State fair pot; undercover school bus; 'genetic sexual attraction'
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Odd and interesting news from around the West.
- By GILLIAN FLACCUS Associated Press
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PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A Pacific Northwest tribe is traveling nearly 5,000 miles across Canada and the United States with a 22-foot-tall totem pole on a flatbed truck in a symbolic journey meant to galvanize opposition to fossil fuel infrastructure projects they believe will imperil native lands.
This is the fourth year the Lummi Nation in northwest Washington has embarked on a "totem journey" to try to create a unified front among tribes across North America that are individually fighting plans for coal terminals and crude oil pipelines in their backyards.
The highly visible tours, which include tribal blessing ceremonies at each stop, fit into a trend of Native American tribes bringing their environmental activism to the masses as they see firsthand the effects of climate change, said Robin Saha, a University of Montana associate professor who specializes in tribal issues and environmental justice.
"I wouldn't go as far as to say there's an anti-development movement, but tribes are feeling the effects of climate change quite dramatically and are responding in a lot of different ways," Saha said. "Some of them feel as if they're not going to survive."
In North Dakota, for example, people from across the country and members of 60 tribes have gained international attention after gathering in opposition to the four-state Dakota Access oil pipeline. The totem pole heads to that site, near the Standing Rock Sioux's reservation, next week.
Tribes in the Pacific Northwest have protested publicly and taken legal action as West Coast ports have emerged as strategic locations for crude oil and coal companies to reach customers in energy-hungry Asia.
Seven crude oil or coal export terminals are proposed for conversion, expansion or construction on the Oregon and Washington coast. Some have already led to increased freight train traffic along the scenic Columbia River Gorge, where local tribes fish salmon.
A coalition of tribes turned out in June after an oil train derailed in Mosier. The oil from the derailment mostly burned off in a huge fire, but a small amount entered the Columbia River where the tribes have federally guaranteed fishing rights.
"We're all trying to unite our voices to make sure we're all speaking out," said Jewell James, a Lummi tribal member and head carver at the House of Tears Carvers.
In recent years, cheap natural gas has prompted many domestic utilities to abandon coal, driving down production at major mines in the Powder River Basin of Montana and Wyoming, the nation's largest coal producing region. Asian coal markets have become a potential lifeline for the mining industry — and Pacific Northwest ports are seen as the anchor.
The Lummi Nation launched a savvy public relations campaign last year against what would have been the nation's largest coal export terminal proposed for Cherry Point, Washington, at the heart of their ancestral homeland.
In May, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers denied a needed permit for the Gateway Pacific terminal after finding it would damage tribal fishing rights.
This year's 19-day totem trek started Tuesday in Vancouver, British Columbia, and makes a stop Friday in Longview, Washington, where a similar shipping terminal would export 44 million tons of coal annually to Asian markets. With the Gateway Pacific project on ice, the Longview project would now be the nation's largest coal export terminal.
It would mean 16 coal trains a day, mostly from mines in Montana and Wyoming, and an additional 1,600 round-trip vessel calls a year in the lower Columbia River, said Jasmine Zimmer-Stucky, senior organizer with the Columbia Riverkeeper. There are concerns that wake from the ships could strand juvenile salmon and affect tribal fishing, she said.
Bill Chapman, president and CEO of Millennium Bulk Terminals in Longview, said in an emailed response to questions that a draft environmental review by Washington state and county officials found there would be no effects to tribal fishing. Trains already run through the area on established tracks and have caused no issues, he added.
The terminal on the site of an old aluminum smelter plant would create hundreds of much-needed family wage jobs and is supported by labor unions, Chapman said.
"We're building on a location where industry has existed for over 70 years," he wrote. "Our export terminal is sited on a stretch of the Columbia River dotted with manufacturing plants and docks."
A third large coal terminal in Oregon was dealt a blow this month when a judge upheld the state's right to deny the project based on a similar threat to tribal fishing rights.
If proponents decide to appeal, the case will go to trial in November.
This year's brightly painted totem weighs 3,000 pounds and is carved of western red cedar. An eagle with a 12-foot wingspan sits on top, and the pole itself features a wolf and bear — symbols of leadership, cunning and courage — as well as white buffalo and tribal figures, said James, who has been carving totem poles for 44 years.
To the sounds of drums and a prayer song, the 22-foot-tall totem pole was blessed in a smudge ceremony at the entrance of Saint Mark's Episcopal Cathedral in Seattle Thursday. Lummi Nation member Linda Soriano fanned smoke from burning sage, covering the pole in a haze as sun rays beamed down. She then fanned the smoke through the crowd gathered outside the church.
