04-26-2024  10:24 am   •   PDX and SEA Weather
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NORTHWEST NEWS

City Council Strikes Down Gonzalez’s ‘Inhumane’ Suggestion for Blanket Ban on Public Camping

Mayor Wheeler’s proposal for non-emergency ordinance will go to second reading.

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. 

NEWS BRIEFS

NEWS RELEASE: Chair Jessica Vega Pederson Releases $3.96 Billion Executive Budget for Fiscal Year 2024-2025

Investments will boost shelter and homeless services, tackle the fentanyl crisis, strengthen the safety net and support a...

New Funding Will Invest in Promising Oregon Technology and Science Startups

Today Business Oregon and its Oregon Innovation Council announced a million award to the Portland Seed Fund that will...

Unity in Prayer: Interfaith Vigil and Memorial Service Honoring Youth Affected by Violence

As part of the 2024 National Youth Violence Prevention Week, the Multnomah County Prevention and Health Promotion Community Adolescent...

Mt. Tabor Park Selected for National Initiative

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

Net neutrality restored as FCC votes to regulate internet providers

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The Federal Trade Commission on Thursday voted to restore “net neutrality” rules that prevent broadband internet providers such as Comcast and Verizon from favoring some sites and apps over others. The move effectively reinstates a net neutrality order the...

Biden celebrates computer chip factories, pitching voters on American 'comeback'

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — President Joe Biden on Thursday sought to sell voters on an American “comeback story” as he highlighted longterm investments in the economy in upstate New York to celebrate Micron Technology's plans to build a campus of computer chip factories made possible in part with...

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

Takeaways from AP's investigation into fatal police encounters involving injections of sedatives

The practice of giving sedatives to people detained by police spread quietly across the nation over the last 15 years, built on questionable science and backed by police-aligned experts, an investigation led by The Associated Press has found. At least 94 people died after they were...

Dozens of deaths reveal risks of injecting sedatives into people restrained by police

Demetrio Jackson was desperate for medical help when the paramedics arrived. The 43-year-old was surrounded by police who arrested him after responding to a trespassing call in a Wisconsin parking lot. Officers had shocked him with a Taser and pinned him as he pleaded that he...

South Africa will mark 30 years of freedom amid inequality, poverty and a tense election ahead

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — As 72-year-old Nonki Kunene walks through the corridors of Thabisang Primary School in Soweto, South Africa, she recalls the joy she and many others felt 30 years ago when they voted for the first time. It was at this school on April 27, 1994, that Kunene joined...

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

Trading Trump: Truth Social's first month of trading has sent investors on a ride

WASHINGTON (AP) — There have been lawsuits, short-selling and rampant speculation. Now, as Trump Media &...

South Africa will mark 30 years of freedom amid inequality, poverty and a tense election ahead

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — As 72-year-old Nonki Kunene walks through the corridors of Thabisang Primary School in...

Rooting for Trump to fail has made his stock shorters millions

NEW YORK (AP) — Rooting for Donald Trump to fail has rarely been this profitable. Just ask a hardy...

Scotland's under-pressure leader insists he won't resign before crunch confidence vote next week

LONDON (AP) — Scotland's leader insisted Friday that he won't be resigning as he fights for his political...

Andrew Tate's trial on charges of rape and human trafficking can start, a Romanian court rules

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — A court in Romania’s capital on Friday ruled that a trial can start in the case of...

A US-led effort to bring aid to Gaza by sea is moving forward. But big concerns remain

JERUSALEM (AP) — The construction of a new port in Gaza and an accompanying U.S. military-built pier offshore...

Amanda Sloane Hlntv.com

(CNN) -- Jurors in the George Zimmerman trial got to hear his story again Tuesday, this time from Chris Serino, the lead Sanford police investigator in the case, and Zimmerman's best friend, Mark Osterman.

On the trial's seventh day in a Florida courtroom, both of them recounted the story Zimmerman told them about the confrontation with Trayvon Martin with minor variations.

Zimmerman, a former neighborhood watch captain, is charged with second-degree murder for killing 17-year-old Martin in Sanford, Florida, on February 26, 2012. Zimmerman told police he was pursuing the teenager throughout the neighborhood because there had been a series of break-ins in the area. The two fought, and Zimmerman said he was forced to draw his gun and kill Martin in self-defense.

