04-25-2024  5:16 am   •   PDX and SEA Weather
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4

NORTHWEST NEWS

A Conservative Quest to Limit Diversity Programs Gains Momentum in States

In support of DEI, Oregon and Washington have forged ahead with legislation to expand their emphasis on diversity, equity and inclusion in government and education.

Epiphanny Prince Hired by Liberty in Front Office Job Day After Retiring

A day after announcing her retirement, Epiphanny Prince has a new job working with the New York Liberty as director of player and community engagement. Prince will serve on the basketball operations and business staffs, bringing her 14 years of WNBA experience to the franchise. 

The Drug War Devastated Black and Other Minority Communities. Is Marijuana Legalization Helping?

A major argument for legalizing the adult use of cannabis after 75 years of prohibition was to stop the harm caused by disproportionate enforcement of drug laws in Black, Latino and other minority communities. But efforts to help those most affected participate in the newly legal sector have been halting. 

Lessons for Cities from Seattle’s Racial and Social Justice Law 

 Seattle is marking the first anniversary of its landmark Race and Social Justice Initiative ordinance. Signed into law in April 2023, the ordinance highlights race and racism because of the pervasive inequities experienced by people of color

NEWS BRIEFS

Mt. Tabor Park Selected for National Initiative

Mt. Tabor Park is the only Oregon park and one of just 24 nationally to receive honor. ...

OHCS, BuildUp Oregon Launch Program to Expand Early Childhood Education Access Statewide

Funds include million for developing early care and education facilities co-located with affordable housing. ...

Governor Kotek Announces Chief of Staff, New Office Leadership

Governor expands executive team and names new Housing and Homelessness Initiative Director ...

Governor Kotek Announces Investment in New CHIPS Child Care Fund

5 Million dollars from Oregon CHIPS Act to be allocated to new Child Care Fund ...

Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge US to prosecute the company

Boeing said Wednesday that it lost 5 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers. ...

Authorities confirm 2nd victim of ex-Washington officer was 17-year-old with whom he had a baby

WEST RICHLAND, Wash. (AP) — Authorities on Wednesday confirmed that a body found at the home of a former Washington state police officer who killed his ex-wife before fleeing to Oregon, where he died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, was that of a 17-year-old girl with whom he had a baby. ...

Missouri hires Memphis athletic director Laird Veatch for the same role with the Tigers

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri hired longtime college administrator Laird Veatch to be its athletic director on Tuesday, bringing him back to campus 14 years after he departed for a series of other positions that culminated with five years spent as the AD at Memphis. Veatch...

KC Current owners announce plans for stadium district along the Kansas City riverfront

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The ownership group of the Kansas City Current announced plans Monday for the development of the Missouri River waterfront, where the club recently opened a purpose-built stadium for the National Women's Soccer League team. CPKC Stadium will serve as the hub...

OPINION

Op-Ed: Why MAGA Policies Are Detrimental to Black Communities

NNPA NEWSWIRE – MAGA proponents peddle baseless claims of widespread voter fraud to justify voter suppression tactics that disproportionately target Black voters. From restrictive voter ID laws to purging voter rolls to limiting early voting hours, these...

Loving and Embracing the Differences in Our Youngest Learners

Yet our responsibility to all parents and society at large means we must do more to share insights, especially with underserved and under-resourced communities. ...

Gallup Finds Black Generational Divide on Affirmative Action

Each spring, many aspiring students and their families begin receiving college acceptance letters and offers of financial aid packages. This year’s college decisions will add yet another consideration: the effects of a 2023 Supreme Court, 6-3 ruling that...

OP-ED: Embracing Black Men’s Voices: Rebuilding Trust and Unity in the Democratic Party

The decision of many Black men to disengage from the Democratic Party is rooted in a complex interplay of historical disenchantment, unmet promises, and a sense of disillusionment with the political establishment. ...

AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE NEWS

Bishop stabbed during Sydney church service backs X's legal case to share video of the attack

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — A Sydney bishop who was stabbed repeatedly in an alleged extremist attack blamed on a teenager has backed X Corp. owner Elon Musk’s legal bid to overturn an Australian ban on sharing graphic video of the attack on social media. A live stream of the...

Biden just signed a bill that could ban TikTok. His campaign plans to stay on the app anyway

WASHINGTON (AP) — When President Joe Biden showed off his putting during a campaign stop at a public golf course in Michigan last month, the moment was captured on TikTok. Forced inside by a rainstorm, he competed with 13-year-old Hurley “HJ” Coleman IV to make putts on a...

2021 death of young Black man at rural Missouri home was self-inflicted, FBI tells AP

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A federal investigation has concluded that a young Black man died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound inside a rural Missouri home, not at the hands of the white homeowner who had a history of racist social media postings, an FBI official told The Associated Press Wednesday. ...

ENTERTAINMENT

Music Review: Jazz pianist Fred Hersch creates subdued, lovely colors on 'Silent, Listening'

Jazz pianist Fred Hersch fully embraces the freedom that comes with improvisation on his solo album “Silent, Listening,” spontaneously composing and performing tunes that are often without melody, meter or form. Listening to them can be challenging and rewarding. The many-time...