"Mother Earth is hurting," said Lummi Nation member Randy Peters Sr. as he began his prayer song, "Mother Earth has been hurting from all of the abuse that has been going on. The unsafe practices of the coal, and the mining and the transportation of energy."
Tribes in Oregon, Montana, Idaho, North Dakota, South Dakota and Canada will host the Lummi until their end point in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where tribes are fighting oil pipelines bound for the East Coast.
"You can't put a price on the sacred. Our land and our water are sacred," said Reuben George, manager of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation Sacred Trust Initiative in Vancouver, British Columbia, where his tribe is opposed to a major oil pipeline. "This totem pole represents our laws, our culture and our spirituality."
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Associated Press writers Manuel Valdes in Seattle and Matthew Brown in Billings, Montana, contributed to this report.
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Follow Gillian Flaccus on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/gflaccus .
- By AMANDA LEE MYERS Associated Press
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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Investigators said Friday they hadn't been able to find a gun that Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies said a man pointed at them before they fatally shot him.
Two deputies fired on the man, 31-year-old Donta Taylor, on Thursday night in Compton, sheriff's Lt. Steve Jauch said Friday.
He said the deputies had pulled up alongside Taylor, who was standing on a corner, and tried to speak with him. The deputies reported that Taylor immediately pulled a gun and began running.
A foot pursuit ensued. The deputies said Taylor pointed the gun at one of them, and that's when they shot him.
Taylor was pronounced dead at the scene. The deputies were not hurt.
Uniformed personnel, detectives and a police dog all have been searching for a gun in a wash near the shooting. By late Friday afternoon, no gun had been found on or near Taylor or in the wash.
Jauch said the search would continue with metal detectors "until we're comfortable that we've exhausted all resources and leads."
He said so far, nothing has been ruled out, including that Taylor didn't have a gun.
"We want the truth," Jauch said. "Every piece of evidence that can help us get to the truth is important, and because deputies said he pointed a gun, we'd love to find that gun."
The deputies weren't wearing body cameras, their patrol car has no dash camera, and investigators haven't found any surveillance video that would have captured the shooting.
Investigators were looking for witnesses to the shooting.
They asked that anyone finding a gun in the area to leave it alone and immediately call the sheriff's department.
The shooting is being investigated by the sheriff's homicide and internal affairs bureaus, as well as the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.
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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Federal prosecutors in Southern California have charged dozens of postal workers and others with theft, fraud and other crimes — including a mail carrier who allegedly hoarded 48,000 pieces of mail.
The U.S. attorney's office announced Friday that it has charged 33 people with theft, possession of stolen mail, conspiracy, embezzlement, bank fraud, making false statement and use of stolen credit cards.
One case alleges that a former Mail Handlers Union executive stole more than 150 mobile phones at a distribution center in the Moreno Valley and traded them through a website.
Another charges that a Los Angeles mail carrier was involved in a scheme that created pre-paid PayPal debit cards using stolen identities. Prosecutors say the scheme caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses.
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LAS VEGAS (AP) — A Nevada Highway Patrol trooper's badge was damaged by a bullet during a shootout that left a fleeing gunman dead during a traffic stop overnight near a Las Vegas-area freeway, officials said Friday.
Trooper Chelsea Stuenkel, a department spokeswoman, said she didn't know if the male trooper was wearing a protective vest.
But she said he wasn't seriously injured in what she called an exchange of gunfire a little after midnight on Boulder Highway south of U.S. 95.
"It did hit the badge, which is pretty lucky," Stuenkel said.
The suspect was shot dead at the scene, near the Boulder Station hotel-casino. His name and the identity of the trooper weren't immediately made public.
Stuenkel said she didn't know the caliber of the bullet fired at the trooper, how many shots the officer fired, who fired first, or whether a weapon was recovered.
The trooper was checked out by paramedics and wasn't taken to a hospital. He was placed on paid administrative leave pending a review of the shooting.
The gunman had been one of two passengers in a white Cadillac four-door sedan that Stuenkel said was driven by a woman.
The driver and the other passenger, a male, remained in the vehicle when the gunman opened a back door and ran. Both were questioned, and neither was arrested, Stuenkel said. Their names also weren't made public.
Officials haven't said whether the trooper's patrol vehicle recorded dashboard video of the gunfight or whether it was captured on security video at a nearby insurance office or the casino.
Las Vegas police were handling the investigation.
- By MATT VOLZ Associated Press
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HELENA, Mont. (AP) — A panel seeking ways to fix Montana's highest-in-the-nation suicide rate is recommending mandatory depression screening of all schoolchildren beginning at age 11 and programs teaching coping skills to kids as young as 6.
