01-25-2025  9:55 pm   •   PDX and SEA Weather

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NORTHWEST NEWS

PHOTOS: The World Arts Foundation Presents Lifetime Achievement Award on MLK Day in Portland

Bernie and Bobbie Foster, The Skanner News founders, were presented with the award.

Cascade Festival of African Films Celebrates 35th Year

The Cascade Festival of African Films runs from Jan. 31 through March 1, featuring more than 20 films from 14 countries

Q & A With Heather Coleman-Cox, Who’s Bringing Full-Service Water Stations to Rural Ghana

Drilling, pump, storage tanks and solar panels provide potable water to villages at under ,000 per project.

'Orchestrated Attack' on Portland Elections Office Shatters Dozens of Windows, Police Say

The attack happened just before 2 a.m. Monday and suspects fled as police arrived at the office, which was not occupied at the time, police said.

NEWS BRIEFS

LDF Condemns Trump’s Executive Order Expanding Federal Death Penalty

The order urges the U.S. Attorney General to pursue the death penalty for individuals who murder a law enforcement officer or for...

Biden Lauds STEM Award Winners

President Joe Biden has awarded STEM NOLA the prestigious Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering...

MLK Day Events 2025

The annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a time that we celebrate, commemorate and honor the life, legacy and impact of Dr. Martin...

Gov. Kotek Delivers 2025 State of the State Address

“This new year, 2025, carries a clear charge for all of us: to summon our unyielding spirit of resilience, to tackle problems with...

North Portland Library to Reopen in February

Grand opening celebration begins February 8 with ribbon cutting, cultural events, food and fun ...

Democratic states weigh more support for immigrants as Trump administration cracks down

As President Donald Trump tightens the nation's immigration policies, lawmakers in Democratic-led states are proposing new measures that could erect legal obstacles for federal immigration officials and help immigrants lacking legal status avoid deportation. The resistance efforts in...

Man says he was behind some of the viral googly eyes on public art in Oregon

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A resident of the central Oregon city of Bend says he was the person behind some of the googly eyes that appeared on sculptures around the city in recent months and sparked a viral sensation widely covered by news outlets. Jeff Keith, founder of a Bend-based...

Bates scores 26, Grill adds 22 and No. 22 Missouri hands No. 16 Mississippi 3rd straight loss, 83-75

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Tamar Bates scored 26 points, Caleb Grill added 22 and No. 22 Missouri extended No. 16 Mississippi's losing streak to three games with an 83-75 win over the Rebels on Saturday night. Anthony Robinson II added seven points and seven rebounds for the Tigers (16-4,...

No. 22 Missouri Tigers host No. 16 Ole Miss Rebels

Ole Miss Rebels (15-4, 4-2 SEC) at Missouri Tigers (15-4, 4-2 SEC) Columbia, Missouri; Saturday, 6 p.m. EST BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Tigers -3; over/under is 143.5 BOTTOM LINE: No. 22 Missouri faces No. 16 Ole Miss. The Tigers have gone 14-0...

OPINION

As Dr. King Once Asked, Where Do We Go From Here?

“Let us be dissatisfied until America will no longer have high blood pressure of creeds and an anemia of deeds. Let us be dissatisfied until the tragic walls that separate the outer city of wealth and comfort from the inner city of poverty and despair shall...

A Day Without Child Care

On May 16, we will be closing our childcare centers for a day — signaling a crisis that could soon sweep across North Carolina, dismantling the very backbone of our economy ...

I Upended My Life to Take Care of Mama.

It was one of the best decisions I ever made. ...

Among the Powerful Voices We Lost in 2024, Louis Gossett, Jr.’s Echoes Loudly

December is the customary month of remembrance. A time of year we take stock; a moment on the calendar when we pause to reflect on the giants we have lost. ...

AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE NEWS

Fast food is a staple of American culture, but some of its workers struggle to survive

FRESNO, Texas (AP) — The only moment TiAnna Yeldell has to herself is when she’s sleeping, and that doesn’t happen much. The 44-year-old single mom of three works 80-hour weeks to provide for her children, ages 8, 14, and 18. During the day, she is a driver for Pizza Hut, where...

Fast food is a staple of American culture, but some of its workers struggle to survive

FRESNO, Texas (AP) — The only moment TiAnna Yeldell has to herself is when she’s sleeping, and that doesn’t happen much. The 44-year-old single mom of three works 80-hour weeks to provide for her children, ages 8, 14, and 18. During the day, she is a driver for Pizza Hut, where...

