Oregon judge extends ban on new gun law's background checks
An Oregon judge on Tuesday declined to lift his order that temporarily freezes part of a new, voter-approved gun safety measure requiring a completed criminal background check before a gun can be sold or transferred. Harney County Judge Robert S. Raschio previously dealt a blow to gun control advocates when he put all other elements of the tough new law on hold, including a permit-to-purchase provision and a ban on high-capacity magazines. On Dec. 23, he heard oral arguments from Oregon on a motion to allow the law’s background check provision to take effect even while the constitutionality of the Measure 114's other elements were decided by the courts.
news.yahoo.comPolice: Suspect chewed off man's ear, face in Oregon attack
A suspect attacked a 78-year-old man on a light-rail train platform in a Portland suburb and chewed off the victim’s ear and part of his face before police could intervene, authorities said Tuesday. The injuries to the unidentified victim from Hillsboro, Oregon, were so severe that his skull was visible after the attack early Tuesday, Gresham police said in a statement. Police arrested 25-year-old Koryn Kraemer and booked him on an accusation of assault in the second degree after identifying him through fingerprints, they said.
news.yahoo.comOregon judge halts voter-approved high-capacity magazine ban
An Oregon judge handed guns rights advocates a victory Thursday and placed a new, voter-approved ban on high-capacity magazines on hold until questions about its constitutionality can be decided. Harney County Judge Robert Raschio released the written ruling after a lengthy court hearing earlier this week in which attorneys for gun rights groups sought a preliminary injunction to stop the narrowly passed ban on magazines of more than 10 rounds. “That the large capacity magazine bans promote public safety is mere speculation,” Raschio wrote.
news.yahoo.comOregon judge extends ban on parts of tough new gun law
An Oregon judge on Tuesday extended an earlier order blocking a key part of a new, voter-approved gun law and was hearing lengthy arguments on whether to also prevent the law's ban on high-capacity magazines from taking effect. Harney County Judge Robert Raschio let stand his temporary restraining order that blocks a permit-to-purchase provision of Measure 114, a law narrowly approved by voters in Oregon in November. Under current federal law, a gun sale can proceed by default if the background check takes longer than three business days — the so-called Charleston loophole, because it allowed the assailant to purchase the gun used in a 2015 South Carolina mass shooting.
news.yahoo.comNo. 18 Alabama beats No. 1 North Carolina 103-101 in 4 OTs
Mark Sears had 24 points, five rebounds and five assists, and No. 18 Alabama sent top-ranked North Carolina to a second straight loss with a 103-101 in a quadruple-overtime thriller in the third-place game of the Phil Knight Invitational tournament.
Whole Foods decision to pull lobster divides enviros, pols
Environmental groups are once again at odds with politicians and fishermen in New England in the wake of a decision by high-end retail giant Whole Foods to stop selling Maine lobster. Whole Foods recently said that it will stop selling lobster from the Gulf of Maine at hundreds of its stores around the country. The company cited decisions by a pair of sustainability organizations to take away their endorsements of the U.S. lobster fishing industry.
news.yahoo.comGroup files emergency motion to stop Oregon gun control law
A gun rights group, sheriff and gun store owner filed an emergency motion in federal court late Wednesday seeking to stop enforcement of one of the strictest gun control laws in the nation. The gun control measure narrowly approved by Oregon voters is set go into effect on Dec. 8. U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut on Thursday scheduled a hearing on the motion for Dec. 2.
news.yahoo.comVet sues over coverage denial for daughter gender transition
A U.S. military veteran and his daughter filed a lawsuit on Monday challenging a federal rule they said prevents the daughter from accessing medical coverage because she is transgender. The veteran and daughter filed their lawsuit against the government anonymously via GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders, a Boston-based advocacy group. The group's court filing said the daughter has been denied treatments recommended by doctors due to a federal statute that dates to 1976 that mandates exclusion of surgical treatments for gender transition in the military's medical coverage for dependent of service members.
news.yahoo.comHomeless vote in Portland, Oregon, delayed in angry meeting
City Council members in Portland, Oregon, pushed back a vote on a disputed budget measure that would finance the construction of designated camping areas for homeless people after residents expressed strong opposition during public testimony. Mayor Ted Wheeler has proposed allocating $27 million of the city's budget to build a network of large, outdoor sites where homeless people would be allowed to camp. A camping ban would phase in once six designated camping areas have been built over 18 months.
news.yahoo.comGOP's Chavez-DeRemer flips Oregon 5th Congressional District
Republican Lori Chavez-DeRemer has won the open U.S. House seat in Oregon’s 5th Congressional District, flipping the district for the GOP in a hard-fought contest that drew millions in outside money to the state. Chavez-DeRemer’s victory makes her the first Latina congresswoman from Oregon, a distinction also sought by 6th District Democratic candidate Andrew Salinas. The district was previously held for seven terms by moderate Democrat Rep. Kurt Schrader and was targeted by the GOP, which saw the 5th as vulnerable after the long-time incumbent's primary defeat by progressive candidate Jamie McLeod-Skinner.
news.yahoo.comHomeland Security Admits It Tried to Manufacture Fake Terrorists for Trump
The Department of Homeland Security launched a failed operation that ensnared hundreds, if not thousands, of U.S. protesters in what new documents show was as a sweeping, power-hungry effort before the 2020 election to bolster President Donald Trump’s spurious claims about a “terrorist organization” he accused his Democratic rivals of supporting.
news.yahoo.comMaine begins removing those naughty license plates
Maine is cleaning up its roadways by removing the flippin’ vulgarities from license plates. The state is enforcing new rules to eliminate f-bombs and other obscenities that appeared on vanity license plates after the state effectively eliminated its review process. Secretary of State Shenna Bellows is passionate about free speech as a former director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine.
news.yahoo.comRenters face charging dilemma as U.S. cities move toward EVs
Stephanie Terrell was excited to join the wave of drivers adopting electric vehicles when she bought a used Nissan Leaf this fall. The 23-year-old nearly ran out of power on the freeway recently because a charging station she was counting on was busy. The transition to electric vehicles is underway for homeowners who can power up in their own garage, but for millions of renters, access to charging remains a significant barrier.
news.yahoo.comOregon mayor to ban homeless camps on Portland streets
An Oregon mayor plans to ban camping on Portland streets and move unhoused people to campsites designated by the city, as the growing homelessness population has become the top concern for the vast majority of residents. “The magnitude and the depth of the homeless crisis in our city is nothing short of a humanitarian catastrophe,” Mayor Ted Wheeler said Friday. “We need to move our scattered, vulnerable homeless population closer to the services that they need.”
news.yahoo.comAmid threats, security rises at meetings of public officials
Threats against election officials in the U.S. have risen to such a level that those attending a conference this week in Wisconsin were not given the agenda until after they arrived, were warned not to wear their name tags in public and were shuttled to an undisclosed location for trivia night.