03-23-2023  11:32 pm   •   PDX and SEA Weather
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NORTHWEST NEWS

Idaho Hospital to Stop Baby Deliveries, Partly Over Politics

A rural hospital in northern Idaho will stop delivering babies or providing other obstetrical care, citing a shifting legal climate in which recently enacted state laws could subject physicians to prosecution for providing abortions, among other reasons

Water Contamination in Oregon Could Prompt EPA to Step In

It's been three decades since state agencies first noted high levels of nitrate contamination in the groundwater in Morrow and Umatilla counties and residents have long complained that the pollution is negatively impacting their health.

North Portland Library to Undergo Renovations and Expansion

As one of the library building projects funded by the 2020 Multnomah County voter-approved bond, North Portland Library will close to the public on April 5, 2023, to begin construction processes for its renovation and expansion.

Report: 119K People Hurt by Riot-Control Weapons Since 2015

The report on casualties from a largely unregulated industry cites an alarming evolution of crowd-control devices into more powerful and indiscriminate designs and deployment, including dropping tear gas from drones.

NEWS BRIEFS

Motorcycle Lane Filtering Law Passes Oregon Senate

SB 422 will allow motorcyclists to avoid dangers of stop-and-go traffic under certain conditions ...

MET Rental Assistance Now Available

The Muslim Educational Trust is extending its Rental Assistance Program to families in need living in Multnomah or Washington...

Two for One Tickets for Seven Guitars on Thursday, March 23

Taylore Mahogany Scott's performance in Seven Guitars brings to life Vera Dotson, a woman whose story arose in August Wilson's...

PassinArt: A Theatre Company and PNMC Festival Call for Actors and Directors

Actors and directors of all skill levels are sought for the Pacific NW Multicultural Readers Series and Film Festival ...

Hearing on New Burnside Bridge Construction

The Earthquake Ready Burnside Bridge Project team will present HB 3323 and 3301 this Thursday, March 23 from 5-6:30 p.m. ...

Officials: Safety device, human error derailed Wash. train

ANACORTES, Wash. (AP) — A safety device meant to keep trains from tipping into Puget Sound knocked a train off the tracks last week, spilling 3,100 gallons (11,734 liters) of diesel fuel in Washington state, according to the Federal Railroad Administration. The seven-car BNSF...

Idaho abortion law one reason hospital won't deliver babies

A rural hospital in northern Idaho will stop delivering babies or providing other obstetrical care, citing a shifting legal climate in which recently enacted state laws could subject physicians to prosecution for providing abortions, among other reasons. Bonner General Health in...

March Madness: Alabama and surprising bunch remain in South

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Alabama was expected to be in the Sweet 16 as the overall top seed in the NCAA Tournament. Few thought the teams standing between the Crimson Tide and a trip to the Final Four would be No. 5 seed San Diego State, sixth-seeded Creighton and 15th-seeded...

March Madness: Sweet 16 begins from NYC to Las Vegas

March Madness has reached Sweet 16 weekend. Two No. 1 seeds, Kansas and Purdue, are already gone along with millions of busted brackets and a host of bluebloods including Kentucky, Duke and Indiana —though UCLA's drive for a 12th national title remains alive. Here is what to know: ...

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

GOP sets vote on 'parents rights' in clash over schools

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans will press forward Friday with a midterm campaign promise by voting on legislation to give parents greater say in what is taught in public schools, even as critics decry the “parents' rights” bill as a burdensome proposal that would fuel a far-right...

1st Black editor named to lead Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Thursday named Leroy Chapman Jr. as its new editor-in-chief, making him the first Black editor to lead the newspaper in its 155-year history. Chapman, 52, has worked in journalism for nearly three decades and has spent the past 12 years at the...

Lawsuit: Slurs, coercion at BBQ chain with racist history

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A South Carolina barbecue chain known for its pro-segregation stance in a landmark 1960s case and its embrace of the Confederate flag in 2000 is facing allegations of racism and sexual harassment by the fired general manager of one of its restaurants. According...

ENTERTAINMENT

Musicians fight threat of Tennessee anti-LGBTQ, drag bills

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — When Tennessee lawmakers passed legislation this month targeting drag performances and transgender youth, many musicians living and working in the state felt their community, their audiences and their artistic expressions were also under fire. The trend of...

Review: A compassionate immigrant drama in 'Tori and Lokita'

It's one of the great ironies of cinema that many — not all, but many — of the most seemingly arthouse filmmakers make some of the most approachable films. Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne are imposing names in cinema. The Belgian brothers have twice won the Palme d'Or. But you would...

Lindsay Lohan, other celebs settle with SEC over crypto case

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Actress Lindsay Lohan, rapper Akon and several other celebrities have agreed to pay tens of thousands of dollars to settle claims they promoted crypto investments to their millions of social media followers without disclosing they were being paid to do so. Lohan,...