Book Review: 'Nothing But the Bones' is a compelling noir novel at a breakneck pace

Nelson “Nails” McKenna isn’t very bright, stumbles over his words and often says what he’s thinking without realizing it. We first meet him as a boy reading a superhero comic on the banks of a river in his backcountry hometown in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Georgia....

Cardi B, Queen Latifah and The Roots to headline the BET Experience concerts in Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Cardi B, Queen Latifah and The Roots will headline concerts to celebrate the return of the BET Experience in Los Angeles just days before the 2024 BET Awards. BET announced Monday the star-studded lineup of the concert series, which makes a return after a...

U.S. & WORLD NEWS

The Latest | Israeli strikes in Rafah kill at least 5 as ship comes under attack in the Gulf of Aden

Palestinian hospital officials said Israeli airstrikes on the southern city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip killed at...

Columbia's president, no stranger to complex challenges, walks tightrope on student protests

Columbia University president Minouche Shafik is no stranger to navigating complex international issues, having...

US growth likely slowed last quarter but still pointed to a solid economy

WASHINGTON (AP) — Coming off a robust end to 2023, the U.S. economy is thought to have extended its surprisingly...

Ukraine thanks the US for billions in new military aid to help stop Russia's advance

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian officials on Wednesday expressed thanks for billion in new U.S. military aid...

Venice tests a 5-euro entry fee for day-trippers as the city grapples with overtourism

VENICE, Italy (AP) — Under the gaze of the world’s media, the fragile lagoon city of Venice launched a pilot...

Turkish rail officials jailed for more than 108 years for crash that left 25 dead

ISTANBUL (AP) — A court in Turkey sentenced nine rail officials to more than 108 years' imprisonment over a...

By Michael Martinez and Stephanie Gallman CNN

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett announced plans Wednesday to file an anti-trust lawsuit against the NCAA over its sanctions against Penn State University following the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal.

Last July, the NCAA levied unprecedented sanctions against the university, including a fine of $60 million. It also stripped 14 seasons of football victories from late head coach Joe Paterno.

"These sanctions did not punish Sandusky," or those who allegedly helped cover up his repeated sexual abuse of disadvantaged children, said Corbett at a news conference in State College.

He said they instead affect past and current students who were not part of the scandal.

"I cannot and will not let it happen without a fight," said Corbett, adding that the Sandusky case was a criminal matter and not a violation of NCAA rules.

Corbett also called a university-funded review of the scandal led by former FBI Director Louis Freeh an incomplete report.

Freeh's 267-page review was released in July and blamed former university president Graham Spanier, Paterno, suspended Athletic Director Tim Curley and ex-Vice President Gary Schultz for allegedly taking part in a cover-up to avoid bad publicity.

The scandal led to Spanier's ouster and shocked the nation after Freeh's team concluded that the school's top administrators had "empowered" Sandusky, the former defensive coordinator for the football team, to continue his abuse.

The fine is expected to be paid over five years and will fund an endowment with a mission of fighting child sex abuse and supporting victims.

Pennsylvania's U.S. House delegation objects to the NCAA's plans to spend only 25% of those funds within the state.

The delegation wants the association to spend all of the $60 million in Pennsylvania, according to a November letter to the NCAA.

"While we fully support the stated purpose of the endowment, we believe its funds should be used solely for programs and organizations within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, where a need exists for the creation of prevention programs for sexually abused children," the letter stated.

The NCAA declined to comment Tuesday on the governor's planned lawsuit, spokesman Bob Williams said. The organization historically doesn't comment on any possible legal actions unless and until they are filed, he said.

Sandusky, 68, was convicted last June on 45 counts of child sex abuse, ranging from corruption of minors to involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, which were laid out in graphic testimony by his accusers over the course of the less-than-two-week trial. In October, he was sentenced to 30 to 60 years in prison, meaning he'll likely die behind bars.

Penn State, a college football powerhouse and two-time national champion, avoided the NCAA's "death penalty," a suspension from play of a year or more, in the Sandusky abuse case.

But Ed Ray, the chairman of the NCAA's executive committee, said the sanctions on the school "should serve as a stark wake-up call to everyone in college sports."

Penn State President Rodney Erickson said the university accepted the decision and would not appeal. "I think, for the whole university, what this calls upon us to do is to look at our whole value culture, our whole value set, our value base," Erickson told CNN last year.

Paterno, who coached at Penn State for 46 years, was fired after Sandusky's arrest in November 2011. He had been the all-time leader in major college football victories for a coach, with 409 wins. The NCAA's decision strikes 111 of those from his record, beginning in 1998 -- a move that posthumously bumps him from the top of the list.

Last July, the Big Ten Conference declared Penn State ineligible for any conference title football games and ruled that the Nittany Lions' share of bowl revenues for four seasons -- about $13 million -- will be donated to charities that "protect children."

David La Torre, a Penn State spokesman, said last year the school will not use tax or tuition dollars to pay the NCAA's $60 million fine.

The Skanner Foundation's 38th Annual MLK Breakfast