05-13-2024  2:13 pm   •   PDX and SEA Weather
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NORTHWEST NEWS

Portland OKs New Homeless Camping Rules That Threaten Fines or Jail in Some Cases

The mayor's office says it seeks to comply with a state law requiring cities to have “objectively reasonable” restrictions on camping.

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‘

NEWS BRIEFS

Governor Kotek Issues Statement on Role of First Spouse

"I take responsibility for not being more thoughtful in my approach to exploring the role of the First Spouse." ...

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. ...

Truck driver accused of intentionally killing Utah officer had been holding a woman against her will

A truck driver accused of intentionally killing a police officer during a traffic stop on a Utah highway had been holding a woman against her will inside the cab of his truck, new court documents reveal. Michael Aaron Jayne, 42, is accused of driving his rig into Santaquin Police Sgt....

Backcountry skier dies after being buried in Idaho avalanche

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A backcountry skier has died after being buried by an avalanche in Idaho, officials said. The avalanche occurred Friday when two experienced backcountry skiers were traveling on Donaldson Peak in Idaho's Lost River Range, the Sawtooth Avalanche Center said. ...

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

The Skanner News May 2024 Primary Endorsements

Read The Skanner News endorsements and vote today. Candidates for mayor and city council will appear on the November general election ballot. ...

Nation’s Growing Racial and Gender Wealth Gaps Need Policy Reform

Never-married Black women have 8 cents in wealth for every dollar held by while males. ...

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...

AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE NEWS

UNC board slashes diversity program funding to divert money to public safety resources

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — As North Carolina's public university system considers a vote on changing its diversity policy, the system's flagship university board voted Monday to cut funding for diversity programs in next year's budget. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill...

Questions and grief linger at the apartment door where a deputy killed a US airman

WASHINGTON (AP) — At the apartment door where a Florida deputy shot and killed Senior Airman Roger Fortson, a small shrine is growing with the tributes from the Air Force unit grappling with his loss. There is a long wooden plank, anchored by two sets of aviator wings, and a black...

Controversy follows Gov. Kristi Noem as she is banned by two more South Dakota tribes

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem is now banned from entering nearly 20% of her state after two more tribes banished her this week over comments she made earlier this year about tribal leaders benefitting from drug cartels. The latest developments in the ongoing tribal dispute come on...

ENTERTAINMENT

Doug Liman, Matt Damon and the Afflecks made a heist comedy for Apple. 'The Instigators'

Filmmaker Doug Liman realized quickly he wasn't on his home turf anymore. Matt Damon, who he’d directed in “The Bourne Identity” over 20 years ago, had recruited Liman for his new movie “The Instigators,” an action-comedy about a heist gone wrong. Though two decades of...

Book Review: Coming-of-age meets quarter-life crisis in Fiona Warnick's ambitious debut 'The Skunks'

Usually when I see a book described as an “ambitious debut” I read it as a cop-out. Isn’t a debut inherently ambitious? What does that even mean? “The Skunks” is what that means. And Fiona Warnick makes it look effortless. A coming-of-age novel with a...

Police investigating shooting outside Drake's mansion that left security guard wounded

TORONTO (AP) — Police are investigating a shooting outside rapper Drake's mansion in Toronto that left a security guard seriously wounded. Authorities did not confirm whether Drake was at home at the time of the shooting, but said his team is cooperating. The shooting happened...

U.S. & WORLD NEWS

Pro-Palestinian protests dwindle on campuses as some US college graduations marked by defiant acts

A tiny contingent of Duke University graduates opposed pro-Israel comedian Jerry Seinfeld speaking at their...

Socialists deal blow to separatists in Catalan elections but face uphill task to form government

MADRID (AP) — Spain’s ruling Socialist party scored a crucial victory in regional elections in the powerful...

Dr. Cyril Wecht, celebrity pathologist who argued more than 1 shooter killed JFK, dies at 93

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Dr. Cyril Wecht, a pathologist and attorney whose biting cynicism and controversial positions...

Greek and Turkish leaders seek to stress thawing relations but tensions remain under the surface

ISTANBUL (AP) — The leaders of Greece and Turkey met Monday for talks aimed at underlining their efforts to put...

Death toll up to 32 in South Africa building collapse but rescue efforts boosted by 1 more survivor

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Rescue teams in South Africa forged ahead Monday with efforts to find more...

Belfast judge says parts of the UK's migrant deportation law shouldn't apply to Northern Ireland

LONDON (AP) — The United Kingdom's law to deport asylum-seekers shouldn't apply in Northern Ireland, because...

Greg Seaby CNN

(CNN) -- Misconduct with prostitutes by U.S. Secret Service agents handling travel security for the president in April was not a one-off episode, according to a media report citing an investigation by the Department of Homeland Security.

The DHS Investigator General's results "contradict" previous testimony before Congress by Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan about the incident during President Obama's trip to Colombia to attend the Summit of the Americas, ABC News reported.

But a Secret Service official with knowledge of the investigation told CNN Thursday that Sullivan's statements in a hearing in May had been "truthful."

CNN has not seen the investigation results and cannot confirm the reported allegations.

As part of the advance detail before President Barack Obama's arrival to attend the summit, a dozen agents hit the clubs of Cartagena, Colombia, for a night of drinking that ended with them bringing women back to their hotel rooms.

Some of the women received money, and others did not ask for any, but in one case, an agent refused to pay, and the woman summoned a police officer.

Prostitution is legal in Colombia, but the news that some Secret Service agents were drinking heavily and taking prostitutes back to their hotel rooms raised security concerns and tarnished the reputation of the agency charged with protecting the president.

Testifying before Congress in May, Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan insisted the incident was an aberration -- just poor choices by a dozen agents under the influence of alcohol.

"This is not a cultural issue, this is not a systemic issue," Sullivan told the Senate Homeland Security Committee back then, arguing that similar misconduct hasn't occurred on thousands of other overseas trips by Secret Service agents.

However, the DHS Inspector General's investigation reportedly reveals that Secret Service agents associated with prostitutes on previous trips to El Salvador, Panama, Romania and China.

"It is very difficult to respond to specific inquiries from a draft report that we haven't had an opportunity to review," a Secret Service official said in response to the media report Thursday. "Director Sullivan's testimony, approximately one month after the Cartagena incident, was truthful based on the Secret Service's investigative findings to date," said the official, who is not authorized to speak to the media and wished not to be named.

Agents had not confessed to prior dealings with prostitutes, when Sullivan was briefed before testifying, the official said. "One agent, who later admitted to the DHS Office of the Inspector General that he had indeed engaged in prior misconduct" had previously denied doing so to the Secret Service.

The inconsistency between the new investigation and Sullivan's past accounts has prompted a new call for answers from the Obama administration by lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, the ranking member of the Senate oversight subcommittee, released letters concerning the investigation late Thursday that he had sent in early October to Sullivan but also to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, White House Chief of Staff Jacob Lew and Attorney General Eric Holder.

Johnson said he has received no response to his inquiries.

In his letter to Sullivan, Johnson expresses suspicions that the Secret Service director's testimony and other assurances concerning agents' conduct may have been misleading.

"My office's review of the DHS OIG report of investigation ... lead me to believe that these assurances were false."

CNN's Carol Cratty and Tom Cohen contributed to this report

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The Skanner Foundation's 38th Annual MLK Breakfast