11-22-2024  1:50 am   •   PDX and SEA Weather

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NORTHWEST NEWS

'Bomb Cyclone' Kills 1 and Knocks out Power to Over Half a Million Homes Across the Northwest US

A major storm was sweeping across the northwest U.S., battering the region with strong winds and rain. The Weather Prediction Center issued excessive rainfall risks through Friday and hurricane-force wind warnings were in effect. 

'Bomb Cyclone' Threatens Northern California and Pacific Northwest

The Weather Prediction Center issued excessive rainfall risks beginning Tuesday and lasting through Friday. Those come as the strongest atmospheric river  that California and the Pacific Northwest has seen this season bears down on the region. 

More Logging Is Proposed to Help Curb Wildfires in the US Pacific Northwest

Officials say worsening wildfires due to climate change mean that forests must be more actively managed to increase their resiliency.

Democrat Janelle Bynum Flips Oregon’s 5th District, Will Be State’s First Black Member of Congress

The U.S. House race was one of the country’s most competitive and viewed by The Cook Political Report as a toss up, meaning either party had a good chance of winning.

NEWS BRIEFS

Portland Art Museum’s Rental Sales Gallery Showcases Diverse Talent

New Member Artist Show will be open to the public Dec. 6 through Jan. 18, with all works available for both rental and purchase. ...

Dolly Parton's Imagination Library of Oregon Announces New State Director and Community Engagement Coordinator

“This is an exciting milestone for Oregon,” said DELC Director Alyssa Chatterjee. “These positions will play critical roles in...

Multnomah County Library Breaks Ground on Expanded St. Johns Library

Groundbreaking marks milestone in library transformations ...

Janelle Bynum Statement on Her Victory in Oregon’s 5th Congressional District

"I am proud to be the first – but not the last – Black Member of Congress from Oregon" ...

Storm dumps record rain and heavy snow on Northern California. Many in Seattle still without power

FORESTVILLE, Calif. (AP) — A major storm moving through Northern California on Thursday dropped heavy snow and record rain, flooding some areas, after killing two people and knocking out power to hundreds of thousands in the Pacific Northwest. Forecasters warned the risk of flash...

A growing number of Oregon cities vote to ban psychedelic mushroom compound psilocybin

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Drug reform advocates hailed Oregon as a progressive leader when it became the first in the nation to legalize the therapeutic use of psilocybin, the compound found in psychedelic mushrooms. But four years later, voters in a growing list of its cities have...

Missouri hosts Pacific after Fisher's 23-point game

Pacific Tigers (3-3) at Missouri Tigers (3-1) Columbia, Missouri; Friday, 7:30 p.m. EST BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Tigers -19.5; over/under is 149.5 BOTTOM LINE: Pacific plays Missouri after Elijah Fisher scored 23 points in Pacific's 91-72 loss to the...

Missouri aims to get back in win column at Mississippi State, which still seeks first SEC victory

Missouri (7-3, 3-3 SEC) at Mississippi State (2-8, 0-6), Saturday, 4:15 p.m. ET (SEC). BetMGM College Sports Odds: Missouri by 7.5. Series: Tied 2-2. What’s at stake? Missouri sits just outside the AP Top 25 and looks to rebound from last...

OPINION

A Loan Shark in Your Pocket: Cellphone Cash Advance Apps

Fast-growing app usage leaves many consumers worse off. ...

America’s Healing Can Start with Family Around the Holidays

With the holiday season approaching, it seems that our country could not be more divided. That division has been perhaps the main overarching topic of our national conversation in recent years. And it has taken root within many of our own families. ...

Donald Trump Rides Patriarchy Back to the White House

White male supremacy, which Trump ran on, continues to play an outsized role in exacerbating the divide that afflicts our nation. ...

Why Not Voting Could Deprioritize Black Communities

President Biden’s Justice40 initiative ensures that 40% of federal investment benefits flow to disadvantaged communities, addressing deep-seated inequities. ...

AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE NEWS

Pathologist disputes finding that Marine veteran's chokehold caused subway rider's death

NEW YORK (AP) — For roughly six minutes, Jordan Neely was pinned to a subway floor in a chokehold that ended with him lying still. But that's not what killed him, a forensic pathologist testified Thursday in defense of the military-trained commuter charged with killing Neely. Dr....

New Zealand police begin arrests for gang symbol ban as new law takes effect

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — A ban on New Zealanders wearing or displaying symbols of gang affiliation in public took effect on Thursday, with police officers making their first arrest for a breach of the law three minutes later. The man was driving with gang insignia displayed on...

New study shows voting for Native Americans is harder than ever

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (AP) — A new study has found that systemic barriers to voting on tribal lands contribute to substantial disparities in Native American turnout, particularly for presidential elections. The study, released Tuesday by the Brennan Center for Justice, looked at 21...

ENTERTAINMENT

From 'The Exorcist' to 'Heretic,' why holy horror can be a hit with moviegoers

In the new horror movie, “Heretic,” Hugh Grant plays a diabolical religious skeptic who traps two scared missionaries in his house and tries to violently shake their faith. What starts more as a religious studies lecture slowly morphs into a gory escape room for the two...

