City Council Strikes Down Gonzalez’s ‘Inhumane’ Suggestion for Blanket Ban on Public Camping
Mayor Wheeler’s proposal for non-emergency ordinance will go to second reading.
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.
Hundreds Gather at White House to Demand President Biden Let Youth Climate Case be Heard
‘We will not be silenced’ by the DOJ,' youth say ...
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 ...
Net neutrality restored as FCC votes to regulate internet providers
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The Federal Trade Commission on Thursday voted to restore “net neutrality” rules that prevent broadband internet providers such as Comcast and Verizon from favoring some sites and apps over others. The move effectively reinstates a net neutrality order the...
Biden celebrates computer chip factories, pitching voters on American 'comeback'
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — President Joe Biden on Thursday sought to sell voters on an American “comeback story” as he highlighted longterm investments in the economy in upstate New York to celebrate Micron Technology's plans to build a campus of computer chip factories made possible in part with...
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...
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. ...
Dozens of deaths reveal risks of injecting sedatives into people restrained by police
Demetrio Jackson was desperate for medical help when the paramedics arrived. The 43-year-old was surrounded by police who arrested him after responding to a trespassing call in a Wisconsin parking lot. Officers had shocked him with a Taser and pinned him as he pleaded that he...
Takeaways from AP's investigation into fatal police encounters involving injections of sedatives
The practice of giving sedatives to people detained by police spread quietly across the nation over the last 15 years, built on questionable science and backed by police-aligned experts, an investigation led by The Associated Press has found. At least 94 people died after they were...
South Africa will mark 30 years of freedom amid inequality, poverty and a tense election ahead
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — As 72-year-old Nonki Kunene walks through the corridors of Thabisang Primary School in Soweto, South Africa, she recalls the joy she and many others felt 30 years ago when they voted for the first time. It was at this school on April 27, 1994, that Kunene joined...
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...
Tennessee House Kills Bill That Would Have Banned Local Officials From Studying, Funding Reparations
Charges against Trump's 2020 'fake electors' are expected to deter a repeat this year
An Arizona grand jury's indictment of 18 people who either posed as or helped organize a slate of electors falsely...
Egypt sends delegation to Israel, its latest effort to broker a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas
CAIRO (AP) — Egypt sent a high-level delegation to Israel on Friday with the hope of brokering a cease-fire...
Trading Trump: Truth Social's first month of trading has sent investors on a ride
WASHINGTON (AP) — There have been lawsuits, short-selling and rampant speculation. Now, as Trump Media &...
Philippine police kill an Abu Sayyaf militant implicated in 15 beheadings and other atrocities
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine forces killed an Abu Sayyaf militant, who had been implicated in past...
India begins second phase of national elections with Modi's BJP as front-runner
NEW DELHI (AP) — Millions of Indians began voting Friday in the second round of multi-phase national elections...
A Russian journalist has been detained for posts criticizing the military, his lawyer says
TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — A journalist for the Russian edition of Forbes magazine has been detained on charges of...
PHOTO: Kevin and Costner and Octavia Spencer in Black or White
BIG BUDGET FILMS
Black or White (PG-13 for profanity, fighting and mature themes involving drugs and alcohol) Cross-cultural drama chronicling the bitter custody battle between a black grandmother (Octavia Spencer) and a white grandfather (Kevin Costner) over their motherless, biracial granddaughter (Jillian Estell). With Anthony Mackie, Andre Holland, Gillian Jacobs and Jennifer Ehle.
The Loft (R for profanity, sexuality, nudity, drug use and graphic violence) Remake of the 2008 Belgian thriller of the same name revolving around five married suburbanites (Karl Urban, James Marsden, Wentworth Miller, Eric Stonestreet and Matthias Schoenaerts) who purchase a penthouse in the city for secret rendezvous with mistresses only to become suspicious of each other after a female corpse is found inside their pied-à-terre. Cast includes Rhona Mitra, Rachael Taylor and Isabel Lucas.
Project Almanac (PG-13 for profanity and sexuality) Found-footage sci-fi thriller about a brilliant teen brainiac (Jonny Weston) who gets more than he bargained for after building a time-travel machine with the help of his sister (Virginia Gardner) and his egghead BFFs (Sam Lerner and Allen Evangelista). With Sofia Black-D’Elia, Amy Landecker, Agnes Mayasari and Katie Garfield.
INDEPENDENT & FOREIGN FILMS
Amira & Sam (Unrated) Romantic dramedy about a returning war vet (Martin Starr) who takes a shot at stand-up comedy back in the States while dating the niece (Dina Shihabi) of his former Iraqi translator (Laith Nakli). With Paul Wesley, David Rasche, Ross Marquand and Taylor Wilcox.
Backstreet Boys: Show ‘Em What You’re Made Of (Unrated) Rockumentary chronicling both the career of the iconic boy band as well as its 20th anniversary reunion to record a new album. Featuring Brian Littrell, Nick Carter, A.J. McLean, Kevin Scott Richardson and Howie Dorough.
Girlhood (Unrated) Coming-of-age drama about a troubled 16 year-old (Karidja Toure) who joins an all-girl gang after becoming fed up with being abused both at home and around the ‘hood. With Assa Sylla, Lindsay Karamoh, Marietou Toure and Idrissa Diabate. (In French with subtitles)
Hard to Be a God (Unrated) Outer space adventure about a team of scientists sent from Earth to a distant planet to help put its primitive inhabitants on a path of progress. Co-starring Leonid Yarmolnik, Laura Lauri, Dmitriy Vladmirov and Aleksandr Ilin. (In Russian with subtitles)
My Name Is Hmmm… (Unrated) Unlikely-buddies road drama about an 11 year-old French girl (Lou-Lelia Demerliac) who stows away in the cab of a Scottish truck driver (Douglas Gordon) after being sexually-abused by her own father (Jacques Bonnaffe). With Sylvie Testud, Emile Gautier, Noemie Ducourau and Marie-Christine Barrault. (In French and English with subtitles)
Suburban Gothic (R for sexuality, profanity, violence and drug use) Horror comedy about a down-on-his-luck MBA (Matthew Gray Gubler) who moves back in with his parents (Barbara Niven and Ray Wise) when he can’t find a job. Plot thickens when he enlists the assistance of a ballsy bartender (Kat Dennings) to engage the ghost terrorizing their hometown. Cast includes Muse Watson, Sally Kirkland and John Waters.
Supremacy (Unrated) Abduction drama about a white supremacist (Joe Anderson) who kills a police officer and takes a black family hostage with the help of his girlfriend (Dawn Olivieri) on the day of his parole from prison. With Julie Benz, Mahershala Ali and Jenica Bergere.
Timbuktu (PG-13 for violence and mature themes) Oscar-nominated drama (in the Best Foreign Film category) about the occupation of Timbuktu in 2012 by Islamic jihadists known as the Ansar Dine. Starring Ibrahim Ahmed, Abel Jafri and Toulou Kiki. (In French, Arabic, Bambara, English and Songhay)
Wild Card (R for profanity, sexuality, nudity and graphic violence) Jason Statham stars in this action thriller about a bodyguard bent on revenge after his friend (Dominik Garcia-Lorido) is sadistically beaten by the son of a powerful mob boss. Ensemble includes Sofia Vergara, Milo Ventimiglia, Jason Alexander, Hope Davis, Stanley Tucci, Anne Heche and Max Casella.