10-10-2024  7:12 pm   •   PDX and SEA Weather

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NORTHWEST NEWS

Salmon Swim Freely in the Klamath River for 1st Time in a Century After Dams Removed

“It’s been over one hundred years since a wild salmon last swam through this reach of the Klamath River,” said Damon Goodman, a regional director for the nonprofit conservation group California Trout. “I am incredibly humbled to witness this moment and share this news, standing on the shoulders of decades of work by our Tribal partners, as the salmon return home."

Taxpayers in 24 States Will Be Able to File Their Returns Directly With the IRS in 2025

The pilot program in 2024 allowed people in certain states with very simple W-2s to calculate and submit their returns directly to the IRS. Those using the program claimed more than million in refunds, the IRS said.

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.

NEWS BRIEFS

Senator Manning and Elected Officials to Tour a New Free Pre-Apprenticeship Program

The boot camp is a FREE four-week training program introducing basic carpentry skills to individuals with little or no...

Prepare Your Trees for Winter Weather

Portland Parks & Recreation Urban Forestry staff share tips and resources. ...

PSU’s Coty Raven Morris Named a Semifinalist for GRAMMY 2025 Music Educator Award

Morris, the Hinckley assistant professor of choir, music education and social justice, is one of just 25 music teachers selected as...

Washington State Fines 35 Plastic Producers $416,000 For Not Using Enough Recycled Plastic

The Washington Department of Ecology issued the first penalties under a 2021 state law aimed at reducing waste and pollution from...

Washington state woman calls 911 after being hounded by up to 100 raccoons

Sheriff's deputies in Washington's Kitsap County frequently get calls about animals — loose livestock, problem dogs. But the 911 call they received recently from a woman being hounded by dozens of raccoons swarming her home near Poulsbo stood out. The woman reported having had to...

Feeling stressed about the election? Here's what some are doing and what they say you can do too

If the high stakes presidential election is causing troublesome thoughts, existential dread or rifts with loved ones, there’s no need to white knuckle through it. Take a deep breath. Literally. Meditation and mindfulness teacher Rosie Acosta says focusing on each...

After blowout loss to Texas A&M, No. 21 Missouri hopes to bounce back against struggling UMass

AMHERST, Mass. (AP) — Missouri coach Eliah Drinkwitz is hoping his No. 21 Tigers can make people forget about their embarrassing 41-10 loss to then-No.25 Texas A&M. And that’s bad news for UMass (1-4). Mizzou (4-1) heads to Amherst, Massachusetts, on Saturday for...

No. 21 Mizzou hopes to bounce back from Texas A&M loss with game at FCS UMass

No. 21 Missouri (4-1) at UMass (1-5), Saturday, 12 p.m. (ESPN2) BetMGM College Football Odds: Missouri by 27 1/2. Series record: First meeting. WHAT’S AT STAKE? Mizzou is trying to bounce back from a 41-10 loss to No. 25 Texas A&M and...

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

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' ...

AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE NEWS

Obama urges Black men to show up for Harris as he campaigns in critical Pennsylvania

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Former President Barack Obama gave a blistering critique of his White House successor Donald Trump and urged Black men to show up for Kamala Harris as he campaigned in Pittsburgh on Thursday at the start of a swing-state tour for the Democratic ticket. At a...

AP PHOTOS: Ratan Tata's legacy is seen throughout India — from meals to work to luxury

NEW DELHI (AP) — It's hard to imagine many Indian households that aren't somehow touched by the 0 billion conglomerate named for the family of Ratan Tata, who died this week at the age of 86. Tata has been a mythical name in Indian consumers' imaginations for generations. Every...

A federal judge rejects a call to reopen voter registration in Georgia after Hurricane Helene

ATLANTA (AP) — A federal judge said Thursday that she won't order the presidential battleground state of Georgia to reopen voter registration for November’s elections despite recent disruptions to registration caused by Hurricane Helene. U.S. District Judge Eleanor Ross rejected...

ENTERTAINMENT

Music Review: black midi's Geordie Greep aims for 'The New Sound' on his solo debut. And he hits it

Geordie Greep’s “The New Sound” is not going to be for everyone. Fans of his former act, the experimental British rock band black midi, which disbanded in August, have never been faint of heart. And Greep’s solo debut further pushes the envelope. Reminiscent of Frank Zappa’s...

Sean 'Diddy' Combs accused of sexual misconduct by 120 people, attorney says

HOUSTON (AP) — An attorney said Tuesday he is representing 120 accusers who have come forward with sexual misconduct allegations against Sean “Diddy” Combs, the hip-hop mogul who is awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. Houston attorney Tony Buzbee said he expects lawsuits...

