04-24-2024  2:05 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 ...

Biden administration announces plans for up to 12 lease sales for offshore wind energy

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A new five-year schedule to lease federal offshore tracts for wind energy production was announced Wednesday by Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, with up to a dozen lease sales anticipated beginning this year and continuing through 2028. Haaland...

A conservative quest to limit diversity programs gains momentum in states

A conservative quest to limit diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives is gaining momentum in state capitals and college governing boards, with officials in about one-third of the states now taking some sort of action against it. Tennessee became the latest when the Republican...

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

Mississippi city settles lawsuit filed by family of man who died after police pulled him from car

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi's capital city has settled a wrongful death lawsuit filed by survivors of a man who died after police officers pulled him from a car while searching for a murder suspect. The Jackson City Council on Tuesday approved payment of ,786 to settle the...

Students protesting on campuses across US ask colleges to cut investments supporting Israel

Students at a growing number of U.S. colleges are gathering in protest encampments with a unified demand of their schools: Stop doing business with Israel — or any companies that support its ongoing war in Gaza. The demand has its roots in the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions...

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...

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

Biden says the US is rushing weaponry to Ukraine as he signs a billion war aid measure into law

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden said Wednesday that he was immediately rushing badly needed weaponry to...

A conservative quest to limit diversity programs gains momentum in states

A conservative quest to limit diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives is gaining momentum in state capitals...

New Jersey is motivating telecommuters to appeal their New York tax bills. Connecticut may be next

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Telecommuting, a pandemic-era novelty that has become a permanent alternative for many...

100-year-old British D-Day veteran dies before he can honor fallen comrades one more time

LONDON (AP) — British army veteran Bill Gladden, who survived a glider landing on D-Day and a bullet that tore...

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...

Kam Williams Special to The Skanner News

BIG BUDGET FILMS   

About Time (R for profanity and sexuality) Romantic comedy about a 21 year-old bachelor (Domhnall Gleeson) with the ability to time travel who puts his special power to use to land the girl of his dreams (Rachel McAdams). Cast includes Bill Nighy, Lydia Wilson and Lindsay Duncan.

Ender's Game (PG-13 for violence and mature themes) Adaptation of Orson Scott Ford's sci-fi novel of the same name about a shy but brilliant boy (Asa Butterfield) who is enlisted to by the military to lead the defense of the planet during an impending alien invasion. With Harrison Ford, Ben Kingsley, Hailee Steinfeld, Abigail Breslin and Viola Davis.  



Free Birds (PG for action, rude humor and scenes of peril) Animated family comedy about a couple of squabbling turkeys (Owen Wilson and Woody Harrelson) who put aside their differences to travel back in time in order to get turkey taken off the Thanksgiving menu. Voice cast includes Amy Poehler, Keith David and George Takei.

Last Vegas (PG-13 for profanity and sexuality) Buddy comedy about four BFFs who venture to Vegas to throw a bachelor party for the last single guy (Michael Douglas) in their aging rat pack. Co-starring Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Kline, 50 Cent, Mary Steenburgen and Michael Ealy.   

INDEPENDENT & FOREIGN FILMS  

Behind the Blue Veil (Unrated) War on Terror documentary chronicling the efforts of the son of a Tuareg chief to save his tribe from extinction following the collapse of the government of Mali in the wake of an attack by al-Qaida.     

Big Sur (R for nudity, sexuality and profanity) Beat Generation biopic about Jack Kerouac's (Jean Marc-Barr) descent into drugs and self-doubt at a retreat in Northern California following the success of his best-selling novel, "On the Road." With Kate Bosworth, Radha Mitchell and Anthony Edwards.

The Broken Circle Breakdown (Unrated) Romance drama about an atheist (Johan Heldenbergh) and a believer (Veerle Baetens) who fall in love at first sight despite their differences, only to have their marriage later tested when their 6 year-old daughter (Nell Cattrysse) develops an incurable disease. Supporting cast includes Nils De Caster, Geert Van Rampelberg and Robbie Cleiren. (In Flemish and English with subtitles)

Dallas Buyers Club (R for nudity, drug use, graphic sexuality and pervasive profanity) AIDS saga recounting Texas electrician Ron Woodroof's (Matthew McConaughey) real-life struggle to survive with the help of experimental medications after being diagnosed with HIV and given just 30 day to live. With Jared Leto, Jennifer Garner, Griffin Dunne and Steve Zahn.

Diana (PG-13 for sensuality, smoking and brief profanity) Naomi Watts plays the title role in this biopic about the Princess of Wales' clandestine love affair towards the end of her life with a Pakistani heart surgeon (Naveen Andrews). Featuring Douglas Hodge, Geraldine James and Charles Edwards.

Doonby (PG-13 for violence, sexuality and mature themes) Serendipitous fantasy about a mysterious drifter (John Schneider) who gets off a Greyhound bus in a tiny Texas town where he proceeds to touch the lives of everyone he meets. With Ernie Hudson, Joe Estevez and Jennifer O'Neill.

Forced March (Unrated) Re-release of 1989 drama, set in Hungary, about an actor (Chris Sarandon) shooting a film in Budapest who finds himself forced to face the horrors of the Holocaust while playing a poet who perished in a death camp. With Josef Sommer, John Seitz and Renee Soutendijk.   

Mr. Morgan's Last Love (Unrated) Adaptation of Francoise Dornier's romance novel, set in Paris, about a suicidal American widower (Michael Caine) who gets a new lease on life when he falls head-over-heels for a young French woman (Clemence Poesy). Featuring Gillian Anderson, Justin Kirk and Jane Alexander.

(In English and French with subtitles)

Mr. Nobody (R for nudity, sexuality, violent images and brief profanity) 

Flashback fantasy, set in 2092, revolving around the reflections of an 118 year-old man (Jared Leto) who had been forced at 9 to pick which of his divorcing parents (Rhys Ifans and Natasha Little) would get custody of him. Support cast includes Toby Regbo, Juno Temple, Sarah Polley and Diane Kruger.

The Pervert's Guide to Ideology (Unrated) Sequel to The Pervert's Guide to Cinema finds filmmaker Sophie Fiennes and philosopher Slavoj Zizek now exploring how movies tend to reinforce the status quo.

Running from Crazy (Unrated) Mariel Hemingway is the focus of this documentary about her struggle to understand her family history marked by mental illness and 7 suicides. Featuring archival footage of her late sister Margaux and other relatives.

Sal (Unrated) James Franco wrote, directed and plays the title character in this biopic revisiting the final hours in the life of teen idol-turned-openly gay actor Sal Mineo (1939-1976). With Val Lauren, Jim Parrack and Stacey Miller.

Skinwalker Ranch (R for profanity and violence) Fact-based horror flick revisiting the events surrounding the mysterious disappearance of a cattle rancher's (Jon Gries) 10 year-old son (Nash Lucas). With Taylor Bateman, Steve Berg and Michael Black.

Sweet Dreams (Unrated) Rwandan reconciliation documentary about a remarkable, all-female drumming troupe comprised of both Tutsi and Hutu survivors of the country's 1994 genocide. (In Kinyarwanda with subtitles)

The Skanner Foundation's 38th Annual MLK Breakfast