10-05-2024  1:56 am   •   PDX and SEA Weather

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NORTHWEST NEWS

Taxpayers in 24 States Will Be Able to File Their Returns Directly With the IRS in 2025

The pilot program in 2024 allowed people in certain states with very simple W-2s to calculate and submit their returns directly to the IRS. Those using the program claimed more than million in refunds, the IRS said.

Companies Back Away From Oregon Floating Offshore Wind Project as Opposition Grows

The federal government finalized two areas for floating offshore wind farms along the Oregon coast in February. But opposition from tribes, fishermen and coastal residents highlights some of the challenges the plan faces.

Preschool for All Growth Outpaces Enrollment Projections

Mid-year enrollment to allow greater flexibility for providers, families.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden Demands Answers From Emergency Rooms That Denied Care to Pregnant Patients

Wyden is part of a Democratic effort to focus the nation’s attention on the stories of women who have faced horrible realities since some states tightened a patchwork of abortion laws.

NEWS BRIEFS

Oregon’s 2024-25 Teacher of the Year is Bryan Butcher Jr. of Beaumont Middle School

“From helping each of his students learn math in the way that works for them, to creating the Black Student Union at his school,...

Burn Ban Lifted in the City of Portland

Although the burn ban is being lifted, Portland Fire & Rescue would like to remind folks to only burn dried cordwood in a...

Midland Library to Reopen in October

To celebrate the opening of the updated, expanded Midland, the library is hosting two days of activities for the community...

U.S. Congressman Al Green Commends Biden Administration on Launching Investigation into 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre; Mulls Congressional Action

The thriving African American community of Greenwood, popularly known as Black Wall Street, was criminally leveled by a white mob...

Governor Kotek, Oregon Housing and Community Services Announce Current and Projected Homelessness Initiative Outcomes

The announcement is accompanied by a data dashboard that shows the progress for the goals set within the...

Idaho state senator tells Native American candidate 'go back where you came from' in forum

KENDRICK, Idaho (AP) — Tensions rose during a bipartisan forum this week after an audience question about discrimination reportedly led an Idaho state senator to angrily tell a Native American candidate to “go back where you came from.” Republican Sen. Dan Foreman left the...

Washington state fines paper mill 0,000 after an employee is killed

CAMAS, Wash. (AP) — Washington state authorities have fined one of the world's leading paper and pulp companies nearly 0,000 after one of its employees was crushed by a packing machine earlier this year. The penalty comes after Dakota Cline, 32, was killed on March 8 while...

No 9 Missouri faces stiff road test in visit to No. 25 Texas A&M

No. 9 Missouri hits the road for the first time this season, facing arguably its toughest challenge so far. The Tigers (4-0, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) know the trip to No. 25 Texas A&M (4-1, 2-0) on Saturday will be tough for several reasons if they want to extend their...

No. 9 Missouri looks to improve to 5-0 in visit to No. 25 Texas A&M

No. 9 Missouri (4-0, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) at No. 25 Texas A&M (4-1, 2-0), Saturday, 12 p.m. ET (ABC). BetMGM College Football Odds: Texas A&M by 2 1/2. Series record: Texas A&M leads 9-7. WHAT’S AT STAKE? The winner will...

OPINION

The Skanner News: 2024 City Government Endorsements

In the lead-up to a massive transformation of city government, the mayor’s office and 12 city council seats are open. These are our endorsements for candidates we find to be most aligned with the values of equity and progress in Portland, and who we feel...

No Cheek Left to Turn: Standing Up for Albina Head Start and the Low-Income Families it Serves is the Only Option

This month, Albina Head Start filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to defend itself against a misapplied rule that could force the program – and all the children it serves – to lose federal funding. ...

DOJ and State Attorneys General File Joint Consumer Lawsuit

In August, the Department of Justice and eight state Attorneys Generals filed a lawsuit charging RealPage Inc., a commercial revenue management software firm with providing apartment managers with illegal price fixing software data that violates...

America Needs Kamala Harris to Win

Because a 'House Divided Against Itself Cannot Stand' ...

AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE NEWS

San Francisco's first Black female mayor is in a pricey battle for a second term

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — When London Breed was elected as San Francisco's first Black woman mayor, it was a pinch-me moment for a poor girl from public housing whose ascension showed that no dream was impossible in the progressive, compassionate and equitable city. But the honeymoon was...

