10-02-2023  8:45 pm   •   PDX and SEA Weather
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NORTHWEST NEWS

Tacoma Police Officers on Trial in Deadly Arrest of Manny Ellis

The trial for three Tacoma, Washington, officers charged in a Black man’s death begins this week. Manuel Ellis died — hogtied, handcuffed and pleading “Can’t breathe” — nearly three months before George Floyd’s murder sparked worldwide protests against police brutality. The trial is the first under a 5-year-old Washington state law designed to make it easier to prosecute police who wrongfully use deadly force

2 Lawsuits Blame Utility for Eastern Washington Fire That Killed Man and Burned Hundreds of Homes

The suit alleges the utility designed its power lines to be bare, uncovered and carry a high voltage. All of that increases the risk of ignition when coming into contact with grass or equipment.

Damian Lillard Traded From the Trail Blazers to the Bucks in 3-Team Deal

The deal ends Lillard's 11-year run with the Trail Blazers and a a three-month saga surrounding Lillard's wish to be moved elsewhere in hopes of winning an NBA title.

PPS Announces ‘Incremental Improvements’ in Student Test Scores. Black Education Advocates Are Less Impressed.

Portland Public Schools announced last week that the city's students were doing better than their counterparts elsewhere in the state. But those gains are not equally distributed. 

NEWS BRIEFS

20th Annual Conference Provides Support and Resources to Unpaid Caregivers

The free event will take place on Friday, October 27 in Hillsboro ...

New Joint Committee to Provide Oversight, Seek Solutions to the Drug and Addiction Crisis

The committee will serve as a legislative hub for addressing the national drug crisis in Oregon with public health and public safety...

Broadway Rose Theatre Names New Executive Director

Meredith Gordon will assume the role on October 2, 2023. ...

Rep. Annessa Hartman Denounces Political Violence Against the Clackamas County Democratic Party

On Tuesday, the Clackamas County Democratic Party headquarters was

Bonamici Announces 5 Town Hall Meetings in October

The town hall meetings will be in St. Helens, Hillsboro, Seaside, Tillamook and Portland. ...

Washington state minimum wage moving up to .28 per hour

SEATTLE (AP) — Washington state’s minimum wage will increase 54 cents to .28 an hour next year. The Washington Department of Labor and Industries made the announcement Friday, The Seattle Times reported. A full-time worker making that wage would earn nearly ,000 per year....

Elon Musk facing defamation lawsuit in Texas over posts that falsely identified man in protest

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A California man who says he was harassed after Elon Musk amplified posts on his social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, that falsely placed the man at a confrontation involving far-right protesters sued the billionaire for defamation in a lawsuit filed Monday. ...

Brady Cook throws for career-high 395 yards, No. 23 Missouri beats Vandy 38-21

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Brady Cook is a big reason that the Missouri Tigers are off to their best start since 2013. The 23rd-ranked Missouri Tigers quarterback set the Southeastern Conference record for most pass attempts without an interception Saturday as he threw for a...

No. 23 Missouri finally leaves state to open SEC slate at Vanderbilt, which has lost 3 straight

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz hasn't spent much time thinking about getting the Tigers back into the AP Top 25 for the first time since 2019. “Rankings only matter what you do this week, so our goal was not to be ranked in Week Four,” Drinkwitz said....

OPINION

Labor Day 2023: Celebrating the Union Difference and Building Tomorrow’s Public Service Workforce

Working people are seeing what the union difference is all about, and they want to be a part of it. ...

60 Years Since 1963 March on Washington, Economic Justice Remains a Dream

Typical Black family has 1/8 the wealth held by whites, says new research ...

The 2024 Election, President Biden and the Black Vote

As a result of the Black vote, America has experienced unprecedented recovery economically, in healthcare, and employment and in its international status. ...

Federal Trade Commission Hindering Black Economic Achievement

FTC Chair Linda Khan has prioritized her own agenda despite what Americans were telling her they needed on the ground ...

AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE NEWS

New Baltimore police commissioner confirmed by City Council despite recent challenges

BALTIMORE (AP) — The Baltimore City Council on Monday confirmed Richard Worley as the city’s new police commissioner, a leadership change that comes amid an ongoing push for reform of the embattled agency that began after Freddie Gray’s 2015 death. Mayor Brandon Scott nominated...

Army officer pepper-sprayed during traffic stop asks for a new trial in his lawsuit against police

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A U.S. Army lieutenant who was struck, pepper-sprayed and handcuffed during a traffic stop in Virginia asked a federal appeals court on Monday to overturn rulings by a trial judge after jurors found mostly in favor of the two police officers he sued. Video of...

