11-23-2024  8:56 am   •   PDX and SEA Weather

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NORTHWEST NEWS

'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. 

More Logging Is Proposed to Help Curb Wildfires in the US Pacific Northwest

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Democrat Janelle Bynum Flips Oregon’s 5th District, Will Be State’s First Black Member of Congress

The U.S. House race was one of the country’s most competitive and viewed by The Cook Political Report as a toss up, meaning either party had a good chance of winning.

NEWS BRIEFS

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Storm dumps record rain in Northern California, while US Northeast deals with winter storms

HEALDSBURG, Calif. (AP) — A major storm dropped more snow and record rain in California, causing small landslides and flooding some streets, while on the opposite side of the country blizzard or winter storm warnings were in effect Saturday for areas spanning from the Northeast to central...

What to know about Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Trump's pick for labor secretary

WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump on Friday named Oregon Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer to lead the Department of Labor in his second administration, elevating a Republican congresswoman who has strong support from unions in her district but lost reelection in November. ...

Moore and UAPB host Missouri

Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions (1-5) at Missouri Tigers (4-1) Columbia, Missouri; Sunday, 5 p.m. EST BOTTOM LINE: UAPB plays Missouri after Christian Moore scored 20 points in UAPB's 98-64 loss to the Texas Tech Red Raiders. The Tigers are 4-0 in home...

Grill's 25 point leads Missouri past Pacific 91-56

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Reserve Caleb Grill scored 25 points on 9-for-12 shooting and Tamar Bates scored 11 points as Missouri overwhelmed Pacific 91-56 on Friday night. Reserve Trent Pierce added 10 points for Missouri (4-1) which made 14 of 30 3-pointers. Elias Ralph...

OPINION

A Loan Shark in Your Pocket: Cellphone Cash Advance Apps

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America’s Healing Can Start with Family Around the Holidays

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Donald Trump Rides Patriarchy Back to the White House

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Why Not Voting Could Deprioritize Black Communities

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AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE NEWS

What to know about Scott Turner, Trump's pick for housing secretary

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

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National monument proposed for North Dakota Badlands, with tribes' support

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A coalition of conservation groups and Native American tribal citizens on Friday called on President Joe Biden to designate nearly 140,000 acres of rugged, scenic Badlands as North Dakota's first national monument, a proposal several tribal nations say would preserve the...

ENTERTAINMENT

Book Review: Chris Myers looks back on his career in ’That Deserves a Wow'

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Was it the Mouse King? ‘Nutcracker’ props stolen from a Michigan ballet company

CANTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — Did the Mouse King strike? A ballet group in suburban Detroit is scrambling after someone stole a trailer filled with props for upcoming performances of the beloved holiday classic “The Nutcracker.” The lost items include a grandfather...

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The piano on the set of “The Piano Lesson” was not a mere prop. It could be played and the cast members often did. It was adorned with pictures of the Washington family and their ancestors. It was, John David Washington jokes, “No. 1 on the call sheet.” “We tried to haunt...

U.S. & WORLD NEWS

Vance takes on a more visible transition role, working to boost Trump's most contentious picks

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Matt Gaetz says he won't return to Congress next year after withdrawing name for attorney general

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Japan will hold first memorial for 'all workers' at Sado gold mines but blurs WWII atrocity. Why?

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North Korean leader says past diplomacy only confirmed US hostility

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Key UN committee adopts resolution paving the way for a first-ever treaty on crimes against humanity

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Brazilian police formally accused Bolsonaro of an attempted coup. What comes next?

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Chris Hawley the Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) -- Pentagon officials say they have transferred eight soldiers to another base amid allegations that they mistreated one of their comrades shortly before he committed suicide in a guardhouse in Afghanistan.

The soldiers face charges ranging from dereliction of duty to involuntary manslaughter in the death of 19-year-old Army Pvt. Daniel Chen of New York City. Chen's relatives say he endured weeks of racial teasing and name calling while in training, then was subjected to hazing after he was deployed to Afghanistan.

A Pentagon spokesman, Navy Capt. John Kirby, said Wednesday the military was taking a zero-tolerance attitude toward soldiers who mistreat their comrades.

"That's what this uniform requires. And when we don't, there's a justice system in place to deal with it," Kirby said. "Hazing's not tolerated in the military. If it's found and it's proven, it's dealt with."