Robert Downey Jr. found inspiration from the screen to prepare for his Broadway debut in 'McNeal'

NEW YORK (AP) — Robert Downey Jr. made his Broadway debut this week in the play “McNeal,” revealing some unexpected inspirations that helped him prepare for the stage. “Doing ‘Oppenheimer’ with (Christopher) Nolan got me back into this very monastic focus and then doing...

U.S. & WORLD NEWS

The Latest: Milton causes widespread power outages and several deaths in Florida

Hurricane Milton brought powerful winds, a dangerous storm surge and flooding to much of Florida after making...

TD Bank to pay billion in historic money-laundering settlement with the Justice Department

WASHINGTON (AP) — TD Bank will pay approximately billion in a historic settlement with U.S. authorities who...

A hurricane scientist logged a final flight as NOAA released his ashes into Milton’s eye

As an award-winning scientist, Peter Dodge had made hundreds of flights into the eyes of hurricanes — almost...

Donald Trump rolls out tax breaks, but no specifics, for overseas citizens and auto buyers

DETROIT (AP) — Donald Trump on Thursday rolled out more plans for tax breaks without offering details on how...

Ratan Tata, an Indian industry legend and business icon dies aged 86

NEW DELHI (AP) — Ratan Tata, one of India’s most influential business leaders, was cremated after a state...

UN-backed experts say Israel is destroying Gaza's health sector and both sides have tortured people

A U.N. commission on Thursday accused Israel of destroying Gaza's health care system through “relentless and...

By Ashley Killough CNN

President Obama launched his gun control campaign Monday in Minneapolis


PHOTO: Harry Colbert, Jr. Contributing Editor, Insight News

A somber Tony Bennett didn't have much to say Wednesday at a press conference on gun violence. But he wanted one message to get through.

"I still haven't gotten over Connecticut," the 86-year-old singer said. "I'd like the assault weapons to go to war, not in our own country. And I'd like assault weapons eliminated. Thank you."

Bennett was one of several celebrities and survivors of shootings who gathered in the nation's capital Wednesday to urge lawmakers to act on firearm legislation--and soon.

Sponsored by the group Mayors Against Illegal Guns, the eclectic group of actors, comedians, advocates and doctors argued for a range of changes, from background checks to all-out bans on assault weapons. The same organization, backed by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, produced a nearly 90-second ad in late December featuring dozens of A-listers calling for a plan against gun violence.

Some simply came Wednesday to throw their support behind President Barack Obama, who's leading a push of his own to tighten gun laws following the Newtown elementary school shooting that left 26 killed, including 20 children.

"The president and the first lady are kind of like the mom and the dad of the country," comedian and actor Chris Rock said. "And when your dad says something, you listen. And when you don't, it usually bites you in the ass later on. So I'm here to support the president."

Obama took his proposals on the road Monday in a campaign-style event in Minneapolis, reiterating his support for banning semi-automatic rifles modeled after military weapons as part of an updated version of an earlier weapons ban that expired in 2004.

A number of proposals have also been put forward on Capitol Hill that would enact stricter gun regulations to varying degrees. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Sunday on ABC that he supported expanding background checks to private transactions--a measure that has widespread, bipartisan support--but stopped short of endorsing an assault weapons ban, as proposed by his Senate colleague Dianne Feinstein.

Opponents say such a ban would do little to prevent gun violence, citing statistics that show most shootings come from handguns, not assault weapons.

Other initiatives that have support from both sides of the aisle include proposals to boost the nation's mental health services. Of the president's 23 executive actions he signed on gun violence last month, three of them deal with mental health and one encourages the Centers for Disease Control to conduct more research on the causes and prevention of gun violence.

Actress Amanda Peet, during the press conference, warned that even with improvements to the mental health system, "a troubled few will slip through the cracks."

"But what's the alternative? Doing nothing will fail, doing nothing has failed," she said.

Kerry Kennedy, whose father Robert F. Kennedy was gunned down in 1968 during his presidential campaign, stood alongside Martin Luther King III, the eldest son of the civil rights activist, at the event.

"We passed the Gun Control Act of 1968 for my father, my uncle, Martin Luther King and Malcolm X," she said, with a photo of her dad on the podium. "Surely we can pass a Gun Control Act of 2013 for the 20 children who lost their lives in Newtown, the school officials who died defending them and all of the Americans who had to die by a gun before we took action."

Dr. Michael Nance, a pediatric and trauma surgeon with the Children's Hospital in Philadelphia, said he frequently operates on children with gunshot wounds.

"Perhaps the most challenging aspect is to look in the eye of a distraught parent and say 'I'm sorry, I've done everything I can do, but it wasn't enough'," he said. "I would urge our legislators to ask the question of themselves regarding gun violence, whether they can look in the face of a parent and say 'I've done everything I can within my power to help'."