11-13-2024  9:05 pm   •   PDX and SEA Weather

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4

NORTHWEST NEWS

Family of Security Guard Shot and Killed at Portland Hospital Sues Facility for $35M

The family of Bobby Smallwood argue that Legacy Good Samaritan Medical Center failed to enforce its policies against violence and weapons in the workplace by not responding to staff reports of threats in the days before the shooting.

In Portland, Political Outsider Keith Wilson Elected Mayor After Homelessness-focused Race

Wilson, a Portland native and CEO of a trucking company, ran on an ambitious pledge to end unsheltered homelessness within a year of taking office.

‘Black Friday’ Screening Honors Black Portlanders, Encourages Sense of Belonging

The second annual event will be held Nov. 8 at the Hollywood Theatre.

Democratic Attorney General Bob Ferguson Wins Governor’s Race in Washington

Ferguson came to national prominence by repeatedly suing the administration of former President Donald Trump, including bringing the lawsuit that blocked Trump’s initial travel ban on citizens of several majority Muslim nations. 

NEWS BRIEFS

Multnomah County Library Breaks Ground on Expanded St. Johns Library

Groundbreaking marks milestone in library transformations ...

Janelle Bynum Statement on Her Victory in Oregon’s 5th Congressional District

"I am proud to be the first – but not the last – Black Member of Congress from Oregon" ...

Veterans Day, Monday, Nov. 11: Honoring a Legacy of Loyalty and Service and Expanding Benefits for Washington Veterans

Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs (WDVA) is pleased to share the Veterans Day Proclamation and highlight the various...

Nkenge Harmon Johnson honored with PCUN’s Cipriano Ferrel Award

Harmon Johnson recognized for civil rights work in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest ...

FBI offers up to ,000 reward for information about suspect behind Northwest ballot box fires

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The FBI said Wednesday it is offering up to ,000 as a reward for information about the suspect behind recent ballot box fires in Oregon and Washington state. Authorities believe a male suspect that may have metalworking and welding experience was behind...

Family of security guard shot and killed at Portland, Oregon, hospital sues facility for M

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The family of a security guard who was shot and killed at a hospital in Portland, Oregon, sued the facility for million on Tuesday, accusing it of negligence and failing to respond to the dangers that the gunman posed to hospital staff over multiple days. ...

Mississippi Valley State visits Missouri following Grill's 33-point game

Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils (1-1) at Missouri Tigers (2-1) Columbia, Missouri; Thursday, 7:30 p.m. EST BOTTOM LINE: Missouri hosts Mississippi Valley State after Caleb Grill scored 33 points in Missouri's 84-77 victory over the Eastern Washington Eagles. ...

Grill makes 8 3s, scores career-high 33 points to lead Missouri over Eastern Washington 84-77

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Caleb Grill matched a career best with eight 3-pointers and scored a career-high 33 points to lead Missouri to an 84-77 victory over Eastern Washington on Monday night. Grill, who missed Missouri's final 23 games last season with a wrist injury, shot 10 of 13...

OPINION

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. ...

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...

AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE NEWS

Dutch lawmaker Wilders wants to deport those convicted of violence against Israeli soccer fans

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Hard-right Dutch political leader Geert Wilders on Wednesday blamed “Moroccans” for attacks on Israeli soccer fans in Amsterdam last week, asserting that they “want to destroy Jews” and recommending the deportation of people convicted of involvement if they...

Black and Latino families displaced from Palm Springs neighborhood reach tentative settlement

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Black and Latino families who were pushed out of a Palm Springs neighborhood in the 1960s reached a .9 million tentative settlement agreement with the city. The deal was announced Wednesday, and the city council will vote on it Thursday. The history of...

Former West Virginia jail officer pleads guilty to civil rights violation in fatal assault on inmate

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A former correctional officer in southern West Virginia pleaded guilty Wednesday to a federal civil rights violation in the death of a man who died less than a day after being booked into a jail. Mark Holdren entered a plea agreement in U.S. District Court...