Preventing suicide and lifting the stigma of depression is a slow process that will require a cultural shift that begins in Montana schools, Karl Rosston, the state Department of Public Health and Human Services' suicide prevention coordinator, told a legislative committee Friday.
"This is the place where we really want to make an impact," said Rosston, who is also a member of the Suicide Mortality Review Team. "We need to start at an earlier and earlier age to give them coping and resiliency skills so they can handle life."
Montana's suicide rate is more than double the national average, and the rate of children between the ages of 10 and 17 who kill themselves is nearly triple the national rate. American Indians and military veterans in Montana die by suicide at a rate triple that of the national average.
Lack of sunshine, substance abuse, easy access to firearms, social isolation in a relatively unpopulated state and even Montana's high elevations - at a higher altitude, brains produce less serotonin and more dopamine, leading to riskier behavior - are all contributing factors to the high suicide rate, Rosston said. But the biggest issue is the stigma around mental illness, particularly depression, in a state with a "cowboy mentality" that sees depression as a weakness, he said.
The suicide mortality team, which was created by the Montana Legislature during the 2013 session, recently released its report on 555 suicides in the state between January 2014 and March 2016. The seven-member panel reviewed the death certificates, coroner reports and health and mental health records of each person who died by suicide in that period.
Of the suicides reviewed, 27 were children between the ages of 11 and 17. Nearly two-thirds killed themselves with a gun or a rifle, including an 11-year-old boy who shot himself last year, Rosston said.
The panel's recommendations include increased training of health care workers, employers and others in communities to spot warning signs and intervene. But several more of the panel's recommendations focused on reaching children early.
The panel is asking state lawmakers next year to consider legislation that includes mandatory depression screening for children as young as 11, with the rationale that earlier intervention has a higher chance of success. For 1st and 2nd graders, the panel recommends a program called the Pax Good Behavior Game that teaches children coping skills such as self-control and delayed gratification.
The panel's recommendations also include more widespread use of gun locks and training to help 5th and 6th grade students to see warning signs in their classmates.
The mandatory screening of depression in children follows a recommendation made earlier this year by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. That task force, an independent panel of health officials and experts in prevention, said adolescents from age 12 to 18 should be screened for major depressive disorder.
The task force concluded that treating children who are detected through screening can see moderate improvement in the severity and symptoms of depression.
- By SUDHIN THANAWALA Associated Press
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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A U.S. court has the authority to hear a trademark lawsuit by grocery chain Trader Joe's against a man who purchased the company's products and resold them in Canada at "Pirate Joe's," a store designed to mimic a real Trader Joe's, a federal appeals court said Friday.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a district court's decision to dismiss California-based Trader Joe's federal trademark claims.
The district court in Washington state said it lacked authority to hear those claims because the defendant's alleged trademark violations occurred in Canada and Trader Joe's had failed to clearly explain how they affected U.S. commerce.
The 9th Circuit said defendant Michael Hallatt's conduct could harm Trader Joe's reputation, decreasing the value of its American-held trademarks.
Circuit Judge Morgan Christen also pointed out that Hallatt bought the Trader Joe's goods he resold in Washington state.
Hallatt's attorney, Nathan Alexander, said in an email he and Hallatt disagree with the ruling and are evaluating their options.
Hallatt disputed his store looks like a Trader Joe's and said he has no intention of backing down.
"We're here to see it through, and that means doing this for the people who want this stuff," he said.
Trader Joe's does not have stores in Canada. The company sued Hallatt in 2013, alleging he drove across the border to a Trader Joe's store in Washington state, bought the company's products and resold them at higher prices at his Vancouver store. A Trader Joe's store refused to sell to Hallatt, but he put on disguises to avoid detection, shopped at other stores as far away as California and hired others to shop for him, the company said in its lawsuit. It estimated Hallatt had spent more than $350,000 on its products.
In court documents responding to the lawsuit, Hallatt said his business was lawful, and he provided a service to Canadians who wanted Trader Joe's products but didn't want to go through the trouble of traveling to the U.S. to get them. Hallatt also said he never represented himself as an authorized reseller of Trader Joe's products or as an affiliate of Trader Joe's.
The 9th Circuit sent the case back to the district court for further proceedings.
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PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Portland residents have ridden 136,000 miles on bike-share program bikes since the program launched in July.
Since July 19 Biketown users have taken nearly 59,000 trips, making progress toward the city's goal of having 400,000 rides in the program's first year, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported (https://is.gd/qg12x5).
Biketown General Manager Dorothy Mitchell said the shared bicycles are getting so much more use than expected that mechanics had to be called for tuneups sooner than expected. She said the city had hoped to get some residents onto bikes and out of cars, and seeing the program working is better than expected.
