WASHINGTON (AP) -- Stop executions for a while and perhaps they can be stopped forever. That calculation has been part of the strategy of capital punishment opponents for decades.
The Supreme Court-inspired slowdown in executions offers the first nationwide opportunity in 20-plus years to test whether the absence of regularly scheduled executions will lead some states to abandon the death penalty and change public attitudes about capital punishment.
Recent decisions by judges and elected officials have made clear that most executions will not proceed until the Supreme Court rules in a challenge by two death row inmates to the lethal injection procedures used by Kentucky. The inmates say Kentucky's method creates the risk of pain severe enough to be cruel and unusual punishment, banned by the Eighth Amendment.
Similar procedures are used by Texas, the far-and-away leader in lethal injections, and the 16 other states that have executed prisoners in the past two years.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Finance officials from the world's top economic powers pledged Friday to do all they can to limit damage to the global economy from a jarring credit crisis as Wall Street took another plunge.
"We remained committed to doing our part in sustaining strong global growth ....

Democratic Party Chairman and former presidential candidate Howard Dean will be speaking in Portland tonight in support of the Democratic agenda. Dean is a medical doctor and former governor of Vermont and was initially favored to win the Democratic nomination for president in the 2004 election ....

Sen. Margaret Carter, center, made a powerful speech about the importance of the PCC-Cascade Skills Center at the center's dedication ceremony Tuesday. The center helps the new generation of the workforce find jobs to help support an aging American society, she said. Speakers included Dr. Algie Gatewood, left, Cascade Campus president, Dr. Preston Pulliams, right, PCC president, Kathy Jackson, alumna from the Skill Center; state Sen. Peter Courtney, Sen. Gordon Smith, and the Just Us Jazz Band, Oregon National Guard, and others.

Drive through the streets of N.E. Portland and you will see the signs: "Prevent Foreclosure." For homeowners struggling to make mortgage payments those words may seem like the answer to their prayers.
But housing nonprofits warn that the promise of an easy solution can be deceptive. Better to get information about how to avoid foreclosure from a neutral party, they say. Better still — take a homebuying class before getting into a mortgage deal that turns into a nightmare.
Cheryl Roberts, executive director of the African American Alliance for Homeownership, said foreclosure can be prevented by getting help as soon as you are unable to make a payment.
"The way you prevent foreclosure is not to wait, but to get help as soon as your loan becomes delinquent," Roberts said. Instead they should call a neutral party such as a HUD-approved counseling agency who has nothing to gain. "We know the options and we can provide them with the information so they can work it out with ....

Just one week after the African American Health Coalition's free exercise program was shut down because of lack of money, funding has been restored. Corliss McKeever, the coalition's director, announced Friday that Providence Health Systems has stepped in with a $35,000 gift to ensure the program's survival until the end of the year.
"The CEO of Providence (Russ Danielson) saw the value of this program," said McKeever about a program that has the involvement of nearly 20 percent of Portland's African American community.
"We were impressed by the deep reach and the positive effect this program has had on the community, and we wanted to help it continue," Danielson said.
The coalition has been looking for sources of additional funding after they lost a $850,000 federal grant - half of its annual budget. Although it may sound like a catastrophic loss, McKeever says it's a routine adjustment that nonprofits learn to deal with.
"Funding comes and goes all the time," she said, adding she expects to face this same predicament the next time a grant runs out....

To settle the confusion surrounding the county's plans to open a new library in North Portland, let's get the first rumor off the table: The current North Portland Library on Killingsworth Street isn't going anywhere.
Voters approved a tax levy in 2006 to provide revenue for two brand new libraries in the county, one in between the current North Portland and St. Johns libraries and one in Troutdale.
Patricia Welch, North Portland Branch manager, says she's excited about a new library opening in North Portland. She brushes aside any fears that a new location will cause a drop in activity on Killingsworth. Rather, she says, a new location usually draws people who live close by ....

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Portland and its surrounding counties are taking part in Topoff 4, a full-scale disaster preparedness exercise, organized and funded by the Department of Homeland Security. The idea is to prepare the city to act quickly and effectively in the event of a disaster—which could be anything from an earthquake, to a flu epidemic or a terrorist attack. For many people simply mentioning disaster preparation brings up Hurricane Katrina and the way African Americans ....

Lacy Steele, Seattle NAACP president emeritus, asks Robert Vaughn, director of advanced learning for Seattle Public Schools a question about a program at the Martin Luther King Jr. Rally and Work Shop for Public Education Oct. 6 at Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center.  The event, which was sponsored by the NAACP, was designed to provide information to parents, teaches and students with access to information that will help to improve the quality of public education.