04-26-2024  6:31 am   •   PDX and SEA Weather
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4

NORTHWEST NEWS

City Council Strikes Down Gonzalez’s ‘Inhumane’ Suggestion for Blanket Ban on Public Camping

Mayor Wheeler’s proposal for non-emergency ordinance will go to second reading.

A Conservative Quest to Limit Diversity Programs Gains Momentum in States

In support of DEI, Oregon and Washington have forged ahead with legislation to expand their emphasis on diversity, equity and inclusion in government and education.

Epiphanny Prince Hired by Liberty in Front Office Job Day After Retiring

A day after announcing her retirement, Epiphanny Prince has a new job working with the New York Liberty as director of player and community engagement. Prince will serve on the basketball operations and business staffs, bringing her 14 years of WNBA experience to the franchise. 

The Drug War Devastated Black and Other Minority Communities. Is Marijuana Legalization Helping?

A major argument for legalizing the adult use of cannabis after 75 years of prohibition was to stop the harm caused by disproportionate enforcement of drug laws in Black, Latino and other minority communities. But efforts to help those most affected participate in the newly legal sector have been halting. 

NEWS BRIEFS

Mt. Tabor Park Selected for National Initiative

Mt. Tabor Park is the only Oregon park and one of just 24 nationally to receive honor. ...

OHCS, BuildUp Oregon Launch Program to Expand Early Childhood Education Access Statewide

Funds include million for developing early care and education facilities co-located with affordable housing. ...

Governor Kotek Announces Chief of Staff, New Office Leadership

Governor expands executive team and names new Housing and Homelessness Initiative Director ...

Governor Kotek Announces Investment in New CHIPS Child Care Fund

5 Million dollars from Oregon CHIPS Act to be allocated to new Child Care Fund ...

Net neutrality restored as FCC votes to regulate internet providers

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The Federal Trade Commission on Thursday voted to restore “net neutrality” rules that prevent broadband internet providers such as Comcast and Verizon from favoring some sites and apps over others. The move effectively reinstates a net neutrality order the...

Biden celebrates computer chip factories, pitching voters on American 'comeback'

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — President Joe Biden on Thursday sought to sell voters on an American “comeback story” as he highlighted longterm investments in the economy in upstate New York to celebrate Micron Technology's plans to build a campus of computer chip factories made possible in part with...

Missouri hires Memphis athletic director Laird Veatch for the same role with the Tigers

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri hired longtime college administrator Laird Veatch to be its athletic director on Tuesday, bringing him back to campus 14 years after he departed for a series of other positions that culminated with five years spent as the AD at Memphis. Veatch...

KC Current owners announce plans for stadium district along the Kansas City riverfront

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The ownership group of the Kansas City Current announced plans Monday for the development of the Missouri River waterfront, where the club recently opened a purpose-built stadium for the National Women's Soccer League team. CPKC Stadium will serve as the hub...

OPINION

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...

OP-ED: Embracing Black Men’s Voices: Rebuilding Trust and Unity in the Democratic Party

The decision of many Black men to disengage from the Democratic Party is rooted in a complex interplay of historical disenchantment, unmet promises, and a sense of disillusionment with the political establishment. ...

AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE NEWS

Dozens of deaths reveal risks of injecting sedatives into people restrained by police

Demetrio Jackson was desperate for medical help when the paramedics arrived. The 43-year-old was surrounded by police who arrested him after responding to a trespassing call in a Wisconsin parking lot. Officers had shocked him with a Taser and pinned him as he pleaded that he...

Takeaways from AP's investigation into fatal police encounters involving injections of sedatives

The practice of giving sedatives to people detained by police spread quietly across the nation over the last 15 years, built on questionable science and backed by police-aligned experts, an investigation led by The Associated Press has found. At least 94 people died after they were...

South Africa will mark 30 years of freedom amid inequality, poverty and a tense election ahead

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — As 72-year-old Nonki Kunene walks through the corridors of Thabisang Primary School in Soweto, South Africa, she recalls the joy she and many others felt 30 years ago when they voted for the first time. It was at this school on April 27, 1994, that Kunene joined...

ENTERTAINMENT

Music Review: Jazz pianist Fred Hersch creates subdued, lovely colors on 'Silent, Listening'

Jazz pianist Fred Hersch fully embraces the freedom that comes with improvisation on his solo album “Silent, Listening,” spontaneously composing and performing tunes that are often without melody, meter or form. Listening to them can be challenging and rewarding. The many-time...

Book Review: 'Nothing But the Bones' is a compelling noir novel at a breakneck pace

Nelson “Nails” McKenna isn’t very bright, stumbles over his words and often says what he’s thinking without realizing it. We first meet him as a boy reading a superhero comic on the banks of a river in his backcountry hometown in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Georgia....

Cardi B, Queen Latifah and The Roots to headline the BET Experience concerts in Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Cardi B, Queen Latifah and The Roots will headline concerts to celebrate the return of the BET Experience in Los Angeles just days before the 2024 BET Awards. BET announced Monday the star-studded lineup of the concert series, which makes a return after a...

U.S. & WORLD NEWS

Paramedic sentencing in Elijah McClain's death caps trials that led to 3 convictions

DENVER (AP) — Almost five years after Elijah McClain died following a police stop in which he was put in a neck...

Charges against Trump's 2020 'fake electors' are expected to deter a repeat this year

An Arizona grand jury's indictment of 18 people who either posed as or helped organize a slate of electors falsely...