Idaho state senator tells Native American candidate 'go back where you came from' in forum

KENDRICK, Idaho (AP) — Tensions rose during a bipartisan forum this week after an audience question about discrimination reportedly led an Idaho state senator to angrily tell a Native American candidate to “go back where you came from.” Republican Sen. Dan Foreman left the...

Judge denies an order sought by a Black student who was punished over his hair

HOUSTON (AP) — A federal judge on Friday denied a request by a Black high school student in Texas for a court order that the student’s lawyers say would have allowed him to return to his high school without fear of having his previous punishment over his hairstyle resume. Darryl...

ENTERTAINMENT

Book Review: 'The Last Dream,' short stories scattered with the seeds of Pedro Almodovar films

The seeds of Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar's later cinematic work are scattered throughout the pages of “The Last Dream,” his newly published collection of short writings. The stories and essays were gathered together by Almodóvar's longtime assistant, including many pieces...

Book Review: Louise Erdrich writes about love and loss in North Dakota in ’The Mighty Red’

Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Louise Erdrich (“The Night Watchman,” 2021) returns with a story close to her heart, “The Mighty Red.” Set in the author’s native North Dakota, the title refers to the river that serves as a metaphor for life in the Red River Valley. It also carries a...

Book Review: 'Revenge of the Tipping Point' is fan service for readers of Gladwell's 2000 book

It's been nearly 25 years since Malcolm Gladwell published “The Tipping Point," and it's still easy to catch it being read on airplanes, displayed prominently on executives' bookshelves or hear its jargon slipped into conversations. It's no surprise that a sequel was the next logical step. ...

U.S. & WORLD NEWS

Middle East latest: An Israeli airstrike cuts a major highway linking Lebanon with Syria

An Israeli airstrike has cut off a main highway linking Lebanon with Syria, leaving two huge craters on either...

US adds a robust 254,000 jobs and unemployment dips to 4.1% in sign of still-sturdy labor market

WASHINGTON (AP) — America’s employers added a surprisingly strong 254,000 jobs in September, easing concerns...

Judge denies an order sought by a Black student who was punished over his hair

HOUSTON (AP) — A federal judge on Friday denied a request by a Black high school student in Texas for a court...

Rainstorms and heavy floods hit large parts of Bosnia, killing at least 16 people

KISELJAK, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — A severe rainstorm struck Bosnia overnight Friday, killing at least 16...

London police officer charged over death of woman struck by motorcycle during escort for UK royal

LONDON (AP) — A Metropolitan Police officer has been charged with causing death by careless driving in...

A year later, Israeli survivors reflect on the lingering toll of Oct. 7

Lilach Almog walks past the remains of a police station seized by Hamas militants and buildings pockmarked by...

CNN Wire Staff

OAK CREEK, Wisconsin (CNN) -- The gunman in the Wisconsin Sikh temple tragedy died from a self-inflicted wound to the head and not from a shot by a responding officer, the FBI said Wednesday.

Police previously said Wade Michael Page died after being shot by the officer. That shot in the stomach was potentially fatal, but Page died from the self-inflicted wound, said Teresa Carlson, the special agent in charge for the FBI in Milwaukee.

Carlson revealed few other details about the investigation of Sunday's shooting in a suburban Milwaukee gurdwara, or Sikh house of worship. Six people were killed.

She said that no clear motive has been established and that Misty Cook, Page's former girlfriend who was arrested Sunday on an unrelated weapons charge, is probably not linked to the shooting.

"We do not believe she had anything to do with it," Carlson said.

After authorities went to Cook's home to interview her, she was charged with possessing a gun, which is illegal because she is a felon.

Page, a 40-year-old Army veteran who neighbors say played in a so-called hate-rock band, was the lone gunman, Carlson said.

Police have not found any notes or other clues as to why Page went on a killing spree at the Oak Creek temple, and his family members have not reported observing warning signs.

"This is a guy who moved around a lot," Carlson said. "We are zeroing in one any possible motives, but right now, we don't have one."

She said authorities have conducted more than 100 interviews nationwide, with people including Page's family members, associates and neighbors. Authorities are also reviewing his e-mails and other electronic records.

