05-16-2024  9:04 pm   •   PDX and SEA Weather
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NORTHWEST NEWS

Iconic Skanner Building Will Become Healing Space as The Skanner Continues Online

New owner strives to keep spirit of business intact during renovations.

No Criminal Charges in Rare Liquor Probe at OLCC, State Report Says

The investigation examined whether employees of the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission improperly used their positions to obtain bottles of top-shelf bourbon for personal use.

Portland OKs New Homeless Camping Rules That Threaten Fines or Jail in Some Cases

The mayor's office says it seeks to comply with a state law requiring cities to have “objectively reasonable” restrictions on camping.

Safety Lapses Contributed to Patient Assaults at Oregon State Hospital

A federal report says safety lapses at the Oregon State Hospital contributed to recent patient-on-patient assaults. The report by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services investigated a recent choking attack and sexual assault, among other incidents. It found that staff didn't always adequately supervise their patients, and that the hospital didn't fully investigate the incidents. In a statement, the hospital said it was dedicated to its patients and working to improve conditions. It has 10 days from receiving the report to submit a plan of correction. The hospital is Oregon's most secure inpatient psychiatric facility

NEWS BRIEFS

Oregon Community Foundation Welcomes New Board Members

Oregon Community Foundation’s Board of Directors has elected two new members who bring extensive experience in community engagement...

Governor Kotek Issues Statement on Role of First Spouse

"I take responsibility for not being more thoughtful in my approach to exploring the role of the First Spouse." ...

Legislature Makes Major Investments to Increase Housing Affordability and Expand Treatment in Multnomah County

Over million in new funding will help build a behavioral health drop in center, expand violence prevention programs, and...

Poor People’s Campaign and National Partners Announce, “Mass Poor People’s and Low-Wage Workers’ Assembly and Moral March on Washington, D.C. and to the Polls” Ahead of 2024 Elections

Scheduled for June 29th, the “Mass Poor People’s and Low-Wage Workers’ Assembly and Moral March on Washington, D.C.: A Call to...

Legendary Civil Rights Leader Medgar Wiley Evers Receives Presidential Medal of Freedom

Evers family overwhelmed with gratitude after Biden announces highest civilian honor. ...

Prosecutors say Washington officer charged with murder ignored his training in killing man in 2019

KENT, Wash. (AP) — A suburban Seattle police officer ignored his training and unnecessarily resorted to deadly force when he shot and killed a man outside a convenience store in 2019, prosecutors said as the officer's murder trial opened Thursday. Auburn Police Officer Jeff Nelson...

Oregon man convicted of sexually abusing 2 teen girls he met online gets 12 1/2 years in prison

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — An Oregon man who met two 15-year-old girls on Snapchat, sexually abused them while traveling through three states and finally abandoned them at a park has been sentenced to more than a decade behind bars, prosecutors said Thursday. Albert Wayne Johnson was...

Defending national champion LSU boosts its postseason hopes with series win against Texas A&M

With two weeks left in the regular season, LSU is scrambling to avoid becoming the third straight defending national champion to miss the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers (31-18, 9-15) won two of three against then-No. 1 Texas A&M to take a giant step over the weekend, but they...

The Bo Nix era begins in Denver, and the Broncos also drafted his top target at Oregon

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — For the first time in his 17 seasons as a coach, Sean Payton has a rookie quarterback to nurture. Payton's Denver Broncos took Bo Nix in the first round of the NFL draft. The coach then helped out both himself and Nix by moving up to draft his new QB's top...

OPINION

The Skanner News May 2024 Primary Endorsements

Read The Skanner News endorsements and vote today. Candidates for mayor and city council will appear on the November general election ballot. ...

Nation’s Growing Racial and Gender Wealth Gaps Need Policy Reform

Never-married Black women have 8 cents in wealth for every dollar held by while males. ...

New White House Plan Could Reduce or Eliminate Accumulated Interest for 30 Million Student Loan Borrowers

Multiple recent announcements from the Biden administration offer new hope for the 43.2 million borrowers hoping to get relief from the onerous burden of a collective

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...

AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE NEWS

70 years after Brown v. Board, America is both more diverse — and more segregated

On May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court laid out a new precedent: Separate but equal has no place in American schools. The message of Brown v. Board of Education was clear. But 70 years later, the impact of the decision is still up for debate. Have Americans truly ended segregation in...

Violence rages in New Caledonia as France rushes emergency reinforcements to its Pacific territory

PARIS (AP) — Violence raged across New Caledonia for the third consecutive day Thursday, hours after France imposed a state of emergency in the French Pacific territory, boosting security forces’ powers to quell unrest in the archipelago that has long sought independence. French...

Psychedelic therapy and workers' rights bills fail to advance in California's tough budget year

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — As California faces a multibillion-dollar budget deficit, lawmakers must make tough decisions about which of the more than 1,000 measures still alive in the Legislature this year will not make the cut. On Thursday, they stopped hundreds of bills from...

