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NORTHWEST NEWS

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. 

Lessons for Cities from Seattle’s Racial and Social Justice Law 

 Seattle is marking the first anniversary of its landmark Race and Social Justice Initiative ordinance. Signed into law in April 2023, the ordinance highlights race and racism because of the pervasive inequities experienced by people of color

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 ...

Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge US to prosecute the company

Boeing said Wednesday that it lost 5 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers. ...

Authorities confirm 2nd victim of ex-Washington officer was 17-year-old with whom he had a baby

WEST RICHLAND, Wash. (AP) — Authorities on Wednesday confirmed that a body found at the home of a former Washington state police officer who killed his ex-wife before fleeing to Oregon, where he died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, was that of a 17-year-old girl with whom he had a baby. ...

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

Biden just signed a bill that could ban TikTok. His campaign plans to stay on the app anyway

WASHINGTON (AP) — When President Joe Biden showed off his putting during a campaign stop at a public golf course in Michigan last month, the moment was captured on TikTok. Forced inside by a rainstorm, he competed with 13-year-old Hurley “HJ” Coleman IV to make putts on a...

2021 death of young Black man at rural Missouri home was self-inflicted, FBI tells AP

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A federal investigation has concluded that a young Black man died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound inside a rural Missouri home, not at the hands of the white homeowner who had a history of racist social media postings, an FBI official told The Associated Press Wednesday. ...

Sister of Mississippi man who died after police pulled him from car rejects lawsuit settlement

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A woman who sued Mississippi's capital city over the death of her brother has decided to reject a settlement after officials publicly disclosed how much the city would pay his survivors, her attorney said Wednesday. George Robinson, 62, died in January 2019,...

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

Climate change is bringing malaria to new areas. In Africa, it never left

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — When a small number of cases of locally transmitted malaria were found in the United...

US growth likely slowed last quarter but still pointed to a solid economy

WASHINGTON (AP) — Coming off a robust end to 2023, the U.S. economy is thought to have extended its surprisingly...

The Latest | Israeli strikes in Rafah kill at least 5

Palestinian hospital officials say Israeli airstrikes on the southern city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip have killed...

Portugal marks the 50th anniversary of the Carnation Revolution army coup that brought democracy

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Military vehicles and red carnations return to the streets and squares of downtown...

Hamas releases video showing well-known Israeli-American hostage

JERUSALEM (AP) — Hamas released a hostage video on Wednesday showing a well-known Israeli-American man who was...

The Latest | Germany will resume working with UN relief agency for Palestinians after a review

Germany said Wednesday that it plans to follow several other countries in resuming cooperation with the U.N....

Linda Deutsch and Anthony Mccartney the Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- An attorney for the promoter of Michael Jackson's final concerts said Wednesday the singer's personal physician asked the company for life-saving equipment just days before the pop superstar's death.

Kathy Jorrie, who works for concert giant AEG Live, testified at the involuntary manslaughter trial of Dr. Conrad Murray that she questioned some of the doctor's requests, which also included the possibility of hiring a second doctor to assist him.

"Dr. Murray told me Michael Jackson was perfectly healthy, in excellent condition," Jorrie testified.

She said Murray told her not to worry about Jackson's condition.

"He's great," she recounted the doctor telling her in a conversation the day before Jackson's death.

Murray asked for a CPR machine in case one wasn't available at the concert venue at London's O2 arena, Jorrie explained.

Prosecutors allege Murray caused Jackson's death by providing him with a lethal dose of the anesthetic propofol and other sedatives without the proper lifesaving equipment or skills.

Other testimony came from Jackson's former personal assistant, Michael Amir Williams, who recounted a 35-second phone conversation with Murray on the day Jackson died.

"He said `Get here right away, Mr. Jackson had a bad reaction. Get somebody up here immediately,'" Williams told the jury.

He said the doctor never told him to call 911 or described Jackson's condition.

Williams said he arrived at Jackson's mansion just as the singer was being loaded into an ambulance. He saw Murray, who he described as "frantic."

Earlier in the day, a promoter told jurors that Jackson appeared strong during one of the final rehearsals for the highly anticipated comeback concerts.

Paul Gongaware, an executive for AEG Live, said Jackson seemed engaged and energetic during the rehearsal just two days before he died.

Prosecutors called Gongaware to demonstrate the importance of the concerts and in an apparent attempt to show that both the singer and his physician were deeply engaged in preparations for the show before Jackson died on June 25, 2009.

Gongaware also testified that he saw Murray at one of Jackson's rehearsals after people affiliated with the planned concerts complained that the singer had been missing some of the sessions.

Prosecutors wrapped up their direct questioning of Gongaware before defense attorney Ed Chernoff briefly questioned the executive.

Under the cross-examination, Gongaware acknowledged AEG is being sued by Jackson's mother for negligent supervision of Murray when he worked with Jackson.

Jorrie also testified about drafting a contract for Murray to work as Jackson's personal physician.

At one point in negotiations, Murray requested his contract be modified to allow him to hire another physician in case he was tired or unavailable while Jackson was performing in London, she testified.

"He wanted to make sure that there was somebody else available to be of assistance," Jorrie said.

In opening statements Tuesday, Deputy District Attorney David Walgren said Murray delayed summoning emergency crews and lied to doctors and medics when he failed to reveal he had been giving Jackson the medications to try to help the entertainer sleep.

Chernoff claimed Jackson gave himself a fatal dose of medication in a desperate attempt to get some sleep.

He said Murray had been trying to wean Jackson off propofol, but the entertainer kept requesting it on the day he died.

"Michael Jackson started begging," Chernoff said. "When Michael Jackson told Dr. Murray, `I have to sleep. They will cancel my performance,' he meant it."

Prosecutors rejected Murray's version and told jurors the Houston-based cardiologist also had a tremendous stake in Jackson appearing in the concerts.

The doctor had initially asked to be paid $5 million a year for working with Jackson, but Gongaware said he immediately rejected the proposal. Instead, Murray accepted an offer to become Jackson's doctor for $150,000 a month - a sum he was never paid because his contract hadn't been signed before Jackson's death.

Murray has pleaded not guilty. If convicted, he could face up to four years in prison and have to relinquish his medical license.

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Anthony McCartney can be reached at http://twitter.com/mccartneyAP

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The Skanner Foundation's 38th Annual MLK Breakfast