03-15-2025  12:58 pm   •   PDX and SEA Weather

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NORTHWEST NEWS

Local Leaders, Oregon Legislators Detail Dangers of Federal Stop-Gap Budget Bill as it Passes the House and Heads to Senate

Budget would gut approved community projects, undermine public safety, harm water quality, among other concerns, Portland leaders say.

The Hidden Costs Of Trump’s Anti-DEI Policies Hit Local Organizations Hard

Rushing to be in compliance with executive orders that claim DEI policies are illegal, local nonprofits suffer from lack of guidance and the threat of pulled funding. 

County Asks For ‘Open Referral’ System Across Homeless Shelters

Commissioners respond to frustration among those seeking shelter services in their community.

A Federal Judge in Seattle Blocks Trump’s Effort to Halt the Refugee Admissions System

The federal refugee program has been in place for decades and helps people who have escaped war, natural disaster or persecution.

NEWS BRIEFS

Appeals Court Rules Oregon Gun Law is Constitutional

AG Rayfield: “Oregonians voted for this, and it’s time we move ahead with common sense safety measures.” ...

AG Issues Guidance for Schools on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion

“Making sure diversity, equity, and inclusion are protected in education is about giving every student a fair chance to succeed,”...

Medals of Merit, Valor, Ceremony Set for March 18

Jimi Hendrix, Department of Ecology employees to be honored at State Capitol ...

Metro, Portland to Break Ground on Affordable Housing Built for Seniors and Honoring the First Black Woman Elected to Oregon Legislature

In honor of Margaret Louise Carter, the M Carter Commons will offer 62 income-limited apartments for seniors in Portland’s Overlook...

Policy to Protect Children from Exploitation by Marriage Advances in the Oregon Senate

Unsafe current law permits marriage licenses for 17-year-olds in Oregon ...

Fresh lawsuit hits Oregon city at the heart of Supreme Court ruling on homeless encampments

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The small Oregon city at the heart of a major U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year that allowed cities across the country to enforce homeless camping bans is facing a fresh lawsuit over its camping rules, as advocates find new ways to challenge them in a legal landscape...

Western Oregon women's basketball players allege physical and emotional abuse

MONMOUTH, Ore. (AP) — Former players for the Western Oregon women's basketball team have filed a lawsuit in federal court alleging emotional and physical abuse. The lawsuit, filed on Wednesday in Marion County, seeks million damages. It names the university, its athletic...

Slaughter leads Missouri against No. 5 Texas

Missouri Tigers (12-10, 1-6 SEC) at Texas Longhorns (20-2, 6-1 SEC) Austin, Texas; Thursday, 9 p.m. EST BOTTOM LINE: Missouri visits No. 5 Texas after Grace Slaughter scored 31 points in Missouri's 78-77 victory against the Mississippi State Bulldogs. The...

Slaughter leads Missouri against No. 5 Texas after 31-point game

Missouri Tigers (12-10, 1-6 SEC) at Texas Longhorns (20-2, 6-1 SEC) Austin, Texas; Thursday, 9 p.m. EST BOTTOM LINE: Missouri visits No. 5 Texas after Grace Slaughter scored 31 points in Missouri's 78-77 win over the Mississippi State Bulldogs. The...

OPINION

The Courage of Rep. Al Green: A Mandate for the People, Not the Powerful

If his colleagues truly believed in the cause, they would have risen in protest beside him, marched out of that chamber arm in arm with him, and defended him from censure rather than allowing Republicans to frame the narrative. ...

Bending the Arc: Advancing Equity in a New Federal Landscape

January 20th, 2025 represented the clearest distillation of the crossroads our country faces. ...

Trump’s America Last Agenda is a Knife in the Back of Working People

Donald Trump’s playbook has always been to campaign like a populist and govern like an oligarch. But it is still shocking just how brutally he went after our country’s working people in the first few days – even the first few hours – after he was...

As Dr. King Once Asked, Where Do We Go From Here?

