10-02-2024  2:28 am   •   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

Celebrate Portland Arbor Day at Glenfair Park

Portland Parks & Recreation’s Urban Forestry team presents Portland Arbor Day 2024, Saturday, Oct. 12, 10 a.m. - 2...

Dr. Pauli Murray’s Childhood Home Opens as Center to Honor Activist’s Inspiring Work

Dr. Pauli Murray was an attorney, activist, and pioneer in the LGBTQ+ community. An extraordinary scholar, much of Murray’s...

Portland-Based Artist Selected for NFL’s 2024 Artist Replay Initiative Spotlighting Diverse and Emerging Artists

Inspired by the world of football, Julian V.L. Gaines has created a one-of-a-kind piece that will be on display at Miami Art Week. ...

University of Portland Ranked #1 Private School in the West by U.S. News & World Report

UP ranks as a top institution among ‘Best Regional Universities – West’ for the sixth consecutive year ...

Portland Diamond Project Signs Letter of Intent to Purchase Zidell Yards for a Future MLB Baseball Park

Founder of Portland Diamond Project said signing the letter of intent is more than just a land purchase, it’s a chance to transform...

A tiny tribe is getting pushback for betting big on a 0M casino in California's wine country

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — For decades a small, landless tribe in Northern California has been on a mission to get land, open a casino and tap into the gaming market enjoyed by so many other tribes that earn millions of dollars annually. The Koi Nation's chances of owning a Las...

Who are the 2024 MacArthur ‘genius grant’ fellows?

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation announced Tuesday its 2024 class of fellows, often known as recipients of the “genius grant." The 22 fellows will each receive a grant of 0,000 over five years to spend however they want. They were selected from nominations in a...

No. 7 Mizzou overcomes mistakes once again, escapes with a 30-27 double-OT win over Vandy

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — There are two very different ways to look at seventh-ranked Missouri's last two wins, a pair of come-from-behind affairs against Boston College and a double-overtime 30-27 victory over Vanderbilt in its SEC opener on Saturday night. The Tigers were good enough...

Blake Craig overcomes 3 FG misses, hits in 2OT to deliver No. 7 Missouri 30-27 win over Vanderbilt

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Blake Craig made up for three missed field goals in regulation by hitting from 37 yards in the second overtime, and Vanderbilt kicker Brock Taylor missed a 31-yarder to keep the game going to allow No. 7 Missouri to escape with a 30-27 win in double-overtime Saturday night. ...

OPINION

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

In August, the Department of Justice and eight state Attorneys Generals filed a lawsuit charging RealPage Inc., a commercial revenue management software firm with providing apartment managers with illegal price fixing software data that violates...

America Needs Kamala Harris to Win

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

Student Loan Debt Drops $10 Billion Due to Biden Administration Forgiveness; New Education Department Rules Hold Hope for 30 Million More Borrowers

As consumers struggle to cope with mounting debt, a new economic report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York includes an unprecedented glimmer of hope. Although debt for mortgages, credit cards, auto loans and more increased by billions of...

AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE NEWS

Justice Department finds Georgia is 'deliberately indifferent' to unchecked abuses at its prisons

ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia prison officials are “deliberately indifferent” to unchecked deadly violence, widespread drug use, extortion and sexual abuse at state lockups, the U.S. Justice Department said Tuesday, threatening to sue the state if it doesn’t quickly take steps to curb rampant...

Chanel show wrestles with designer void as actor Lupita Nyong'o talks diversity in fashion

PARIS (AP) — A giant empty cage greeted Chanel’s guests at its return to the Grand Palais on Tuesday. Though perhaps not intentionally symbolic, the décor seemed to capture the current state of the house itself: a majestic structure empty of creative direction. With Virginie Viard’s recent...

Wilmer Valderrama. Rosario Dawson. America Ferrera. Star-led drive aims to get Latinos to vote

With a star-studded cast of celebrities and influencers, the Voto Latino Foundation launched a million initiative Tuesday to encourage Latinos to vote in the upcoming election. The “Vota Con Ganas” (’Vote with Enthusiasm”) campaign will feature personal stories and messages...

ENTERTAINMENT

Music Review: Sophie's posthumous, self-titled final album still sounds like the future of pop

NEW YORK (AP) — Where were you when you first heard the visionary producer and musician Sophie? Was it 2013's minimalist “Bipp,” the club banger with pitched-up vocals that hit the Internet with such peculiar ferocity as if it crash-landed from outer space? Or was it her...

