...
Portland Rose Festival 2024 Court Member from Benson Polytechnic High School Announced
The Rose Festival Princess from Benson Polytechnic High School, Laedyn Romero, was selected March 22. ...
What's keeping egg prices high for Easter? It's not just inflation
Egg prices are at near-historic highs in many parts of the world as the spring holidays approach, reflecting a market scrambled by disease, high demand and growing costs for farmers. It’s the second year in a row consumers have faced sticker shock ahead of Easter and Passover, both...
Lou Whittaker, among the most famous American mountaineers, has died at age 95
SEATTLE (AP) — Lou Whittaker, a legendary American mountaineer who helped lead ascents of Mount Everest, K2 and Denali, and who taught generations of climbers during his more than 250 trips up Mount Rainier, the tallest peak in Washington state, has died at age 95. RMI Expeditions,...
Georgia ends game on 12-0 run to beat Missouri 64-59 in first round of SEC tourney
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Blue Cain had 19 points, Justin Hill scored 17 off the bench and 11th-seeded Georgia finished the game on a 12-0 run to beat No. 14 seed Missouri 64-59 on Wednesday night in the first round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament. Cain hit 6 of 12 shots,...
Georgia faces Missouri in SEC Tournament
Missouri Tigers (8-23, 0-18 SEC) vs. Georgia Bulldogs (16-15, 6-12 SEC) Nashville, Tennessee; Wednesday, 9:30 p.m. EDT FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK LINE: Bulldogs -3; over/under is 147 BOTTOM LINE: Georgia plays in the SEC Tournament against Missouri. ...
COMMENTARY: Is a Cultural Shift on the Horizon?
As with all traditions in all cultures, it is up to the elders to pass down the rituals, food, language, and customs that identify a group. So, if your auntie, uncle, mom, and so on didn’t teach you how to play Spades, well, that’s a recipe lost. But...
A Full Court Press to Get the Lead Out
With a “goal of identifying and remediating lead hazards in at least 2,800 Lancaster County homes,” LG Health is setting an example for the private sector. And the Biden-Harris administration’s focus on environmental justice and access to clean and safe...
OP-ED: Congress Is Right: Federal Reserve’s Reg II Will Hurt Minority Communities in America
The Fed is taking every effort to promote income equality and workplace diversity and inclusion, but Regulation II would undercut its great work in this respect and cause potential harm to millions of minority families. Now that a congressional coalition has...
OP-ED: A Silent Killer No More
Data from Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City shows that more than 13 percent of African American men between the ages 45 and 79 will develop prostate cancer in their lifetimes. And Black men have a 70 percent higher rate of developing...
US changes how it categorizes people by race and ethnicity. It's the first revision in 27 years
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — For the first time in 27 years, the U.S. government is changing how it categorizes people by race and ethnicity, an effort that federal officials believe will more accurately count residents who identify as Hispanic and of Middle Eastern and North African heritage. ...
South Carolina to hold 2024 congressional elections with map previously ruled unconstitutional
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A federal court on Thursday ruled that this year's congressional elections in South Carolina will be held under a map that it had already deemed unconstitutional and discriminatory against Black voters, with time running out ahead of voting deadlines and a lack of a decision...
Civil rights icon Malcolm X gets a day of recognition in Nebraska, where he was born in 1925
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Malcolm X has garnered the recognition many have sought for his contributions to the civil rights movement in the conservative Midwest state where he was born, after years of being rejected as too controversial to be honored. The Nebraska Legislature on...
Celebrity birthdays for the week of March 31-April 6
Celebrity birthdays for the week of March 31-April 6: March 31: Actor William Daniels (“St. Elsewhere,” ″Boy Meets World”) is 97. Actor Richard Chamberlain is 90. Actor Shirley Jones is 90. Musician Herb Alpert is 89. Actor Christopher Walken is 81. Comedian Gabe Kaplan...
How to make an Easter ham last all week
The beauty of making a baked ham for Easter (or any holiday or large gathering) is that there's bound to be leftovers. Leftover ham, which will last for up to five days in the fridge, can be a springboard for other meals during the week. Of course you’ll want a sandwich or two, but...
Book Review: 'Glorious Exploits' turns classical history into an endearing comedy about tragedy
Best friends Lampo and Gelon are potters by trade, but their souls are filled with poetry. It’s 412 B.C. and the city of Syracuse doesn’t know what hit it when these two hatch up the best worst idea: They’ll put on a play using the Athenian prisoners of war who are starving to death down in...
