11-23-2024  1:22 am   •   PDX and SEA Weather

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4

NORTHWEST NEWS

'Bomb Cyclone' Kills 1 and Knocks out Power to Over Half a Million Homes Across the Northwest US

A major storm was sweeping across the northwest U.S., battering the region with strong winds and rain. The Weather Prediction Center issued excessive rainfall risks through Friday and hurricane-force wind warnings were in effect. 

'Bomb Cyclone' Threatens Northern California and Pacific Northwest

The Weather Prediction Center issued excessive rainfall risks beginning Tuesday and lasting through Friday. Those come as the strongest atmospheric river  that California and the Pacific Northwest has seen this season bears down on the region. 

More Logging Is Proposed to Help Curb Wildfires in the US Pacific Northwest

Officials say worsening wildfires due to climate change mean that forests must be more actively managed to increase their resiliency.

Democrat Janelle Bynum Flips Oregon’s 5th District, Will Be State’s First Black Member of Congress

The U.S. House race was one of the country’s most competitive and viewed by The Cook Political Report as a toss up, meaning either party had a good chance of winning.

NEWS BRIEFS

OMSI Opens Indoor Ice Rink for the Holiday Season

This is the first year the unique synthetic ice rink is open. ...

Thanksgiving Safety Tips

Portland Fire & Rescue extends their wish to you for a happy and safe Thanksgiving Holiday. ...

Portland Art Museum’s Rental Sales Gallery Showcases Diverse Talent

New Member Artist Show will be open to the public Dec. 6 through Jan. 18, with all works available for both rental and purchase. ...

Dolly Parton's Imagination Library of Oregon Announces New State Director and Community Engagement Coordinator

“This is an exciting milestone for Oregon,” said DELC Director Alyssa Chatterjee. “These positions will play critical roles in...

Multnomah County Library Breaks Ground on Expanded St. Johns Library

Groundbreaking marks milestone in library transformations ...

Storm dumps record rain in Northern California, while US Northeast deals with winter storms

HEALDSBURG, Calif. (AP) — A major storm dropped more snow and record rain in California, causing small landslides and flooding some streets, while on the opposite side of the country blizzard or winter storm warnings were in effect Saturday for areas spanning from the Northeast to central...

What to know about Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Trump's pick for labor secretary

WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump on Friday named Oregon Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer to lead the Department of Labor in his second administration, elevating a Republican congresswoman who has strong support from unions in her district but lost reelection in November. ...

Moore and UAPB host Missouri

Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions (1-5) at Missouri Tigers (4-1) Columbia, Missouri; Sunday, 5 p.m. EST BOTTOM LINE: UAPB plays Missouri after Christian Moore scored 20 points in UAPB's 98-64 loss to the Texas Tech Red Raiders. The Tigers are 4-0 in home...

Grill's 25 point leads Missouri past Pacific 91-56

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Reserve Caleb Grill scored 25 points on 9-for-12 shooting and Tamar Bates scored 11 points as Missouri overwhelmed Pacific 91-56 on Friday night. Reserve Trent Pierce added 10 points for Missouri (4-1) which made 14 of 30 3-pointers. Elias Ralph...

OPINION

A Loan Shark in Your Pocket: Cellphone Cash Advance Apps

Fast-growing app usage leaves many consumers worse off. ...

America’s Healing Can Start with Family Around the Holidays

With the holiday season approaching, it seems that our country could not be more divided. That division has been perhaps the main overarching topic of our national conversation in recent years. And it has taken root within many of our own families. ...

Donald Trump Rides Patriarchy Back to the White House

White male supremacy, which Trump ran on, continues to play an outsized role in exacerbating the divide that afflicts our nation. ...

Why Not Voting Could Deprioritize Black Communities

President Biden’s Justice40 initiative ensures that 40% of federal investment benefits flow to disadvantaged communities, addressing deep-seated inequities. ...

AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE NEWS

Daniel Penny doesn't testify as his defense rests in subway chokehold trial

NEW YORK (AP) — Daniel Penny chose not to testify and defense lawyers rested their case Friday at his trial in the death of an agitated man he choked on a subway train. Closing arguments are expected after Thanksgiving in the closely watched manslaughter case about the death of...

National monument proposed for North Dakota Badlands, with tribes' support

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A coalition of conservation groups and Native American tribal citizens on Friday called on President Joe Biden to designate nearly 140,000 acres of rugged, scenic Badlands as North Dakota's first national monument, a proposal several tribal nations say would preserve the...

Robinson won't appear at Trump's North Carolina rally after report on online posts, AP sources say

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson will not appear at former President Donald Trump ’s rally on Saturday in the battleground state following a CNN report about Robinson’s alleged disturbing online posts, an absence that illustrates the liability the gubernatorial...

ENTERTAINMENT

Book Review: Chris Myers looks back on his career in ’That Deserves a Wow'

There are few sports journalists working today with a resume as broad as Chris Myers. From a decade doing everything for ESPN (SportsCenter, play by play, and succeeding Roy Firestone as host of the interview show “Up Close”) to decades of involvement with nearly every league under contract...

