05-02-2024  1:43 am   •   PDX and SEA Weather
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NORTHWEST NEWS

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.

US Long-Term Care Costs Are Sky-High, but Washington State’s New Way to Help Pay for Them Could Be Nixed

A group funded by hedge fund executive Brian Heywood is attempting to undermine the financial stability of Washington state's new long-term care social insurance program.

A Massive Powerball Win Draws Attention to a Little-Known Immigrant Culture in the US

An immigrant from Laos who has been battling cancer won an enormous jumi.3 billion Powerball jackpot in Oregon earlier this month. But Cheng “Charlie” Saephan's luck hasn't just changed his life — it's also drawn attention to Iu Mien, a southeast Asian ethnic group with origins in China, many of whose members fled from Laos to Thailand and then settled in the U.S. following the Vietnam War.

City Council Strikes Down Gonzalez’s ‘Inhumane’ Suggestion for Blanket Ban on Public Camping

Mayor Wheeler’s proposal for non-emergency ordinance will go to second reading.

NEWS BRIEFS

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...

New Funding Will Invest in Promising Oregon Technology and Science Startups

Today Business Oregon and its Oregon Innovation Council announced a million award to the Portland Seed Fund that will...

Unity in Prayer: Interfaith Vigil and Memorial Service Honoring Youth Affected by Violence

As part of the 2024 National Youth Violence Prevention Week, the Multnomah County Prevention and Health Promotion Community Adolescent...

Tension grows on UCLA campus as police order dispersal of large pro-Palestinian gathering

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Law enforcement on the UCLA campus donned riot gear Wednesday evening as they ordered the dispersal of over a thousand people who had gathered in support of a pro-Palestinian student encampment, warning over loudspeakers that anyone who refused to leave could face arrest. ...

Appeals court rejects climate change lawsuit by young Oregon activists against US government

SEATTLE (AP) — A federal appeals court panel on Wednesday rejected a long-running lawsuit brought by young Oregon-based climate activists who argued that the U.S. government's role in climate change violated their constitutional rights. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals...

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...

Elliss, Jenkins, McCaffrey join Harrison and Alt in following their fathers into the NFL

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Marvin Harrison Jr., Joe Alt, Kris Jenkins, Jonah Ellis and Luke McCaffrey have turned the NFL draft into a family affair. The sons of former pro football stars, they've followed their fathers' formidable footsteps into the league. Elliss was...

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

Critics question if longtime Democratic congressman from Georgia is too old for reelection

CONYERS, Ga. (AP) — U.S. Rep. David Scott faces multiple Democratic primary opponents in his quest for a 12th congressional term in a sharply reconfigured suburban Atlanta district. But with early voting underway ahead of the May 21 primary elections, the 78-year-old is ignoring challengers and...

Hakeem Jeffries isn't speaker yet, but the Democrat may be the most powerful person in Congress

WASHINGTON (AP) — Without wielding the gavel or holding a formal job laid out in the Constitution, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries might very well be the most powerful person in Congress right now. The minority leader of the House Democrats, it was Jeffries who provided the votes needed to...

Advocates say Supreme Court must preserve new, mostly Black US House district for 2024 elections

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Voting rights advocates said Wednesday they will go to the Supreme Court in hopes of preserving a new majority Black congressional district in Louisiana for the fall elections, the latest step in a complicated legal fight that could determine the fate of political careers and...

ENTERTAINMENT

Music Review: Neil Young delivers appropriately ragged, raw live version of 1990's 'Ragged Glory'

The venerable Neil Young offers a ragged and raw live take of his beloved 1990 album “Ragged Glory” with a new album, titled “Fu##in’ Up.” Of course, the 2024 version doesn't have the same semi-youthful energy that the 44-year-old Young put into the original. Maybe his voice...

Olympian Kristi Yamaguchi is 'tickled pink' to inspire a Barbie doll

Like many little girls, a young Kristi Yamaguchi loved playing with Barbie. With a schedule packed with ice skating practices, her Barbie dolls became her “best friends.” So, it's surreal for the decorated Olympian figure skater to now be a Barbie girl herself. ...

Book Review: Rachel Khong’s new novel 'Real Americans' explores race, class and cultural identity

In 2017 Rachel Khong wrote a slender, darkly comic novel, “Goodbye, Vitamin,” that picked up a number of accolades and was optioned for a film. Now she has followed up her debut effort with a sweeping, multigenerational saga that is twice as long and very serious. “Real...