Joe Lieberman's death leaves a hole at No Labels as it tries to recruit a 2024 third-party candidate
NEW YORK (AP) — When No Labels' critics got the loudest, it was Joe Lieberman who came to the group's defense. ...
Pope, looking strong, washes feet of 12 women at Rome prison from his wheelchair
ROME (AP) — Pope Francis washed and kissed the feet of 12 women inmates at a Rome prison during a Holy Thursday...
Some cancer patients can find it hard to tell family and friends
Ever since Anthony Bridges found out he had prostate cancer six years ago, he hasn’t stopped talking about it....
King Charles stresses importance of kindness as he skips pre-Easter service amid cancer treatment
LONDON (AP) — King Charles III on Thursday stressed the importance of friendship and acts of caring in a...
Four people die in Spain in separate incidents after falling into sea along coast amid high winds
MADRID (AP) — Four people have died in three separate incidents on Spain's Atlantic and Mediterranean coastlines...
Central American and Mexican families mourn the workers lost in the Baltimore bridge collapse
AZACUALPA, Honduras (AP) — The construction workers who went missing in the Baltimore bridge collapse came to...
BURBANK, Calif. (AP) — Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott envisions fierce competition, Heisman Trophy challengers and national championship bids for his loaded football conference in the next few years.
Scott doesn't expect any new members, however.
"I do not see us expanding in the foreseeable future," Scott said Thursday while opening the Pac-12's media days. "We are delighted with 12 schools. It's worked exceedingly well for us."
Scott projected optimism and contentment at Warner Bros. Studios as the Pac-12 heads into its 100-year anniversary celebration. He believes the league is gaining the national respect it deserves, and he is optimistic that AT&T's merger with DirecTV will allow the Pac-12 Networks to increase its distribution to a less embarrassing portion of the nation.
But the conference hasn't expanded since adding Utah and Colorado before the 2011 season, and it won't be putting out the welcome mat soon. After considering additional expansion in previous years, particularly when the Big 12 appeared to be on the verge of disintegration, Scott now believes the current format provides an optimal balance of tough league games and nonconference opportunities.
"As a 12-team conference playing nine conference games, this is an interesting distinction between us and some other conferences," Scott said. "This is why I'm confident standing up and saying no one has got a tougher schedule than the Pac-12, and the Pac-12 champion has got the toughest road, because there aren't many misses that you can have within your conference."
The Pac-12's football rise isn't just the product of the optimism of a perpetually upbeat commissioner. Marcus Mariota's Heisman Trophy victory and Oregon's appearance in the national championship game were just the latest manifestations of the West Coast league's rise in quality and esteem.
Oregon State coach Gary Andersen demonstrated its draw when he left Big Ten powerhouse Wisconsin after just two seasons to take over the Beavers, a solid program that's mostly known nationally for being perpetually in the Ducks' shadow. Granted, Andersen is a native Westerner who got to be closer to home, but the Pac-12's spotlight is undeniably attractive.
"I absolutely have felt a huge swing in the last two years," Andersen said. "During those two years I was in the Midwest, the Pac-12 has gained a ton of respect nationally, (and) it's because of the investment in athletics as a whole, is my opinion. It gives you the opportunity to take better care of the kids. If you play in the Pac-12, you play at Oregon State, you deserve to have the best of the best."
Scott also said the Pac-12 prides itself on tough nonconference schedules, but doesn't believe it hurts the West Coast schools' chances in the College Football Playoff.
"I think now we're being rewarded for that strength of schedule, and part of it is (having) 12 (teams)," Scott said. "When you go beyond 12, you're going to dilute somewhat. You're going to have more erratic types of schedules within your conference."
The Pac-12's coaches realize that collective success carries an individual price, however.
The league landed six teams in the preseason coaches' poll, topped by defending champion Oregon at No. 5 and preseason media-poll favorite Southern California at No. 10. The South division appears particularly loaded, with UCLA, Arizona State, defending champion Arizona and Utah all looking like contenders.
"I would not be shocked if this is the year we have a conference championship with a team in there that has two losses," said Stanford coach David Shaw, who led his second straight team to the Rose Bowl in January 2014.
"Talking to those (selection) committee members, they recognize how difficult this conference is. If you can come out of this conference as a conference champion, you're going to get into that four-team playoff because of the road you have to travel."