09-26-2023  12:18 pm   •   PDX and SEA Weather
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4

NORTHWEST NEWS

What's Next in Major College Football Realignment? How About a Best-of-the-Rest League

Now that the Power Five is about to become the Power Four, the schools left out of the recent consolidation of wealth produced by conference realignment are looking at creative ways to stay relevant.

Oregon's Attorney General Says She Won't Seek Reelection Next Year After Serving 3 Terms

Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum, a Democrat and the first woman elected to the post, said she is stepping aside to allow new leadership, new energy and new initiatives to come to the Oregon Department of Justice that she has headed since 2012

Police Accountability Commission Presents Council With Proposed Major Overhaul

Voter-approved board for police accountability will have disciplinary power, ability to impact policy changes, access to body cam footage and more.

Oregon Judge to Decide in New Trial Whether Voter-Approved Gun Control Law Is Constitutional

The law, one of the toughest in the nation, was among the first gun restrictions to be passed after a major U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year changed the guidance judges are expected to follow when considering Second Amendment cases.

NEWS BRIEFS

Rep. Annessa Hartman Denounces Political Violence Against the Clackamas County Democratic Party

On Tuesday, the Clackamas County Democratic Party headquarters was

Bonamici Announces 5 Town Hall Meetings in October

The town hall meetings will be in St. Helens, Hillsboro, Seaside, Tillamook and Portland. ...

Nicole De Lagrave Named Multnomah Regional Teacher of the Year

De Lagrave is also a finalist for 2023-24 Oregon Teacher of the Year ...

KBOO Birthday Block Party to be Held September 23

Birthday block party planned as KBOO, 90.7FM celebrates 55 years broadcasting community radio ...

Appeals Court Allows Louisiana to Keep Children in Angola Prison

The district court had ordered the state to remove children from Angola by Sept. 15. But the Fifth Circuit issued a temporary stay,...

Coast Guard searching for woman swept into ocean from popular Washington coast beach

RIALTO BEACH, Wash. (AP) — Teams are searching for a 26-year-old woman who was swept into the ocean Monday from a popular beach on the Washington coast, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. The Coast Guard said it received a call at 10:50 a.m. about a woman who was reportedly taken...

Dolphin that shared a tank with Lolita the orca at Miami Seaquarium moves to SeaWorld San Antonio

MIAMI (AP) — A Pacific white-sided dolphin who shared a tank with Lolita the orca at the Miami Seaquarium until Lolita died last month has been moved to SeaWorld San Antonio, where he will live with others of his species, officials said Monday. Li’i will be joining other Pacific...

Luther Burden III hauls in 10 passes for 177 yards to help Missouri beat Memphis 34-27 in St. Louis

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Luther Burden III put on a show in his first collegiate game in his hometown, catching a career-high 10 passes for a career-best 177 yards to help Missouri beat Memphis 34-27 Saturday night in St. Louis. “We had some good play calls,” Burden said, unaware he'd...

Missouri tries to build on upset of K-State with a game against Memphis in St. Louis

Memphis (3-0) vs Missouri (3-0) at St. Louis, Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPNU) Line: Missouri by 7, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. Series record: Missouri leads 3-1. WHAT’S AT STAKE? Memphis won its first three games a couple of years ago...

OPINION

Labor Day 2023: Celebrating the Union Difference and Building Tomorrow’s Public Service Workforce

Working people are seeing what the union difference is all about, and they want to be a part of it. ...

60 Years Since 1963 March on Washington, Economic Justice Remains a Dream

Typical Black family has 1/8 the wealth held by whites, says new research ...

The 2024 Election, President Biden and the Black Vote

As a result of the Black vote, America has experienced unprecedented recovery economically, in healthcare, and employment and in its international status. ...

Federal Trade Commission Hindering Black Economic Achievement

FTC Chair Linda Khan has prioritized her own agenda despite what Americans were telling her they needed on the ground ...

AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE NEWS

The Supreme Court will let Alabama's congressional map be redrawn to better represent Black voters

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed the drawing of a new Alabama congressional map with greater representation for Black voters to proceed. The new districts also could help Democrats trying to flip control of the House of Representatives. The justices, without...

Judge refuses to immediately block grant program for Black women entrepreneurs

ATLANTA (AP) — A federal judge in Atlanta ruled Tuesday that a venture capital firm can continue offering a grant program only to Black women entrepreneurs, saying a lawsuit arguing it illegally excluded other races was not likely to succeed. Senior U.S. Judge Thomas Thrash denied a...

