05-04-2024  12:27 am   •   PDX and SEA Weather
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NORTHWEST NEWS

Police Detain Driver Who Accelerated Toward Protesters at Portland State University in Oregon

The Portland Police Bureau said in a written statement late Thursday afternoon that the man was taken to a hospital on a police mental health hold. They did not release his name. The vehicle appeared to accelerate from a stop toward the crowd but braked before it reached anyone. 

Portland Government Will Change On Jan. 1. The City’s Transition Team Explains What We Can Expect.

‘It’s a learning curve that everyone has to be intentional about‘

What Marijuana Reclassification Means for the United States

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is moving toward reclassifying marijuana as a less dangerous drug. The Justice Department proposal would recognize the medical uses of cannabis but wouldn’t legalize it for recreational use. Some advocates for legalized weed say the move doesn't go far enough, while opponents say it goes too far.

US Long-Term Care Costs Are Sky-High, but Washington State’s New Way to Help Pay for Them Could Be Nixed

A group funded by hedge fund executive Brian Heywood is attempting to undermine the financial stability of Washington state's new long-term care social insurance program.

NEWS BRIEFS

April 30 is the Registration Deadline for the May Primary Election

Voters can register or update their registration online at OregonVotes.gov until 11:59 p.m. on April 30. ...

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...

Safety lapses contributed to patient assaults at Oregon State Hospital, federal report says

Safety lapses at the Oregon State Hospital contributed to recent patient-on-patient assaults, a federal report on the state's most secure inpatient psychiatric facility has found. The investigation by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services found that staff didn't always...

Democratic officials criticize Meta ad policy, saying it amplifies lies about 2020 election

ATLANTA (AP) — Several Democrats serving as their state's top election officials have sent a letter to the parent company of Facebook, asking it to stop allowing ads that claim the 2020 presidential election was stolen. In the letter addressed to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, the...

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...

Elliss, Jenkins, McCaffrey join Harrison and Alt in following their fathers into the NFL

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Marvin Harrison Jr., Joe Alt, Kris Jenkins, Jonah Ellis and Luke McCaffrey have turned the NFL draft into a family affair. The sons of former pro football stars, they've followed their fathers' formidable footsteps into the league. Elliss was...

OPINION

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...

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...

AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE NEWS

The Kentucky Derby is turning 150 years old. It's survived world wars and controversies of all kinds

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — As a record crowd cheered, American Pharoah rallied from behind and took aim at his remaining two rivals in the stretch. The bay colt and jockey Victor Espinoza surged to the lead with a furlong to go and thundered across the finish line a length ahead in the 2015 Kentucky...

Congressman praises heckling of war protesters, including 1 who made monkey gestures at Black woman

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Israel-Hamas war demonstrations at the University of Mississippi turned ugly this week when one counter-protester appeared to make monkey noises and gestures at a Black student in a raucous gathering that was endorsed by a far-right congressman from Georgia. ...

Biden awards the Medal of Freedom to Nancy Pelosi, Medgar Evers, Michelle Yeoh and 15 others

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Friday bestowed the Presidential Medal of Freedom on 19 people, including civil rights icons such as the late Medgar Evers, prominent political leaders such as former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rep. James Clyburn, and actor Michelle Yeoh. ...

ENTERTAINMENT

Celebrity birthdays for the week of May 5-11

Celebrity birthdays for the week of May 5-11: May 5: Actor Michael Murphy is 86. Actor Lance Henriksen (“Millennium,” ″Aliens”) is 84. Comedian-actor Michael Palin (Monty Python) is 81. Actor John Rhys-Davies (“Lord of the Rings,” ″Raiders of the Lost Ark”) is 80....

Select list of nominees for 2024 Tony Awards

NEW YORK (AP) — Select nominations for the 2024 Tony Awards, announced Tuesday. Best Musical: “Hell's Kitchen'': ”Illinoise"; “The Outsiders”; “Suffs”; “Water for Elephants” Best Play: “Jaja’s African Hair Braiding”; “Mary Jane”; “Mother...

Book Review: 'Crow Talk' provides a path for healing in a meditative and hopeful novel on grief

Crows have long been associated with death, but Eileen Garvin’s novel “Crow Talk” offers a fresh perspective; creepy, dark and morbid becomes beautiful, wondrous and transformative. “Crow Talk” provides a path for healing in a meditative and hopeful novel on grief, largely...

U.S. & WORLD NEWS

A senior UN official says northern Gaza is now in 'full-blown famine'

WASHINGTON (AP) — A top U.N. official said Friday that hard-hit northern Gaza was now in “full-blown famine"...

