11-26-2024  2:05 am   •   PDX and SEA Weather

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NORTHWEST NEWS

Forecasts Warn of Possible Winter Storms Across US During Thanksgiving Week

Two people died in the Pacific Northwest after a rapidly intensifying “bomb cyclone” hit the West Coast last Tuesday, bringing fierce winds that toppled trees and power lines and damaged homes and cars. Fewer than 25,000 people in the Seattle area were still without power Sunday evening.

Huge Number Of Illegal Guns In Portland Come From Licensed Dealers, New Report Shows

Local gun safety advocacy group argues for state-level licensing and regulation of firearm retailers.

'Bomb Cyclone' Kills 1 and Knocks out Power to Over Half a Million Homes Across the Northwest US

A major storm was sweeping across the northwest U.S., battering the region with strong winds and rain. The Weather Prediction Center issued excessive rainfall risks through Friday and hurricane-force wind warnings were in effect. 

'Bomb Cyclone' Threatens Northern California and Pacific Northwest

The Weather Prediction Center issued excessive rainfall risks beginning Tuesday and lasting through Friday. Those come as the strongest atmospheric river  that California and the Pacific Northwest has seen this season bears down on the region. 

NEWS BRIEFS

Vote By Mail Tracking Act Passes House with Broad Support

The bill co-led by Congressman Mfume would make it easier for Americans to track their mail-in ballots; it advanced in the U.S. House...

OMSI Opens Indoor Ice Rink for the Holiday Season

This is the first year the unique synthetic ice rink is open. ...

Thanksgiving Safety Tips

Portland Fire & Rescue extends their wish to you for a happy and safe Thanksgiving Holiday. ...

Portland Art Museum’s Rental Sales Gallery Showcases Diverse Talent

New Member Artist Show will be open to the public Dec. 6 through Jan. 18, with all works available for both rental and purchase. ...

Dolly Parton's Imagination Library of Oregon Announces New State Director and Community Engagement Coordinator

“This is an exciting milestone for Oregon,” said DELC Director Alyssa Chatterjee. “These positions will play critical roles in...

Missouri hosts Browning and Lindenwood

Lindenwood Lions (2-4) at Missouri Tigers (5-1) Columbia, Missouri; Wednesday, 6:30 p.m. EST BOTTOM LINE: Lindenwood visits Missouri after Markeith Browning II scored 20 points in Lindenwood's 77-64 loss to the Valparaiso Beacons. The Tigers are 5-0 on...

Pacific hosts Paljor and UAPB

Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions (1-6) at Pacific Tigers (3-4) Stockton, California; Wednesday, 10 p.m. EST BOTTOM LINE: UAPB faces Pacific after Chop Paljor scored 22 points in UAPB's 112-63 loss to the Missouri Tigers. The Tigers are 1-1 on their home...

OPINION

A Loan Shark in Your Pocket: Cellphone Cash Advance Apps

Fast-growing app usage leaves many consumers worse off. ...

America’s Healing Can Start with Family Around the Holidays

With the holiday season approaching, it seems that our country could not be more divided. That division has been perhaps the main overarching topic of our national conversation in recent years. And it has taken root within many of our own families. ...

Donald Trump Rides Patriarchy Back to the White House

White male supremacy, which Trump ran on, continues to play an outsized role in exacerbating the divide that afflicts our nation. ...

Why Not Voting Could Deprioritize Black Communities

President Biden’s Justice40 initiative ensures that 40% of federal investment benefits flow to disadvantaged communities, addressing deep-seated inequities. ...

AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE NEWS

White Florida woman sentenced to 25 years in prison for shooting Black neighbor in lengthy dispute

A white Florida woman who fatally shot a Black neighbor through her front door during an ongoing dispute over the neighbor’s boisterous children was sentenced Monday to 25 years in prison for her manslaughter conviction. Susan Lorincz, 60, was convicted in August of killing Ajike...

Daniel Penny doesn't testify as his defense rests in subway chokehold trial

NEW YORK (AP) — Daniel Penny chose not to testify and defense lawyers rested their case Friday at his trial in the death of an agitated man he choked on a subway train. Closing arguments are expected after Thanksgiving in the closely watched manslaughter case about the death of...

White Florida woman is sentenced to 25 years in prison for shooting a Black neighbor amid a lengthy dispute

OCALA, Fla. (AP) — White Florida woman is sentenced to 25 years in prison for shooting a Black neighbor amid a lengthy dispute....

ENTERTAINMENT

More competitive field increases betting interest in F1's Las Vegas Grand Prix

LAS VEGAS (AP) — There is a little more racing drama for Saturday night's Las Vegas Grand Prix than a year ago when Max Verstappen was running away with the Formula 1 championship and most of the news centered on the disruptions leading up to the race. But with a little more...

Book Review: 'How to Think Like Socrates' leaves readers with questions

The lessons of Socrates have never really gone out of style, but if there’s ever a perfect time to revisit the ancient philosopher, now is it. In “How to Think Like Socrates: Ancient Philosophy as a Way of Life in the Modern World,” Donald J. Robertson describes Socrates' Athens...

Music Review: The Breeders' Kim Deal soars on solo debut, a reunion with the late Steve Albini

When the Pixies set out to make their 1988 debut studio album, they enlisted Steve Albini to engineer “Surfer Rosa,” the seminal alternative record which includes the enduring hit, “Where Is My Mind?” That experience was mutually beneficial to both parties — and was the beginning of a...

