11-21-2024  6:31 pm   •   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

Officials say worsening wildfires due to climate change mean that forests must be more actively managed to increase their resiliency.

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

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...

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" ...

Storm dumps record rain and heavy snow on Northern California. Many in Seattle still without power

FORESTVILLE, Calif. (AP) — A major storm moving through Northern California on Thursday dropped heavy snow and record rain, flooding some areas, after killing two people and knocking out power to hundreds of thousands in the Pacific Northwest. Forecasters warned that the risk of flash flooding...

What to know about a storm bringing high winds, heavy rain, snow to California and Pacific Northwest

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — One of the strongest storms on the West Coast in decades knocked out power for thousands of people, unleashed strong winds that toppled trees and left two dead in Washington before making its way through Oregon to Northern California where on Thursday it dropped heavy snow...

Missouri aims to get back in win column at Mississippi State, which still seeks first SEC victory

Missouri (7-3, 3-3 SEC) at Mississippi State (2-8, 0-6), Saturday, 4:15 p.m. ET (SEC). BetMGM College Sports Odds: Missouri by 7.5. Series: Tied 2-2. What’s at stake? Missouri sits just outside the AP Top 25 and looks to rebound from last...

No. 19 South Carolina looks to keep its momentum and win its fifth straight when it faces Wofford

Wofford (5-6) at No. 19 South Carolina (7-3), Saturday, 4 p.m. EST (ESPN+/SECN+) BetMGM College Football Odds: No line. Series history: South Carolina leads 20-4. What’s at stake? South Carolina, which finished its SEC season at 5-3, wants...

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

New Zealand police begin arrests for gang symbol ban as new law takes effect

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — A ban on New Zealanders wearing or displaying symbols of gang affiliation in public took effect on Thursday, with police officers making their first arrest for a breach of the law three minutes later. The man was driving with gang insignia displayed on...

New study shows voting for Native Americans is harder than ever

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (AP) — A new study has found that systemic barriers to voting on tribal lands contribute to substantial disparities in Native American turnout, particularly for presidential elections. The study, released Tuesday by the Brennan Center for Justice, looked at 21...

Pathologist disputes finding that Marine veteran's chokehold caused subway rider's death

NEW YORK (AP) — For roughly six minutes, Jordan Neely was pinned to a subway floor in a chokehold that ended with him lying still. But that's not what killed him, a forensic pathologist testified Thursday in defense of the military-trained commuter charged with killing Neely. Dr....

ENTERTAINMENT

From 'The Exorcist' to 'Heretic,' why holy horror can be a hit with moviegoers

In the new horror movie, “Heretic,” Hugh Grant plays a diabolical religious skeptic who traps two scared missionaries in his house and tries to violently shake their faith. What starts more as a religious studies lecture slowly morphs into a gory escape room for the two...

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

There are few sports journalists working today with a resume as broad as Chris Myers. From a decade doing everything for ESPN (SportsCenter, play by play, and succeeding Roy Firestone as host of the interview show “Up Close”) to decades of involvement with nearly every league under contract...

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...

U.S. & WORLD NEWS

Was it all a joke? How stand-up comedy helped reelect Trump

Did stand-up comedians help reelect Donald Trump? Not a joke, as outgoing President Joe Biden might...

SEC Chair Gary Gensler, who led US crackdown on cryptocurrencies, to step down

Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler, who was aggressive in his oversight of cryptocurrencies and...

US towns plunge into debates about fluoride in water

NEW YORK (AP) — For about 50 years, adding cavity-preventing fluoride to drinking water was a popular public...

The biggest remaining unsanctioned Russian bank hit with U.S. sanctions, nearly three years into war

WASHINGTON (AP) — Russia's third largest bank, Gazprombank and its six foreign subsidiaries were hit with U.S....

Putin touts Russia's new missile and delivers a menacing warning to NATO

The new ballistic missile fired by Russia struck a military-industrial facility in the central Ukrainian city of...

The dizzying array of legal threats to Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro

SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro has been a target for investigations since his early...

By Deborah Feyerick and Lateef Mungin CNN







Abu Anas al LibiAn alleged al Qaeda operative accused of playing a role in the 1998 U.S. Embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania pleaded not guilty Tuesday to terrorism charges brought against him in federal court in New York.As Abu Anas al Libi walked into court to face the charges, his hands were shackled, his hair was short, and he sported a red, bushy beard, graying around his face and chin. He moved slowly and appeared unsteady. He told the court he was 49, but he looked 10 to 15 years older. His family told CNN he suffers from hepatitis C. Judge Lewis Kaplan signed a medical order for care.