Larry Demeritte is just the second Black trainer since 1951 to saddle a horse for the Kentucky Derby

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — If Larry Demeritte is looking for a positive sign heading into his first Kentucky Derby...

Google, Justice Department make final arguments about whether search engine is a monopoly

WASHINGTON (AP) — Google's preeminence as an internet search engine is an illegal monopoly propped up by more...

Gangs in Haiti launch fresh attacks, days after a new prime minister is announced

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Gangs in Haiti laid siege to several neighborhoods in Port-au-Prince, burning homes...

Self-exiled Chinese businessman's chief of staff pleads guilty weeks before trial

NEW YORK (AP) — The chief of staff of a Chinese businessman sought by the government of China pleaded guilty to...

Southern Brazil has been hit by the worst floods in more than 80 years. At least 39 people have died

SAO PAULO (AP) — Heavy rains in the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul killed 39 people, with another...

Faith Karimi and Nima Elbagir CNN

NAIROBI, Kenya (CNN) -- As they strolled through Westgate Mall, guns strapped to their torsos, the attackers chatted on their cell phones while they sprayed bullets at terrified shoppers.

Ruthless and unafraid, they randomly gunned down shoppers at the upscale mall in the Kenyan capital.

At one point, they took turns to pray, removing shoes to perform the ritual washing in a room stacked with boxes. They bowed down in Islamic prayer, taking a break from incessant gunfire.

Chilling footage from mall

Closed-circuit television footage obtained by CNN provides the chilling new details of what happened during the attack last month.

In part, it shows two people with guns casually walking and shooting their way through a supermarket in the mall. During the hours of video, they are seen talking on the phone, praying and shooting toward anything that moved.

A man whimpering in a pool of blood on the floor crawled to get away. A gunman returned and shot him, again.

In between the gunfire, the attackers scanned ceilings for surveillance cameras. Nearby, shoppers hid behind cash registers while some ran for their lives. Others, too terrified to move, cowered on bloody floors.

Parking lot mayhem

The footage was taken on September 21, day one of the four-day siege. Though the video has no sound, the terror on the faces of the victims is loud and clear.

In addition to the two attackers in the supermarket, the footage shows two more making their way through the parking lot. They opened fire. Shoppers slithered under cars. Others tumbled to the ground, felled by bullets.

The attack left at least 67 people dead, many more injured and dozens unaccounted for.

Details match up

Details from the footage appear to corroborate a running commentary by the Al-Shabaab, which claimed responsibility for the attacks.

In its Twitter account during the siege, the terror group said the attacks were conducted by men. It denied reports that terror suspect Briton Samantha Lewthwaite was involved.

Al-Shabaab said it remained in contact with the attackers as they battled Kenyan forces during the hostage crisis.

Hostage takers join forces

The attackers in the parking lot later joined the others in the mall. The four wandered, rounding up hostages.

A woman with two children and a third in a shopping cart walked by a line of cash registers. A bloody teenage girl followed them; a gunman pointed the way. The woman, the children and girl were all eventually released.

The footage focuses on the corner of the mall closest to the supermarket, which occupies the anchor position in the four-story mall. The stories repeated themselves in various places at the mall, which has more than 80 stores.

Many unknowns

There are many mysteries about the mall attack.

With dozens still unaccounted for, how many people did the attackers kill? How many terrorists did the Kenyan forces kill? How many civilians and terrorists are buried beneath the concrete chunks of the collapsed section of the mall?

It's unclear whether the four terrorists in the video were arrested or gunned down by security forces at the scene. Even the total number of assailants is unknown.

At the time of the attack, Kenyan officials said that up to 15 gunmen were involved.

On day four, as the operation wound down, President Uhuru Kenyatta said five terrorists were killed and 11 suspects were in custody.

But since then, the numbers have fluctuated, with different officials citing various numbers between four and six.

This month, military spokesman Maj. Emmanuel Chirchir said four gunmen died when part of the mall collapsed. It's unclear whether he was referring to those in the video. Their charred bodies, he said, are undergoing DNA tests.

Chirchir also released the names of the dead militants, including an American of Somali origin, but analysts say those names may be pseudonyms.

Officials have said the answers may be buried beneath the rubble of the collapsed section of the mall.

But, as they scour through the mangled heap, there are more questions than answers.

CNN's Faith Karimi wrote and reported from Atlanta; Nima Elbagir reported from Nairobi

 

The Skanner Foundation's 38th Annual MLK Breakfast