On Steps of US Supreme Court, AG Rosenblum Rallies Abortion Rights Supporters
Speaking at an ACLU-organized rally on the steps of the United States Supreme Court this morning, Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum made an impassioned defense of abortion as essential healthcare, and of medication abortion as a key part of those healthcare rights. The rally coincided with arguments being presented inside the Supreme Court in the AHM (Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine) v. FDA (Food & Drug Administration) case.
Should College Essays Touch on Race? Some Feel the Affirmative Action Ruling Leaves Them No Choice
When the Supreme Court ended affirmative action, it left the college essay as one of few places where race can play a role in admissions decisions. Yet the added weight of the college essay has fallen unevenly on students of color, who often feel pressure to exploit their hardships as they compete for a spot on campus.
Bird Flu, Weather and Inflation Conspire to Keep Egg Prices Near Historic Highs for Easter
The cost of filling a basket or completing a Seder plate reflect a market scrambled by disease, high demand and growing costs for farmers. While global prices are lower than they were at this time last year, they remain elevated.
Strippers' Bill of Rights Bill Signed Into Law in Washington State
Gov. Jay Inslee signed the measure on Monday which creates safer working conditions for people in the adult entertainment industry. The law requires employee training in establishments to prevent sexual harassment, identify and report human trafficking, deescalate conflict and provide first aid.
The Portland Art Museum presents Future Now: Virtual Sneakers to Cutting-Edge Kicks
Exhibition on view March 30 - August 11, 2024. Programs to include sneaker-focused Summer Camps and in-gallery activities ...
Portland Street Response Hosts Town Hall
PCCEP is seeking community input to help shape their recommendation in support of Portland Street Response. ...
Joint Center Responds to the U.S. House Office of Diversity and Inclusion Disbandment
This decision jeopardizes the establishment of policies to support diverse communities and threatens the pursuit of inclusivity for...
Bonamici, Kaine Praise Billion Dollar Increase for Child Care, Early Childhood Learning
Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) and Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) —members of the House Committee on Education and Workforce and the...
Portland Rose Festival 2024 Court Member from Benson Polytechnic High School Announced
The Rose Festival Princess from Benson Polytechnic High School, Laedyn Romero, was selected March 22. ...
Lou Whittaker, among the most famous American mountaineers, has died at age 95
SEATTLE (AP) — Lou Whittaker, a legendary American mountaineer who helped lead ascents of Mount Everest, K2 and Denali, and who taught generations of climbers during his more than 250 trips up Mount Rainier, the tallest peak in Washington state, has died at age 95. RMI Expeditions,...
Should college essays touch on race? Some feel the affirmative action ruling leaves them no choice
CHICAGO (AP) — When she started writing her college essay, Hillary Amofa told the story she thought admissions offices wanted to hear. About being the daughter of immigrants from Ghana and growing up in a small apartment in Chicago. About hardship and struggle. Then she deleted it...
Georgia ends game on 12-0 run to beat Missouri 64-59 in first round of SEC tourney
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Blue Cain had 19 points, Justin Hill scored 17 off the bench and 11th-seeded Georgia finished the game on a 12-0 run to beat No. 14 seed Missouri 64-59 on Wednesday night in the first round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament. Cain hit 6 of 12 shots,...
Georgia faces Missouri in SEC Tournament
Missouri Tigers (8-23, 0-18 SEC) vs. Georgia Bulldogs (16-15, 6-12 SEC) Nashville, Tennessee; Wednesday, 9:30 p.m. EDT FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK LINE: Bulldogs -3; over/under is 147 BOTTOM LINE: Georgia plays in the SEC Tournament against Missouri. ...
COMMENTARY: Is a Cultural Shift on the Horizon?
As with all traditions in all cultures, it is up to the elders to pass down the rituals, food, language, and customs that identify a group. So, if your auntie, uncle, mom, and so on didn’t teach you how to play Spades, well, that’s a recipe lost. But...
A Full Court Press to Get the Lead Out
With a “goal of identifying and remediating lead hazards in at least 2,800 Lancaster County homes,” LG Health is setting an example for the private sector. And the Biden-Harris administration’s focus on environmental justice and access to clean and safe...
OP-ED: Congress Is Right: Federal Reserve’s Reg II Will Hurt Minority Communities in America
The Fed is taking every effort to promote income equality and workplace diversity and inclusion, but Regulation II would undercut its great work in this respect and cause potential harm to millions of minority families. Now that a congressional coalition has...
OP-ED: A Silent Killer No More
Data from Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City shows that more than 13 percent of African American men between the ages 45 and 79 will develop prostate cancer in their lifetimes. And Black men have a 70 percent higher rate of developing...
Celebrity birthdays for the week of March 31-April 6
Celebrity birthdays for the week of March 31-April 6: March 31: Actor William Daniels (“St. Elsewhere,” ″Boy Meets World”) is 97. Actor Richard Chamberlain is 90. Actor Shirley Jones is 90. Musician Herb Alpert is 89. Actor Christopher Walken is 81. Comedian Gabe Kaplan...
How to make an Easter ham last all week
The beauty of making a baked ham for Easter (or any holiday or large gathering) is that there's bound to be leftovers. Leftover ham, which will last for up to five days in the fridge, can be a springboard for other meals during the week. Of course you’ll want a sandwich or two, but...
Book Review: 'Glorious Exploits' turns classical history into an endearing comedy about tragedy
Best friends Lampo and Gelon are potters by trade, but their souls are filled with poetry. It’s 412 B.C. and the city of Syracuse doesn’t know what hit it when these two hatch up the best worst idea: They’ll put on a play using the Athenian prisoners of war who are starving to death down in...