ENTERTAINMENT

At an art festival in Dakar, artists from both sides of the Atlantic examine the legacy of slavery

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — A whirlwind of color and art at the opening of this year's Dakar Biennale of Contemporary African Art in the Senegalese capital stood in stark contrast to the serious topic of slavery featuring in the artworks of guest artists from the United States. The U.S....

Book Review: 'Those Opulent Days' is a mystery drenched in cruelties of colonial French Indochina

It’s not often that a historical novel is set in the Vietnam of the 1920s, a period when the land in Indochina was occupied and exploited by French colonizers. It’s also unusual that such a novel would be a whodunit murder mystery. “Those Opulent Days,” the debut novel of...

Book Review: Reader would be 'Damn Glad' to pick up a copy of actor Tim Matheson's new memoir

Tim Matheson has portrayed a president and vice president. A police officer and military officer. And more than a few doctors. He's worked with Lucille Ball, Henry Fonda, Jackie Gleason, Clint Eastwood, Kurt Russell and Steven Spielberg. He appeared in episodes of everything from “Leave to...

U.S. & WORLD NEWS

US government worker charged with leaking classified documents on Israel's plans to strike Iran

WASHINGTON (AP) — A man who worked for the U.S. government has been charged with leaking classified information...

Protests erupt in Paris over pro-Israel gala organized by far-right figures

PARIS (AP) — Protests erupted in Paris on Wednesday against a controversial gala organized by far-right figures...

Elon Musk says he and Trump have 'mandate to delete' regulations. Ethics laws could limit Musk role

In picking billionaire Elon Musk to be “our cost cutter” for the U.S. government, President-elect Donald Trump...

Biden and Xi will meet in Peru as US-China relations tested again by Trump's return

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden will hold talks Saturday with China's Xi Jinping on the...

Five things to know about Germany's government crisis

BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has announced he will ask for a vote of confidence in December,...

Protests erupt in Paris over pro-Israel gala organized by far-right figures

PARIS (AP) — Protests erupted in Paris on Wednesday against a controversial gala organized by far-right figures...

Mike Schneider and Kyle Hightower the Associated Press


George Zimmerman contacted special prosecutor Angela Corey, his former lawyers say.

SANFORD, Fla. (AP) -- The man who shot and killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin is said to be losing weight and suffering from high levels of stress from the intense public scrutiny he is under, his former lawyers said. Meanwhile, a special prosecutor said she will soon make an announcement in the case and the nation's attorney general vowed separately to take action if evidence warrants it.

"He is largely alone. You might even say he is emotionally crippled by virtue of the pressure of this case," said Hal Uhrig, a former lawyer for George Zimmerman. The protests and the profound isolation of going into hiding may have pushed him "a little bit over the edge," said Uhrig and his colleague, Craig Sonner.

The two attorneys announced Tuesday they no longer were representing the neighborhood watch volunteer because they haven't heard from him since Sunday.

"As of the last couple days, he has not returned phone calls, text messages or emails," Sonner said. "He's gone on his own. I'm not sure what he's doing or who he's talking to. I cannot go forward speaking to the public about George Zimmerman and this case as representing him because I've lost contact with him."

The attorneys said that, against their advice, Zimmerman contacted special prosecutor Angela Corey, who will decide if he should face charges, but prosecutors in her office refused to talk to him without his lawyers present.

"To handle it this way, suggests that he may not be in complete control of what's going on. We're concerned for his emotional and physical safety," Uhrig said.

A spokeswoman for Corey's office didn't respond to phone and email messages requesting comment, although late Tuesday Corey released a statement saying she would make an announcement on the case within 72 hours. The statement did not specify what new development in the case would be released.

On Wednesday, Attorney General Eric Holder also said the Justice Department is conducting a thorough and independent review of the case after launching its own investigation three weeks ago. During comments before a civil rights organization founded by the Rev. Al Sharpton, Holder said that preventing and combating youth violence and victimization is a top priority of his department.