Q&A: Kate Winslet on bringing WWII photographer Lee Miller’s story to the big screen

When Kate Winslet stumbled upon the extraordinary story of Lee Miller she didn’t want to let go. Miller was an American photographer who became a correspondent for British Vogue during World War II, shooting everything from London after the Blitz to the liberation of Dachau. In...

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...

U.S. & WORLD NEWS

Walz misleadingly claims to have been in Hong Kong during period tied to Tiananmen Square massacre

WASHINGTON (AP) — Multiple news reports indicate that Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim...

Trump won't participate in interview for '60 Minutes' election special

NEW YORK (AP) — CBS News said Tuesday that Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has declined to...

Walz and Vance go in depth on policy while attacking each other’s running mates in VP debate

NEW YORK (AP) — In a debate that evoked a calmer era in American politics, Tim Walz and JD Vance on Tuesday went...

France's prime minister vows to curb debt as he faced baptism of fire at heckled parliament

PARIS (AP) — Lawmakers gave new French Prime Minister Michel Barnier a rough ride, heckling him constantly, as...

Claudia Sheinbaum sworn in as 1st female president of Mexico

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Claudia Sheinbaum was sworn in Tuesday as Mexico’s first female president, riding the...

A likely Russian artillery strike kills at least 6 at a Ukrainian market

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — An apparent Russian artillery strike hit a market in the southern Ukraine city of Kherson...

Bill Mears CNN Supreme Court Producer

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday left in place a law that allows the Justice Department to stop suits against telecommunications companies for participating in wiretaps of potential terrorists.

The ruling was a key setback for civil libertarians challenging the broader powers of government since the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States to use electronic surveillance to track potential threats in the name of national security.

The Justices declined to take up a challenge to the once-secret domestic eavesdropping program under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act -- this one involving the monitoring of information moving into and out of the United States.

Previous petitions dealing with alleged abuses of the surveillance law also have been rejected by the court. Another case will be heard later this month.

In this case, Verizon Communications, Sprint Nextel, and AT&T were accused of privacy violations by assisting the government with intelligence gathering following the hijack attacks on New York and Washington.

The law had previously required the government to justify a national security interest before any phone calls and emails originating in another country could be monitored. A federal judge had to sign any search warrant. But President George W. Bush secretly suspended that requirement following the attacks.

After "warrantless wiretapping" was exposed, the president and supporters in Congress moved to amend the law, which defenders contend is designed to target only foreigners living outside the United States.

The retroactive immunity was challenged in the class action suit turned aside by the high court on Tuesday.

Privacy groups worry such electronic dragnets could easily and unknowingly intrude on the privacy rights of U.S. citizens. The government calls that "speculation" but cites national security in refusing to provide specifics.

The lawsuits launched by a number of telecommunications customers cited the testimony of Mark Klein, a retired AT&T engineer from San Francisco, who claimed company executives gave government access to internal hardware.

The result, he testified, was "vacuum-cleaner surveillance of all the data crossing the Internet, whether that be people's email, web surfing or any other data."

In an appeal, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the American Civil Liberties Union said the retroactive immunity was unconstitutional because it gave unfettered power to the executive branch -- namely the attorney general and the director of national intelligence -- to decide it could not be held accountable in court.

Attorney General Eric Holder has used that power to block about 30 suits.

Justice Samuel Alito did not participate in the appeal. Previously released financial records show he has owned telecommunications stock and likely recused himself to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest.

The Supreme Court will hear a related challenge to the domestic surveillance program on October 29.

The larger issue involves the constitutionality of the government's electronic monitoring of targeted foreigners.

A federal appeals court in New York last year ruled domestic plaintiffs who deal with global clients and co-workers reasonably feared the government was reading and hearing their sensitive communications. Those groups took costly measures to avoid such intrusions.

The question to be addressed is whether certain Americans have "standing" to challenge the federal law without a specific showing they have been monitored.

Other lawsuits over the surveillance program that raise various legal issues are pending in lower courts.

The case rejected Tuesday is Hepting v. AT&T (11-1200). The case to be heard later this month is Clapper v. Amnesty International USA (11-1025)