Was it the Mouse King? ‘Nutcracker’ props stolen from a Michigan ballet company

CANTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — Did the Mouse King strike? A ballet group in suburban Detroit is scrambling after someone stole a trailer filled with props for upcoming performances of the beloved holiday classic “The Nutcracker.” The lost items include a grandfather...

Wrestling with the ghosts of 'The Piano Lesson'

The piano on the set of “The Piano Lesson” was not a mere prop. It could be played and the cast members often did. It was adorned with pictures of the Washington family and their ancestors. It was, John David Washington jokes, “No. 1 on the call sheet.” “We tried to haunt...

U.S. & WORLD NEWS

Texas education board approves optional Bible-infused curriculum for elementary schools

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas’ education board voted Friday to allow Bible-infused teachings in elementary...

California case is the first confirmed bird flu infection in a US child

Health officials on Friday confirmed bird flu in a California child — the first reported case in a U.S. minor. ...

2 convicted in human smuggling case after Indian family froze to death on US-Canada border

FERGUS FALLS, Minn. (AP) — A jury convicted two men on Friday of charges related to human smuggling for their...

Brazilian police formally accuse former President Bolsonaro and aides of alleged 2022 coup attempt

SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil’s federal police on Thursday formally accused former President Jair Bolsonaro and 36...

Prominent figure from Canada's trucker protests against COVID-19 restrictions found guilty

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — One of the most prominent figures from Canada's trucker protests against COVID-19...

South Korea says Russia supplied air defense missiles to North Korea in return for its troops

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Russia has supplied air defense missile systems to North Korea in exchange for sending...

Christopher S. Rugaber AP Economics Writer


Costco is one of several major stores that have
reported lower-than-expected revenue
results recently

 

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Companies are more productive, fewer people are seeking unemployment benefits and service companies are adding jobs.

Ideally, those trends could signal stronger growth, followed by more hiring. Yet until consumers consistently spend more, businesses are unlikely to hire enough to drive down unemployment.

But more consumers need jobs and raises to keep spending enough to help the economy grow. The paradox has kept the economy from thriving more than two years after the recession officially ended.

It's also why economists think the unemployment rate stayed at 9.1 percent for a fourth straight month in October. The government will issue the October jobs report Friday.

"We're creating jobs, but it's not enough to ... increase wages measurably," said Ellen Zentner, an economist at Nomura Securities.

Thursday data reinforced that message. Weekly applications for unemployment benefits dropped to a seasonally adjusted 397,000, the Labor Department said. It's only the third time since April that applications have fallen below 400,000.

Still, applications would need to fall below 375,000 to signal sustained job gains. They haven't been at that level since February.

Services companies, which employ about 90 percent of the work force, hired more in October after cutting jobs in the previous month, according to a survey by the Institute for Supply Management.

Overall growth for the service sector - which covers businesses from restaurants and hotels to financial services firms and retail companies - was mostly unchanged from September's slow pace.

Companies ordered more factory goods in September for a third straight month, the Commerce Department said. The gain occurred largely because businesses spent more on industrial machinery, computers and software. It's a sign that in the sluggish economy, many companies are investing in equipment but not in new hires.

Businesses are getting more out their existing work forces while paying less to employ them. Worker productivity rose in the July-September quarter by the most in a year and a half, the Labor Department said. At the same time, labor costs fell.

The jump in productivity was due largely to the economy's best quarterly growth in a year without much change in hiring or hours worked.

Higher productivity is generally a good thing. It can raise standards of living by enabling companies to pay workers more without raising their prices and increasing inflation. But without strong and sustained customer demand, companies are unlikely to hire.

Consumers helped drive this summer's growth by increasing their spending at triple the rate from spring.

When demand rises and productivity is low, it's usually a sign that businesses have reached the limit on the work they can squeeze from their work forces. That often leads some to hire more workers, if they want to grow.

But economists worry that consumers won't be able to sustain this summer's spending binge. In the July-September quarter, they spent more while earning less. They used their savings to make up the difference. Without more jobs and higher wages, consumers are likely to pare spending in the months ahead.

That may already be happening. Shoppers slowed their spending in October, according to monthly revenue results reported by retailers Thursday. Costco, Macy's, Saks and Target are among the companies that reported results that fell slightly below Wall Street analysts' expectations.

Weaker sales figures at big chain stores open for more than a year is a bad sign ahead of the winter holiday shopping season.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Wednesday that growth is likely to be "frustratingly slow," after the Fed sharply lowered its economic projections for the next two years.

The Fed now says the economy will likely expand no more than 1.7 percent for all of 2011. That's down from its June forecast of 2.7 percent to 2.9 percent. And it predicted growth of only 2.5 percent to 2.9 percent next year, nearly a percentage point lower than its June estimate.

The Fed said it doesn't expect the unemployment rate to be any lower this year. And it sees unemployment averaging 8.6 percent by the end of next year.

---

AP Economics Writer Martin Crutsinger contributed to this report.

© 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

theskanner50yrs 250x300