U.S. & WORLD NEWS

Biden administration weighing measures to help Palestinians bring family from region

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is weighing measures to help Palestinians living in the United States...

Hakeem Jeffries isn't speaker yet, but the Democrat may be the most powerful person in Congress

WASHINGTON (AP) — Without wielding the gavel or holding a formal job laid out in the Constitution, Rep. Hakeem...

What is at stake in UK local voting ahead of a looming general election

LONDON (AP) — Millions of voters in England and Wales will cast their ballots on Thursday in an array of local...

Tourists evacuated from Kenya’s Maasai Mara reserve amid flooding and heavy rains

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Tourists were evacuated by air from Kenya's Maasai Mara national reserve Wednesday after...

Microsoft will invest [scripts/homepage/home.php].2 billion in cloud and AI services in Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Microsoft is investing [scripts/homepage/home.php].2 billion over the next four years in Malaysia's new...

Ecuador defends raid on the Mexican Embassy and tells top UN court it acted to take in a criminal

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Ecuador on Wednesday defended its storming of the Mexican Embassy in Quito last...

Mariano Castillo and Raja Razek CNN


(CNN) -- Syrian rebels across the country are moving toward a unified command, the latest step in a consolidation by the opposition as it seeks to garner stronger international support. 



Under a preliminary agreement reached Friday by the disparate Free Syrian Army units, each Syrian province will have a civilian rebel council leader and a military council leader. 



The commanders will be under the leadership of a newly named chief of staff, Gen. Salim Idris, Free Syrian Army spokesman Louay Almokdad said. 



All members of the new leadership team are Syrian and mostly are from inside Syria, he said. 



It is premature to call the new group the Supreme Military Council, but the agreement is a step toward forming the higher military council, Almokdad said. 



The united military front follows the creation of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, a new coalition of groups opposed to the leadership of President Bashar al-Assad. 



The United States, in particular, had been pushing for the opposition to unite. 



The American calls for unity came amid concerns about the increasing radicalization of some armed factions of the opposition. The stronger the radical groups become, the more the United States worries that the fighting -- not political efforts to find a solution -- will decide the outcome in Syria. 



Efforts are under way for the United States to formally recognize the newly formed Syrian political opposition coalition as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people, which France and Britain have already done.



Early next week, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will travel to Marrakesh, Morocco, for a meeting of the Friends of the Syrian People, a gathering of countries that support the political transition. 



The Obama administration, while providing non-lethal assistance, is expected to take the first steps toward officially recognizing the National Coalition at that meeting. 



The Free Syrian Army hopes for the same support now that it attempts to unify. 



A new defense minister for the Syrian opposition coalition is expected to be named later this month, Almokdad said. 



On Saturday, fighting was reported in Lattakia, on the northern coast, near al-Assad's hometown of Qardaha. 



The opposition Local Coordination Committees said late Friday that "regime forces (had) closed all entrances to the capital" amid clashes. Syria's government maintains control of Damascus, while the rebels have taken large parts of northern Syria, including parts of the most populous city, Aleppo. 



Concern about chemical weapons



Britain's foreign secretary on Saturday cited evidence that the Syrian regime could use its stockpile of chemical weapons against rebels battling government forces. 



William Hague said that there was no simple "red line" which could trigger international military action, but that Britain and its allies had "contingency plans concerning chemical weapons" which he declined to disclose. 



Recent U.S. intelligence suggests the Syrian government has started mixing chemical weapons compounds and loading them into bombs, though the bombs are not being moved to any delivery devices, CNN's Barbara Starr reported.



The concern is not only that the Syrian regime may use chemical weapons, but that they could fall into the hands of terrorist groups. 



Another view on weapons



Fears of chemical weapons use by the Syrian government are "hysterical hype," former U.S. National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski said Saturday. 



Speaking with CNN's Randi Kaye, Brzezinski said it does not make sense that the Syrian regime would employ such weapons when doing so would in effect poison its own people. 



The fighting in Syria is not along traditional fronts, but sporadic outbreaks of fighting, making chemical weapons is not very effective, he said. 



"It's more like a guerrilla warfare. How do you use chemical weapons against that," he said. 



The real challenge, Brzezinski said, is creating a stable situation in Syria so the conflict does not spill into Jordan, Lebanon or Iraq. 



CNN's Elise Labott contributed to this report. 



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The Skanner Foundation's 38th Annual MLK Breakfast