05-08-2024  6:40 am   •   PDX and SEA Weather
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NORTHWEST NEWS

Safety Lapses Contributed to Patient Assaults at Oregon State Hospital

A federal report says safety lapses at the Oregon State Hospital contributed to recent patient-on-patient assaults. The report by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services investigated a recent choking attack and sexual assault, among other incidents. It found that staff didn't always adequately supervise their patients, and that the hospital didn't fully investigate the incidents. In a statement, the hospital said it was dedicated to its patients and working to improve conditions. It has 10 days from receiving the report to submit a plan of correction. The hospital is Oregon's most secure inpatient psychiatric facility

Police Detain Driver Who Accelerated Toward Protesters at Portland State University in Oregon

The Portland Police Bureau said in a written statement late Thursday afternoon that the man was taken to a hospital on a police mental health hold. They did not release his name. The vehicle appeared to accelerate from a stop toward the crowd but braked before it reached anyone. 

Portland Government Will Change On Jan. 1. The City’s Transition Team Explains What We Can Expect.

‘It’s a learning curve that everyone has to be intentional about‘

What Marijuana Reclassification Means for the United States

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is moving toward reclassifying marijuana as a less dangerous drug. The Justice Department proposal would recognize the medical uses of cannabis but wouldn’t legalize it for recreational use. Some advocates for legalized weed say the move doesn't go far enough, while opponents say it goes too far.

NEWS BRIEFS

Legislature Makes Major Investments to Increase Housing Affordability and Expand Treatment in Multnomah County

Over million in new funding will help build a behavioral health drop in center, expand violence prevention programs, and...

Poor People’s Campaign and National Partners Announce, “Mass Poor People’s and Low-Wage Workers’ Assembly and Moral March on Washington, D.C. and to the Polls” Ahead of 2024 Elections

Scheduled for June 29th, the “Mass Poor People’s and Low-Wage Workers’ Assembly and Moral March on Washington, D.C.: A Call to...

Legendary Civil Rights Leader Medgar Wiley Evers Receives Presidential Medal of Freedom

Evers family overwhelmed with gratitude after Biden announces highest civilian honor. ...

April 30 is the Registration Deadline for the May Primary Election

Voters can register or update their registration online at OregonVotes.gov until 11:59 p.m. on April 30. ...

Chair Jessica Vega Pederson Releases $3.96 Billion Executive Budget for Fiscal Year 2024-2025

Investments will boost shelter and homeless services, tackle the fentanyl crisis, strengthen the safety net and support a...

The FAA investigates after Boeing says workers in South Carolina falsified 787 inspection records

SEATTLE (AP) — The Federal Aviation Administration said Monday it has opened an investigation into Boeing after the beleaguered company reported that workers at a South Carolina plant falsified inspection records on certain 787 planes. Boeing said its engineers have determined that misconduct did...

Want to show teachers appreciation? This top school gives them more freedom

BOCA RATON, Fla. (AP) — When teachers at A.D. Henderson School, one of the top-performing schools in Florida, are asked how they succeed, one answer is universal: They have autonomy. Nationally, most teachers report feeling stressed and overwhelmed at work, according to a Pew...

Defending national champion LSU boosts its postseason hopes with series win against Texas A&M

With two weeks left in the regular season, LSU is scrambling to avoid becoming the third straight defending national champion to miss the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers (31-18, 9-15) won two of three against then-No. 1 Texas A&M to take a giant step over the weekend, but they...

The Bo Nix era begins in Denver, and the Broncos also drafted his top target at Oregon

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — For the first time in his 17 seasons as a coach, Sean Payton has a rookie quarterback to nurture. Payton's Denver Broncos took Bo Nix in the first round of the NFL draft. The coach then helped out both himself and Nix by moving up to draft his new QB's top...

OPINION

New White House Plan Could Reduce or Eliminate Accumulated Interest for 30 Million Student Loan Borrowers

Multiple recent announcements from the Biden administration offer new hope for the 43.2 million borrowers hoping to get relief from the onerous burden of a collective

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...

AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE NEWS

Civil suit settled in shooting of Native American activist at protest of Spanish conquistador statue

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A settlement has been reached in a civil lawsuit seeking damages from three relatives in the shooting of a Native American activist in northern New Mexico amid confrontations about a statue of a Spanish conquistador and aborted plans to reinstall it in public, according to...

Future of MLB's Tampa Bay Rays to come into focus with key meetings on jumi.3B stadium project

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — The future of the Tampa Bay Rays is about to come into clearer focus as local officials begin public discussions over a planned jumi.3 billion ballpark that would be the anchor of a much larger project to transform downtown St. Petersburg with affordable housing, a Black...

Judges say they'll draw new Louisiana election map if lawmakers don't by June 3

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A panel of federal judges who recently threw out a congressional election map giving Louisiana a second mostly Black district said Tuesday the state Legislature must pass a new map by June 3 or face having the panel impose one on the state. However, voting rights...

ENTERTAINMENT

Movie Review: Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt are great fun in ‘The Fall Guy’

One of the worst movie sins is when a comedy fails to at least match the natural charisma of its stars. Not all actors are capable of being effortlessly witty without a tightly crafted script and some excellent direction and editing. But Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt seem, at least from afar, adept...

