11-02-2024  4:11 pm   •   PDX and SEA Weather

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4

NORTHWEST NEWS

African American Alliance On Homeownership Turns 25, Honors The Skanner Cofounder Bernie Foster

AAAH's executive director Cheryl Roberts recalls how the efforts of Bernie Foster led to an organization that now offers one-on-one counseling for prospective home buyers, homebuyer education, foreclosure prevention services, estate planning, assistance with down payments and more.

Police Say Fires Set at Ballot Boxes in Oregon and Washington Are Connected; ‘Suspect Vehicle’ ID'd

Surveillance images captured a Volvo stopping at a drop box in Portland, just before security personnel nearby discovered a fire inside the box. That fire damaged three ballots inside, while officials say a fire at a drop box in nearby Vancouver, Washington, early Monday destroyed hundreds of ballots.

Two Major Affordable Housing Developments Reach Milestones in Portland

Both will provide culturally specific supportive services to residents. 

Washington State AG and Ex-Sheriff Face off in Governor's Race

Former U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert is trying to become Washington’s first GOP governor in 40 years. But he faces a difficult hurdle in the Democratic stronghold against longtime Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson, a darling of liberals for his many lawsuits against the Trump administration. 

NEWS BRIEFS

Oregon Begins Rollout of New Housing Benefits for Eligible OHP Members With Health Conditions

The housing benefits include rent assistance for up to six months, utility set-up and payments for up to six months, home...

Oregon Department of Education Releases Cell Phone Policy Guidance

ODE recommends creating policies to limit or reduce cell phone use during the school day. ...

Metro, Central City Concern and Partners to Mark Affordable Housing Complex Grand Opening With Halloween Celebration

Meridian Gardens will offer 85 single room occupancy and studio apartments to people who are in substance use disorder recovery and...

Oregon MESA Expands with Two New Regional Centers in Washington County and Lane County

“Our regional partners are embedded in the communities MESA serves, bringing a wealth of local knowledge and expertise. Regional...

Historic Seattle Black Church Hosts "Bring Your Ballot to Church" Event to Mobilize Voters

As Seattle's oldest African American-founded church, FAME carries forward the legacy of Black churches as centers of civic engagement...

Ballot-sorting machine woes slow count in Oregon county with pivotal US House race

OREGON CITY, Ore. (AP) — Problems with a ballot-sorting machine are slowing the vote tally in a suburban Portland county that was also plagued by counting issues in 2022 and is home to a key congressional race this year. The sorter in Oregon's third-largest county, Clackamas, began...

He’s fast, feisty and could play Quidditch. Meet the bat that won a beauty contest

ASHLAND, Ore. (AP) — A winged creature from Oregon was crowned this year’s winner Thursday in an annual bat beauty contest put on by the Bureau of Land Management. On Halloween, which was also the last day of International Bat Week, a hoary bat with a feisty personality named...

Many top players from one-bid leagues left for bigger schools. Here are some of the best who stayed

Identifying the top returning players in the era of the transfer portal is trickier than ever. Now that players can transfer without having to sit out a season, mid-major and low-major programs have essentially become farm systems for power-conference teams. Players who earn...

Miller rushes for 2 TDs, No. 15 Alabama picks off 3 passes in 34-0 win over No. 21 Missouri

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Jamarion Miller rushed for two touchdowns and No. 15 Alabama's defense had three interceptions in a 34-0 victory Saturday over No. 21 Missouri, which played most of the game without starting quarterback Brady Cook. The Crimson Tide (6-2, 3-2 Southeastern...

OPINION

The Skanner News 2024 Presidential Endorsement

It will come as no surprise that we strongly endorse Vice President Kamala Harris for president. ...

Black Retirees Growing Older and Poorer: 2025 Social Security COLA lowest in 10 years

As Americans live longer, the ability to remain financially independent is an ongoing struggle. Especially for Black and other people of color whose lifetime incomes are often lower than that of other contemporaries, finding money to save for ‘old age’ is...

