04-17-2024  8:32 pm   •   PDX and SEA Weather
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NORTHWEST NEWS

Grants Pass Anti-Camping Laws Head to Supreme Court

Grants Pass in southern Oregon has become the unlikely face of the nation’s homelessness crisis as its case over anti-camping laws goes to the U.S. Supreme Court scheduled for April 22. The case has broad implications for cities, including whether they can fine or jail people for camping in public. Since 2020, court orders have barred Grants Pass from enforcing its anti-camping laws. Now, the city is asking the justices to review lower court rulings it says has prevented it from addressing the city's homelessness crisis. Rights groups say people shouldn’t be punished for lacking housing.

Four Ballot Measures for Portland Voters to Consider

Proposals from the city, PPS, Metro and Urban Flood Safety & Water Quality District.

Washington Gun Store Sold Hundreds of High-Capacity Ammunition Magazines in 90 Minutes Without Ban

KGW-TV reports Wally Wentz, owner of Gator’s Custom Guns in Kelso, described Monday as “magazine day” at his store. Wentz is behind the court challenge to Washington’s high-capacity magazine ban, with the help of the Silent Majority Foundation in eastern Washington.

Five Running to Represent Northeast Portland at County Level Include Former Mayor, Social Worker, Hotelier (Part 2)

Five candidates are vying for the spot previously held by Susheela Jayapal, who resigned from office in November to focus on running for Oregon's 3rd Congressional District. Jesse Beason is currently serving as interim commissioner in Jayapal’s place. (Part 2)

NEWS BRIEFS

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 ...

Bank Announces 14th Annual “I Got Bank” Contest for Youth in Celebration of National Financial Literacy Month

The nation’s largest Black-owned bank will choose ten winners and award each a jumi,000 savings account ...

Literary Arts Transforms Historic Central Eastside Building Into New Headquarters

The new 14,000-square-foot literary center will serve as a community and cultural hub with a bookstore, café, classroom, and event...

Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Announces New Partnership with the University of Oxford

Tony Bishop initiated the CBCF Alumni Scholarship to empower young Black scholars and dismantle financial barriers ...

Mt. Hood Jazz Festival Returns to Mt. Hood Community College with Acclaimed Artists

Performing at the festival are acclaimed artists Joshua Redman, Hailey Niswanger, Etienne Charles and Creole Soul, Camille Thurman,...

The sons of several former NFL stars are ready to carve their path into the league through the draft

Jeremiah Trotter Jr. wears his dad’s No. 54, plays the same position and celebrates sacks and big tackles with the same signature axe swing. Now, he’s ready to make a name for himself in the NFL. So are several top prospects who play the same positions their fathers played in the...

Caleb Williams among 13 confirmed prospects for opening night of the NFL draft

NEW YORK (AP) — Southern California quarterback Caleb Williams, the popular pick to be the No. 1 selection overall, will be among 13 prospects attending the first round of the NFL draft in Detroit on April 25. The NFL announced the 13 prospects confirmed as of Thursday night, and...

OPINION

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. ...

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...

AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE NEWS

North Carolina university committee swiftly passes policy change that could cut diversity staff

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The future of diversity, equity and inclusion staff jobs in North Carolina's public university system could be at stake after a five-person committee swiftly voted to repeal a key policy Wednesday. The Committee on University Governance, within the University...

Hillary Clinton and Malala Yousafzai producing. An election coming. ‘Suffs’ has timing on its side

NEW YORK (AP) — Shaina Taub was in the audience at “Suffs,” her buzzy and timely new musical about women’s suffrage, when she spied something that delighted her. It was intermission, and Taub, both creator and star, had been watching her understudy perform at a matinee preview...

Republican AGs attack Biden's EPA for pursuing environmental discrimination cases

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Republican attorneys general attacked the Biden administration’s stated goal of pursuing environmental justice, calling it a form of “racial engineering.‘’ Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody and 22 other GOP officials asked the EPA Tuesday to stop using...

ENTERTAINMENT

North Carolina university committee swiftly passes policy change that could cut diversity staff

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The future of diversity, equity and inclusion staff jobs in North Carolina's public university system could be at stake after a five-person committee swiftly voted to repeal a key policy Wednesday. The Committee on University Governance, within the University...

Hillary Clinton and Malala Yousafzai producing. An election coming. ‘Suffs’ has timing on its side

NEW YORK (AP) — Shaina Taub was in the audience at “Suffs,” her buzzy and timely new musical about women’s suffrage, when she spied something that delighted her. It was intermission, and Taub, both creator and star, had been watching her understudy perform at a matinee preview...

Republican AGs attack Biden's EPA for pursuing environmental discrimination cases

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Republican attorneys general attacked the Biden administration’s stated goal of pursuing environmental justice, calling it a form of “racial engineering.‘’ Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody and 22 other GOP officials asked the EPA Tuesday to stop using...

U.S. & WORLD NEWS

Things to know as courts and legislatures act on transgender kids’ rights

Three court rulings across the U.S. this week delved into laws restricting the rights of transgender kids,...

Tesla asks shareholders to restore B Elon Musk pay package that was voided by Delaware judge

DETROIT (AP) — Tesla is asking shareholders to restore a billion pay package for CEO Elon Musk that was...

