Free Republic

An Oregon bill that would require big tech companies including Google and Meta to pay money to local newsrooms and journalists is steadily advancing despite protests from tech industry groups. The latest version of Senate Bill 686 would require companies of Google’s magnitude to pay at least $104 million annually to Oregon newsrooms and journalism programs. Companies of Meta’s scope would pay at least $18 million. Alternatively, companies could choose to undergo an arbitration process to determine a different payment amount. Lawmakers from both parties and numerous Oregon publishers have said the bill would be a financial lifeline for newsrooms...

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday rejected an appeal from the Trump administration and upheld a lower court order demanding that the administration rehire thousands of probationary employees across a range of federal agencies.Judge William Alsup last week determined that the administration unlawfully fired thousands of employees from the Departments of Agriculture, Defense, Energy, Interior, Treasury, and Veterans Affairs and ordered their reinstatement.The panel of the Ninth Circuit ruled 2-1 in favor of upholding Alsup's order, Forbes reported. The case may soon reach the Supreme Court, where the Trump administration has already asked the justices to rule on...

Law enforcement and divers are gearing up for a deliberate mission to bring a vehicle believed to be connected to a 1958 cold case up to the surface of the Columbia. Divers clearing debris to remove suspected Martin family car from Columbia River | 7:45 KOIN 6 | 540K subscribers | 20,256 views | March 7, 2025

Police in Portland have declared a “biohazard” after a transgender activist destroyed a teenage girl’s car and defecated inside the vehicle. Eric Neil Bowen, a 44-year-old male who claims to be “female” and goes by “Vivian Shemansky,” accused the girl of being “transphobic” before he wrecked her car. Bowen reportedly exploded in a rage after the 17-year-old girl parked near his tent in the Hollywood District of the city on August 27. The tent was pitched in a parking lot and the victim, identified only as Jade, was parked legally in an available space. Bowen responded by yelling and throwing...

A woman sits in the driver's seat of a classic car Cristin Elliott is seated back behind the wheel of her cherished 1971 Chevy Nova. She was recently reunited with the car after it was stolen in November 2010.Dave Killen / The Oregonian Thirteen years after someone stole her sleek black Chevy Nova SS with red vinyl seats, Cristin Elliott got the car back. With tears in her eyes, she sat behind the wheel for the first time since September 2010, when she’d parked it outside a friend’s house. The motor wouldn’t start when she turned the key. Someone had...

* The hole may be leaking 'fault lubricant' that reduces stress on two plates * The fault could unleash a magnitude-9 earthquake in the Pacific Northwest * READ MORE: Extra layer of plate tectonics could be causing tremors in Pacific ============================================================= Scientists fear a hole in a 600-mile-long fault line in the Pacific could trigger a catastrophic earthquake that would decimate cities along the northwestern US. The hole spewing hot liquid sits 50 miles off the shoreline of Oregon, on the boundary of the dipping fault known as Cascadia Subduction Zone, which spans from Northern California into Canada. This geological...

At least 13 mayors have been arrested for sexual crimes against children since 2021, according to a review of news articles and police reports. College Park, Maryland, Mayor Patrick Wojahn is the most recent mayor to be charged with child sex crimes and has been arrested for 56 counts of possession and distribution of child pornography, according to NBC Washington; Wojahn submitted his letter of resignation Thursday. On February 17, Prince George’s County Police Department (PCPD) was notified that someone in the county was uploading child pornography. The images and videos were traced back to Wojahn, ... However, Wojahn is...

Hand Grenade Simulator (Photo: Newport Oregon Police Department) NEWPORT, Ore. (KATU) — Police in Oregon said three explosive devices washed ashore Tuesday, prompting several calls to law enforcement. Police in Newport said they responded to three separate devices that washed up on the beach in the area, between Yaquina Bay State Park and Agate Beach. Each device was white in color and had a label attached to them that reads “Warning Explosive.” The label clearly states the item is a "Simulator, Hand Grenade M116A," with instructions to "remove safety clip from fuse lighter, carefully pull off cap until cord is...

Oregon voters will decide this fall on a proposal that would require a permit for gun purchases and ban magazines higher than 10 rounds, except for current owners, law enforcement and the military. Initiative 17, the Reduction of Gun Violence Act, has surpassed the minimum number of signatures required, 112,080, Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan's elections division said Monday, Fox News reported. If approved, an applicant for a gun permit would be required to complete an approved firearm safety course, pay a fee, provide personal information, submit to fingerprinting and photographing and pass a criminal background check. The National...

