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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

Biden just signed a bill that could ban TikTok. His campaign plans to stay on the app anyway

WASHINGTON (AP) — When President Joe Biden showed off his putting during a campaign stop at a public golf course in Michigan last month, the moment was captured on TikTok. Forced inside by a rainstorm, he competed with 13-year-old Hurley “HJ” Coleman IV to make putts on a...

2021 death of young Black man at rural Missouri home was self-inflicted, FBI tells AP

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A federal investigation has concluded that a young Black man died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound inside a rural Missouri home, not at the hands of the white homeowner who had a history of racist social media postings, an FBI official told The Associated Press Wednesday. ...

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,...

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

Climate change is bringing malaria to new areas. In Africa, it never left

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — When a small number of cases of locally transmitted malaria were found in the United...

A high-profile murder trial in Kazakhstan boosts awareness of domestic violence

The CCTV footage shown at the domestic abuse trial was disturbing: The defendant is seen dragging his wife by her...

The Latest | Israeli strikes in Rafah kill at least 5 as ship comes under attack in the Gulf of Aden

Palestinian hospital officials said Israeli airstrikes on the southern city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip killed at...

Australia and New Zealand honor their war dead with dawn services on Anzac Day

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Hundreds of thousands of people gathered across Australia and New Zealand for dawn...

Blinken raises Chinese trade practices in meetings with officials in the financial hub of Shanghai

SHANGHAI (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken raised what the U.S. describes as unfair Chinese trade...

French president will outline his vision for Europe as an assertive global power amid war in Ukraine

PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to outline his vision for Europe to become a more...

Eddie Pells AP National Writer

NEW YORK (AP) -- Feeling wronged again at the U.S. Open, Serena Williams couldn't let it go.

 "That's totally not cool," she shouted at the umpire. Then, a few minutes later, she told her, "You're a hater, and you're just unattractive inside."

Problem was, the real trouble for Williams was standing on the other side of the court.

Sam Stosur pushed the 13-time Grand Slam champion all over Arthur Ashe Stadium on Sunday and took what she wanted, along with what the umpire gave her, winning the U.S. Open in a result that was as surprising for who won as how lopsided it was.

The ninth-seeded Australian won her first Grand Slam title with a 6-2, 6-3 dismantling of No. 28 Williams, the three-time U.S. Open champion who hadn't lost a set en route to the final.

She lost two quick ones to Stosur. And, for the second time in three years, Williams did not leave Flushing Meadows quietly.

This time, the drama began when Williams, down a set and facing break point in the first game of the second, flushed a forehand deep to Stosur's backhand side and screamed out `C'mon!' - figuring she had hit a shot that Stosur wouldn't reach. But Stosur stretched out and got a racket on the ball and the umpire, Eva Asderaki, called Williams for a hindrance, awarding the point, and thus the game, to Stosur.

What followed was nowhere near as menacing as 2009, when Williams berated and brandished her racket at a referee who called a foot fault in her semifinal against Kim Clijsters.

But memorable nonetheless.

Williams went over to talk to Asderaki, saying, "I'm not giving her that game," then, "I promise you, that's not cool. That's totally not cool."

The fans, sitting on their hands as they watched an unexpected first-set flattening of the American, got riled up and so did Williams, breaking Stosur's serve on the next game, then holding her own serve for a 2-1 lead.

But on the next changeover, Williams took things up again with Asderaki and she made it personal.

"You're out of control," she said. "You're a hater, and you're just unattractive inside."

Then, a few moments later: "You're out of control." And, "Really, don't even look at me."

And as quickly as she had gained the momentum and the support of the crowd, they were gone, leaving Williams to explain and deflect - and wait to hear if there will be further consequences.

Asderaki issued a code violation warning for verbal abuse and the U.S. Tennis Association said officials would decide Monday whether Williams would be fined.

"I don't even remember what I said," Williams said. "It was just so intense out there. It's the final for me, and I was just ... I guess I'll see it on YouTube."

What she'll also see, if she watches long enough, is a rare example of a player who doesn't feel beaten before she even walks onto the court against Williams.

That's Stosur, a one-time doubles specialist, who has revamped her game over the past several years and moved her way into the top 10 in singles.

She became the first Australian woman to win a major championship since Evonne Goolagong Cawley at Wimbledon in 1980. Stosur received a text from the former player that read: "Twinkletoes, you finally have got what you deserved."

It's been building for a while, now. Stosur was the French Open runner-up last year, though maybe the most notable stat on her ledger coming into the final was her 2-4 record against Williams - not bad, all things considered.

"I knew I had to go out there and play well and actually do it," Stosur said. "But I think having those victories in the past, for sure, made me feel a little bit more comfortable."

Almost from the get-go on a cloudy day in Ashe Stadium, where Queen Latifah led an emotional rendition of the national anthem to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, Stosur looked like the more comfortable player.

Williams sprayed groundstrokes long and wide, raising her hands in frustration, and also had trouble harnessing her powerful first serve, getting only 29 of 56 of them in.

Stosur, meanwhile, moved Williams from side to side and forced her into mistakes. The Aussie had 20 winners and 12 unforced errors - a virtually unbeatable combination - while Williams hit 19 winners against 25 unforced errors.

While Williams was dealing with the emotion of the call and the rift with the umpire, she was also wondering if Stosur, who joins Li Na and Petra Kvitova as first-time Grand Slam winners this year, would come down to earth.

"I thought, OK, at some point you could level out, because I know sometimes it happens," Williams said. "But I've played a couple Grand Slam finals where I never leveled out, so I definitely thought about it."

As was the case with Clijsters two years ago, Stosur was a confused bystander when Williams got into it with the referee.

But as was the case with Clijsters, Stosur didn't need any help. Even Williams agreed with that.

"I hit a winner but I guess it didn't count," she said when asked about the call in her on-court interview. "It wouldn't have mattered in the end. Sam played really well."

Williams, who made this run after missing the better part of a year with injuries stemming from the night last summer when she stepped on broken glass in a restaurant, has had her shining moments at the U.S. Open. She won in 1999, 2002 and 2008.

But she has an equal penchant for memorable losses.

In 2004, a poor call during her quarterfinal loss to Jennifer Capriati was cited as a main reason for the introduction of replay technology in tennis. Then the Clijsters match. Now this.

"It's just always something," said Williams' mother, Oracene Price. "And it seems to happen to us."

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The Skanner Foundation's 38th Annual MLK Breakfast