Wearing gray sweatpants, a black, long-sleeved shirt and black flip-flops with beige socks, al Libi walked from the holding area into the stately wood-paneled courtroom.

In response to a question from Kaplan, al Libi said he preferred to be addressed by his proper name, Nazih Abdul Hamed al Ruqai.

 

Abu Anas al Libi is the name he was known by within al Qaeda. Al Libi means "from Libya."

Al Libi answered the few questions posed to him by Kaplan through a translator. "Yes," he said, he understood the charges against him; and "No, I can't," he said, when asked if he could afford a lawyer.

He will be appointed a Criminal Justice Act attorney trained in handling federal terrorism cases. He is being held without bail, since Kaplan agreed with prosecutors that he poses a flight risk and is a danger the community.

That lawyer, David Patton, issued a statement Tuesday stressing that "the presumption of innocence is not a small technicality here."

Patton notes his client is mentioned in the 150-page indictment "in a mere three paragraphs relating to conduct in 1993 and 1994 and nothing since." In those paragraphs, authorities allege al Libi met with al Qaeda members about bombing the U.S. Embassy in Kenya, which ended up happening five years later in 1998.

"There is no allegation that he had any connection to al Qaeda after 1994," Patton said, "and he is eager to move forward with the legal process in this case."

U.S. Army Delta Force soldiers seized him on October 5 from outside his house in Tripoli, Libya.

U.S. officials say he was taken initially to a Navy ship for questioning before he was brought to the United States over the weekend.

Prosecutors say he worked as a senior aide to Osama bin Laden during al Qaeda's formative years. Among the charges, he is accused of taking photos of the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi in preparation for the attack. A truck bomb detonated, destroying a nearby building and killing more than 200 people, among them a handful of embassy employees. A second coordinated attack on the U.S. Embassy in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, took place at virtually the same time on August 7,1998, killing embassy personnel there.

His arrival in the U.S. has reopened a debate over whether international terrorist suspects should be tried in U.S. courts.

U.S. Rep. Peter King, R-New York, said Monday that it was "unfortunate" that al Libi was on U.S. soil.

"It shows the inherent flaws in the U.S. policy decision to try in the U.S., because once you arrive on U.S. soil, that ends the interrogation of these high-value detainees," King said. He added that that wouldn't have happened had al Libi been sent to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and faced a military commission there.

 

U.S. or military court

President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder have previously said they prefer to try people such as al Libi in American courts.

In 2009, Holder said five detainees with alleged ties to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks would be transferred from Guantanamo Bay to New York for trial in civilian court.

Holder then reversed course, announcing that accused 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and others would be tried by a military commission at Guantanamo.

Al Libi was indicted in 2001 by the federal court in the Southern District of New York in the embassy bombings and in connection with his alleged roles in al Qaeda conspiracies to attack U.S. forces in Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Somalia.

State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf said last week that there was no chance that al Libi would end up at Guantanamo.

"The administration's position on Guantanamo is clear: Our goal is not to add to the population, it's to reduce it, which we've done," she said. "Our policy is not to send any new detainees to Guantanamo."

Family wants a lawyer

Al Libi's family members said they had received no news about him from the U.S. or Libyan governments and were shocked to learn that he had arrived in the United States.

His son, Abdullah, said the family hoped to get a lawyer who would "work with him, for him."

"We don't want him talking to just anyone," Abdullah said. "We don't want just any lawyer asking him questions."

Some terrorism experts have questioned how much valuable intelligence al Libi would be able to provide. A former jihadist associate told CNN last week that it was unlikely that he still had an active role with the terrorist network.

His wife said he was no longer a member of al Qaeda, had a normal life and was seeking a job with the Libyan Oil Ministry.

A U.S. official said al Libi received care at a medical facility in New York for a pre-existing medical condition and is "doing better."

The official did not detail the medical issue. His wife told CNN this month that al Libi has a severe case of hepatitis C and that she was worried about his health.

The Libyan government has protested that it hasn't been able to see al Libi yet, in accordance with international law that allows countries to stay in contact with their citizens who are accused of a crime in a foreign nation. A senior Obama administration official said it wasn't possible to give Libya consular access to al Libi until he had arrived in the United States.

"We have every intention of allowing this; it just hasn't happened yet," the official said.

Al Libi is set to return to court on October 22 at 4:30 p.m.

 

Journalist Ayman al-Kekli in Tripoli and CNN's Bill Mears, Elise Labott, Nic Robertson, Evan Perez and Susan Candiotti contributed to this report.

 

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