"If we find evidence of a potential federal criminal civil rights crime, we will take appropriate action," Holder said during the convention of Sharpton's National Action Network.

Zimmerman said he shot Martin in self-defense after following the teenager in a Sanford, Fla. a gated community outside Orlando on Feb. 26. He said he was returning to his truck when Martin attacked him and that he shot the unarmed teen during the fight. He wasn't arrested partly because of Florida's "stand your ground" self-defense law.

The lack of an arrest has led to protests across the nation and spurred a debate about race and the laws of self-defense. Zimmerman's father is white and his mother is Hispanic. Martin was black.

Zimmerman is unable to see a psychologist because he could be spotted, the attorneys said. A bounty for his arrest has been issued by the New Black Panther Party. Plus, he is anxious about possible charges if the special prosecutor believes he committed a crime, his former attorneys said.

Zimmerman also has been in touch with conservative talk show host Sean Hannity, who declined to reveal Tuesday evening what was said.

Uhrig said after they found out that news, the "final straw" came when they learned Zimmerman contacted Corey's office and said he wanted to meet. Uhrig said he told her he no longer had attorneys whom he called "legal advisers" representing him.

Uhrig said they were "a bit astonished" that he had contacted her on his own and that Corey and her team refused to talk to a potential defendant or suspect without counsel.

Zimmerman's current lack of an attorney shouldn't affect the speed of Corey's decision-making since any decent lawyer would advise a client not to talk to prosecutors, said Roy Kahn, a defense attorney in Miami.

"It would not be in a client's best interest to give any statement before it's his time to testify at trial," Kahn said. "Even if I believe he's 100 percent innocent ... my advice to the client would be, `Save it for the trial. It can't help you.'"

Sonner, the first attorney Zimmerman contacted after the shooting, said he agreed to take the case on a pro bono basis until Zimmerman it's determined if he's charged. He said he has never talked to Zimmerman face-to-face, only on the phone, and that the 28-year-old man has gone into hiding but that he believes he's still in the U.S.

Both attorneys said they'd be willing to represent him again if he asks.

Ben Crump, an attorney for Martin's family, said they're concerned that Zimmerman could be a flight risk if he is charged with a crime since his former attorneys don't know how to contact him.

"At this point, we're just concerned that nobody knows where he is at. Nobody knows how to get to him," Crump said.

Meanwhile, tensions were rising in Sanford as townspeople awaited the prosecutor's decision. Someone shot up an unoccupied police car early Tuesday as it sat outside the neighborhood where Martin was killed. And a demonstration by college students closed the town's police station Monday.

Some residents said they worry there will be violence if Corey decides not to charge Zimmerman. Many in town believe she will announce her decision soon.

Police aren't saying what, if any, precautions they are taking.

Zimmerman set up a website therealgeorgezimmerman.com to collect money from his supporters, but the attorneys didn't know about it until they started getting questions from the news media, Sonner said. They had worked with his father and others to set up a different account and when they started getting questions about the new site, Uhrig assumed it was "bogus."

Since then, they determined the site is legitimate.

Sonner said he stands behind his statements that Zimmerman did act in self-defense, however, "I just can't proceed to represent a client who doesn't stay in contact with me."

Kendall Coffey, a former U.S. Attorney in Miami, said it is unusual for attorneys to hold a news conference to explain why they no longer are representing a client.

"The lawyers have every right to withdraw, but it's highly unusual, and it will be controversial, for counsel to describe their client's erratic behavior," said Coffey, who is now in private practice. "In the court of public opinion, the press conference was not helpful for George Zimmerman."

Speaking Wednesday on NBC's "Today" show, Sonner and Uhrig defended going public with their decision to stop representing Zimmerman, saying they didn't feel it was right to speak for him when they weren't in touch with him. Sonner also said Zimmerman was hiding in a place "where he won't be found."

© 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

theskanner50yrs 250x300