"That's just been super gratifying," Mitchell said. "Something we were really hoping might happen actually appears to be happening."
Portland purchased the equipment for the program with a $2 million grant and Nike inked a $10 million, 5-year sponsorship deal that grew the fleet from 600 to 1,000 bicycles.
In its first month, Biketown signed up nearly 2,500 annual members, who pay up front for daily access to the bikes. Without a membership the cost to ride is $2.50 for 30 minutes. When frequent trips are necessary, a $12 pass allows for three hours of ride time throughout the day.
Though the program has been going strong, there is some concern that Portland's fall weather will force people off the bikes and back into the shelter of vehicles. Also concerning is the first surge is a fluke. In Seattle, the Pronto bike-sharing system had a huge drop in ridership and membership after its first year.
"We hope we don't have too many people drop off," said Mitchell. "The winter will provide a great opportunity to really crunch the numbers and see if all our station locations are working the best, gear up, and think about what our marketing push will be next spring."
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Information from: The Oregonian/OregonLive, http://www.oregonlive.com
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SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Authorities say a 6-week-old baby girl who was abused by her father and came to a hospital with 14 different fractures throughout her body has died.
Authorities say 32-year-old Matthew Zabala was arrested on suspicion of abusing the baby.
KNTV reports (http://bit.ly/2bLFNMn ) Friday that Santa Clara County Sheriff's Sgt. James Jensen says deputies were called to the hospital by workers Tuesday afternoon to investigate possible child abuse.
The child had been brought to the hospital on Sunday suffering from cardiac arrest along with the multiple fractures on her body.
Zabala was later arrested at his home in unincorporated San Jose. He was booked into Santa Clara County Main Jail on $500,000 bail. It was not immediately clear if he has an attorney.
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Information from: KNTV-TV.
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ALAMOGORDO, N.M. (AP) — Parents are complaining after about 60 students were pulled out of class at Alamogordo High School due to dress code violations.
The Alamogordo Daily News reports (http://bit.ly/2bMO69q ) that over the course of two days about 60 students were told to call their parents to have them bring a change of pants to school due to rips in their jeans.
At an Alamogordo Public Schools Board of Education meeting Wednesday a number of parents voiced concerns about their daughters' jeans being criticized. Most parents said they are careful about what their child wears to school and that they did not believe the pants were inappropriate.
School officials say students were warned of the policy and that allegations that only girls were affected were untrue.
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Information from: Alamogordo Daily News, http://www.alamogordonews.com
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MOSCOW, Idaho (AP) — A school bus roaming the streets of Moscow this week has been a cover for police officers looking to catch traffic violations.
The Moscow-Pullman Daily News reports (http://bit.ly/2bLYT4T ) that members of the Moscow Police Department, Idaho State Police and Latah County Sheriff's Department rode in the bus that was equipped with a video camera, radio and observation form in order to flag down potential tickets for patrol cars.
When a driver was seen committing a traffic violation such as texting while driving, the bus-riding officers would radio a patrol car in the area and then a traffic stop would be made.
Officials say the bus was used because people didn't expect officers to be inside and because it gave them a higher vantage point to see into cars.
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Information from: The Moscow-Pullman Daily News, http://www.dnews.com
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GRANTS, N.M. (AP) — Authorities say a 33-year-old police sergeant in a northwestern New Mexico city has been arrested after he unwittingly recorded himself on a lapel camera taking marijuana from his office and giving it to his girlfriend.
State police say Grants Police Department Sgt. Roshern McKinney was arrested Wednesday following an investigation requested by the Grants department in July after it discovered the video recording.
According to state police, along with allegedly giving a small amount of marijuana to his girlfriend, McKinney allegedly embezzled $785 of cash and an eight-ounce brick of marijuana not submitted to the department's evidence vault.
McKinney remained jailed Thursday on charges of distribution of marijuana, conspiracy and felony embezzlement.
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CLOVIS, N.M. (AP) — The trial of a New Mexico mother facing charges for having an incestuous relationship with her 19-year-old son has been postponed.
The Clovis News Journal reports (http://goo.gl/7pXAzE) the case against Monica Mares has been moved to late October. The trial originally was scheduled to start Thursday.
The 36-year-old Mares and her son, Caleb Peterson, made international headlines following a recent interview with the British paper the Daily Mail. They told the newspaper they made their relationship public to raise awareness about "Genetic Sexual Attraction."
The mother and son are scheduled to face separate jury trials on one count each of incest.
The felony charges carry a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a $5,000 fine.
