04-24-2024  6:03 pm   •   PDX and SEA Weather
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NORTHWEST NEWS

A Conservative Quest to Limit Diversity Programs Gains Momentum in States

In support of DEI, Oregon and Washington have forged ahead with legislation to expand their emphasis on diversity, equity and inclusion in government and education.

Epiphanny Prince Hired by Liberty in Front Office Job Day After Retiring

A day after announcing her retirement, Epiphanny Prince has a new job working with the New York Liberty as director of player and community engagement. Prince will serve on the basketball operations and business staffs, bringing her 14 years of WNBA experience to the franchise. 

The Drug War Devastated Black and Other Minority Communities. Is Marijuana Legalization Helping?

A major argument for legalizing the adult use of cannabis after 75 years of prohibition was to stop the harm caused by disproportionate enforcement of drug laws in Black, Latino and other minority communities. But efforts to help those most affected participate in the newly legal sector have been halting. 

Lessons for Cities from Seattle’s Racial and Social Justice Law 

 Seattle is marking the first anniversary of its landmark Race and Social Justice Initiative ordinance. Signed into law in April 2023, the ordinance highlights race and racism because of the pervasive inequities experienced by people of color

NEWS BRIEFS

Mt. Tabor Park Selected for National Initiative

Mt. Tabor Park is the only Oregon park and one of just 24 nationally to receive honor. ...

OHCS, BuildUp Oregon Launch Program to Expand Early Childhood Education Access Statewide

Funds include million for developing early care and education facilities co-located with affordable housing. ...

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 ...

Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge US to prosecute the company

Boeing said Wednesday that it lost 5 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers. ...

Authorities confirm 2nd victim of ex-Washington officer was 17-year-old with whom he had a baby

WEST RICHLAND, Wash. (AP) — Authorities on Wednesday confirmed that a body found at the home of a former Washington state police officer who killed his ex-wife before fleeing to Oregon, where he died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, was that of a 17-year-old girl with whom he had a baby. ...

Missouri hires Memphis athletic director Laird Veatch for the same role with the Tigers

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri hired longtime college administrator Laird Veatch to be its athletic director on Tuesday, bringing him back to campus 14 years after he departed for a series of other positions that culminated with five years spent as the AD at Memphis. Veatch...

KC Current owners announce plans for stadium district along the Kansas City riverfront

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The ownership group of the Kansas City Current announced plans Monday for the development of the Missouri River waterfront, where the club recently opened a purpose-built stadium for the National Women's Soccer League team. CPKC Stadium will serve as the hub...

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

Sister of Mississippi man who died after police pulled him from car rejects lawsuit settlement

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A woman who sued Mississippi's capital city over the death of her brother has decided to reject a settlement after officials publicly disclosed how much the city would pay his survivors, her attorney said Wednesday. George Robinson, 62, died in January 2019,...

Movie Review: A lyrical portrait of childhood in Cabrini-Green with ‘We Grown Now’

Two 11-year-old boys navigate school, friendship, family and change in Minhal Baig’s lyrical drama “We Grown Now.” It’s an evocative memory piece, wistful and honest, and a different kind of portrait of a very infamous place: Chicago’s Cabrini-Green public housing development. ...

Tennessee House kills bill that would have banned local officials from studying, funding reparations

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee’s Republican-dominant House on Wednesday spiked legislation that would have banned local governments from paying to either study or dispense money for reparations for slavery. The move marked a rare defeat on a GOP-backed proposal initially...

ENTERTAINMENT

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...

Book Review: 'Nothing But the Bones' is a compelling noir novel at a breakneck pace

Nelson “Nails” McKenna isn’t very bright, stumbles over his words and often says what he’s thinking without realizing it. We first meet him as a boy reading a superhero comic on the banks of a river in his backcountry hometown in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Georgia....

Cardi B, Queen Latifah and The Roots to headline the BET Experience concerts in Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Cardi B, Queen Latifah and The Roots will headline concerts to celebrate the return of the BET Experience in Los Angeles just days before the 2024 BET Awards. BET announced Monday the star-studded lineup of the concert series, which makes a return after a...