The Skanner Endorsements: Oregon State and Local Ballot Measures

Ballots are now being mailed out for this very important election. Election Day is November 5. Ballots must be received or mailed with a valid postmark by 8 p.m. Election Day. View The Skanner's ballot measure endorsements. ...

Measure 117 is a Simple Improvement to Our Elections

Political forces around the country have launched an all-out assault on voting rights that targets Black communities. State legislatures are restricting voting access in districts with large Black populations and are imposing other barriers and pernicious...

AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE NEWS

2 Ohio officers charged with reckless homicide in death of man in custody after crash arrest

CANTON, Ohio (AP) — Prosecutors in Ohio have announced reckless homicide charges against two police officers in the death of a man who was handcuffed and left face down on the floor of a social club in Canton while telling officers he couldn’t breathe. Stark County prosecutor Kyle...

Local sheriff asks FBI to investigate death of Black man found hanging in Alabama

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — The FBI is investigating the death of a Black man in Alabama, who was found hanging in an abandoned house, following a request from a local sheriff amid fears among community members who accuse local law enforcement of longstanding, unchecked misconduct. ...

UK Conservatives pick Kemi Badenoch as new leader, first Black woman to head a big British party

LONDON (AP) — Outspoken, right-leaning lawmaker Kemi Badenoch was named leader of Britain's opposition Conservatives on Saturday, as the party tries to rebound from a crushing election defeat that ended its 14 years in power. The first Black woman to lead a major British political...

ENTERTAINMENT

Samuel L. Jackson lauded at MoMA film benefit by close family and friends

NEW YORK (AP) — The Museum of Modern Art was filled with expletives and laughter Wednesday evening as Samuel L. Jackson’s family and friends celebrated the actor and director’s storied career of box office hits, larger-than-life characters and explosive one-liners at the annual film benefit. ...

A playwright in Africa hopes to break the cultural silence on rape

BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Under a spotlight in an otherwise dark room, Oliva Ouedraogo held up a piece of fabric that looked stained with blood. “Long live the girl!” she cried, her voice competing with the loud hum of a generator. Ouedraogo was starring in her own play —...

Music Review: Muna frontwoman Katie Gavin makes her solo debut with folky, evocative 'What A Relief'

On “What a Relief,” the debut solo album from Katie Gavin, the Muna frontwoman tackles love, family and selfhood through folk and country twang that departs from the band's usual dance-forward pop. Don't worry, this isn't the end of Muna — the trio of Gavin, Naomi McPherson and...

U.S. & WORLD NEWS

Iran's supreme leader threatens Israel and US with 'a crushing response' over Israeli attack

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran's supreme leader on Saturday threatened Israel and the U.S. with “a...

Vigil set for Grizzly No. 399, the beloved Grand Teton bear who was killed by a vehicle

During her nearly three decades roaming the snowy wilderness of the Teton Range, Grizzly No. 399 became a beloved...

Listen to business owners and voters in Erie, Pennsylvania. They could help decide the White House.

ERIE, Pa. (AP) — It wasn’t much when he bought it, but Michael Hooks has made the old garage his own haven....

Negotiations stall over some crucial issues on final day of UN biodiversity summit in Colombia

CALI, Colombia (AP) — At the United Nations biodiversity summit in Colombia, negotiators have struggled to find...

FBI links video falsely depicting voter fraud in Georgia to 'Russian influence actors'

WASHINGTON (AP) — A video purporting to depict voter fraud in Georgia is fake and the work of “Russian...

At U.N. summit, historic agreement to give Indigenous groups voice on nature conservation decisions

CALI, Colombia (AP) — After two weeks of negotiations, delegates on Saturday agreed at the United Nations...

Michael Pearson, Matt Smith and Jethro Mullen CNN

(CNN) -- Edward Snowden's hopes of finding asylum from U.S. prosecution on espionage charges appeared to dim Tuesday as country after country denied his request or said he would have to find a way to travel to their territory to apply.

