03-22-2023  3:03 am   •   PDX and SEA Weather
  • Oregon Bill on Abortion, Gender-Affirming Care Sparks Debate

    Oregon Bill on Abortion, Gender-Affirming Care Sparks Debate

    An Oregon bill that would expand access to reproductive health and gender-affirming care drew emotional testimony, mirroring the culture war debates over abortion, gender identity and parents' rights that are playing out in state legislatures across the U.S. Read More
  • Detective Cookie Boulden, Seattle City Council member Tammy Morales and community members dig up a shovel full of dirt during the official ground breaking ceremony for the Detective Cookie Chess Park on the Rainier Avenue South and 51st on June 14, 2022. Detective Cookie's chess club has been helping southend kids learn the game of chess for more than a decade. (Photo/Susan Fried)

    Detective Files Discrimination Claim Against Seattle Police

    Detective Denise “Cookie” Bouldin filed the tort claim Friday. It alleges she has faced daily discrimination during her 43 years with the department. Read More
  • Family friend Tony McDavid walks through the wreckage of the beachfront home of Nina Lavigna, as friends help recover salvageable belongings after half of her house collapsed following beach erosion from Hurricane Nicole, Nov. 12, 2022, in Wilbur-By-The-Sea, Fla. A major new United Nations report being released Monday, March 20, 2023, is expected to provide a sobering reminder that time is running out if humanity wants to avoid passing a dangerous global warming threshold. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)

    United Nations Report will Give Stark Climate Warning

    A major new United Nations report being released Monday will  provide a sobering reminder that time is running out if humanity wants to avoid passing a dangerous global warming threshold. The report by hundreds of the world’s top scientists is the first to summarize the research on global warming compiled since the Paris climate accord was sealed in 2015 Read More
  • House Speaker Kevin McCarthy of Calif., speaks during a Friends of Ireland Caucus St. Patrick's Day luncheon at the U.S. Capitol, March 17, 2023, in Washington. Top Republicans, including some of former President Donald Trump’s potential rivals for the party’s nomination, rushed to his defense on Saturday after Trump said he is bracing for possible arrest. McCarthy said a possible indictment would be “an outrageous abuse of power by a radical DA who lets violent criminals walk as he pursues political vengeance

    Some Top Republicans Rally to Trump as Possible Charges Loom

    Top Republicans, including some of Donald Trump’s potential rivals for the GOP's 2024 presidential nomination, are rushing to his defense after Trump said he's bracing for possible arrest.in a case that the Manhattan district attorney is investigating over hush money payments made to women who alleged Trump had sexual encounters with them Read More
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NORTHWEST NEWS

Oregon Bill on Abortion, Gender-Affirming Care Sparks Debate

An Oregon bill that would expand access to reproductive health and gender-affirming care drew emotional testimony, mirroring the culture war debates over abortion, gender identity and parents' rights that are playing out in state legislatures across the U.S.

The Big Problem for Endangered Orcas? Inbreeding

People have taken many steps in recent decades to help the Pacific Northwest's endangered killer whales, which have long suffered from starvation, pollution and the legacy of having many of their number captured for display in marine parks.

Amazon Cuts 9,000 More Jobs, Bringing 2023 Total to 27,000

The job cuts would mark the second largest round of layoffs in the company's history

Starbucks New CEO Laxman Narasimhan Takes His Seat

Narasimhan succeeds longtime Starbucks leader Howard Schultz, who came out of retirement last spring to serve as interim CEO while the company searched for a new chief executive.

NEWS BRIEFS

Tiffani Penson Announces Campaign for PCC Board, Zone 2

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Black Bag Speaker Series: Oregon Black Pioneers Historic Photograph Collection

OBP will present the history and context of a photo album, found in a house located in historically Black North Portland, that was...

The Making of American Whiteness Book Presentation and Signing to be Held at OHS

The Making of American Whiteness book will be presented by Dr. Carmen P. Thompson, in conversation with Dr. Darrell Millner on...

Support for Survivors of Child Sex Trafficking Unanimously Passes Oregon Senate

SB 745 will require juvenile departments to screen for survivors of sex trafficking, connect identified survivors with critical...

Reusable Food Container Bill Passes Oregon Senate

SB 545 will allow restaurants to fill consumer-owned containers with food ...

Oregon lawmakers approve 0M for housing, homelessness

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Oregon lawmakers passed a sweeping 0 million housing and homelessness package on Tuesday, displaying a bipartisan will to tackle two of the state's most pressing crises. The vast majority of the funding — about 7 million — is aimed at boosting...

