10-03-2024  5:30 pm   •   PDX and SEA Weather

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NORTHWEST NEWS

Companies Back Away From Oregon Floating Offshore Wind Project as Opposition Grows

The federal government finalized two areas for floating offshore wind farms along the Oregon coast in February. But opposition from tribes, fishermen and coastal residents highlights some of the challenges the plan faces.

Preschool for All Growth Outpaces Enrollment Projections

Mid-year enrollment to allow greater flexibility for providers, families.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden Demands Answers From Emergency Rooms That Denied Care to Pregnant Patients

Wyden is part of a Democratic effort to focus the nation’s attention on the stories of women who have faced horrible realities since some states tightened a patchwork of abortion laws.

Governor Kotek Uses New Land Use Law to Propose Rural Land for Semiconductor Facility

Oregon is competing against other states to host multibillion-dollar microchip factories. A 2023 state law created an exemption to the state's hallmark land use policy aimed at preventing urban sprawl and protecting nature and agriculture.

NEWS BRIEFS

Oregon’s 2024-25 Teacher of the Year is Bryan Butcher Jr. of Beaumont Middle School

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Burn Ban Lifted in the City of Portland

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Midland Library to Reopen in October

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U.S. Congressman Al Green Commends Biden Administration on Launching Investigation into 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre; Mulls Congressional Action

The thriving African American community of Greenwood, popularly known as Black Wall Street, was criminally leveled by a white mob...

Governor Kotek, Oregon Housing and Community Services Announce Current and Projected Homelessness Initiative Outcomes

The announcement is accompanied by a data dashboard that shows the progress for the goals set within the...

Taxpayers in 24 states will be able to file their returns directly with the IRS in 2025

WASHINGTON (AP) — The IRS is expanding its program that allows people to file their taxes directly with the agency for free. The federal tax collector’s Direct File program, which allows taxpayers to calculate and submit their returns to the government directly without using...

Takeaways from AP's report on declining condom use among younger generations

Condom usage is down for everyone in the U.S., but researchers say the trend is especially stark among teens and young adults. A few factors are at play: Medical advancements like long-term birth control options and drugs that prevent sexually transmitted infections; a fading fear of...

No 9 Missouri faces stiff road test in visit to No. 25 Texas A&M

No. 9 Missouri hits the road for the first time this season, facing arguably its toughest challenge so far. The Tigers (4-0, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) know the trip to No. 25 Texas A&M (4-1, 2-0) on Saturday will be tough for several reasons if they want to extend their...

No. 9 Missouri looks to improve to 5-0 in visit to No. 25 Texas A&M

No. 9 Missouri (4-0, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) at No. 25 Texas A&M (4-1, 2-0), Saturday, 12 p.m. ET (ABC). BetMGM College Football Odds: Texas A&M by 2 1/2. Series record: Texas A&M leads 9-7. WHAT’S AT STAKE? The winner will...

OPINION

The Skanner News: 2024 City Government Endorsements

In the lead-up to a massive transformation of city government, the mayor’s office and 12 city council seats are open. These are our endorsements for candidates we find to be most aligned with the values of equity and progress in Portland, and who we feel...

No Cheek Left to Turn: Standing Up for Albina Head Start and the Low-Income Families it Serves is the Only Option

This month, Albina Head Start filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to defend itself against a misapplied rule that could force the program – and all the children it serves – to lose federal funding. ...

DOJ and State Attorneys General File Joint Consumer Lawsuit

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America Needs Kamala Harris to Win

Because a 'House Divided Against Itself Cannot Stand' ...

AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE NEWS

Mixed verdict for 3 Memphis officers convicted in Tyre Nichols' fatal beating

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Three former Memphis police officers were convicted Thursday in the 2023 fatal beating of Tyre Nichols, but were acquitted of the harshest charges they faced for a death that sparked national protests and calls for broad changes in policing. Jurors deliberated...

3 ex-Memphis officers convicted of witness tampering in Tyre Nichols' beating, 1 guilty of civil rights violations

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — 3 ex-Memphis officers convicted of witness tampering in Tyre Nichols' beating, 1 guilty of civil rights violations....

Photo shows U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler wearing blackface at college Halloween party in 2006

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler said he was sorry Thursday after the New York Times obtained photos of him wearing blackface about two decades ago at a college Halloween costume party where he dressed as Michael Jackson. The images emerged as Lawler, a first-term...

ENTERTAINMENT

Book Review: 'The Last Dream,' short stories scattered with the seeds of Pedro Almodovar films

The seeds of Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar's later cinematic work are scattered throughout the pages of “The Last Dream,” his newly published collection of short writings. The stories and essays were gathered together by Almodóvar's longtime assistant, including many pieces...