The investigation continued as a community reeled from the carnage.

For a third consecutive night, mourners held a vigil Tuesday to remember the dead, pray for the wounded and grapple with the grief.

They lit candles in a park and stood in solidarity. Many asked why anyone would shoot their way into a house of God.

Authorities received tips that Page might have links to the white supremacist movement, but nothing has been confirmed, according to Oak Creek Police Chief John Edwards and the FBI.

"We may end up with just a lot of facts on what he is involved with, who he may be associated with, but we may never know that motive, because he died, and that motive died with him," Edwards said.

The chief also said that counter to initial witness statements, Page did not have a 9/11 tattoo.

While the FBI has said Page never was the subject of an investigation, he was mentioned in a small number of federal law enforcement reference files in cases going back seven years, a law enforcement official told CNN on Tuesday.

The official said there is no information to suggest that investigators wanted to open a case on Page but did not have the evidence to justify it. Page might have been sympathetic to a certain ideology, but there was no evidence he had committed a federal crime before the Wisconsin shooting, the official said.

The official did not provide details about the nature of the cases in which Page's name was mentioned.

Bernard Zapor, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives special agent in the investigation, said Monday that the 9 mm semiautomatic handgun with multiple ammunition magazines used by the attacker had been legally purchased.

Page bought the gun July 28 at the Shooters Shop in West Allis, Wisconsin, and picked it up two days later. He also bought ammunition there and used the shop's range.

Shop manager Eric Grabowski and owner Kevin Nugent told CNN on Tuesday that surveillance video of Page buying the gun and using it in the range two days later has been turned over to investigators. The suspect did not exhibit unusual behavior while in the store, Grabowski said.

The magazine for the handgun holds at least 17 bullets.

According to a man who described himself as Page's old Army buddy, the attacker talked about "racial holy war" when they served together in the 1990s. Christopher Robillard of Oregon, who said he lost contact with Page more than a decade ago, added that when Page would rant, "it would be about mostly any non-white person."

Page, born on Veterans Day in 1971, joined the Army in 1992 and left the service in 1998, according to Army spokesman George Wright.

Page's service was marked by "patterns of misconduct," and he received a general discharge because of "discreditable incidents," according to a Pentagon official.

Robillard said Page was pushed out for showing up to formation drunk.

Page lived in Fayetteville, North Carolina, for several years. He owned a modest house on a country road, but he ran into financial trouble and the home was foreclosed on, according to Wells Fargo bank.

John Tew, manager of a Harley-Davidson motorcycle store in Fayetteville, North Carolina, told CNN he fired Page from his parts coordinator job in 2004 because Page "had a big problem with authority" and with working with women. Tew said he found an application for the Ku Klux Klan on Page's desk the day he was dismissed.

Pete Simi, a University of Nebraska at Omaha professor, said he knew Page while doing research on extremist groups about 10 years ago.

Page told him he started identifying with neo-Nazis during his time in the military. The former soldier told him he believed the deck was stacked against whites, Simi said, adding he believed Page drank excessively.

Two neighbors of Page identified him in photos that showed him playing in the far-right punk band "End Apathy" with Nazi flags hanging near him.

The gunman's former stepmother spoke of a very different Wade Page she knew before losing touch with him more than a decade ago, when she and Page's father divorced.

"It's like I don't even know that person," Laura Page said of more recent photos of Page. "It is not someone I ever could possibly know or be associated with." She told CNN that the Page she knew was gentle and loving and had black and Hispanic friends.

Sunday's attack in Oak Creek occurred 16 days after a gunman killed 12 people and wounded scores at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado.

The six victims of Sunday's attack were identified by police as five men -- Sita Singh, 41; Ranjit Singh, 49; temple president Satwant Singh Kaleka, 65; Prakash Singh, 39, and Suveg Singh, 84 -- and one woman, 41-year-old Paramjit Kaur.

A wake and visitation are scheduled for Friday morning.

CNN's Moni Basu, Brian Todd, Carol Cratty, Mike Mount, Ed Payne, Scott Bronstein, Ted Rowlands, Tom Cohen, Shawn Nottingham, Susan Candiotti, Deborah Feyerick, Phil Gast and Ben Brumfield contributed to this report.