U.S. & WORLD NEWS

Barefoot tours of Westminster Abbey offered after coronation

LONDON (AP) — Visitors to London's Westminster Abbey will be allowed to stand for the first time on the exact...

Track bans transgender athletes, tightens rules for Semenya

Track and field banned transgender athletes from international competition Thursday, while adopting new...

GOP sets vote on 'parents rights' in clash over schools

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans will press forward Friday with a midterm campaign promise by voting on...

No red carpet? French unrest impacts King Charles III's trip

PARIS (AP) — Unrest in France is tarnishing the sheen of King Charles III's first overseas trip as U.K. monarch,...

Scotland's Sturgeon exits with pride, brickbats from critics

LONDON (AP) — Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon addressed lawmakers for the last time as Scottish leader...

Germany urges North Macedonia to amend charter for EU bid

SKOPJE, North Macedonia (AP) — German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock urged North Macedonia’s leaders...

The Associated Press and The Skanner News

TRIPOLI, Libya (AP)-- A distraught Libyan woman stormed into a Tripoli hotel Saturday to tell foreign reporters that government troops raped her, setting off a brawl when hotel staff and government minders tried to detain her. The Skanner News Video: raw footage from the BBC
Iman al-Obeidi was tackled by waitresses and government minders as she sat telling her story to journalists after she rushed into the restaurant at the Rixos hotel where a number of foreign journalists were eating breakfast.
She claimed loudly that troops had detained her a checkpoint, tied her up, abused her, then led her away to be gang raped.
Her story could not be independently verified, but the dramatic scene provided a rare firsthand glimpse of the brutal crackdown on public dissent by Moammar Gadhafi's regime as the Libyan leader fights a rebellion against his rule that began last month.
The regime has been keeping up a drumbeat of propaganda in the Tripoli-centered west of the country under its control even as it faces a weeklong international air campaign against the Libyan military.
Government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim originally said that investigators told him al-Obeidi was drunk and seemed to be suffering mentally, but he retreated from that position later Saturday. He said she was in safe custody and her claims were being investigated but as a criminal, not a political case.
Before she was dragged out of the hotel, al-Obeidi managed to tell journalists that she was detained by a number of troops at a Tripoli checkpoint on Wednesday. She said they were drinking whiskey and handcuffed her. She said 15 men later raped her.
"They tied me up ... they even defecated and urinated on me," she said, her face streaming with tears. "The Gadhafi militiamen violated my honor."
The woman, who appeared in her 30's, wore a black robe and a floral scarf around her neck and identified herself. She had scratches on her face and she pulled up her black robe to reveal a bloodied thigh. She said neighbors in the area where she was detained helped her escape.
The Associated Press only identifies rape victims who volunteer their names.
As al-Obeidi spoke, a hotel waitress brandished a butter knife, a government minder reached for his handgun and another waitress pulled a jacket tightly over her head.
Al-Obeidi said she was targeted by the troops because she's from the eastern city of Benghazi, a rebel stronghold.
The waiters called her a traitor and told her to shut up. She retorted: "Easterners – we're all Libyan brothers, we are supposed to be treated the same, but this is what the Gadhafi militiamen did to me, they violated my honor."
It soon turned into a scene of chaos with journalists attempting to protect the woman from government minders who physically attacked and intimidated her.
Journalists who tried to intervene were pushed out of the way by the minders. A British television reporter was punched, and CNN's camera was smashed on the ground and ripped to pieces by the government minders.
Eventually the minders overpowered the woman and led her outside, shoving her into a car that sped away. Al-Obeidi kept crying that she was certain she would be thrown in jail. She begged photographers to take her picture, raising her robe to show them her bruised body. A minder tried to cover her mouth with his hand to keep her from talking.
"Look at what happens – Gadhafi's militiamen kidnap women at gunpoint, and rape them ... they rape them," al-Obeidi screamed.
She said she wanted to be taken to see the leader himself.
"I want to see Moammar Gadhafi. Didn't he say that every victim will have justice? I want my rights," she said.
The government spokesman said al-Obeidi was "safe and well" with the criminal investigation bureau.
"As far as we know she is a sane person, she is in good health, she has serious claims about four or five individuals," he said. "Those claims are being investigated. We believe this is not political case, this is a criminal case, a lawyer has been offered to her."
Gadhafi's crackdown has been the region's most violent against the wave of anti-government protests sweeping the Middle East. Tensions have been rising between foreign reporters in the Libyan capital and the government minders who have sought to tightly control what they see and whom they talk to. Most of the international press corps is being housed at the Rixos hotel.

MLK Breakfast 2023

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