Donatella Versace slams Italian government's anti-gay policies from La Scala stage

MILAN (AP) — Donatella Versace slammed the Italian government for what she described as anti-gay policies in a heartfelt and personal speech that referenced her late brother, Gianni Versace, while receiving a fashion award this weekend. “Our government is trying to take away...

ENTERTAINMENT

Celebrity birthdays for the week of Oct. 1-7

Celebrity birthdays for the week of Oct. 1-7: Oct. 1: Actor-singer Julie Andrews is 88. Saxophonist Jerry Martini of Sly and the Family Stone is 80. Jazz bassist Dave Holland is 77. Actor Yvette Freeman (“ER”) is 73. Actor Randy Quaid is 73. Singer Howard Hewett of Shalamar is 68....

Book Review: Rural Appalachian family’s dreams turn dark in new Ron Rash novel, `The Caretaker’

Ron Rash has made the fog-shrouded ridges of Appalachia his fictional home in novels and short stories over a highly acclaimed career dating back decades. With “The Caretaker,” his first novel in seven years, he returns to this familiar mountain terrain and its remote hill culture. ...

Book Review: 'American Gun' is a haunting look at the AR-15's role in our violent era

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A decade before the school shooting at Columbine and more than two decades before the massacre at Uvalde, a man armed with an AK-47 fired his rifle at a crowded elementary playground in California, killing five children and injuring 31 others. The 1989...

U.S. & WORLD NEWS

US aims to create nuclear fusion facility within 10 years, Energy chief Granholm says

VIENNA (AP) — The Biden administration hopes to create a commercial nuclear fusion facility within 10 years as...

More students gain eligibility for free school meals under expanded US program

WASHINGTON (AP) — Millions of additional students in schools serving low-income communities will be eligible to...

Charges dismissed against Philadelphia officer in fatal traffic-stop shooting of Eddie Irizarry

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A judge dismissed murder and other charges Tuesday against a Philadelphia police officer who...

Leader of Spain's conservative tries to form government and slams alleged amnesty talks for Catalans

MADRID (AP) — The leader of Spain’s conservatives tried to convince lawmakers on Tuesday to let him form the...

Canada's House speaker resigns over inviting a man who fought for a Nazi unit to Parliament

TORONTO (AP) — The speaker of Canada’s House of Commons resigned Tuesday for inviting a man who fought for a...

Moscow court upholds 19-year prison sentence for Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny

MOSCOW (AP) — A court in Moscow upheld a 19-year prison sentence Tuesday for imprisoned Russian opposition...

Kyle Hightower the Associated Press



SANFORD, Fla. (AP) -- The police chief who has been bitterly criticized for not arresting a neighborhood watch volunteer in the shooting death of an unarmed black teenager temporarily stepped down Thursday, saying he wanted to passions to cool.

Sanford Police Chief Bill Lee's announcement came less than a day after city commissioners gave him a "no confidence" vote, and after a couple of weeks of protests and uproar on social media websites. Lee has said the evidence in the case supported George Zimmerman's claim that the Feb. 26 shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was self-defense. 

"I do this in the hopes of restoring some semblance of calm to a city which has been in turmoil for several weeks," Lee said.

Martin was returning from a trip to a convenience store when Zimmerman started following him, telling police dispatchers he looked suspicious. At some point, the two got into a fight and Zimmerman pulled out his gun.

Zimmerman told police Martin attacked him after he had given up on chasing the teenager and was returning to his sport utility vehicle.

The shooting ignited racial tensions in this Orlando suburb. Civil rights groups have held rallies in Florida and New York, saying the shooting was unjustified.

The police chief continued Thursday to stand behind his agency's investigation.

"As a former homicide investigator, a career law enforcement officer and a father, I am keenly aware of the emotions associated with this tragic death of a child. I'm also aware that my role as a leader of this agency has become a distraction from the investigation," Lee said.

It wasn't immediately how long the police chief would step aside.

The Justice Department and FBI have opened a civil rights investigation, and the local prosecutor has convened a grand jury April 10 to determine whether to charge Zimmerman.

Some people believed Lee should step down for good.

"If they wanted to defuse a potential powder keg, he needed to resign," said pastor Eugene Walton, 58, who was born and raised in Sanford. "His inaction speaks loudly to the black community."

News of the police chief's decision to step aside spread quickly among the 1,000 protesters who had shown up more than two hours before the start of the rally Thursday. They chanted "The chief is gone. Zimmerman is next."

Some carried signs that said: "100 years of lynching, justifiable homicide. Same thing." Others sold T-shirts that said: "Arrest Zimmerman."

"It's the norm around here, where anything involving black culture, they want to wipe their hands of it," said Shella Moore, who is black and grew up in Sanford.
Story: Rally Organized in Portland Saturday March 24