Poland's president becomes the latest leader to visit Donald Trump as allies eye a possible return

NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Donald Trump met Wednesday in New York with Polish President Andrzej Duda, the...

Poland's president becomes the latest leader to visit Donald Trump as allies eye a possible return

NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Donald Trump met Wednesday in New York with Polish President Andrzej Duda, the...

Lebanon says Israeli agents likely killed Hezbollah-linked currency exchanger near Beirut

BEIT MERI, Lebanon (AP) — Lebanon’s interior minister alleged Wednesday that the mysterious abduction and...

The Latest | Netanyahu says Israel will decide how to respond as Iran warns against retaliation

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would decide whether and how to respond to Iran’s major air...

Michael Pearson CNN

(CNN) -- Sputtering frustration over replacement officials in the National Football League burst into full-open revolt after a controversial end-zone call that decided the fate -- wrongly, many say -- of Monday night's game between the Green Bay Packers and the Seattle Seahawks.

"Fine me and use the money to pay the regular refs," Packers guard T.J. Lang tweeted minutes after the game ended, one in a series of profanity-laced tweets accusing the referees of taking the game from his team.



He wasn't alone. Discussion of the call virtually took over Twitter in the United States and sparked rising calls for the NFL to quickly settle its labor dispute with officials.

In a league where criticizing officials is a big no-no, Lang could well get his wish about the fine, but what happens with the officials remains to be seen.

The Seahawks won 14-12 after replacement officials, standing in for locked-out NFL regulars, gave possession of a disputed pass to Seattle receiver Golden Tate. In what's already become a well-traveled and widely mocked image, two officials in the end zone gave competing signals: one indicating a touchdown, the other an interception.

The decision withstood video review of footage that appeared to show that Tate had just one arm on the ball while Packers defensive back M.D. Jennings had both hands wrapped around it. The ball was pulled tight to Jennings' chest.

The video also appeared to show Tate shoving a Packers defender in the back before going for the ball, a move that would normally draw an offensive pass interference penalty.

The NFL is expected to address the controversy Tuesday, the league's official website, NFL.com, reported.

It was not immediately clear Tuesday morning what action, if any, the NFL administration could take.

Packers coach Mike McCarthy declined to specifically address the call in his post-game news conference but said later that he had "never seen anything like that in all my years in football."

Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers called the officiating "awful."

Coming away with a close win, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll was less critical.

"From what I understand from the officials, it was a simultaneous catch, that's how they called it," Carroll told reporters. "Tag goes to the runner. Good call."

But he said it's sill time for the dispute to end.

"It's a very, very complex process to handle these games and make the decisions, and there's nothing easy about it," he said. "And it takes years and years of experience to pull it off properly and in a timely fashion and to keep the flow of the game alive and all of that, and it's just time for it to be over."

"The league deserves it," Carroll said. "Everybody deserves it."

Controversy over the replacement officials has been simmering since the preseason. A series of missed or muffed calls has riled coaches, players and fans, many of whom have called for a resolution of the labor dispute for weeks.

Sticking points include salary issues and changes to the retirement program for officials.

On Thursday, the NFL Players Association sent a letter to league owners saying the decision to hire replacement referees "has led to a deteriorating of order, safety and integrity."

"This affirmative decision has not only resulted in poor calls, missed calls and bad game management, but the combination of those deficiencies will only continue to jeopardize player health and safety and the integrity of the game that has taken decades to build," the union wrote.

The outcry for a resolution appeared to be growing after the Monday night game.

On Tuesday, the website FootballZebras.com, which tracks officiating in the NFL, said the Monday night call was "beyond the tipping point, this is the drowning point."

Discussion of the game also accounted for at least four of the top 10 topics on Twitter in the United States, where everyday fans and celebrities appeared united in their frustration.

"If you're holding your baby & I walk up and hug it, according to the NFL replacement refs, you have to give me your baby," comedian Chris Rock tweeted.

In another tweet, former NFL quarterback Drew Bledsoe said, "the NFL is a Formula 1 race car. The replacement refs are the 3 year old behind the wheel."

Miami Heat star LeBron James said it's time for the replacements to go.

"Packers just got game took from them," he tweeted. "I LOVE NFL football to much to see this type of work."

New Jersey Senate President Steve Sweeney got into the game on Tuesday, saying he would introduce legislation against holding sporting events officiating by replacement referees.

"This past weekend in the NFL has not only made a mockery of a great sport, but shined a very bright light on how important fully trained and professional officiating is to player safety," said Sweeney, who is a big Packers fan, according to his spokesman. "We wouldn't allow a factory or construction site to operate without fully trained supervisors on hand to ensure the safety of employees. Why should we do anything differently when the job site is a playing field?"

Even the Lingerie Football League -- from which some of the replacement officials were reportedly drawn -- distanced itself from the growing controversy. The league announced it was parting ways with "a couple crews which are apparently now officiating in the NFL."

"We have a lot of respect for our officials but we felt the officiating was not in line with our expectations." league official Mitchell Mortaza said in the statement.

CNN's Jason Moon contributed to this report.

The Skanner Foundation's 38th Annual MLK Breakfast