Names released of deputy shot in Seattle, resident who died

SEATTLE (AP) — Law enforcement officials have released the name of a King County Sheriff’s deputy who was shot in Seattle Monday while serving an eviction notice as well as the person found dead inside the Ballard neighborhood residence. Detective David Easterly was shot and...

The maddest March ever? Underdogs head to the Sweet 16

We know you're upset. Underdogs have blown up every bracket in the country. An upside of the upsets: perhaps the maddest March ever. Defending national champion Kansas and fellow No. 1 seed Purdue are gone — the Boilermakers with a slice of unwanted history. The Sweet...

March Madness betting guide: Upsets shuffle favorites' odds

LAS VEGAS (AP) — March Madness isn't just about filling out — and later trashing — brackets. There are more ways to bet the field in the NCAA Tournament, an event that will consume basketball fans over the next three weeks. Here's a look at the favorites, underdogs and long shots. ...

OPINION

Celebrating 196 Years of The Black Press

It was on March 17, 1827, at a meeting of “Freed Negroes” in New York City, that Samuel Cornish, a Presbyterian minister, and John Russwurn, the first Negro college graduate in the United States, established the negro newspaper. ...

DEQ Announces Suspension of Oregon’s Clean Vehicle Rebate Program

The state’s popular incentive for drivers to switch to electric vehicles is scheduled to pause in May ...

FHA Makes Housing More Affordable for 850,000 Borrowers

Savings tied to median market home prices ...

State Takeover Schemes Threaten Public Safety

Blue cities in red states, beware: conservatives in state government may be coming for your police department. ...

AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE NEWS

2nd officer in inmate's fatal beating gets same 20-year term

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — The second of three former correctional officers sentenced in the fatal beating of a state inmate received a 20-year prison term Monday, the same as a co-conspirator despite a judge's declaration he could have stopped the attack as the senior officer. U.S....

Montana senator wants to block mandatory diversity training

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — A Republican lawmaker in Montana wants to prohibit mandatory diversity training for state employees with a bill whose language matches a Florida law that is temporarily blocked by the courts. The proposed “Montana Individual Freedom Act,” would prohibit...

Silicon Valley Bank collapse concerns founders of color

In the hours after some of Silicon Valley Bank’s biggest customers started pulling out their money, a WhatsApp group of startup founders who are immigrants of color ballooned to more than 1,000 members. Questions flowed as the bank’s financial status worsened. Some desperately...

ENTERTAINMENT

Itching to start spring garden cleanup? Not so fast!

When the blare of the year’s first leaf blower awakened me one morning last week, I realized spring cleanup had commenced -- no matter that March could still roar like a lion here in my Long Island, New York, neighborhood. It stands to reason that professional landscapers cannot...

Tom Hanks named Harvard's 2023 commencement speaker

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — Two-time Academy Award winning actor Tom Hanks was named the principal speaker at Harvard's commencement on May 25, the Ivy League university announced Tuesday. Hanks, 66, has appeared in almost 100 films. Nominated for an Oscar six times, he won best actor...

'Succession' star Sarah Snook pregnant with 1st child

NEW YORK (AP) — “Succession” star Sarah Snook had a surprise reveal at the show’s season four premiere — she is pregnant with her first child. Snook proudly showed off her baby bump in New York at Monday's premiere, which was attended by fellow stars Brian Cox, Jeremy...

U.S. & WORLD NEWS

Race record trails 'wild card' prosecutor in Louisiana death

FARMERVILLE, La. (AP) — In this conservative corner of northern Louisiana, where reverence for law enforcement...

'Winnie the Pooh' film pulled from Hong Kong cinemas

HONG KONG (AP) — Public screenings of a slasher film that features Winnie the Pooh were scrapped abruptly in...

Japanese beating Americans in baseball is must-see viewing

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese television stuck to its live coverage from Miami for almost two hours after Japan defeated...

Marcos defends US military presence, which China opposes

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday defended his decision to allow a larger...

Uganda's legislature passes harsh new anti-LGBTQ bill

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French protests drag on after Macron's pension plan push

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Nick Valencia, Catherine E. Shoichet and Holly Yan CNN

SHAWNEE, Oklahoma (CNN) -- A rash of tornadoes destroyed homes and tossed trees around like toothpicks as it ripped through Oklahoma and the Midwest on Sunday and Monday.

And the destructive weather isn't over. Baseball-sized hail, wind gusts and tornadoes could pummel parts of the central Plains and Midwest through Monday.