Early voting begins in New Zealand's general election and in Australia for Indigenous 'Voice'

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Early voting began on Monday in New Zealand for the nation's Oct. 14 general election, with conservative contender Christopher Luxon casting his ballot. Early voting also began in some parts of Australia in a referendum that would enshrine in...

ENTERTAINMENT

James Dolan's sketch of the Sphere becomes reality as the venue opens with a U2 show in Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS (AP) — It started as a crude sketch — a circle with a stick person inside. Seven years later, that drawing has been made real: A [scripts/homepage/home.php].3 billion massive spherical venue, standing 366 feet (111 meters) high and lighting up the Las Vegas skyline. The drawing was initially...

Book Review: Jo Nesbø offers a fresh twist on a coming-of-age horror novel in ’The Night House'

Jo Nesbø, the Norwegian author best known for his 13-book crime series starring Harry Hole (“The Snowman” was made into a 2017 movie with Michael Fassbender), is out with something completely different. “The Night House” begins like something from the mind of H.P. Lovecraft,...

Book Review: Poet recalls stormy life growing up Rastafari in Jamaica and her struggle to break free

It’s not unusual for an autobiography to chart a person’s passage from rags to riches, ignorance to enlightenment, or bondage to freedom. It is unusual to find one as powerful and disturbing as Safiya Sinclair’s debut memoir, “How to Say Babylon,” which has already drawn comparisons to...

U.S. & WORLD NEWS

The Pentagon warns Congress it is running low on money to replace weapons sent to Ukraine

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon is warning Congress that it is running low on money to replace weapons the U.S....

Gaetz launches effort to bring down McCarthy, but removing the House speaker is no easy task

WASHINGTON (AP) — “How would you be different as speaker, compared to Mr. Boehner?” a reporter asked...

Europe Union's top diplomat dismisses concern about bloc's long-term support for Ukraine

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The European Union’s foreign policy chief on Monday led a delegation of top diplomats on...

Serbia says it has reduced army presence near Kosovo after US expressed concern over troop buildup

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — The Serbian army has cut the number of troops stationed on the border with Kosovo by...

Clergy abuse survivors propose new 'zero tolerance' law following outcry over Vatican appointment

ROME (AP) — Clergy sexual abuse survivors on Monday unveiled a proposed new church law calling for the permanent...

Officials say 2 are still missing after a Spanish nightclub fire killed 13. The club lacked a permit

MADRID (AP) — Authorities in the southern Spanish city of Murcia said Monday that two people believed to have...

Nicholas K. Geranios the Associated Press

Kevin Harpham



SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) -- A man indicted on charges of placing a bomb along the planned route of the Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade in Spokane pleaded not guilty in federal court this week.

Kevin Harpham, 36, will remain in the Spokane County Jail without bail after his appearance before U.S. Magistrate Cynthia Imbrogno. A trial date has been set for May 31.

Harpham, who has extensive ties to white supremacist groups, made yes and no answers during his brief court appearance.

Federal prosecutors have sealed nearly all the information in what authorities have termed a case of attempted domestic terrorism, a decision Harpham's lawyer called ``somewhat unusual.''

Roger Peven, Harpham's lawyer, said even he has not been privy to many of the details of the FBI investigation that led to his client's March 9 arrest.

``I expect to get something today,'' Peven, a federal defender, said Wednesday.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Harrington declined to say why the documents have been under seal.

Harpham was indicted by a grand jury Tuesday on charges of attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction and unauthorized possession of an unregistered explosive device.

Harpham is an Army veteran who lives near Addy, 50 miles north of Spokane.

The bomb was found the morning of the parade on Jan. 17 and disabled before it could explode. No one was injured.

Harpham's father, Cecil, has told reporters his son was with him the morning the bomb was found, and could not have planted the device. Peven said he has met with the father but could not disclose the contents of the conversation.

The Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate groups, has said that Kevin Harpham made more than 1,000 postings on an Internet site used by racists called the Vanguard News Network. The SPLC has also said that Harpham belonged to a neo-Nazi group called the National Alliance.

Cecil Harpham has said his son talked to racists on the Internet regularly, but never acted on racial hate.

Kevin Harpham served from 1996 to 1999 in the U.S. Army at what is now Joint Base Lewis-McChord, near Tacoma, Wash.

He owns 10 acres of land north of Addy in rural Stevens County, a few miles south of his father's home. Property records show he bought the land in 1997 and built a small house in 2007. His lawyers have said Harpham is not married and had not been recently employed.