04-20-2024  6:01 am   •   PDX and SEA Weather
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NORTHWEST NEWS

Don’t Shoot Portland, University of Oregon Team Up for Black Narratives, Memory

The yearly Memory Work for Black Lives Plenary shows the power of preservation.

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.

NEWS BRIEFS

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 ...

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 $1,000 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 ...

The drug war devastated Black and other minority communities. Is marijuana legalization helping?

ARLINGTON, Wash. (AP) — When Washington state opened some of the nation's first legal marijuana stores in 2014, Sam Ward Jr. was on electronic home detention in Spokane, where he had been indicted on federal drug charges. He would soon be off to prison to serve the lion's share of a four-year...

Firefighters douse a blaze at a historic Oregon hotel famously featured in 'The Shining'

GOVERNMENT CAMP, Ore. (AP) — Firefighters doused a late-night fire at Oregon's historic Timberline Lodge — featured in Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 film “The Shining” — before it caused significant damage. The fire Thursday night was confined to the roof and attic of the lodge,...

Two-time world champ J’den Cox retires at US Olympic wrestling trials; 44-year-old reaches finals

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — J’den Cox walked off the mat after dropping a 2-2 decision to Kollin Moore at the U.S. Olympic wrestling trials on Friday night, leaving his shoes behind to a standing ovation. The bronze medal winner at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016 was beaten by...

University of Missouri plans 0 million renovation of Memorial Stadium

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — The University of Missouri is planning a 0 million renovation of Memorial Stadium. The Memorial Stadium Improvements Project, expected to be completed by the 2026 season, will further enclose the north end of the stadium and add a variety of new premium...

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

The drug war devastated Black and other minority communities. Is marijuana legalization helping?

ARLINGTON, Wash. (AP) — When Washington state opened some of the nation's first legal marijuana stores in 2014, Sam Ward Jr. was on electronic home detention in Spokane, where he had been indicted on federal drug charges. He would soon be off to prison to serve the lion's share of a four-year...

Lawsuits under New York's new voting rights law reveal racial disenfranchisement even in blue states

FREEPORT, N.Y. (AP) — Weihua Yan had seen dramatic demographic changes since moving to Long Island's Nassau County. Its Asian American population alone had grown by 60% since the 2010 census. Why then, he wondered, did he not see anyone who looked like him on the county's local...

USC cancels graduation keynote by filmmaker amid controversy over decision to drop student's speech

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The University of Southern California further shook up its commencement plans Friday, announcing the cancelation of a keynote speech by filmmaker Jon M. Chu just days after making the controversial choice to disallow the student valedictorian from speaking. The...

ENTERTAINMENT

Celebrity birthdays for the week of April 21-27

Celebrity birthdays for the week of April 21-27: April 21: Actor Elaine May is 92. Singer Iggy Pop is 77. Actor Patti LuPone is 75. Actor Tony Danza is 73. Actor James Morrison (“24”) is 70. Actor Andie MacDowell is 66. Singer Robert Smith of The Cure is 65. Guitarist Michael...

What to stream this weekend: Conan O’Brien travels, 'Migration' soars and Taylor Swift reigns

Zack Snyder’s “Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver” landing on Netflix and Taylor Swift’s “The Tortured Poets Department” album are some of the new television, movies, music and games headed to a device near you. Also among the streaming offerings worth your time as...

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...

U.S. & WORLD NEWS

Lawsuits under New York's new voting rights law reveal racial disenfranchisement even in blue states

FREEPORT, N.Y. (AP) — Weihua Yan had seen dramatic demographic changes since moving to Long Island's Nassau...

The NBA playoffs are finally here. And as LeBron James says, 'it's a sprint now'

There’s a 64-win team in Boston that ran away with the league’s best record. The defending champions in...

Record Store Day celebrates indie retail music sellers as they ride vinyl's popularity wave

PHOENIX (AP) — Special LP releases, live performances and at least one giant block party are scheduled around...

As Russia edges toward a possible offensive on Kharkiv, some residents flee. Others refuse to leave

KHARKIV, Ukraine (AP) — A 79-year-old woman makes the sign of the cross and, gripping her cane, leaves her home...

Panama Papers trial's public portion comes to an unexpectedly speedy end

PANAMA CITY (AP) — The public portion of a trial of more than two-dozen associates accused of helping some of...

Has Salman Rushdie changed after his stabbing? Well, he feels about 25, the author tells AP

NEW YORK (AP) — Nearly two years after the knife attack that nearly killed him, Salman Rushdie appears both...

CNN Wire Staff

(CNN) -- After 18 months of terror and grave devastation, Syrian children are plagued with trauma from witnessing the horrors of war first-hand, an international aid group says.