Asian American Literature Festival that was canceled by the Smithsonian in 2023 to be revived

NEW YORK (AP) — A festival celebrating Asian American literary works that was suddenly canceled last year by the Smithsonian Institution is getting resurrected, organizers announced Thursday. The Asian American Literature Festival is making a return, the Asian American Literature...

Paul Auster, prolific and experimental man of letters and filmmaker, dies at 77

NEW YORK (AP) — Paul Auster, a prolific, prize-winning man of letters and filmmaker known for such inventive narratives and meta-narratives as “The New York Trilogy” and “4 3 2 1,” has died at age 77. Auster's death was confirmed by his wife and fellow author, Siri Hustvedt,...

U.S. & WORLD NEWS

US and Philippine forces sink a ship during largescale drills in the disputed South China Sea

LAOAG, Philippines (AP) — U.S. and Philippine forces, backed by an Australian air force surveillance aircraft,...

Grit, humor, grief and gloom mix as Ukrainians face a dangerous new phase in the war

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Paintbrush in hand, Anastasiya Sereda is working on a painting of a chubby-faced panda in...

Has Israel followed the law in its war in Gaza? The US is due to render a first-of-its-kind verdict

WASHINGTON (AP) — Facing heat over its military support for Israel's war, the Biden administration is due to...

US and Philippine forces sink a ship during largescale drills in the disputed South China Sea

LAOAG, Philippines (AP) — U.S. and Philippine forces, backed by an Australian air force surveillance aircraft,...

Chinese warships have been docked in Cambodia for 5 months, but government says it's not permanent

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodia's Defense Ministry insisted Wednesday that the months-long presence of two...

China and EU-candidate Serbia sign an agreement to build a 'shared future'

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — China and European Union candidate Serbia signed an agreement on Wednesday to build a...

Maryclaire Dale and Marc Levy the Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- A Penn State accuser who dined with Jerry Sandusky this summer did so only after getting permission from police, the man's lawyer said Friday as he blasted suggestions that alleged victims remained friendly with the former Penn State coach.

"Police gave their seal of approval for him to attend. They even wanted him to wear an electronic listening device," attorney Howard Janet said Friday. He also called into question Sandusky's motives for inviting the man to dinner while the ex-coach knew he was under investigation.

Sandusky has been charged with molesting eight boys over 15 years. He is accused of mining the ranks of his Second Mile charity to find underprivileged boys to abuse.

Sandusky says he is innocent and his lawyer, Joseph Amendola, has questioned several accusers' claims and the depiction of his client made in a grand jury report that identified the alleged victims by number. Earlier this week, Amendola told The Patriot-News of Harrisburg that several accusers visited the Sandusky home and stayed on good terms with the ex-coach for years.

He told The Associated Press on Friday that another dinner guest that night was the man identified in the grand jury report as Victim No. 2, who Sandusky is accused of sodomizing in a Penn State shower.

Janet said another man identified as a victim in the grand jury report attended, but he did not specify who that was. He called Amendola's claim that accusers remained friendly with Sandusky "grotesque."

Janet represents the man known in the grand jury report as Victim No. 6, who was allegedly bear-hugged by Sandusky as they showered together at Penn State in 1998, when the boy was 11. The boy's mother filed a complaint; a police investigation ended with no charges filed.

The alleged victim, now 24, contacted police this summer when Sandusky invited him over for dinner, Janet said. He didn't wear a wire because he was nervous but reported back to police about the dinner afterward, the lawyer said.

The dinner started at Sandusky's house and then moved to a restaurant, and included Sandusky's wife.

Janet said Sandusky pitched the dinner as a chance for former Second Mile participants to get together. "Why was he arranging to meet with victims while under investigation? Was he trying to tamper with or improperly influence potential witnesses?" Janet said.

He would not say if the investigation came up in conversation that night, or detail what his client later reported back to police. The client didn't wear a wire because he was nervous, Janet said.

Sandusky's lawyer said the meeting was part of an effort by Sandusky and his wife to maintain "friendships with lots of kids they helped as those kids grew into adulthood."

"The dinner at a local State College restaurant last summer, which was attended by Jerry and Dottie and alleged victims 2 and 6, was simply an effort on the Sanduskys' part to maintain those long established positive relationships with young men whom the Sanduskys believed were their friends," Amendola said.

Victim No. 2 was the boy seen being abused by Sandusky in a Penn State shower in 2002, according to the grand jury report. The witness, since identified as then-graduate assistant Mike McQueary, told coach Joe Paterno about the incident, but police were not notified, the report said.

The grand jury report said Victim No. 2 had not been located. Amendola has said he believes the alleged victim is being represented by a State College attorney who did not respond to messages left by the AP late Friday.

Penn State fired Paterno and school President Graham Spanier after the report was made public. Two former Penn State officials are charged with failing to report complaints of abuse, and with lying to a grand jury. They have pleaded not guilty.

Sandusky is free on bail, and is next due in court on Dec. 13 for a preliminary hearing.

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The Skanner Foundation's 38th Annual MLK Breakfast