Both have declined to give interviews with New Mexico media outlets.
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Information from: Clovis News Journal, http://www.cnjonline.com
- By GILLIAN FLACCUS Associated Press
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A Pacific Northwest tribe is traveling nearly 5,000 miles across Canada and the United States with a 22-foot-tall totem pole on a flatbed truck in a symbolic journey meant to galvanize opposition to fossil fuel infrastructure projects they believe will imperil native lands.
This is the fourth year the Lummi Nation in northwest Washington has embarked on a "totem journey" to try to create a unified front among tribes across North America that are individually fighting plans for coal terminals and crude oil pipelines in their backyards.
The highly visible tours, which include tribal blessing ceremonies at each stop, fit into a trend of Native American tribes bringing their environmental activism to the masses as they see firsthand the effects of climate change, said Robin Saha, a University of Montana associate professor who specializes in tribal issues and environmental justice.
"I wouldn't go as far as to say there's an anti-development movement, but tribes are feeling the effects of climate change quite dramatically and are responding in a lot of different ways," Saha said. "Some of them feel as if they're not going to survive."
In North Dakota, for example, people from across the country and members of 60 tribes have gained international attention after gathering in opposition to the four-state Dakota Access oil pipeline. The totem pole heads to that site, near the Standing Rock Sioux's reservation, next week.
Tribes in the Pacific Northwest have protested publicly and taken legal action as West Coast ports have emerged as strategic locations for crude oil and coal companies to reach customers in energy-hungry Asia.
Seven crude oil or coal export terminals are proposed for conversion, expansion or construction on the Oregon and Washington coast. Some have already led to increased freight train traffic along the scenic Columbia River Gorge, where local tribes fish salmon.
A coalition of tribes turned out in June after an oil train derailed in Mosier. The oil from the derailment mostly burned off in a huge fire, but a small amount entered the Columbia River where the tribes have federally guaranteed fishing rights.
"We're all trying to unite our voices to make sure we're all speaking out," said Jewell James, a Lummi tribal member and head carver at the House of Tears Carvers.
In recent years, cheap natural gas has prompted many domestic utilities to abandon coal, driving down production at major mines in the Powder River Basin of Montana and Wyoming, the nation's largest coal producing region. Asian coal markets have become a potential lifeline for the mining industry — and Pacific Northwest ports are seen as the anchor.
The Lummi Nation launched a savvy public relations campaign last year against what would have been the nation's largest coal export terminal proposed for Cherry Point, Washington, at the heart of their ancestral homeland.
In May, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers denied a needed permit for the Gateway Pacific terminal after finding it would damage tribal fishing rights.
This year's 19-day totem trek started Tuesday in Vancouver, British Columbia, and makes a stop Friday in Longview, Washington, where a similar shipping terminal would export 44 million tons of coal annually to Asian markets. With the Gateway Pacific project on ice, the Longview project would now be the nation's largest coal export terminal.
It would mean 16 coal trains a day, mostly from mines in Montana and Wyoming, and an additional 1,600 round-trip vessel calls a year in the lower Columbia River, said Jasmine Zimmer-Stucky, senior organizer with the Columbia Riverkeeper. There are concerns that wake from the ships could strand juvenile salmon and affect tribal fishing, she said.
Bill Chapman, president and CEO of Millennium Bulk Terminals in Longview, said in an emailed response to questions that a draft environmental review by Washington state and county officials found there would be no effects to tribal fishing. Trains already run through the area on established tracks and have caused no issues, he added.
The terminal on the site of an old aluminum smelter plant would create hundreds of much-needed family wage jobs and is supported by labor unions, Chapman said.
"We're building on a location where industry has existed for over 70 years," he wrote. "Our export terminal is sited on a stretch of the Columbia River dotted with manufacturing plants and docks."
A third large coal terminal in Oregon was dealt a blow this month when a judge upheld the state's right to deny the project based on a similar threat to tribal fishing rights.
If proponents decide to appeal, the case will go to trial in November.
This year's brightly painted totem weighs 3,000 pounds and is carved of western red cedar. An eagle with a 12-foot wingspan sits on top, and the pole itself features a wolf and bear — symbols of leadership, cunning and courage — as well as white buffalo and tribal figures, said James, who has been carving totem poles for 44 years.
To the sounds of drums and a prayer song, the 22-foot-tall totem pole was blessed in a smudge ceremony at the entrance of Saint Mark's Episcopal Cathedral in Seattle Thursday. Lummi Nation member Linda Soriano fanned smoke from burning sage, covering the pole in a haze as sun rays beamed down. She then fanned the smoke through the crowd gathered outside the church.