Book Review: Chris Myers looks back on his career in ’That Deserves a Wow'

There are few sports journalists working today with a resume as broad as Chris Myers. From a decade doing everything for ESPN (SportsCenter, play by play, and succeeding Roy Firestone as host of the interview show “Up Close”) to decades of involvement with nearly every league under contract...

Was it the Mouse King? ‘Nutcracker’ props stolen from a Michigan ballet company

CANTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — Did the Mouse King strike? A ballet group in suburban Detroit is scrambling after someone stole a trailer filled with props for upcoming performances of the beloved holiday classic “The Nutcracker.” The lost items include a grandfather...

U.S. & WORLD NEWS

Trump convinced Republicans to overlook his misconduct. But can he do the same for his nominees?

WASHINGTON (AP) — In the two weeks since Donald Trump won the presidency, he's tried to demonstrate his...

In a board game, climate experts work to save the world, which diplomats at COP29 try in real life

BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) — Activists and experts who are pushing world leaders to save an overheating planet...

A growing number of Oregon cities vote to ban psychedelic mushroom compound psilocybin

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Drug reform advocates hailed Oregon as a progressive leader when it became the first in...

A draft deal on climate money for developing world is silent on how much as UN summit nears end

BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) — Countries of the world took turns rejecting a new but vague draft text released early...

Australian teen and British woman who drank tainted alcohol in Laos have died, bringing toll to 5

VIENTIANE, Laos (AP) — An Australian teenager and a British woman have died after drinking tainted alcohol in...

Emperor penguin released at sea 20 days after waddling onto Australian beach

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — The only emperor penguin known to have swum from Antarctica to Australia was...

The Skanner News

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Directly challenging the Pentagon's top leadership, Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain on Thursday snubbed a military study on gays as flawed and said letting gays serve openly would be dangerous in a time of war. The Skanner News Video: McCain and Mullen go Head to head

McCain's opposition foreshadows the upcoming Senate debate on a bill that would overturn the 1993 "don't ask, don't tell" law, which bans gays from serving openly in the service.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has promised a vote, but McCain has helped to block previous debate on the Senate floor.

Further dimming chances of repeal this month was a recent agreement among Senate Republicans not to vote on any bill before addressing tax cuts and government spending.

McCain, a former Navy pilot, comes from a long family line of service in the military. He was a Vietnam era prisoner of war. and was the Republican presidential nominee in 2008 who lost to Barack Obama.

Advocates of repeal had hoped that this week's Pentagon study would have lessened GOP resistance to the bill. The study found that the overwhelming majority of troops were not against seeing the policy repealed.

But among those who did care, most were troops performing combat arms duties. Nearly 60 percent of those in the Marine Corps and in Army combat units said they thought repealing the law would hurt their units' ability to fight on the battlefield.

McCain seized on this finding to argue that forcing such a substantial personnel policy change in a time of war would be wrong for the military and the country. He also criticized the study for scrutinizing only how the law could be repealed, instead of whether doing so would benefit the military.

"At this time, we should be inherently cautious about making any changes that would affect our military, and what changes we do make should be the product of careful and deliberate consideration," McCain said.

McCain's statement was directly challenged by Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen, the military's top uniformed officer who chairs the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

"Repeal of the law will not prove unacceptable risk to military readiness," Mullen told the Senate Armed Services Committee. "Unit cohesion will not suffer if our units are well-led. And families will not encourage their loved ones to leave the service in droves."

Mullen also said that Congress should act before the courts do, and that wartime is an ideal time for repeal.

"War does not stifle change; it demands it," he said. "It does not make it harder; it facilitates it."

McCain has previously suggested that Mullen's opinion didn't matter as much as other military commanders because he doesn't directly lead troops.

In his opening statement, Mullen seemed to issue a direct challenge to McCain.

"For more than 40 years, I have made decisions that affected and even risked the lives of young men and women," Mullen said. "You do not have to agree with me on this issue. But don't think for one moment that I haven't carefully considered the impact of the advice I give on those who will have to live with the decisions that advice informs."

Marine Gen. James Cartwright, the No. 2 officer on the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in an interview that if Congress fails to act the military could handle an abrupt about-face mandated by the courts.

He like the other Pentagon leaders said that is by far the second choice, and would be disruptive for forces currently cycling through the military's tightly planned rotation for wartime deployment.

"Bringing this into force quickly means that we have to do some of this in the battlefield. Probably doable, but it's a bigger challenge than we really want to have to take," Cartwright said.

Cartwright and the military chiefs of each service will testify before the same Senate panel on Friday. The focus will be on Marine Commandant Gen. James Amos because of the survey results showing high opposition to repeal among Marine combat troops.

"I cannot speak for him but I will speak as a Marine," Cartwright said. "If the law is repealed the Marine Corps will lead the education, training, and bringing it in," he said. "They will comply with the law, no doubt about it, and they will comply with the law aggressively."

 

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