Save the Children released a report Tuesday called "Untold Atrocities," a collection of accounts from Syrian refugee children.



"A massacre took place in my village. Around 25 people were killed -- I witnessed it with my own eyes," said 15-year-old Mohamad, who has fled to Jordan with his family. "They used different ways to kill people -- electric shocks, throwing machinery and cement blocks on people's heads."

Hassan, 14, described the use of children as human shields -- akin to reports from opposition activists that the Syrian regime has used children as shields.

He said his cousin and uncle died when a rocket "caused a massacre."

"Almost every child we've spoken to has seen family members killed," Save the Children said.

Even those who survive attacks face dire circumstances.

"When we were being bombed we had nothing. No food, no water, no toys -- nothing. There was no way to buy food -- the markets and shops were bombed out," 10-year-old Ala'a said. "My father went without food for days because there wasn't enough. I remember watching him tie his stomach with rope so he wouldn't feel so hungry."

Wael, 16, summarized the trauma this way:

"I have seen children slaughtered. I don't think I'll ever be OK again."

In other developments:

On the ground: Blasts strike a Damascus compound

Dual attacks rattled a Syrian intelligence security compound in Damascus, the regime and opposition activists said Tuesday.

The compound was also the site of a major explosion in March.

Syrian state-run TV said the two improvised explosive devices were "planted by terrorists" in a school building and caused seven injuries.

Opposition activists said the Syrian military was using the school building as a base. The new school year has not yet started, Syrian state TV said, so it seems unlikely that children would have been at the site.

In June, Human Rights Watch described cases of "sexual torture" at the compound, reported by male and female detainees -- many of whom were political activists or simply attended protests.

At least 50 people have been killed across Syria on Tuesday, according to the Local Coordination Committees of Syria, an opposition group.

Thirteen deaths have been reported in Daraa province, where regime forces are dropping improvised explosive barrels from helicopter gunships above the city of Daeel, according to the LCC.

Diplomatic front: Obama pledges support, Qatar offers a new plan for Syria

President Obama used his speech at the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday to pledge U.S. support for those working for a "common good" for Syria, and sanctions against those doing harm.

"In Syria, the future must not belong to a dictator who massacres his people," he said.

"If there is a cause that cries out for protest in the world today, it is a regime that tortures children and shoots rockets at apartment buildings. And we must remain engaged to assure that what began with citizens demanding their rights does not end in a cycle of sectarian violence.

"Together, we must stand with those Syrians who believe in a different vision -- a Syria that is united and inclusive."

There would be consequences and sanctions for those who persecute others, Obama promised, and assistance for those who work for the good of all of Syria's people.

The U.S. president's words come a day after Qatar's prime minister proposed a "Plan B" for solving the Syrian crisis, saying a nonviolent solution is still possible despite more than a year of relentless bloodshed. He called for greater help from the United States to achieve this end.

In an interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour, Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani said the plan would include havens -- which would require a no-fly zone -- and greater humanitarian aid.

"We wish and we believe that we can solve it peacefully," Al Thani said Monday. But, he said, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has only one solution: "killing his people to win the war."

"I believe within weeks, we should have a Plan B. And there is a responsibility among us," he said. "We are talking about saving the people of Syria."

When asked who would participate in the plan, Al Thani replied, "I believe there is a lot of Arab countries will participate, and there is also European countries will participate."

But what the plan really needs, Al Thani said, is help from the United States.

"I know, to be more frank, that there is an election now. ... But I hope that after the election, the American government looks at this matter in a different way. And I always meant no military intervention, but we need to take some measures ... to save the Syrian people."

The prime minister said his country is not providing weapons to Syrian rebels, but is giving humanitarian aid to refugees who have fled to other countries.

Al Thani said he hopes plans for Syria don't include a regional struggle between Sunni and Shia Muslims.

"My fear (is) that if there is a Sunni-Shia war and escalation ... nobody will win in this."

He also alluded to the diplomatic deadlock at the U.N. Security Council, where Russia and China have repeatedly blocked draft resolutions that would take stronger action against al-Assad's regime.

"I really hope that Russia and China join all of us to find a solution. Not exactly what they want or what we want -- it's exactly what the Syrian people want, in my opinion."

Qatar played a key role in the revolution in Libya as the first Arab nation to recognize the rebels and support NATO's mission there.

In fact, Libyans were so thankful, they hung the Qatari flag over a compound of longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in Tripoli.

But Al Thani says that was possible through work via NATO and the help of the United States.

CNN's Saad Abedine, Holly Yan, Samuel Burke and Claire Calzonetti contributed to this report.

The Skanner Foundation's 38th Annual MLK Breakfast