“Let us be dissatisfied until America will no longer have high blood pressure of creeds and an anemia of deeds. Let us be dissatisfied until the tragic walls that separate the outer city of wealth and comfort from the inner city of poverty and despair shall...

AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE NEWS

Trump consoles crash victims then dives into politics with attack on diversity initiatives

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday responded to the deadliest American aviation disaster in more than two decades by blaming diversity initiatives for undermining safety and questioning the actions of a U.S. Army helicopter pilot involved in the midair collision with a...

US Supreme Court rejects likely final appeal of South Carolina inmate a day before his execution

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court rejected Thursday what is likely the final appeal of a South Carolina inmate the day before his scheduled execution for a 2001 killing of a friend found dead in her burning car. Marion Bowman Jr.'s request to stop his execution until a...

Trump's orders take aim at critical race theory and antisemitism on college campuses

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is ordering U.S. schools to stop teaching what he views as “critical race theory” and other material dealing with race and sexuality or risk losing their federal money. A separate plan announced Wednesday calls for aggressive action to...

ENTERTAINMENT

U.S. & WORLD NEWS

Damian Lillard
JON KRAWCZYNSKI, AP Basketball Writer

 When Damian Lillard agreed to a new maximum contract extension with the Trail Blazers on Thursday, it may have been the beginning of a changing of the guard in Portland.

Lillard agreed to terms on a five-year contract worth more than $120 million, a person with knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal has not been announced.

"Thank you so much to @PaulGAllen and the @trailblazers organization," Lillard tweeted after the news broke. "I'll be in (hashtag)RipCity 6 more years! Oakland to Ogden to Oregon..TO STAY."

The full value of the contract could wind up ranging between $125 million and $129 million and won't be determined until the salary cap is established. That makes it the richest contract in league history for a guard.

What a rise it's been for Lillard, the dynamic point guard who grew up in Oakland, played college under the radar at Weber State but still managed to climb to the sixth overall pick in the 2012 draft. He is a point guard for the new age, a ferocious competitor who can score as well as he passes and puts pressure on the defense as soon as the ball is in his hands.

Lillard teamed up with LaMarcus Aldridge to headline a starting five in Portland that just a year ago appeared on the brink of pushing the Blazers back into the Western Conference elite. With Lillard running things on the perimeter and Aldridge providing a big target in the post and on those devastating pick-and-pop plays designed by coach Terry Stotts, the Blazers stormed out of the gates in 2013 and beat the Houston Rockets in the first round of the playoffs on an electrifying, buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Lillard in Game 6.

But the Blazers weren't able to build on that success this season, battling injuries and losing in the first round of the playoffs to Memphis.

Starting shooting guard Wesley Matthews was lost to an Achilles injury and won't return, starting forward Nicolas Batum was traded to Charlotte. Aldridge, the previous face of the franchise, and starting center Robin Lopez are considering other offers on the open market as well.

That makes it possible, if not likely, that Lillard will be the lone returning starter in Portland next season. But he's shown in his first three seasons in the league that he's definitely worth building around. He is a two-time All-Star, won rookie of the year in 2012-13 and has cemented himself as one of the best point guards in a league full of very good ones.

Lillard has also been active in the community, helping out causes in Portland and at home in Oakland while regularly engaging with fans on Twitter and at the arena. He has become one of the league's most marketable personalities and has a lucrative endorsement deal with Adidas.

The Blazers also agreed to a three-year, $20 million deal with forward Ed Davis on Thursday, giving them some insurance if Aldridge chooses to leave for one of his many other suitors, including San Antonio, Phoenix and Dallas.

And if Aldridge does return, the Blazers will once again have one of the most feared offensive tandems in the league suddenly supplemented by a fresh haul of role players including Gerald Henderson, Mason Plumlee and Noah Vonleh to try to keep climbing up the Western Conference ladder.

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This story has been corrected to show that Lillard was named rookie of the year in 2013, not 2012.