"Mother Earth is hurting," said Lummi Nation member Randy Peters Sr. as he began his prayer song, "Mother Earth has been hurting from all of the abuse that has been going on. The unsafe practices of the coal, and the mining and the transportation of energy."
Tribes in Oregon, Montana, Idaho, North Dakota, South Dakota and Canada will host the Lummi until their end point in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where tribes are fighting oil pipelines bound for the East Coast.
"You can't put a price on the sacred. Our land and our water are sacred," said Reuben George, manager of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation Sacred Trust Initiative in Vancouver, British Columbia, where his tribe is opposed to a major oil pipeline. "This totem pole represents our laws, our culture and our spirituality."
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Associated Press writers Manuel Valdes in Seattle and Matthew Brown in Billings, Montana, contributed to this report.
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Follow Gillian Flaccus on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/gflaccus .
- By AMANDA LEE MYERS Associated Press
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Investigators said Friday they hadn't been able to find a gun that Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies said a man pointed at them before they fatally shot him.
Two deputies fired on the man, 31-year-old Donta Taylor, on Thursday night in Compton, sheriff's Lt. Steve Jauch said Friday.
He said the deputies had pulled up alongside Taylor, who was standing on a corner, and tried to speak with him. The deputies reported that Taylor immediately pulled a gun and began running.
A foot pursuit ensued. The deputies said Taylor pointed the gun at one of them, and that's when they shot him.
Taylor was pronounced dead at the scene. The deputies were not hurt.
Uniformed personnel, detectives and a police dog all have been searching for a gun in a wash near the shooting. By late Friday afternoon, no gun had been found on or near Taylor or in the wash.
Jauch said the search would continue with metal detectors "until we're comfortable that we've exhausted all resources and leads."
He said so far, nothing has been ruled out, including that Taylor didn't have a gun.
"We want the truth," Jauch said. "Every piece of evidence that can help us get to the truth is important, and because deputies said he pointed a gun, we'd love to find that gun."
The deputies weren't wearing body cameras, their patrol car has no dash camera, and investigators haven't found any surveillance video that would have captured the shooting.
Investigators were looking for witnesses to the shooting.
They asked that anyone finding a gun in the area to leave it alone and immediately call the sheriff's department.
The shooting is being investigated by the sheriff's homicide and internal affairs bureaus, as well as the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Federal prosecutors in Southern California have charged dozens of postal workers and others with theft, fraud and other crimes — including a mail carrier who allegedly hoarded 48,000 pieces of mail.
The U.S. attorney's office announced Friday that it has charged 33 people with theft, possession of stolen mail, conspiracy, embezzlement, bank fraud, making false statement and use of stolen credit cards.
One case alleges that a former Mail Handlers Union executive stole more than 150 mobile phones at a distribution center in the Moreno Valley and traded them through a website.
Another charges that a Los Angeles mail carrier was involved in a scheme that created pre-paid PayPal debit cards using stolen identities. Prosecutors say the scheme caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — A Nevada Highway Patrol trooper's badge was damaged by a bullet during a shootout that left a fleeing gunman dead during a traffic stop overnight near a Las Vegas-area freeway, officials said Friday.
Trooper Chelsea Stuenkel, a department spokeswoman, said she didn't know if the male trooper was wearing a protective vest.
But she said he wasn't seriously injured in what she called an exchange of gunfire a little after midnight on Boulder Highway south of U.S. 95.
"It did hit the badge, which is pretty lucky," Stuenkel said.
The suspect was shot dead at the scene, near the Boulder Station hotel-casino. His name and the identity of the trooper weren't immediately made public.
Stuenkel said she didn't know the caliber of the bullet fired at the trooper, how many shots the officer fired, who fired first, or whether a weapon was recovered.
The trooper was checked out by paramedics and wasn't taken to a hospital. He was placed on paid administrative leave pending a review of the shooting.
The gunman had been one of two passengers in a white Cadillac four-door sedan that Stuenkel said was driven by a woman.
The driver and the other passenger, a male, remained in the vehicle when the gunman opened a back door and ran. Both were questioned, and neither was arrested, Stuenkel said. Their names also weren't made public.
Officials haven't said whether the trooper's patrol vehicle recorded dashboard video of the gunfight or whether it was captured on security video at a nearby insurance office or the casino.
Las Vegas police were handling the investigation.
- By MATT VOLZ Associated Press
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — A panel seeking ways to fix Montana's highest-in-the-nation suicide rate is recommending mandatory depression screening of all schoolchildren beginning at age 11 and programs teaching coping skills to kids as young as 6.
