Portland makes its pitch for expansion WNBA franchise
February 7, 2023 GMTPORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert says she last visited Portland a few years back and watched a women's game between Oregon and Oregon State. She was struck by fans who were “rocking the house that night."
Democrat Ron Wyden wins reelection to US Senate from Oregon
November 9, 2022 GMTPORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Oregon’s senior U.S. senator, Democrat Ron Wyden, won reelection easily Tuesday, defeating a Republican opponent who has never held elected office.
Wyden, who was first elected to the Senate in 1996, chairs the powerful U.S.
Oregon senators seek answers over prison inmate retaliation
August 20, 2022 GMTPORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Oregon’s two U.S. Senators are asking the new director of the federal Bureau of Prisons about recent allegations that guards at the federal prison in Sheridan have retaliated against inmates who are suing the prison.
Feds looking at finances of Native American boarding school
June 29, 2022 GMTSALEM, Ore. (AP) — One of only a few boarding schools for Native American students still run directly by the federal government in Oregon is undergoing a close look at the school’s finances by the Interior Department’s Office of Inspector General.
LIV Golf heads to Oregon, where local officials aren’t happy
June 26, 2022 GMTSaudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf is getting a chilly reception in Oregon, its first stop in the United States.
This coming week, the series, which is paying enormous signing fees for players like Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson, descends on Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club in tiny North Plains, nestled in the rolling hills west of Portland.
Perkins wins Oregon’s Republican U.S. Senate primary.
May 27, 2022 GMTPORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Jo Rae Perkins has won Oregon’s Republican U.S. Senate primary.
Perkins, a frequent candidate for public office, has been criticized for her belief in QAnon, a wide-ranging and baseless conspiracy theory that depicts former President Donald Trump as a hero fighting a secret battle against a sect of devil-worshipping pedophiles who dominate Hollywood, big business, the media and government.
North Carolina Rep. Deborah Ross tests positive for COVID-19
April 26, 2022 GMTRALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — U.S. Rep. Deborah Ross said she tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday.
In a tweet, the first-term Democrat from Raleigh representing the 2nd Congressional District said she's experiencing mild symptoms.
Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden positive for COVID-19, mild symptoms
April 26, 2022 GMTPORTLAND, Ore (AP) — U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden tested positive Tuesday for COVID-19, his office said, as the virus continues to circulate among lawmakers and policymakers in the nation's capitol.
The Oregon Democrat tested positive during a routine screening and is experiencing mild symptoms, his office said in a statement.
Senators issue bipartisan call to restore donors’ tax breaks
March 17, 2022 GMTBoth Democratic and Republican lawmakers called Thursday for restoring the charitable deduction for donors who don’t itemize their taxes, a priority for nonprofits nationwide, but a key senator was noncommittal on the question of whether to support legislation designed to boost payouts from foundations and donor-advised funds.
Senators: CIA has secret program that collects American data
February 11, 2022 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — The CIA has a secret, undisclosed data repository that includes information collected about Americans, two Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Committee said. While neither the agency nor lawmakers would disclose specifics about the data, the senators alleged the CIA had long hidden details about the program from the public and Congress.
Oregon strengthens effort to attract semiconductor industry
February 10, 2022 GMTSALEM, Ore. (AP) — Oregon’s political leaders said Thursday they're going to try to attract the booming semiconductor industry.
The announcement comes three weeks after chipmaker Intel, Oregon’s largest corporate employer, announced it will invest $20 billion to build a new chip factory in Ohio — news that stung in Oregon.
Oregon to GET $262M in wildfire recovery funding
February 10, 2022 GMTSALEM, Ore. (AP) — The U.S. Forest Service in Oregon will receive more than $262 million in federal disaster funding to help with wildfire recovery.
Oregon Public Broadcasting reports the money is part of a $1.1 billion disaster assistance bill that passed last year to help regions across the country recover from a variety of natural disasters over the last three years.
IRS to end use of facial recognition to identify taxpayers
February 7, 2022 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — The IRS said Monday it will suspend the use of facial recognition technology to authenticate people who create online accounts after the practice was criticized by privacy advocates and lawmakers.
Sen. Wyden says Oregon should divest from spyware company
December 15, 2021 GMTSALEM, Ore. (AP) — U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden said Wednesday that the Oregon state employees pension fund should drop its investment in NSO Group, whose smartphone-hacking tool has targeted human rights monitors, journalists, politicians and others.
National monument proposed for area near OR’s Painted Hills
November 4, 2021 GMTSALEM, Ore. (AP) — A new national monument at Sutton Mountain near Central Oregon’s Painted Hills has bgeen proposed by Oregon's U.S. senators.
Oregon Public Broadcasting reports Sutton Mountain stands in the backdrop of the iconic view overlooking the Painted Hills.
Maine senator backs plan to make sure corporations pay taxes
October 30, 2021 GMTBRUNSWICK, Maine (AP) — Maine's independent senator has joined with Democrats on a proposal to stop large corporations from avoiding federal taxes.