Book Review: Louise Erdrich writes about love and loss in North Dakota in ’The Mighty Red’

Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Louise Erdrich (“The Night Watchman,” 2021) returns with a story close to her heart, “The Mighty Red.” Set in the author’s native North Dakota, the title refers to the river that serves as a metaphor for life in the Red River Valley. It also carries a...

Book Review: 'Revenge of the Tipping Point' is fan service for readers of Gladwell's 2000 book

It's been nearly 25 years since Malcolm Gladwell published “The Tipping Point," and it's still easy to catch it being read on airplanes, displayed prominently on executives' bookshelves or hear its jargon slipped into conversations. It's no surprise that a sequel was the next logical step. ...

U.S. & WORLD NEWS

What's next after prosecutors reveal new evidence in Trump's 2020 election interference case

WASHINGTON (AP) — Special counsel Jack Smith has provided a road map for how prosecutors hope to prove their...

Hurricane Helene brings climate change to forefront of the presidential campaign

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A crash saved a teenager whose car suddenly sped up to 120 mph in the rural Midwest

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Italian family believes painting found in a dump in 1960s is a Picasso and seeks authentication

MILAN (AP) — An Italian family hopes to prove definitively that a painting discarded from a villa on the island...

South Africa's top court will decide if impeachment proceedings against the president can be revived

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — South Africa's Constitutional Court said Thursday that it would hear a case next...

6 migrants from Egypt, Peru and Honduras die near Guatemalan border after Mexican soldiers open fire

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican army troops opened fire on a truck carrying migrants from a half dozen countries, and...

Georgiann Caruso CNN

(CNN) -- Lack of quality sleep for adults may negatively impact heart health. Evidence now suggests that sleep problems during adolescence may increase health risks as well.

"When most people think about cardiovascular risk factors and risk behaviors, they don't necessarily think of sleep," said Dr. Brian McCrindle, senior author and cardiologist at SickKids in Toronto, Ontario. "This study ... shows a clear association between sleep disturbance (in adolescents) and a greater likelihood of having high cholesterol, high blood pressure and being overweight or obese."

"These findings are important, given that sleep disturbance is highly prevalent in adolescence and that cardiovascular disease risk factors track from childhood into adulthood," noted Dr. Indra Narang, the lead study author and director of sleep medicine at SickKids.

The researchers examined data from the 2009/2010 school year for adolescents in the Niagara region of Ontario.

More than 4,000 ninth-grade students completed questionnaires asking about their sleep duration, quality, disturbances, snoring, daytime sleepiness and the use of any sleep medications during a period of one month. Their average age was 14.6.

The students also answered questions about their physical activity, time spent in front of a computer or television and nutrition.

Researchers studied participants' height, weight, waist circumference, cholesterol levels and blood pressure. They adjusted for those with family history of cardiovascular disease, so they could be confident of the association found.

Participants slept, on average, 7.9 hours during the week and 9.4 hours on weekends. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends adolescents get 8.5 to 9.5 hours of sleep a night.

Almost one in five reported their weeknight sleep as "fairly bad" or "bad." One in 10 said the same was true for their weekend sleep. In addition, almost 6% of respondents said they had used medications to help them sleep.

"What happens with these kids is they have very poor sleep habits and sleep hygiene, so they're sleepy and tired and have poor energy during the day, so they hop themselves up on caffeinated beverages and then that just perpetuates their problem and a lot of them wound up taking some kind of sleep medication," McCrindle said. "So they get in a cycle."

Narang said 6% was "quite a lot" of adolescents taking over-the-counter and prescription medication to help them sleep.

"It really shows that some adolescents are experiencing very disturbed sleep that they're then needing sleep medication," she said.

Common sleep disturbances reported by the adolescents included waking up during the night or early in the morning, not being able to fall asleep within a half-hour, feeling too hot or too cold, having to use the restroom and bad dreams.

Those who reported sleep disturbances more often consumed soft drinks, fried food, sweets and caffeine, the research showed. They also reported less physical activity and increased screen time. In addition, the adolescents with shorter sleep routines reported less physical activity and more screen time.

In the short term, poor sleep impairs daytime function.

"It can affect (your) learning, it can affect (your) memory," Narang added.

Parents concerned about their child's sleep can intervene in several ways.

McCrindle suggests trying to minimize media use in the bedroom.

"Do (the adolescents) really need to have a TV, a computer, all their video games in the bedroom?" he asked.

Instead, ensure kids have down time before bedtime.

Narang feels consumption of high-energy caffeine drinks may largely be to blame.

But the big picture, she says?

"Everybody involved in the health care of a child - a nurse, a physician, a teacher - needs to promote well sleep, and that would involve a certain number of hours a sleep and routine of sleep," Narang said.

The routine would keep them on the same sleep schedule all week long, she added.