Preventing suicide and lifting the stigma of depression is a slow process that will require a cultural shift that begins in Montana schools, Karl Rosston, the state Department of Public Health and Human Services' suicide prevention coordinator, told a legislative committee Friday.
"This is the place where we really want to make an impact," said Rosston, who is also a member of the Suicide Mortality Review Team. "We need to start at an earlier and earlier age to give them coping and resiliency skills so they can handle life."
Montana's suicide rate is more than double the national average, and the rate of children between the ages of 10 and 17 who kill themselves is nearly triple the national rate. American Indians and military veterans in Montana die by suicide at a rate triple that of the national average.
Lack of sunshine, substance abuse, easy access to firearms, social isolation in a relatively unpopulated state and even Montana's high elevations - at a higher altitude, brains produce less serotonin and more dopamine, leading to riskier behavior - are all contributing factors to the high suicide rate, Rosston said. But the biggest issue is the stigma around mental illness, particularly depression, in a state with a "cowboy mentality" that sees depression as a weakness, he said.
The suicide mortality team, which was created by the Montana Legislature during the 2013 session, recently released its report on 555 suicides in the state between January 2014 and March 2016. The seven-member panel reviewed the death certificates, coroner reports and health and mental health records of each person who died by suicide in that period.
Of the suicides reviewed, 27 were children between the ages of 11 and 17. Nearly two-thirds killed themselves with a gun or a rifle, including an 11-year-old boy who shot himself last year, Rosston said.
The panel's recommendations include increased training of health care workers, employers and others in communities to spot warning signs and intervene. But several more of the panel's recommendations focused on reaching children early.
The panel is asking state lawmakers next year to consider legislation that includes mandatory depression screening for children as young as 11, with the rationale that earlier intervention has a higher chance of success. For 1st and 2nd graders, the panel recommends a program called the Pax Good Behavior Game that teaches children coping skills such as self-control and delayed gratification.
The panel's recommendations also include more widespread use of gun locks and training to help 5th and 6th grade students to see warning signs in their classmates.
The mandatory screening of depression in children follows a recommendation made earlier this year by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. That task force, an independent panel of health officials and experts in prevention, said adolescents from age 12 to 18 should be screened for major depressive disorder.
The task force concluded that treating children who are detected through screening can see moderate improvement in the severity and symptoms of depression.
- By SUDHIN THANAWALA Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A U.S. court has the authority to hear a trademark lawsuit by grocery chain Trader Joe's against a man who purchased the company's products and resold them in Canada at "Pirate Joe's," a store designed to mimic a real Trader Joe's, a federal appeals court said Friday.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a district court's decision to dismiss California-based Trader Joe's federal trademark claims.
The district court in Washington state said it lacked authority to hear those claims because the defendant's alleged trademark violations occurred in Canada and Trader Joe's had failed to clearly explain how they affected U.S. commerce.
The 9th Circuit said defendant Michael Hallatt's conduct could harm Trader Joe's reputation, decreasing the value of its American-held trademarks.
Circuit Judge Morgan Christen also pointed out that Hallatt bought the Trader Joe's goods he resold in Washington state.
Hallatt's attorney, Nathan Alexander, said in an email he and Hallatt disagree with the ruling and are evaluating their options.
Hallatt disputed his store looks like a Trader Joe's and said he has no intention of backing down.
"We're here to see it through, and that means doing this for the people who want this stuff," he said.
Trader Joe's does not have stores in Canada. The company sued Hallatt in 2013, alleging he drove across the border to a Trader Joe's store in Washington state, bought the company's products and resold them at higher prices at his Vancouver store. A Trader Joe's store refused to sell to Hallatt, but he put on disguises to avoid detection, shopped at other stores as far away as California and hired others to shop for him, the company said in its lawsuit. It estimated Hallatt had spent more than $350,000 on its products.
In court documents responding to the lawsuit, Hallatt said his business was lawful, and he provided a service to Canadians who wanted Trader Joe's products but didn't want to go through the trouble of traveling to the U.S. to get them. Hallatt also said he never represented himself as an authorized reseller of Trader Joe's products or as an affiliate of Trader Joe's.
The 9th Circuit sent the case back to the district court for further proceedings.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Portland residents have ridden 136,000 miles on bike-share program bikes since the program launched in July.
Since July 19 Biketown users have taken nearly 59,000 trips, making progress toward the city's goal of having 400,000 rides in the program's first year, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported (https://is.gd/qg12x5).
Biketown General Manager Dorothy Mitchell said the shared bicycles are getting so much more use than expected that mechanics had to be called for tuneups sooner than expected. She said the city had hoped to get some residents onto bikes and out of cars, and seeing the program working is better than expected.