Sen. Angus King is working with Democrats including Sen.
Mt. Bachelor to keep new ski pass despite equity concerns
October 16, 2021 GMTBEND, Ore. (AP) — A central Oregon ski area operator will keep in place a new ski pass that allows people who pay more to bypass most chairlift lines despite a request from Oregon U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden to scrap the plan due to equity issues.
Senator, skiers raise equity concerns over Mt. Bachelor pass
October 14, 2021 GMTBEND, Ore. (AP) — A new ski pass that allows people who pay more to bypass most chairlift lines at Mt. Bachelor in Bend is causing concern among skiers, snowboarders and Oregon U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden over equity issues.
Senators question DOJ funding for AI-powered policing tech
August 20, 2021 GMTCHICAGO (AP) — A Democratic senator said the U.S. Justice Department needs to look into whether the algorithm-powered police technologies it funds contribute to racial bias in law enforcement and lead to wrongful arrests.
Nursing home overhaul bill would boost staffing, oversight
August 10, 2021 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — Responding to the ravages of COVID-19 in nursing homes, senior Democratic senators Tuesday introduced legislation to increase nurse staffing, improve infection control and bolster inspections.
US lawmakers want Ma’Khia Bryant foster care journey probed
June 1, 2021 GMTCOLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Three Democratic members of Congress are asking the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to investigate the foster care experience of Ma'Khia Bryant that preceded the 16-year-old's fatal police shooting in Ohio.
Some green groups oppose lower Snake River dam removal plan
March 27, 2021 GMTBOISE, Idaho (AP) — A coalition of 17 environmental groups is speaking out against a key part of a sweeping plan to remove the lower Snake River dams to save salmon and steelhead...
Democrats urge investigation into removal of owl protections
February 2, 2021 GMTPORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Eight Democratic lawmakers called Tuesday for an investigation into “potential scientific meddling” by the Trump administration in its rule to remove critical habitat protections for the imperiled northern spotted owl in the Pacific Northwest...
Yellen’s nomination as treasury secretary advances in Senate
January 22, 2021 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate Finance Committee approved President Joe Biden’s nomination of Janet Yellen to be the nation’s 78th treasury secretary on Friday, setting up a final vote that would make her the first woman to hold the job...
Senator: Treasury Dept. email accounts compromised in hack
December 22, 2020 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — Dozens of email accounts at the Treasury Department were compromised in a massive breach of U...
Senator: Treasury Dept. email accounts compromised in hack
December 22, 2020 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — Dozens of email accounts at the Treasury Department were compromised in a massive breach of U...
Senate report: Opioid industry has paid advocacy groups $65M
December 17, 2020 GMTA bipartisan congressional investigation released Wednesday found that key players in the nation’s opioid industry have spent $65 million since 1997 funding nonprofits that advocate treating pain with medications, a strategy intended to boost the sale of prescription painkillers...
Probe: Interior held back Bernhardt records sought by court
August 11, 2020 GMTThe Interior Department purposely withheld what it called “sensitive” public documents related to Interior Secretary David Bernhardt ahead of WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration was slow to comprehend the scale of COVID-19's impact on nursing homes and a disjointed federal response has only compounded the devastating toll, according to a report from Senate Democrats...Dems: Government’s ‘deadly delay’ devastated nursing homes
July 1, 2020 GMT
Watchdog eyes violent routing of protesters near White House
June 22, 2020 GMTAn Interior Department watchdog office will investigate law enforcement and security forces’ violent clearing of protesters from a square in front of the White House earlier this month...
CIA unit that crafts hacking tools didn’t protect itself
June 17, 2020 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — A specialized CIA unit that developed sophisticated hacking tools and cyber weapons didn’t do enough to protect its own operations and wasn't prepared to adequately respond when the secrets were stolen, according to an internal report prepared after the worst data loss in the intelligence agency’s history.
Watchdog cites persistent infection lapses in nursing homes
May 20, 2020 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — Before WASHINGTON (AP) — The questions from senators at President Donald Trump's impeachment trial continued by the dozens on Thursday, with lawmakers inquiring about foreign election interference, the scope of presidential power and other areas that cut to the heart of the case now nearing its conclusion...Key questions asked during Trump’s impeachment trial
January 31, 2020 GMT
Rule would let faith-based groups exclude LGBT parents
November 1, 2019 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration on Friday proposed a rule that would allow faith-based foster care and adoption agencies to continue getting taxpayer funding even if they exclude LGBT families and others from their services based on religious beliefs...
Democrats push IRS on NRA’s tax-exempt status
October 2, 2019 GMTSenate Democrats on Wednesday called on the IRS to look into whether the NRA should be stripped of its tax-exempt status.
Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer and Sen. Ron Wyden, the ranking member on the Senate Finance Committee, questioned in a letter to the IRS whether the NRA's "interactions" with Maria Butina, the Russian woman who was sentenced to prison for failing to register as a foreign agent and plotting to infiltrate the NRA and conservative U.S.