The eight soldiers are part of an infantry regiment based in Fort Wainright, Alaska. The soldiers are still in Afghanistan but have been relieved of their duties and confined to a different base, the military said. The next step is a hearing to determine if there is enough evidence for a court martial. The proceedings are expected to be held in Afghanistan.

The two most serious charges, involuntary manslaughter and negligent homicide, carry prison sentences of up to 10 years and three years, respectively, under military law.

At a news conference in New York's Chinatown, Elizabeth OuYang, a community activist who is representing his parents, said Chen had complained about the teasing in Facebook and email messages, discussions with cousins and in his journal. The Army has released excerpts of the journal to his parents.

Fellow soldiers at a base in Georgia teased him about his Chinese name, crying out "Chen!" in an exaggerated Asian accent, OuYang said. They called him "Jackie Chen," a reference to the Hollywood action star Jackie Chan. People would ask him repeatedly if he was Chinese, even though he was a native New Yorker.

At one point Chen wrote in his diary that he was running out of jokes to respond with.

Then he was sent overseas, and the hazing began: Soldiers dragged him across a floor, pelted him with stones and forced him to hold liquid in his mouth while hanging upside down, OuYang said.

On Oct. 3, Chen was found dead in a guardhouse in Afghanistan with what the Army said was apparently a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

"Whether suicide or homicide, those responsible for mistreating Danny are responsible for his death," OuYang said.

Attorneys for the defendants could not immediately be located.

Eugene Fidell, an expert on military law and former president of the National Institute of Military Justice, said bullying has been a recurring problem for the military.

"If there was brutality within the unit, that's a betrayal of the bond of brotherhood," he said. "That is, in theory, the underpinning of what holds a military command together."

In 2010, three Army sergeants were punished after Pvt. Keiffer Wilhelm of Willard, Ohio, killed himself 10 days after arriving in Iraq with a platoon based in Fort Bliss, Texas. Wilhelm's family said he was being bullied and forced to run for miles with rocks in his pockets.

Two sergeants were imprisoned for six months and three months, respectively, on charges of cruelty and maltreatment. The third was convicted of obstructing justice and given a one-grade reduction in pay.

Activists said Chen's case has raised questions about the military's treatment of its tiny Asian-American minority.

"We love our country and we want to serve our country, but it's not worth it if we can't be protected from people who are supposed to be on our side," OuYang said.

In 2008 people of Asian descent made up only 1.8 percent of new military recruits, even though they represent 4.15 percent of the total population of American 18-to-24-year-olds, a Pentagon report said. The percentages of whites, blacks and Hispanics reflected the wider population more closely.

On Wednesday Chen's relatives said they were encouraged by the Pentagon's action against the eight soldiers.

"We realize that Danny will never return, but it gives us some hope," Yen Tao Chen, his father, said through a translator.

Chen was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, based in Fort Wainwright, Alaska.

The Army identified the soldiers charged as 1st Lt. Daniel J. Schwartz, 25, of Maryland (no hometown was given); Staff Sgt. Blaine G. Dugas, 35, of Port Arthur, Texas; Staff Sgt. Andrew J. Van Bockel, 26, of Aberdeen, S.D.; Sgt. Adam M. Holcomb, 29, of Youngstown, Ohio; Sgt. Jeffrey T. Hurst, 26, of Brooklyn, Iowa; Spc. Thomas P. Curtis, 25, of Hendersonville, Tenn; Spc. Ryan J. Offutt, 32, of Greenville, Pa.; and Sgt. Travis F. Carden, 24, of Fowler, Ind.

VanBockel, Holcomb, Hurst, Curtis and Offutt were charged with the most serious offenses, including involuntary manslaughter, negligent homicide, and assault and battery.

Offutt's mother, Carol Tate of Sharon, Pa., told The (Sharon) Herald that she has known about the charges for a while and has talked to her son.

"I think there's a lot of things that really haven't been brought up," she said, but declined further comment.

Schwartz, the only officer among the accused, was charged with dereliction of duty.

The two most serious charges, involuntary manslaughter and negligent homicide, carry prison sentences of up to 10 years and three years, respectively, under military law.

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Associated Press writers Lolita Baldor at the Pentagon; Meghan Barr, Deepti Hajela and Verena Dobnik in New York; Patrick Quinn in Kabul, Afghanistan; Linda Ball in Dallas; and researchers Monika Mathur, Jennifer Farrar, Barbara Sambriski, Rhonda Shafner and Judith Ausuebel contributed to this story.

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