While Bolivia and Venezuela seemed supportive, at least 11 of the more than 19 countries he's applied to through the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks have said they will deny his request or can't consider it until he shows up at one of their embassies or on their borders.

Five countries hadn't responded as of Monday morning, Norway was noncommittal, and Snowden had already withdrawn his asylum request with Russian authorities after President Vladimir Putin said he would have to "stop his work aimed at harming our American partners" if he wanted to stay in the country.

But Bolivian President Evo Morales said he would be willing to grant Snowden asylum.

"Yes, why not," Morales said, Russia's state-run Itar-Tass news agency reported, citing an interview with the Russia Today news network. "We are worried at the demeanor of countries such as U.S.A."

And Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said Snowden deserves protection, not prosecution, according to Reuters.

"What crime has he committed? Did he kill anyone? Did he plant a bomb and kill anyone?" the news agency quoted him as saying. "No, much better, he has prevented wars, and he has stopped illegalities being committed against the entire world. For this, he deserves the protection of the world."

But as of Tuesday morning, it did not appear that either country had made a firm offer of asylum, or any way for him to leave Moscow's Sheremetyevo International Airport.

That appeared to leave Snowden in much the same pickle he's been in since he left Hong Kong last month for Moscow. Russian authorities say he remains in the airport transit area -- technically a free man, but unable to travel after the United States revoked his passport.

Neither WikiLeaks nor Snowden has commented on the rejections. The group released a statement attributed to Snowden late Monday in which he blasted the Obama administration for trying to block his efforts to seek refuge.

"These are the old, bad tools of political aggression," Snowden said. "Their purpose is to frighten, not me, but those who would come after me." But he added, "I am unbowed in my convictions and impressed at the efforts taken by so many."

In Monday's statement, Snowden criticized the Obama administration for yanking his passport once criminal charges were filed, "leaving me a stateless person." But he said the administration isn't afraid of people like him or others accused of disclosing U.S. secrets.

"No, the Obama administration is afraid of you," he said. "It is afraid of an informed, angry public demanding the constitutional government it was promised -- and it should be."

The United States has been pressing countries to refuse Snowden entry and hand him over to face espionage charges. His disclosures about widespread U.S. surveillance of telephones and Internet users in the United States and abroad -- based largely on documents he has acknowledged taking while an National Security Agency contractor in Hawaii -- have created a political storm at home and diplomatic headaches overseas for President Barack Obama.

On Monday, Obama had to defend U.S. intelligence practices after fresh reports about alleged U.S. surveillance of European Commission offices in the United States and Europe, as well as surveillance at diplomatic facilities in the United States.

The German news magazine Der Spiegel reported Sunday that information from Snowden detailed NSA bugging of European Union offices in Washington and New York, as well as an "electronic eavesdropping operation" that tapped into an EU building in Brussels, Belgium.

The reports generated a furor among European leaders, who demanded the United States come clean about the surveillance. Some, including French President Francois Hollande, said ending any such surveillance would be necessary before European leaders would be willing to start negotiations on a trans-Atlantic free trade agreement championed by Obama.

Asked at a news conference in Tanzania about the latest leaks involving Snowden, Obama said he needed more information on the specific programs cited in the Der Spiegel report, but made clear such spying was commonplace.

"I guarantee you that in European capitals, there are people who are interested in, if not what I had for breakfast, at least what my talking points might be should I end up meeting with their leaders," Obama said. "That is how intelligence services operate."

Asylum applications

WikiLeaks, which has been assisting Snowden's effort to find a haven from the U.S. charges, said it had sent new asylum requests to representatives of Austria, Bolivia, Brazil, China, Cuba, Finland, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Nicaragua, Norway, Poland, Spain, Switzerland and Venezuela.

The organization said that the documents it had submitted for the latest asylum requests "outline the risks of persecution Mr. Snowden faces in the United States."

Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa told the British newspaper The Guardian that the American fugitive would have to reach Ecuadorian territory for his request to be considered.

"Are we responsible for getting him to Ecuador? It's not logical," he told The Guardian, one of the recipients of Snowden's leaks. "The country that has to give him a safe conduct document is Russia."

He added that the decision to issue Snowden temporary travel documents that allowed him to leave Hong Kong was "a mistake on our part," The Guardian reported.

Over the weekend, Correa said Vice President Joe Biden asked Ecuador to reject Snowden's request.

Obama said Monday that Snowden had traveled to Russia without a valid passport or legal papers and that he hoped that Moscow would handle the case as it would any other travel-related matter.

Here's a rundown of what countries are saying about Snowden's asylum requests:

• Austria: His request is not valid, because applicants must be in Austria and submit their applications in person.

• Bolivia: Despite WikiLeaks' statement, Morales, the Bolivian president, said Bolivia has not received a request for asylum on Snowden's behalf, Itar-Tass reported.

• Brazil: The country won't grant asylum or even respond to the request, Reuters reported Tuesday, citing a Foreign Ministry spokesman.

• China: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday it had no information to offer on Snowden's case.

• Cuba: No response yet.

• Ecuador: The South American country has said that it's considering Snowden's request but that he needs to reach its territory.

• Finland: "We don't have an official application from Snowden," Jorma Vuorio, director general for the migration department of the Interior Ministry, told CNN. "He just left a letter requesting asylum at the Finnish Embassy in Moscow. According to Finnish legislation, it is not possible to leave an asylum application outside the Finnish territory."

• France: Hollande, the French president, said he has "not received any particular demands from Mr. Snowden," according to French television reports.

• Germany: Asylum requests must be made from within the country, but an Interior Ministry spokesman also said "the German right of residence principally entails the possibility of acceptance from abroad, if this seems necessary for international legal or urgent humanitarian reasons, or for the ensuring of political interests of the federal republic of Germany. This needs to be examined thoroughly in the case of Mr. Snowden."

• Iceland: Officials have said asylum seekers need to be in Icelandic territory in order to apply.

• India: Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Syed Akbaruddin said Tuesday that India will deny the request.

• Ireland: The Irish Justice Ministry declined to confirm whether it had received a request on Snowden's behalf, but said Irish law requires that applicants reach the country's borders before a request can be considered.

• Italy: The Italian Foreign Ministry said it received an asylum request by fax. The country accepts requests done in Italian territory or at the border, the ministry said.

• The Netherlands: Snowden would need to be in Holland to formally request shelter, a spokesman for the Dutch state secretary said Tuesday.

• Nicaragua: No response yet.

• Norway: The country confirms the receipt of his request, but usually, asylum seekers must be in the country already to be allowed to apply. The Ministry of Justice is considering whether or not to process his application.

• Poland: Snowden's request for asylum doesn't fulfill requirements, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday.

• Russia: Snowden has withdrawn his request for permission to stay in Russia, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday, according to the news agency RIA Novosti.

• Spain: The country is not reviewing Snowden's request because it must be made from within or on its borders, a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said.

• Switzerland: Applicants for political asylum have to be on Swiss soil, a spokeswoman for the Swiss federal office for migration said Tuesday. Swiss authorities aren't aware of any application by Snowden, the spokeswoman said.

• Venezuela: "We haven't been asked for help, but when he asks, he will have an answer," Maduro, the Venezuelan president, said Tuesday.

CNN's Arkady Irshenko, Tom Cohen, Sumnima Udas, Steve Brusk, Barbara Starr, Miriam Falco, Kathryn Tancos, Alexander Hunter, Claudia Rebaza, Patrick Oppmann, Josh Levs, Catherine Shoichet, Carol Jordan, Al Goodman, Steffi Ott and Susanna Palk contributed to this report.

theskanner50yrs 250x300