Serino said he felt Zimmerman exaggerated the number of times he was hit that night but said he didn't feel any "active deception" on Zimmerman's part when he said he got out of his vehicle while pursuing Martin to see what street he was on.

Osterman, who wrote a book about the case, said that when he took Zimmerman home from the police station after the shooting, Zimmerman wasn't acting like himself. "He had a stunned look on his face. Wide-eyed, just kind of a little bit detached," Osterman said on the stand Tuesday.

Judge Debra Nelson started the day by asking jurors to dismiss Serino's earlier testimony in which he said he believed Zimmerman was being truthful about what happened the night he shot Martin.

The court reporter read the exchange between defense attorney Mark O'Mara and Serino, a detective with the Sanford Police Department.

"So if we were to take pathological liar off the table as a possibility, you think (Zimmerman) was telling the truth?" asked O'Mara.

"Yes," said Serino.

The judge told jurors to dismiss the question and the answer, telling them it was an improper statement made by the witness about Zimmerman's credibility.

On his second day on the stand, Serino was asked by prosecutor Bernie de la Rionda if he thought Zimmerman was profiling Martin.

"If I were to believe that somebody was committing a crime, could that not be profiling that person?" asked de la Rionda.

"It could be construed as such, yes," said Serino.

"Was there any evidence that Trayvon Martin was committing a crime that evening, sir?" asked de la Rionda.

"No, sir," said Serino.

"Was there any evidence that that young man was armed?" asked de la Rionda.

"No, sir," said Serino.

The prosecutor also wanted to know Serino's thoughts on the language Zimmerman used in his non-emergency call to police when he said, "these (expletive) punks always get away."

"Is that something you would use in reference to somebody that you're going to invite over to dinner?" asked de la Rionda.

"No, sir, I would not," said Serino.

"Does that seem like a friendly comment about somebody else?" asked de la Rionda.

"No, sir, it does not," said Serino.

Serino also agreed that calling someone "(expletive) punks" is ill will and spite. To prove second-degree murder, prosecutors have to show Zimmerman acted with a "depraved mind" without regard for human life.

The prosecutor then started to dig into some of the details of Zimmerman's statement on the shooting to police, asking Serino about inconsistencies.

Serino said there was evidence to suggest that Zimmerman was still following Martin after the non-emergency operator told him not to. And Serino said red flags were raised for him when Zimmerman didn't know the names of the streets in his neighborhood, because there are only three.

However, Serino also said that he didn't feel there was "active deception" on Zimmerman's part when he said he didn't know where he was and had to get out of his vehicle to look at a street sign.

About the fight that allegedly ensued between Zimmerman and Martin, Serino also said Zimmerman's nose may have been bleeding back into his mouth, which could explain why Martin didn't have blood on his hands. And he agreed with O'Mara that the purported smothering of Zimmerman by Martin could have happened only momentarily, perhaps not long enough to be heard on the 911 call made by a neighbor.

When questioned again by the prosecution, Serino admitted that he was speculating on the details of how the fight played out.

The last witness to take the stand before court recessed for lunch was Mark Osterman, who called Zimmerman "the best friend I've ever had."

Osterman has worked in law enforcement for more than 20 years and said he's the one who helped Zimmerman purchase his gun. "He asked whether he should or shouldn't -- to start with -- and I recommended that he should. Anybody who's a non-convicted felon should carry a firearm. The police aren't always there," said Osterman.

Osterman also recounted the story of the shooting that Zimmerman told him. He said that as the two scuffled, Zimmerman's jacket came up, potentially exposing his gun to Martin. Osterman said Zimmerman was mostly focused on Martin's hands, which he said were keeping him from breathing.

"It was critical. He was losing oxygen. He felt he was not able to breathe. That's why he was desperate to clear an airway," said Osterman.

Osterman said Zimmerman felt Martin grab either his gun or the holster.

"That's when he had to -- he freed one of his hands and got the gun. He either broke contact or knocked Trayvon's hand away, and then he drew it," said Osterman.

Osterman said Zimmerman shot Martin, crawled out from under him, holstered his weapon, got on Martin's back and held his arms out, pinning them down.

But a photograph snapped by a neighbor shows Martin's hands under his body. Osterman said he wasn't aware of this fact.

Martin died of a single gunshot wound to the chest.

 

The Skanner Foundation's 38th Annual MLK Breakfast