Egypt sends delegation to Israel, its latest effort to broker a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt sent a high-level delegation to Israel on Friday with the hope of brokering a cease-fire...

2 men charged in the UK with spying for China are granted bail after a court appearance in London

LONDON (AP) — A former researcher working in the U.K. Parliament and another man charged with spying for China...

Burkina Faso Suspends BBC and Voice of America after covering report on mass killings

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Burkina Faso suspended the BBC and Voice of America radio stations for their coverage of a...

With fear and hope, Haiti warily welcomes new governing council as gang-ravaged country seeks peace

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Haiti opened a new political chapter Thursday with the installation of a...

Pawn Sacrifice movie
By Kam Williams | The Skanner News

BIG BUDGET FILMS

 

Black Mass (R for graphic violence, pervasive profanity, sexual references and brief drug use) Mafia saga recounting the exploits of Whitey Bulger (Johnny Depp), the infamous Boston mobster-turned-FBI informant. With Benedict Cumberbatch, Joel Edgerton, Dakota Johnson, Juno Temple and Kevin Bacon. Watch the trailer and read Kam's full review of Black Mass.

Captive (PG-13 for mature themes involving violence and substance abuse) Crime thriller recounting the real-life ordeal of a drug-addicted single-mom (Kate Mara) taken hostage in her home by a fugitive from justice (David Oyelowo) who had just murdered the judge preisiding over his rape trial. Supporting cast includes Michael Kenneth Williams, Mimi Rogers, Melissa Eastwood and Jessica Oyelowo.

Everest (PG-13 for intense peril and disturbing images) Fact-based docudrama recreating the 1996 assault of Mount Everest which claimed the lives of 8 climbers caught in a blizzard. Ensemble cast includes Jake Gyllenhaal, Josh Brolin, Keira Knightley, Emily Watson, Robin Wright and John Hawkes.

Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (PG-13 for profanity, protracted violence and action sequences, substance abuse and mature themes) Second installment of the sci-fi saga finds Thomas (Dylan O'Brien) and his fellow Gladers facing a new set of challenges in a desolate landscape dotted with a number of unimaginable obstacles. With Kaya Scodelario, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Giancarlo Esposito, Barry Pepper and Nathalie Emmanuel.

 

 

INDEPENDENT & FOREIGN FILMS

 

About Ray (Unrated) Genderbending dramedy revolving around a troubled teen (Elle Fanning) trapped in a boy's body seeking the support of her family while transitioning into a female. With Naomi Watts, Susan Sarandon and Tate Donovan. (In English and Spanish with subtitles)

Being Canadian (Unrated) North Country documentary taking a lighthearted look at what it means to be Canadian. Featuring appearances by such famous Canucks as Seth Rogen, Michael J. Fox, Mike Myers, William Shatner, Eugene Levy and Dan Aykroyd.

Cooties (R for profanity, sexuality, graphic violence, gratuitous gore and drug use) Horror comedy about a food-borne virus spread by an elementary school cafeteria that transforms the student body into a swarm of man-eating zombies. Co-starring Elijah Wood, Rainn Wilson and Alison Pill.

Eden (R for violence, profanity and sexuality) Suspense thriller about a U.S. soccer team's struggle to survive after its plane crashes off the coast of a deserted island in the Pacific Ocean. With Nate Parker, James Remar, Sung Kang, Jessica Lowndes and Diego Boneta.

The Man Who Saved the World (Unrated) Doomsday Clock documentary about Stanislav Petrov, the Russian Lt. Colonel who, in 1983, averted the outbreak of World War III by refusing to follow orders to nuke the United States back into the Stone Age. Featuring commentary by Matt Damon, Robert De Niro and Ashton Kutcher. (In English and Russian with subtitles)

The New Girlfriend (R for graphic sexuality and frontal nudity) Out-of-the-closet drama about a woman (Anais Demoustier) who discovers that her late BFFs' (Isild Le Besco) husband (Romain Duris) likes to dress in women's clothing. With Aurore Clement, Raphael Personnaz and Bruno Perard. (In French with subtitles)

Pawn Sacrifice (PG-13 for sexuality, smoking and brief profanity) Cold War saga revisiting the historic, USA vs. Russia chesss match, staged in Reykjavik, Iceland in 1972, between challenger Bobby Fischer (Tobey Maguire) and defending champ Boris Spassky (Liev Schreiber). With Peter Sarsgaard, Lily Rabe and Michael Stuhlbarg.

 

Peace Officer (Unrated) Law-and-order documentary bemoaning the recent militarization of police forces all across in the United States.

Prophet's Prey (Unrated) Abuse of trust documentary, narrated by Nick Cave, chronicling the rise and fall of Warren Jeffs, the charismatic, Mormon cult leader convicted of practicing polygamy and pedophilia.
Sicario (R for profanity, graphic violence and grisly images) Crime thriller revolving around an idealistic FBI Agent (Emily Blunt) enlisted by a federal task force to fight the war on drugs along the Mexican border. With Benicio Del Toro, Josh Brolin and Jon Bernthal. (In English and Spanish with subtitles)

Some Kind of Hate (Unrated) Revenge-fueled horror flick about a bullied teen (Ronen Rubinstein) who evens the score by embarking on a bloody reign of terror after summoning the spirit of a teen (Sierra McCormick) teased to the point of suicide. Support cast includes Maestro Harrell, Grace Phipps and Spencer Breslin.

 

The Skanner Foundation's 38th Annual MLK Breakfast