11-21-2024  11:47 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" ...

Major storm drops record rain, downs trees in Northern California after devastation further north

FORESTVILLE, Calif. (AP) — A major storm moving through Northern California on Thursday toppled trees and dropped heavy snow and record amounts of rain after damaging homes, killing two people and knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of customers in the Pacific Northwest. Forecasters...

Judge keeps death penalty a possibility for man charged in killings of 4 Idaho students

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The death penalty will remain a possibility for a man charged with murder in the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students, a judge ruled Wednesday. Judge Steven Hippler was not swayed by legal arguments made by Bryan Kohberger’s defense team to...

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...

No. 19 South Carolina looks to keep its momentum and win its fifth straight when it faces Wofford

Wofford (5-6) at No. 19 South Carolina (7-3), Saturday, 4 p.m. EST (ESPN+/SECN+) BetMGM College Football Odds: No line. Series history: South Carolina leads 20-4. What’s at stake? South Carolina, which finished its SEC season at 5-3, wants...

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

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...

St. Louis was once known as Mound City for its many Native American mounds. Just one remains

ST. LOUIS (AP) — What is now St. Louis was once home to more than 100 mounds constructed by Native Americans — so many that St. Louis was once known as “Mound City.” Settlers tore most of them down, and just one remains. Now, that last remaining earthen structure, Sugarloaf...

New Zealanders are banned from displaying gang symbols as a 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...

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

Pope warns the Vatican pension fund needs urgent reform as employees demand transparency

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis, who has imposed a series of cost-cutting measures across the cash-strapped Vatican,...

Major storm drops record rain, downs trees in Northern California after devastation further north

FORESTVILLE, Calif. (AP) — A major storm moving through Northern California on Thursday toppled trees and...

Shohei Ohtani likely to win his third MVP award and Aaron Judge his second

NEW YORK (AP) — Shohei Ohtani is expected to win his third Most Valuable Player Award and first in the National...

Police in Finland arrest five suspects over separatist violence in southeast Nigeria

HELSINKI, Finland (AP) — Police in Finland said Thursday they had detained five suspects in connection with...

Shares in India's Adani Group plunge 20% after US bribery, fraud indictments

NEW DELHI (AP) — One of Asia’s richest men, Indian tycoon Gautam Adani, is again in the spotlight. His...

4 for a coffee? Scottish farm is selling UK's most expensive cup

LONDON (AP) — It's an enormous price to pay for a little cup of coffee, but the man behind the pitch promises it...

Tamara Lush the Associated Press

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) -- A 25-year-old man from the former Yugoslavia was charged with plotting a radical Islamic attack on crowded locations around Tampa, including nightclubs and a sheriff's office, with a car bomb, assault rifle and other explosives, federal authorities said Monday.

The U.S. Department of Justice said Sami Osmakac, a naturalized American citizen born in Kosovo, recorded an eight minute video shortly before his arrest explaining why he wanted to bring terror to his "victims' hearts" in the Tampa Bay area.

In the video, according to the federal complaint, Osmakac is seen cross-legged on the floor with a pistol in his hand and an AK-47 behind him. Osmakac said in the video that Muslim blood was more valuable than that of people who do not believe in Islam, according to the complaint. He said he wanted "payback" for wrong that was done to Muslims, the complaint said.

There is no indication that Osmakac planned to attack the Republican National Convention, which will be held in Tampa in August, federal authorities said.

Osmakac was arrested Saturday. His first appearance in federal court was scheduled for 2 p.m. Monday.

Authorities say Osmakac, from Pinellas Park, Fla. - a small city west of Tampa - was charged with one count of attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction.

U.S. Attorney Robert O'Neill thanked the local Muslim community for assistance in the investigation, without elaborating.

FBI agents arrested Osmakac on Saturday after he allegedly bought explosive devices and firearms from an undercover agent. The firearms and explosives were rendered inoperable by law enforcement.

Federal officials say a confidential source told them in September 2011 that Osmakac walked into the source's business looking for al-Qaida flags. The confidential source then hired Osmakac and was in constant contact with federal officials and audio or video taped their conversations.

Two months later, the federal complaint said, Osmakac and the confidential source discussed and identified potential targets in Tampa that Osmakac wanted to attack.

Osmakac allegedly asked the source for help getting firearms and explosives for the attacks, and the source put him in touch with an undercover FBI employee.

On Dec. 21, Osmakac met with the undercover agent and allegedly told the agent that he wanted to buy an AK-47-style machine gun, Uzi submachine guns, high capacity magazines, grenades and an explosive belt. During a later meeting, Osmakac gave the agent a $500 down payment for the items.

"According to the complaint, Osmakac also asked the undercover employee whether he/she could build bombs that could be placed in three different vehicles and detonated remotely, near where Osmakac would conduct a follow-up attack using the other weapons he requested," the press release said. "The undercover employee said he/she could possibly provide explosives for one vehicle. Osmakac also allegedly said that he wanted an explosive belt constructed to kill people."

On Jan. 1, Osmakac told the agent that he wanted to bomb nightclubs, the operations center of the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office and a business in Tampa, Florida.

Osmakac told the undercover FBI agent that he wanted to detonate a car bomb and use the explosive belt to "get in somewhere where there's a lot of people" and take hostages.

Osmakac told the agent that after he took hostages he wanted to demand something from the "kuffar" - an Arabic word that means infidels or disbelievers of Islam, federal authorities said.

According to the affidavit, he also stated, "Honestly, I would love to go for the Army people, but their bases are so locked up, I have to do something else."

Osmakac said he wanted to take down the bridges that link the city of Tampa to neighboring Pinellas County.

"This will crush the whole economy," he allegedly said to the agent. "This would crush everything man, they would have no more food coming in. They would, nobody would have work."

During that meeting, the agent told Osmakac he could always change his mind about his plot.

"According to the complaint, Osmakac immediately shook his head in the negative and stated, `We all have to die, so why not die the Islamic way?' " the press release stated.

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Tamara Lush can be reached on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tamaralush

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