09-09-2024  8:38 am   •   PDX and SEA Weather

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4

NORTHWEST NEWS

With Drug Recriminalization, Addiction Recovery Advocates Warn of ‘Inequitable Patchwork’ of Services – And Greater Burden to Black Oregonians

Possession of small amounts of hard drugs is again a misdemeanor crime, as of last Sunday. Critics warn this will have a disproportionate impact on Black Oregonians. 

Police in Washington City Banned From Personalizing Equipment in Settlement Over Shooting Black Man

The city of Olympia, Washington, will pay 0,000 to the family of Timothy Green, a Black man shot and killed by police, in a settlement that also stipulates that officers will be barred from personalizing any work equipment.The settlement stops the display of symbols on equipment like the thin blue line on an American flag, which were displayed when Green was killed. The agreement also requires that members of the police department complete state training “on the historical intersection between race and policing.”

City Elections Officials Explain Ranked-Choice Voting

Portland voters will still vote by mail, but have a chance to vote on more candidates. 

PCC Celebrates Black Business Month

Streetwear brand Stackin Kickz and restaurant Norma Jean’s Soul Cuisine showcase the impact that PCC alums have in the North Portland community and beyond

NEWS BRIEFS

HUD Awards $31.7 Million to Support Fair Housing Organizations Nationwide

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded .7 million in grants to 75 fair housing organizations across...

Oregon Summer EBT Application Deadline Extended to Sept. 30

Thousands of families may be unaware that they qualify for this essential benefit. Families are urged to check their eligibility and...

Oregon Hospital Hit With $303M Lawsuit After a Nurse Is Accused of Replacing Fentanyl With Tap Water

Attorneys representing nine living patients and the estates of nine patients who died filed a wrongful death and medical...

RACC Launches New Grant Program for Portland Art Community

Grants between jumi,000 and ,000 will be awarded to support arts programs and activities that show community impact. ...

Oregon Company Awarded Up to $50 Million

Gov. Kotek Joined National Institute of Standards and Technology Director Laurie E. Locascio in Corvallis for the...

A remote tribe is reeling from widespread illness and cancer. What role did the US government play?

OWYHEE, Nev. (AP) — The family placed flowers by a pair of weathered cowboy boots, as people quietly gathered for the memorial of the soft-spoken tribal chairman who mentored teens in the boxing ring and teased his grandkids on tractor rides. Left unsaid, and what troubled Marvin...

Oregon authorities identify victims who died in a small plane crash near Portland

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Oregon authorities on Friday identified the three victims of a small plane crash near Portland, releasing the names of the two people on board and the resident on the ground who were killed. The victims were pilot Michael Busher, 73; flight instructor...

AP Top 25 Reality Check: SEC takeover could last a while with few nonconference challenges left

The Southeastern Conference has taken over The Associated Press college football poll, grabbing six of the first seven spots. The 16-team SEC set a new standard for hoarding high AP Top 25 rankings, with Georgia at No. 1, No. 2 Texas, No. 4 Alabama, No. 5 Mississippi, No. 6 Missouri...

Cook runs for 2 TDs, Burden scores before leaving with illness as No. 9 Mizzou blanks Buffalo 38-0

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Most of the talk about Missouri in the offseason centered around quarterback Brady Cook and All-American wide receiver Luther Burden III, and the way the ninth-ranked Tigers' high-octane offense could put them in the College Football Playoff mix. It's been their...

OPINION

DOJ and State Attorneys General File Joint Consumer Lawsuit

In August, the Department of Justice and eight state Attorneys Generals filed a lawsuit charging RealPage Inc., a commercial revenue management software firm with providing apartment managers with illegal price fixing software data that violates...

America Needs Kamala Harris to Win

Because a 'House Divided Against Itself Cannot Stand' ...

Student Loan Debt Drops $10 Billion Due to Biden Administration Forgiveness; New Education Department Rules Hold Hope for 30 Million More Borrowers

As consumers struggle to cope with mounting debt, a new economic report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York includes an unprecedented glimmer of hope. Although debt for mortgages, credit cards, auto loans and more increased by billions of...