Celebrity birthdays for the week of March 31-April 6
Celebrity birthdays for the week of March 31-April 6: March 31: Actor William Daniels (“St....
How to make an Easter ham last all week
The beauty of making a baked ham for Easter (or any holiday or large gathering) is that there's bound to be...
Book Review: 'Glorious Exploits' turns classical history into an endearing comedy about tragedy
Best friends Lampo and Gelon are potters by trade, but their souls are filled with poetry. It’s 412 B.C. and the...
Opposition figure who became Senegal's president-elect won over 54% of the vote, results show
DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Senegal's little-known opposition figure who was elected president this week in a tightly...
Haiti's transitional council issues its first statement, signaling its creation is nearly complete
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Members of a transitional presidential council who will be responsible for...
A Paris exhibit shows how the Olympics mirror society, from Nazi propaganda to fighting inequalities
PARIS (AP) — More than a sporting competition, the Olympics are also a powerful political stage widely used in...
WASHINGTON (AP) — Badly outspent and targeted by a withering Chamber of Commerce television ad, Woody White lost the Republican primary for an open House seat from North Carolina last year. Yet with anti-establishment Republicans riding high in the presidential race and Congress these days, the tea party-backed lawyer senses a better environment should he force a 2016 rematch with his GOP rival.
"The message or desire on the part of the electorate to revolt, if you will, from the establishment is so palpable" that it may overcome fundraising advantages his opponent, freshman Rep. David Rouzer, is likely to have, White says.
White and hard-core conservatives around the country say voter anger could help them oust Republican House members considered too unwilling to challenge President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats. They cite a movement energized by the resignation of House Speaker John Boehner, who quit partly to prevent GOP lawmakers from having to vote to keep him in his post — a vote that itself could have prompted primary challenges from irate conservatives.
They also cite the decision by Boehner's chosen successor, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California, against seeking that post and the early appeal of outsider GOP presidential hopefuls Donald Trump, Ben Carson and Carly Fiorina.
"The buzz in the network is the blood is in the water," said Mark Meckler, president of Citizens for Self-Governance, a conservative group. "And it's time to take advantage of the momentum."
Top Republicans and their business allies say there's a big gap between planning a challenge and mounting a serious one, citing most incumbents' huge fundraising advantages. They also question if conservative unrest will trickle down to House races.
But they're hedging their bets, preparing to spend money if necessary to protect GOP pragmatists, both incumbents and those seeking open seats, from primary challenges.
"The Chamber works to elect pro-business candidates who have the courage to govern when they get to Washington," said Blair Holmes, spokeswoman for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which backed 14 GOP candidates in House and Senate primaries last year. Holmes declined to use a figure for 2016 but said, "We will be very engaged."
No one thinks the brewing battle will cost the GOP its House majority. But it could change the proportion of hard-right conservatives, who now comprise a few dozen of the chamber's 247 Republicans.
Defiant conservatives like those in the House Freedom Caucus say the party will thrive if it stands fast against Obama on health care, federal spending and other priorities, even if it means veto battles that might cause a government shutdown or federal default. Party leaders and business groups say it makes little sense to force such confrontations that could alienate voters and jar the economy — especially when Republicans lack the votes to override Obama vetoes.
"Some people think in order to achieve here, you have to be explosive and you have to throw everything over," said Robert Cresanti, president of the International Franchise Association. He said candidates opposing bipartisan compromise "are people who we're not interested in supporting."
With most states' filing deadlines for House primary candidates months away, it's too early to know how many incumbent Republicans will face real challenges. Such contests seem likeliest in deeply red districts in the South and rural areas, where even veteran conservative lawmakers must peer over their right shoulders for challengers.
"My view is just to be prepared," said Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina, a conservative favorite since shouting "You lie" as Obama addressed Congress in 2009. "I'll campaign full bore, I'll be at the largest precincts shaking hands until they close the doors" in his primary next June.
Conservative groups like FreedomWorks and Club for Growth say they're poised to oppose Republicans they consider too moderate. They say time and grass-roots enthusiasm are on their side and cite last year's unexpected primary upset of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia by Dave Brat, a political neophyte whom Cantor vastly outspent.
"Give us a couple of election cycles," said FreedomWorks CEO Adam Brandon. "We're showing that there's an alternative to go-along, get-along politics, and it threatens a lot of people."
Yet thanks to backing by the Chamber and others, GOP pragmatists defeated challengers in 2014 primaries in Kentucky, Mississippi and elsewhere.
Indeed, of 208 House Republicans seeking re-election in 2014, just over a dozen experienced tight primary battles and just four lost. Even in the 2010 tea party deluge that gave Republicans a House majority, just two GOP House incumbents lost primaries.
"Sometimes, it's easy to mistake loud noise for big numbers," said Emily Davis, spokeswoman for the American Action Network, a political group allied with House GOP leaders.
In March, that organization infuriated House conservatives by using ads and phone calls to pressure those opposing a GOP leadership effort to end a standoff with Obama over funding the Homeland Security Department. It spent $240,000 in 2014 to defeat two conservatives seeking GOP nominations for open House seats, including White in North Carolina.
White says the Chamber of Commerce did the real damage by spending $300,000 against him, including a TV commercial tarring him as a trial lawyer whose lawsuits "destroy jobs."
"It made a difference," said White. "I lost."
___