"Today could be potentially as dangerous as yesterday," CNN meteorologist Indra Petersons said Monday morning, pointing to a wide swath of the country spanning from Texas to Michigan. "We're talking about 500,000 square miles under the gun for severe weather."

Early Monday morning, a tornado touched down in Golden City, Missouri, and tore through two counties, Barton County Emergency Management Director Tom Ryan said. The number of injuries and extent of damage were not immediately clear.


Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin declared a state of emergency after tornadoes tore through 16 counties in her state Sunday. Twenty-three people were injured, she told CNN.

One man was killed in Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, where a twister reduced trailer park homes to piles of debris.

In the hardest-hit areas, the damage was devastating, said John Welsh, a helicopter pilot for CNN affiliate KFOR.

"Everything was just gone," he said. "Like you took the house, you put it in a gigantic blender, you turned it on pulse for a couple minutes and then you just dumped it out."

The storm left highways littered with debris, smashed cars and flipped over semi trucks. An 18-wheeler blew off an overpass on Interstate 40 and was practically flattened.

An estimated 300 homes were damaged or destroyed across the state, Red Cross spokesman Ken Garcia said.

Dozens of deputies sifted through the rubble at Steelman Estates trailer park overnight, Pottawatomie County Sheriff Mike Booth said. Two people reported missing there were found late Sunday night.

As many as 28 tornadoes were reported in Oklahoma, Kansas, Illinois and Iowa, according to the National Weather Service, with Oklahoma and Kansas the hardest hit. Some of those reports might have been of the same tornado.

A tornado that touched down near Wellston, Oklahoma, appeared to be a half-mile wide, according to KFOR.

"It's tearing up everything," the affiliate's helicopter pilot said. "Just ripping everything up in its sight."

Fallin said she planned to survey damage throughout the state Monday.

"We're still in the rescue and recovery stage, trying to get through the various communities," she said. "We had so many different tornadoes throughout the state, it was difficult to keep up with all that was going on because it was all happening within an hour to three-hour time span."

Eleven patients were being treated at St. Anthony Shawnee Hospital in Shawnee, Oklahoma, including one in critical condition, spokeswoman Carla Tollett said.

Ethan Mignard told CNN's iReport he caught a terrifying glimpse of a tornado as he rushed to take shelter at a school near the apartment where he lives.

"It was six miles away but it looked like it was right on top of you," Mignard said. "It was huge. It looked like it wasn't going to be good for somebody. When we saw it we stepped on the gas of the car and got to the basement of the school as fast as we could."

After the storm passed, he went to nearby Dale, Oklahoma, to survey damage there. The stark landscape looked like something he'd seen before only on TV, said Mignard, who works for a local newspaper.

Large, rectangular patches of dirt were all that remained where mobile homes once stood. Cinderblocks were scattered across the ground like children's toys. Twisted metal and pieces of insulation filled the trees. At the site of one home, all that remained were the front steps.

"It looks so out of place. ... To think that you would have taken these stairs to enter a home," he said, "but instead, you look around from up there and you see total destruction everywhere."

More tornadoes were spotted in Iowa, near Earlham, Huxley and east of Dallas Center, according to the National Weather Service.

The agency also confirmed a twister in the northwestern Illinois county of Carroll.

A combination of factors -- including strong winds and warm, moist air banging against dry air -- means severe weather could continue sweeping across a wide swath of the country for days, Petersons said.

"Keep in mind we have all the ingredients out there that we need," she said.

Several of the states pummeled by weekend tornadoes could see more trouble Monday. Here's a quick look at CNN meteorologist Melissa Le Fevre's forecast:

Oklahoma

The Sooner State could see more strong storms late Monday afternoon, and flooding could become a problem Monday night.

Kansas

Showers and thunderstorms threaten the state through Monday. Heavy rainfall in some parts may lead to flood watches and warnings.

Iowa

Showers and storms are expected to develop Monday afternoon, with large hail possible. Though the threat of tornadoes looks low, they can't be ruled out.

Missouri

Heavy rainfall could flood parts of Missouri. Afternoon storms could produce large hail, damaging wind gusts and possible tornadoes in areas such as St. Louis.

CNN's Nick Valencia reported from Shawnee, Oklahoma. CNN's Catherine E. Shoichet and Holly Yan reported from Atlanta. CNN's Jareen Imam, Dana Ford, AnneClaire Stapleton, Sean Morris, Jackie Castillo, Alexandra Steele and Chris Friedman contributed to this report.

™ & © 2013 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.

 

MLK Breakfast 2023

Photos from The Skanner Foundation's 37th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Breakfast.