"That's just been super gratifying," Mitchell said. "Something we were really hoping might happen actually appears to be happening."
Portland purchased the equipment for the program with a $2 million grant and Nike inked a $10 million, 5-year sponsorship deal that grew the fleet from 600 to 1,000 bicycles.
In its first month, Biketown signed up nearly 2,500 annual members, who pay up front for daily access to the bikes. Without a membership the cost to ride is $2.50 for 30 minutes. When frequent trips are necessary, a $12 pass allows for three hours of ride time throughout the day.
Though the program has been going strong, there is some concern that Portland's fall weather will force people off the bikes and back into the shelter of vehicles. Also concerning is the first surge is a fluke. In Seattle, the Pronto bike-sharing system had a huge drop in ridership and membership after its first year.
"We hope we don't have too many people drop off," said Mitchell. "The winter will provide a great opportunity to really crunch the numbers and see if all our station locations are working the best, gear up, and think about what our marketing push will be next spring."
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Information from: The Oregonian/OregonLive, http://www.oregonlive.com
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Authorities say a 6-week-old baby girl who was abused by her father and came to a hospital with 14 different fractures throughout her body has died.
Authorities say 32-year-old Matthew Zabala was arrested on suspicion of abusing the baby.
KNTV reports (http://bit.ly/2bLFNMn ) Friday that Santa Clara County Sheriff's Sgt. James Jensen says deputies were called to the hospital by workers Tuesday afternoon to investigate possible child abuse.
The child had been brought to the hospital on Sunday suffering from cardiac arrest along with the multiple fractures on her body.
Zabala was later arrested at his home in unincorporated San Jose. He was booked into Santa Clara County Main Jail on $500,000 bail. It was not immediately clear if he has an attorney.
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Information from: KNTV-TV.
ALAMOGORDO, N.M. (AP) — Parents are complaining after about 60 students were pulled out of class at Alamogordo High School due to dress code violations.
The Alamogordo Daily News reports (http://bit.ly/2bMO69q ) that over the course of two days about 60 students were told to call their parents to have them bring a change of pants to school due to rips in their jeans.
At an Alamogordo Public Schools Board of Education meeting Wednesday a number of parents voiced concerns about their daughters' jeans being criticized. Most parents said they are careful about what their child wears to school and that they did not believe the pants were inappropriate.
School officials say students were warned of the policy and that allegations that only girls were affected were untrue.
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Information from: Alamogordo Daily News, http://www.alamogordonews.com
MOSCOW, Idaho (AP) — A school bus roaming the streets of Moscow this week has been a cover for police officers looking to catch traffic violations.
The Moscow-Pullman Daily News reports (http://bit.ly/2bLYT4T ) that members of the Moscow Police Department, Idaho State Police and Latah County Sheriff's Department rode in the bus that was equipped with a video camera, radio and observation form in order to flag down potential tickets for patrol cars.
When a driver was seen committing a traffic violation such as texting while driving, the bus-riding officers would radio a patrol car in the area and then a traffic stop would be made.
Officials say the bus was used because people didn't expect officers to be inside and because it gave them a higher vantage point to see into cars.
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Information from: The Moscow-Pullman Daily News, http://www.dnews.com
GRANTS, N.M. (AP) — Authorities say a 33-year-old police sergeant in a northwestern New Mexico city has been arrested after he unwittingly recorded himself on a lapel camera taking marijuana from his office and giving it to his girlfriend.
State police say Grants Police Department Sgt. Roshern McKinney was arrested Wednesday following an investigation requested by the Grants department in July after it discovered the video recording.
According to state police, along with allegedly giving a small amount of marijuana to his girlfriend, McKinney allegedly embezzled $785 of cash and an eight-ounce brick of marijuana not submitted to the department's evidence vault.
McKinney remained jailed Thursday on charges of distribution of marijuana, conspiracy and felony embezzlement.
CLOVIS, N.M. (AP) — The trial of a New Mexico mother facing charges for having an incestuous relationship with her 19-year-old son has been postponed.
The Clovis News Journal reports (http://goo.gl/7pXAzE) the case against Monica Mares has been moved to late October. The trial originally was scheduled to start Thursday.
The 36-year-old Mares and her son, Caleb Peterson, made international headlines following a recent interview with the British paper the Daily Mail. They told the newspaper they made their relationship public to raise awareness about "Genetic Sexual Attraction."
The mother and son are scheduled to face separate jury trials on one count each of incest.
The felony charges carry a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a $5,000 fine.
Both have declined to give interviews with New Mexico media outlets.
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Information from: Clovis News Journal, http://www.cnjonline.com
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