Carolyn Leonard - Community Leader Until The End, But How Do We Remember Her?

That was Carolyn. Always thinking about what else she could do for the community, even as she herself lay dying in bed. A celebration of Carolyn Leonard’s life will be held on August 17. ...

AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE NEWS

A Palestinian team in Chile offers soccer with a heavy dose of protest

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Arms raised high. Banners denouncing the war in Gaza. Crowds united in song and wrapped in keffiyehs, the black-and-white checkered scarves that have become a badge of Palestinian identity. It could have been any other pro-Palestinian rally erupting over the...

'I'm living a lie': On the streets of a Colorado city, pregnant migrants struggle to survive

AURORA, Colo. (AP) — She was eight months pregnant when she was forced to leave her Denver homeless shelter. It was November. Ivanni Herrera took her 4-year-old son Dylan by the hand and led him into the chilly night, dragging a suitcase containing donated clothes and blankets...

Black Caucus issues new guidelines for DEI policies and urges firms to help reduce racial wealth gap

WASHINGTON (AP) — Corporate policies meant to advance diversity and inclusion in the workplace are legal and should be expanded to promote broad economic prosperity and reduce racial wealth inequities, according to a new report by the Congressional Black Caucus. The report released...

ENTERTAINMENT

Venice Film Festival debuts 3-hour post-war epic ‘The Brutalist,’ in 70mm

VENICE, Italy (AP) — “The Brutalist,” a post-war epic about a Holocaust survivor attempting to rebuild a life in America, is a fantasy. But filmmaker Brady Corbet wishes it weren’t. “The film is about the physical manifestation of the trauma of the 20th century,” Corbet...

Daddy Yankee's memoir, 'ReaDY! The Power To Change Your Story,' will be out in April

NEW YORK (AP) — Latin music superstar Daddy Yankee, the Grammy winning “King of Reggaeton,” hopes his memoir will inspire others to believe in themselves. HarperCollins Publishers announced Wednesday that it will release Daddy Yankee's “ReaDY! The Power To Change Your Story”...

Book Review: Matt Haig extols the magic of Ibiza in 'The Life Impossible'

“Reality is not always probable, or likely.” That’s the quote from the late Argentine poet Jorge Luis Borges that prefaces Matt Haig’s new novel, “The Life Impossible.” If you fundamentally take issue with it, don’t bother turning the page. But if you’re willing to...

U.S. & WORLD NEWS

Waffle House CEO Walt Ehmer has died at age 58

ATLANTA (AP) — Walt Ehmer, the president and CEO of Waffle House and a member of the board of trustees for the...

How the iPhone 16 is different from Apple’s recent releases

Apple's ubiquitous iPhone is about to break new ground with a shift into artificial intelligence that will do...

Israel-Hamas war latest: Israel orders more evacuations in Gaza after militants fire rockets

The Israeli military has ordered another evacuation of some residential areas in northwest Gaza where it says...

A blockbuster Chinese video game sparks debate on sexism in the nation’s gaming industry

WASHINGTON (AP) — A blockbuster new Chinese video game hailed as a milestone for the country’s gaming industry...

'I'm living a lie': On the streets of a Colorado city, pregnant migrants struggle to survive

AURORA, Colo. (AP) — She was eight months pregnant when she was forced to leave her Denver homeless shelter. It...

A young golden eagle attacks a toddler in Norway, its fourth such assault on humans

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — At first, Francis Ari Sture thought a human was trying to shove him down the steep...

Andrew Taylor the Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama's allies in the Senate on Friday unveiled the next piece of his failed $447 billion jobs measure to get a vote in the Senate: a $60 billion investment in infrastructure projects such as roads and bridges.

Like its two predecessors, however, the infrastructure package figures to be unanimously opposed by Republicans and a handful of Democrats over its stimulus-style spending and tax surcharge on the very wealthy. A test vote on the measure will come after the Senate returns from vacation next month.

The legislation would provide an immediate $50 billion investment in America's roads, bridges and airports, and transit systems and establish a $10 billion national infrastructure bank to leverage private and public capital for longer-term infrastructure projects.