U.S. & WORLD NEWS

Chicago's 'rat hole' removed after city determines sidewalk with animal impression was damaged

CHICAGO (AP) — The “rat hole” is gone. A Chicago sidewalk landmark some residents...

Supreme Court appears skeptical that state abortion bans conflict with federal health care law

WASHINGTON (AP) — Conservative Supreme Court justices appeared skeptical Wednesday that state abortion bans...

USDA updates rules for school meals that limit added sugars for the first time

The nation's school meals will get a makeover under new nutrition standards that limit added sugars for the first...

Teenage girl arrested after a student and 2 teachers were stabbed at a school in Wales

LONDON (AP) — A teenage girl was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder Wednesday after stabbing a student...

Australian police arrest 7 alleged teen extremists linked to stabbing of a bishop in a Sydney church

SYDNEY (AP) — Australian police arrested seven teenagers accused of following a violent extremist ideology in...

European leaders laud tougher migration policies but more people die on treacherous sea crossings

RABAT, Morocco (AP) — Children dead in the English Channel. Morgues full of migrants reaching capacity in...

CNN





A sheriff's deputy mistakenly thought he saw a teen carrying an assault rifle on a California street this week and shot him dead, authorities said.

It turned out the 13-year-old boy was carrying two fake guns, a replica AK-47 and a fake pistol, the Santa Rosa County Sheriff's office said. The Tuesday shooting is being investigated, the sheriff's office said.

A preliminary autopsy report released Thursday said the officer fired eight rounds at the scene, and the teen died of bullets to the chest and right hip.

"There were seven apparent entry wounds discovered in the body," the report said. "There were nonfatal wounds on his right wrist, left bicep, right forearm, right buttocks and right hip."

Four rounds were recovered at the scene, and three rounds were recovered in the body, the report said.

School officials in the northern California city of Santa Rosa identified the teen as Andy Lopez Cruz. Students at his high school were reportedly planning a walkout at 1 p.m. Friday to protest his shooting.

"The Santa Rosa City School District family is deeply saddened by the loss of Andy Lopez Cruz," a school system statement said. "This is a tragic event for family, schools and the community. His administrators and teachers will remember him as kind, intelligent and capable."

Two Sonoma County deputies spotted the boy holding what appeared to be an assault rifle Tuesday afternoon, the Santa Rosa County Sheriff's office said. They pulled over "but maintained cover behind their open passenger door," the press release said.

They yelled at the teen to put the weapon down. He had his back to them and began turning around toward the officers, the statement said.

"One of the deputies described that as the subject was turning toward him the barrel of the assault rifle was rising up and turning in his direction. The deputy feared for his safety, the safety of his partner, and the safety of the community members in the area," the statement said.

A deputy shot the teen. The teen was handcuffed, and the officers called for an ambulance, the statement said. Deputies found the fake rifle on the ground near the boy. The bogus handgun was tucked in his waistband.

Ismael Mondragon said he was in front of the sheriff's cruiser at a stop sign when he saw Cruz with the replica. Mondragon told CNN he warned the teen, "Put that thing away. The police are here," but got no response.

Mondragon said he went through the stop sign and saw the sheriff's car pull over behind him. Within seconds, he said, he heard shots fired and saw the teen fall.

Cruz's classmates were saddened by the news, Lawrence Cook Middle School Assistant Principal Linsey Gannon told CNN affiliate KRON.

"He was a very popular student," Gannon told the affiliate. "He was a handsome young man with many friends and a lovely family. He will be missed."

Late Wednesday, a crowd gathered in the dirt field where the boy was shot, to hold a memorial that turned into a rally against police shootings, CNN affiliate KGO reported. In the crowd was Cruz's mother who said she was too grief-stricken to talk, KGO reported.

Family friend Gabriel Roque said she was outraged.

"He was a 13-year-old boy who was no harm to anybody. This was not a grown man walking down the street with a gun," she told the affiliate. "He was a 13-year-old little boy. You could just tell him to put it down."

CNN's Chuck Johnston and Cheri Mossburg contributed to this report.

The Skanner Foundation's 38th Annual MLK Breakfast