ENTERTAINMENT

Celebrity birthdays for the week of May 19-25

Celebrity birthdays for the week of May 19-25: May 19: TV personality David Hartman is 89. Actor James Fox is 85. Actor Nancy Kwan is 85. Musician Pete Townshend is 79. Singer-actor-model Grace Jones is 73. Drummer Phil Rudd AC/DC is 70. Actor Steven Ford is 68. Actor Toni Lewis...

Book Review: Anonymous public servants are the heart of George Stephanopoulos' 'Situation Room'

The biggest challenge for an author tackling the history of the Situation Room, the basement room of the White House where some of the biggest intelligence crises have been handled in recent decades, is the room itself. As a setting, it's pretty underwhelming. In “The Situation...

Book Review: A grandfather’s 1,500-page family history undergirds Claire Messud’s latest novel

Secrets and shame — every family has its share. When it came time to write her most autobiographical novel, Claire Messud relied on a 1,500-page family history compiled by her paternal grandfather. The result, “This Strange Eventful History,” sprawls over a third as many pages — 423, to be...

U.S. & WORLD NEWS

Afro-Cuban drums, Muslim prayers, Buddhist mantras: Religious diversity blooms in once-atheist Cuba

HAVANA (AP) — The 1959 Castro-led revolution installed an atheist, Communist government that sought to replace...

US Coast Guard says Texas barge collision may have spilled up to 2,000 gallons of oil

GALVESTON, Texas (AP) — Early estimates indicate up to 2,000 gallons of oil may have spilled into surrounding...

US prisoners are being assigned dangerous jobs. But what happens if they are hurt or killed?

PHOENIX (AP) — Blas Sanchez was nearing the end of a 20-year stretch in an Arizona prison when he was leased out...

Belarus targets opposition activists with raids and property seizures

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Authorities in Belarus on Thursday announced raids and the seizure of property belonging...

Peruvian lawmakers begin yet another effort to remove President Dina Boluarte from office

LIMA, Peru (AP) — Peruvian lawmakers on Thursday began yet another effort to remove President Dina Boluarte from...

Afro-Cuban drums, Muslim prayers, Buddhist mantras: Religious diversity blooms in once-atheist Cuba

HAVANA (AP) — The 1959 Castro-led revolution installed an atheist, Communist government that sought to replace...

By Kristina Sgueglia CNN

 

NEW YORK (CNN) -- With just one day of direct testimony and three witnesses, the defense has rested in the trial of a New York police officer accused of conspiring to abduct women in a cannibalism plot.

Jurors are expected to hear final arguments in the trial of Gilberto Valle on Thursday, with Wednesday devoted to lawyers from both sides and the judge working without the jury present.

Valle, who was suspended without pay after his arrest last fall, is charged with conspiracy to kidnap and accessing a law enforcement database illegally. The government concluded its case Monday, with prosecutors contending that Valle was "deadly serious" about online plans allegedly to kidnap, rape, torture, cook and eat women.

Defense attorneys have argued that their client's conduct was "pure fiction," "make believe" and fantasy role-playing. None of Valle's alleged targets was ever victimized.

Valle did not take the stand during the trial.

Testimony Tuesday underscored the fantasy argument by the defense.

The Russian creator of a website and an online fetish network allegedly frequented by Valle said in a taped deposition that the site he created was for "legal" fetishes and is intended for "fantasy only."

Earlier prosecution testimony centered on Valle's involvement with the site and its network. He carried out extensive e-mail and electronic conversations with users of the site discussing kidnapping and cannibalizing women, according to prosecution witnesses.

Speaking from Moscow on tape and in Russian, with his remarks translated into English for the courtroom, Sergay Merenkov said he created his site of "dark fetishes" because "we saw a niche in the market and we created this website for these people that have this kind of interest -- (for) all fetishes that exist, that are legal."

But on cross-examination, Merenkov admitted he saw discussions of rape and murder on members' pages.

"We wrote the rule so people could distinguish between reality and fantasy," said Merenkov, defending the site and a message he posted on safety.

In the taped deposition, which was recorded last month, Merenkov admitted he has had to kick users off because of conversations they were having through the website, explaining in those cases, "It could have led to something bad."

Merenkov said that photos on the site are supposed to feature models playing out fantasies and not real victims, but he conceded that in some instances there were real photos on the site that users had posted, specifically crime-scene photos.

Alexandra Katz, a paralegal for the defense, testified that she looked up Valle's profile under the screen name "girl meat hunter." On his account she testified she read comments he wrote about himself such as, "I like to push the envelope but no matter what I say it's all fantasy."

Micheal McDermott, who has worked for the NYPD for 24 years, was the defense's final witness. During McDermott's last eight years, he was the union delegate for the Patrolman's Benevolent Association. McDermott testified that it was a very common thing among police officers to give out PBA cards, something the prosecution previously argued Valle did as a ruse to obtain home addresses from his alleged victims.

CNN's Raelyn Johnson contributed to this report.

The Skanner Foundation's 38th Annual MLK Breakfast