"This legislation will create hundreds of thousands of construction jobs rebuilding our roads, bridges and infrastructure," said Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.

The measure would be financed by a 0.7 percentage point surcharge on income over $1 million.

The announcement by Senate Democrats came the day after Republicans scuttled a pared-back jobs measure designed to boost hiring of teachers and first responders.

That plan failed on a 50-50 test vote that fell well short of the 60 needed to break a filibuster. Two Democrats abandoned Obama on the vote and two more who voted with the president said they couldn't support the underlying Obama plan unless it's changed.

Thursday's $35 billion measure combined $30 billion for state and local governments to hire teachers and other school workers with $5 billion to help pay the salaries of police officers, firefighters and other first responders. The White House says the measure would "support" almost 400,000 education jobs for one year. Republicans call that a temporary "sugar high" for the economy and say it's a taxpayer-funded bailout of state and local governments.

Obama and his Democratic allies are acting like they've found a winning issue in repeatedly pressing popular ideas such as infrastructure spending and boosting hiring of police officers and firefighters. The sluggish economy and lower tax revenues have caused many teachers' jobs to be cut over the past several years.

"For the second time in two weeks, every single Republican in the United States Senate has chosen to obstruct a bill that would create jobs and get our economy going again," Obama said in a statement after the vote. "Every American deserves an explanation as to why Republicans refuse to step up to the plate and do what's necessary to create jobs and grow the economy right now."

"We cannot afford to be bailing out local governments, and we can't afford stimulus 2.0," countered Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.

Democrats haven't said which piece they'll resurrect next as an individual bill, but there's widespread support among party members for spending on highway and bridge projects, as well as for a poll-tested financing mechanism - a surcharge on income exceeding $1 million.

An AP-GfK poll taken Oct. 13-17 found 62 percent of respondents favoring the surcharge as a way to pay for jobs initiatives. Just 26 percent opposed the idea.

More ominously for Democrats, the poll shows that Obama's party has lost the faith of the public on handling the economy. In it, only 38 percent said they trust Democrats to do a better job than Republicans in handling the economy, the first time Democrats have fallen below 40 percent in the poll. Some 43 percent trust the Republicans more.

"The fact is we're not going to get this economy going again by growing the government. It's the private sector that's ultimately going to drive this recovery," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said. "Look, if big government were the key to economic growth, then countries like Greece would be booming right now."

Democrats Ben Nelson of Nebraska, Mark Pryor of Arkansas and Democratic-leaning Independent Joe Lieberman of Connecticut broke with Obama on Thursday's vote. Two Democrats who voted with the president, Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Jon Tester of Montana, said they couldn't support the underlying Obama plan unless it's changed.

"This bill fails to give taxpayers any guarantee that this money would actually be used to hire teachers and invest in our schools," Tester said. "States would get loads of money with little guidance that they spend the money on teachers."

Immediately after the vote on Obama's plan, Democrats turned the tables and filibustered Republican-backed legislation that would prevent the government from withholding 3 percent of payments to government contractors. The legislation failed to get the 60 votes needed to end the filibuster on a 57-43 vote, even though 10 Democrats voted to advance it.

Many Democrats and Obama support the idea but opposed it Thursday because it would be paid for with $30 billion in cuts from domestic agency spending. Advocates of repealing the withholding requirement say it will help create jobs, especially from contractors on large projects with smaller profit margins.

The withholding law was passed in 2006 by a GOP-controlled Congress. Then, the idea then was to make sure contractors couldn't duck their taxes and was imposed after government investigators found that thousands of federal contractors owed taxes.

The GOP-controlled House is likely to pass the measure next week and Reid promised that the Senate would revisit the issue, though there's likely to be a split between the House and Senate over how to pay for the cost of repealing the withholding rule.

After voting on the competing jobs measures, the Senate worked past midnight on a $128 billion spending bill covering five Cabinet departments.

Early Friday, the Senate voted 84-15 to end direct payments to farmers whose annual incomes exceed $1 million.

© 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.