OSU to get funds to research quake impact on electrical grid
August 28, 2019 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — Oregon State University will receive more than $400,000 in federal funds to research how large earthquakes, like ones that could strike in the Cascadia Subduction Zone, would affect the western electrical grid.
GOP, Dems offer compromise to reduce drug costs for seniors
July 23, 2019 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — Two veteran senators — a Republican and a Democrat — unveiled compromise legislation Tuesday to reduce prescription drug costs for millions of Medicare recipients, while saving money for federal and state health care programs serving seniors and low-income people...
Senators concerned about abuse allegations at shelters
May 9, 2019 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — The Republican and Democratic leaders of the Senate Finance Committee are questioning whether the Trump administration is neglecting its duty to protect unaccompanied immigrant children in its care amid allegations of misconduct at federally funded shelters...
Democrats want feds to target the ‘black box’ of AI bias
April 10, 2019 GMTCongress is starting to show interest in prying open the "black box" of tech companies' artificial intelligence with oversight that parallels how the federal government checks under car hoods and audits banks...
No to the Green New Deal
February 12, 2019 GMTNo to the tulip craze Green New Deal being co-sponsored by Sen. Ron Wyden, Sen. Jeff Merkley and Rep. Peter DeFazio.
Going green: States would get free hand under pot bill
February 9, 2019 GMTOregon Sen. Ron Wyden proposed legislation Friday that would give states a free hand to allow legal cannabis markets without the threat of federal criminal intervention, the latest push in Congress to bolster the nation's burgeoning pot industry...
AT&T to end all location-data sales to data brokers
January 11, 2019 GMTAT&T says it will stop selling all location data from mobile phones to brokers following a report that companies are still selling that information to shadowy companies without customer knowledge.
FEC says lawmakers can use campaign funds toward personal cybersecurity expenses
December 14, 2018 GMTThe Federal Election Commission ruled in favor of letting lawmakers use leftover campaign funds for personal cybersecurity-related expenses, citing heightened hacking risks posed by virtue of their positions in the House and Senate.
State-backed hackers target Gmail of US senators, aides
September 20, 2018 GMTState-backed hackers are still trying to break into the personal email accounts of U.S. senators and their aides — and a lawmaker focused on cybersecurity says the Senate's security office should stop refusing to help defend them...
Lawmaker: US Senate, staff targeted by state-backed hackers
September 20, 2018 GMTForeign government hackers continue to target the personal email accounts of U.S. senators and their aides — and the Senate's security office has refused to defend them, a lawmaker says...
The Latest: Senate panel OKs head of agency overseeing kids
June 29, 2018 GMTCHICAGO (AP) — The Latest on immigrant parents and children separated at the U.S. border (all times local):...
Mobile carriers cut off flow of location data to brokers
June 20, 2018 GMTVerizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile have pledged to stop providing information on U.S. phone owners' locations to data brokers, stepping back from a business practice that has drawn criticism for endangering privacy...
NRA linked to Donald Trump-Russia collusion theories
May 7, 2018 GMTDALLAS The National Rifle Association is increasingly factoring into anti-Trump lawmakers' and groups' theories of collusion during the 2016 campaign but activists at the NRA's convention last week shrugged off the accusations as another part of Democrats' "witch hunt."
Senator seeks documents on Russia money links to the NRA
February 2, 2018 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — A top Democrat is seeking documents from the National Rifle Association and the Treasury Department following reports of an FBI investigation into whether a Russian central banker funneled money to the group during the 2016 presidential campaign.
Locals Play Roles in CH-CH Play
November 5, 2017 GMTWALTHAM -- Several local students at Chapel Hill-Chauncy Hall School participated in the school's recent second annual CH-CH Senate Simulation.
They worked to solve problems that real members of government are currently struggling to solve, including North Korea's nuclear program and health care.
US senator seeks cyber info from voting machine makers
October 3, 2017 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. senator wants to know how well the country's top six voting machine manufacturers protect themselves against cyberattacks, a move that comes just weeks after federal authorities notified 21 states that they had been targeted by Russian government hackers during the 2016 presidential election...
Wyden, DeFazio join call to restore Secure Rural Schools payments
February 18, 2017 GMTMembers of Oregon's Congressional delegation have once again urged federal officials to extend Secure Rural Schools payments to ailing timber counties.
The payments helped local governments in rural counties like Douglas County that have lost income due to reduced federal timber harvests.
Democrats force delays in votes on 3 Cabinet nominees
January 31, 2017 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Democrats blocked committee votes on three of President Donald Trump's highest-profile Cabinet picks Tuesday as spiraling partisan hostility over the fledgling administration's refugee curbs and other initiatives seemed to seep into Congress' work on nominations...
US intelligence chief sorry for ‘erroneous’ answer
July 2, 2013 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — Director of National Intelligence James Clapper apologized for telling Congress earlier this year that the National Security Agency does not collect data on millions of Americans, a response he now says was "clearly erroneous."