On March 16, 2022, a Portland city council public meeting was trolled by actors mocking Mayor Ted Wheeler and the city's government.

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., both members of the Senate Intelligence Committee, called for new transparency about bulk surveillance conducted by the Central Intelligence Agency, following the release of documents that revealed a secret bulk collection program and problems with how the agency searches and handles Americans’ information.Wyden and Heinrich requested the declassification of a report by the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board on a CIA bulk collection program, in a letter sent April 13, 2021. The letter, which was declassified and made public today reveals that “the CIA has secretly...

On September 19th, 2021, Ian Cranston was with his fiancee, Allie Butler, when he was attacked causing him to shoot and kill 22-year-old Barry Washington outside a bar in Bend, Oregon.Washington had been acting erratically earlier that night. Washington had propositioned Cranston’s fiancee, inside the bar. After a second proposition had been rejected, outside the bar, Washington attacked Cranston. Cranston displayed his firearm to deter further attack. Then Washington attacked Cranston’s friend and started to come at Cranston and his fiancee again. Cranston fired one shot. Washington went down. Reportedly Cranston immediately attempted to apply first aid, but the shot...

PORTLAND, Ore. — Another string of shootings in Portland likely has a lot of people wondering: how long will it last? This year marks the deadliest and most violent in the city’s history, and it's not over yet. Eight months after City Council approval, the final two pieces of the city's gun violence plan are set to roll out -- a new policing unit for gun violence and $600,000 in grants for smaller community organizations addressing violence. Applications for that funding closed in the last couple of weeks. Lionel Irving, who runs Love is Stronger, is one person vying for...

EUGENE, Ore. -- A man who shot and killed someone who was breaking into his home will not face charges, police say. The shooting happened at South Crest Apartments on Donald Street early Monday morning and it left Skyler Weisberg, 28, dead. Leading up to the incident, police said Weisberg left his home in Tillamook County sometime after 10 p.m. on Sunday. Authorities pulled him over in Polk County after he made an alleged minor traffic violation, and he told the deputy he was headed to Eugene to look for his wife. Just after 3:30 a.m., Weisberg arrived to the...

Two shallow M5.9 earthquakes hit off the coast of southern Oregon, U.S. at 07:52 and 08:17 UTC on June 4, 2021, at a depth of 16.6 km (10.3 miles) and 14.5 km (9 miles), respectively. They were located around 12 km (7.4 miles) from each other and followed by 5 moderately strong aftershocks over the next 15 hours. 13 M6+ earthquakes have occurred within 200 km (124 miles) in the last 50 years. The largest of which was a M7.2 earthquake on June 15, 2005. These earthquakes occurred as the result of shallow strike-slip faulting within a deformed section of...

<p>"We wanted to symbolize that both parties are the oppressor," said a 25-year-old protester who wished not to be identified, fearing government reprisal. "We've all experienced firsthand that police violence is police violence regardless (of which political party holds power). ... It doesn't make a difference to the person being beaten."</p>

I noted first for RedState readers early on Wednesday morning that serious talks had taken place on Monday and Tuesday between the Governor of Oregon and senior officials of the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security. Negotiations Under Way For Oregon To Provide Security For Portland Courthouse. Those talks included the Deputy Director of the FBI, who met with the Oregon Governor Kate Brown, likely to provide her with intelligence on the nature of the worsening threat posed by escalating levels of violence in the nightly rioting at the federal courthouse in Portland. Later in the day on Wednesday, after...

Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler’s progressive delusions seem to have gotten worse since he was tear-gassed while being at the riot as other rioters were trying to set fire to the federal courthouse. Wheeler now wants to talk with the DHS about negotiating a “ceasefire” and the removal of increased federal law enforcement agents from Portland. Commissioner @JoAnnPDX and I are calling for an immediate meeting with Department of Homeland Security leadership on the ground in Portland and with Acting Secretary @DHS_Wolf to discuss a cease-fire and the removal of heightened federal forces from Portland. — Mayor Ted Wheeler (@tedwheeler) July...

(Update: Adding 2nd video, poll, local reaction, Deschutes County health official comments) SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) -- In a bid to halt a surge in COVID-19 cases across Oregon, Gov. Kate Brown took two major steps Monday, banning most indoor gatherings of more than 10 people and extending the current face covering requirement to outdoor spaces where physical distance cannot be kept. She said starting Wednesday, she will extend the statewide face covering requirement to apply in all outdoor spaces where people can not stay at least six feet apart from others who are not from their own household. Brown said...

Hodge Twins