U.S. & WORLD NEWS

Trump transition team suggests sidelining top adviser over pay-to-play allegations

WASHINGTON (AP) — The top lawyer on Donald Trump's transition team investigated a longtime adviser to the...

What diversity does — and doesn't — look like in Trump's Cabinet

WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump's incoming administration is set to be less diverse than...

What to know about the Menendez brothers' resentencing plea

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Erik and Lyle Menendez will have to wait until next year for a decision on whether they...

Middle East latest: Israeli ambassador to US says Hezbollah ceasefire deal could come 'within days'

The Israeli ambassador to Washington says a ceasefire deal to end fighting between Israel and Lebanon-based...

Germany's Merkel recalls Putin's 'power games' and contrasting US presidents in her memoirs

BERLIN (AP) — Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel recalls Vladimir Putin's “power games” over the years,...

South Korean man convicted for deliberately gaining weight to evade military service

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A South Korean man has been sentenced to a suspended prison term for deliberately...

Erica Werner the Associated Press


President Obama with Iraq Prime Minister
Nouri al-Maliki earlier this week

FORT BRAGG, N.C. (AP) -- President Barack Obama saluted returning troops returning from Iraq Wednesday, declaring that the nearly nine-year conflict is ending honorably, "not with a final battle, but with a final march toward home."

Marking the conclusion of the war at this military base that's seen more than 200 deaths over nearly nine years of fighting in Iraq, Obama never tried to declare victory. It was a war that he opposed from the start, inherited as president and is now bringing to a close, leaving behind an Iraq still struggling.

But he sought to declare a noble end to a fight that has cost nearly 4,500 American lives and left about 32,000 wounded.

"The war in Iraq will soon belong to history, and your service belongs to the ages," he said, applauding their "extraordinary achievement."

All U.S. troops are to be out of Iraq Dec. 31, though Obama has pledged the U.S. will continue civilian assistance for Iraq as it faces an uncertain future in a volatile region of the world. Even as majorities in the U.S. public favor ending the war, some Republicans have criticized Obama's withdrawal, arguing he's leaving behind an unstable Iraq that could hurt U.S. interests and fall subject to influence from neighboring Iran.

Obama, appearing with first lady Michelle Obama, highlighted the human side of the war, reflecting on the bravery and sacrifices of U.S. forces now on their way back home. He recalled the start of the war, a time when he was only an Illinois state senator and many of the warriors before him were in grade school.

"We knew this day would come. We have known it for some time now," he said. "But still, there is something profound about the end of a war that has lasted so long."

Obama, who became president in part because of his opposition to the Iraq war, said the war faced twists and turns amid one constant: the patriotism and commitment of U.S. troops.

"It is harder to end a war, than to begin one," he said.

Still, he made only passing mention of the enormous soul-searching the war caused in America, saying it "was a source of great controversy here at home, with patriots on both sides of the debate." He did not mention that he had opposed it.

He noted the early battles that defeated and deposed Saddam Hussein and what he called "the grind of insurgency" -- roadside bombs, snipers and suicide attacks.

"Your will proved stronger than the terror of those who tried to break it," he said.

Upon his arrival in Fort Bragg Wednesday, Obama met with five enlisted service members who had recently returned from combat. He also met with the family of a soldier killed overseas.

Obama has on several occasions addressed his reasons for ending the war, casting it as a promise kept after he ran for president as an anti-war candidate and speaking of the need to refocus U.S. attention on rebuilding the troubled economy at home.

Obama's approval rating on handling the situation in Iraq has been above 50 percent since last fall, and in a new Associated Press-GfK poll, has ticked up four points since October to 55 percent. Among independents, his approval rating tops 50 percent for the first time since this spring.

With the economy foremost on people's minds, fewer now consider the war a top issue. Fifty-one percent said it was extremely or very important to them personally, down from 58 percent in October, placing it behind 13 of 14 issues tested in the poll.

It's the president's first visit to Fort Bragg, which is home to Army Special Operations, the 18th Airborne Corps and the 82nd Airborne, among others. Special Forces troops from Fort Bragg were among the first soldiers in Iraq during the 2003 invasion and its paratroopers helped lead the 2007 troop increase.

North Carolina, which Obama narrowly won in 2008, also is an important state for the 2012 presidential election and will host the Democratic convention.

To underscore the political significance, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, one of the leading GOP presidential contenders, addressed an open letter to Obama and sent it to the Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer decrying the unemployment rate for veterans.

Unemployment for veterans who served after Sept. 11, 2001, was 11.1 percent in November, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Romney called such a statistic a "disgrace."

"In the face of such economic hardship, fine words welcoming veterans home are insufficient," he wrote. "It is time for a fundamental change of direction. If you won't or can't lead our country out of the economic morass you've deepened, then I would suggest that it's time for you to go."

In his speech, Obama said that Iraq "is not a perfect place."

But he added that "we are leaving behind a sovereign, stable, and self-reliant Iraq, with a representative government that was elected by its people. We are building a new partnership between our nations."

Brig Gen Norman Ham, commander of the 440th Airlift Wing, said in an interview that the end of the Iraq war "means a lot of things."

"For me personally, I served my country and I'm proud of what we've done, what we've accomplished," Ham said. "We set out on a mission and we accomplished that mission."

Ham reflected on the mixed outcome in Iraq.

"The world isn't a perfect place. We try to help where we can and do the best we can," Ham said. "We have limited resources to go everywhere and do everything for everyone, but we do the very best we can and that's what we've done in Iraq - the very best we can."

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Associated Press writer Martha Waggoner in Raleigh, N.C., and AP Deputy Polling Director Jennifer Agiesta contributed to this report.

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