Trump's attempt to end birthright citizenship would overturn more than a century of precedent

President Donald Trump has said since his first administration that he wants to end birthright citizenship, a constitutional right for everyone born in the United States. This week he issued an executive order that would eliminate it, upending more than a century of precedent. On...

ENTERTAINMENT

Supreme Court seems open to age checks for online porn, though some free-speech questions remain

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Wednesday seemed open to a Texas law aimed at blocking kids from seeing online pornography, though the justices could still send it back to a lower court for more consideration of how the age verification measure affects adults' free-speech rights. ...

Celebrity birthdays for the week of Jan. 26-Feb. 1

Celebrity birthdays for the week of Jan. 26-Feb. 1: Jan. 26: Actor Scott Glenn (“Secretariat,” “The Right Stuff”) is 86. Actor Richard Portnow (“Trumbo,” ″The Sopranos”) is 78. Drummer Corky Laing of Mountain is 77. Actor David Strathairn is 76. Musician Lucinda...

'Anora,' 'Dune: Part Two' and 'September 5' among nominees for Producers Guild's top award

NEW YORK (AP) — The science-fiction sequel “Dune: Part Two," the doomed fairy tale “Anora” and the Munich Olympics drama “September 5” are among the 10 films nominated by the Producers Guild for its top award, the Darryl F. Zanuck Award. The Producers Guild announced its...

U.S. & WORLD NEWS

Belarus strongman set to win a 7th term in an election the opposition calls a farce

The smiling face of President Alexander Lukashenko gazed out from campaign posters across Belarus on Sunday as the...

North Korea says it tested cruise missile system and vows 'toughest' response to US

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea said Sunday it tested a cruise missile system, its third known weapons...

Australian Open: Defending champion Jannik Sinner faces Alexander Zverev in the men's final

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Defending champion Jannik Sinner will face Alexander Zverev in the first Australian...

Auschwitz was liberated 80 years ago. The spotlight is on survivors as their numbers dwindle

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — The world's focus will be on the remaining survivors of Nazi Germany's atrocities on...

With the ceasefire in Gaza comes a gruesome challenge: Counting and collecting the dead

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — The corpses keep coming every day, sometimes dozens at a time, brought to...

Who are the Israelis released by Hamas as part of the ceasefire in Gaza?

JERUSALEM (AP) — Hamas released four young female Israeli soldiers on Saturday after more than 15 months in...

Carol Cratty CNN

(CNN) -- The Justice Department and Puerto Rico signed a major civil rights agreement Wednesday to reform the commonwealth's very troubled police force.

The pact faces final approval by a federal judge, who will oversee its enforcement.

An earlier Justice Department investigation found numerous problems in the Puerto Rico Police Department, the nation's second-largest, including:

-- Excessive use of force to suppress free speech.

-- Unconstitutional stops, searches and arrests.

-- A failure to investigate sexual assault and domestic violence allegations.

"Although I recognize that complete and lasting reform will not take hold overnight, I'm confident that this agreement lays out a clear path for responding to concerns, correcting troubling practices, safeguarding the rights of Puerto Rican citizens, restoring public trust, and ensuring public safety," Attorney General Eric Holder said in remarks prepared for a news conference.

According to the Justice Department, the agreement with Puerto Rico is among the most extensive agreements involving the police misconduct provision of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994.

The American Civil Liberties Union welcomed the agreement on an issue it highlighted more than a year ago.

"At long last, the government of Puerto Rico will work together with the Justice Department to end the rampant police abuse that has plagued the island for so many years," Executive Director Anthony Romero said in a statement. "We trust that this historic settlement means that Puerto Ricans will no longer have to live in fear of their own police force. A court-enforceable agreement like this ensures that the PRPD will be held accountable if it fails to overhaul its policies and practices."

An ACLU report in June 2012 disclosed evidence of widespread abuses and violations of civil rights by the 17,000-strong police department, saying the force "has run amok for years." The abuse was "pervasive and systemic, island-wide and ongoing," the report said.

The Justice Department announced in December that it reached a preliminary agreement with Puerto Rico. It delayed implementation to allow then-incoming Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla the time to review it and suggest possible changes.

Puerto Rico's police force serves almost 4 million residents.