West
Devices used in Portland, Vancouver ballot box fires had ‘Free Gaza’ and ‘Free Palestine’ message: report
An incendiary device placed in ballot boxes in Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington this month reportedly contained written messages in support of Gaza and Palestine.
The first incident occurred in Vancouver on Oct. 8, in which a device was placed in a drop box with the phrases “Free Palestine” and “Free Gaza” written on them.
Then early Monday, two more ballot boxes – one in Portland and another in Vancouver – were set alight with incendiary devices marked with the message “Free Gaza.”
The Portland Police Bureau released images of the suspect vehicle that is believed to be connected to ballot box fires in Portland and Vancouver. (Portland Police Bureau)
A law enforcement official confirmed the “Free Gaza” and “Free Palestine” messages to The Associated Press, speaking on the condition of anonymity. Both the Portland and Vancouver Police Departments would not confirm the messages, directing questions to the FBI.
FBI Portland has said it is actively investigating both situations.
Police said the incendiary devices were placed on the outside of the boxes.
All three incidents are believed to be connected. Authorities said Wednesday that the man suspected of setting the drop boxes on fire is an experienced metalworker and may be planning additional attacks.
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Authorities describe the suspect as a white man, aged 30 to 40, who is balding and has very short hair.
Police released photos of a suspected vehicle allegedly involved in ballot box fires in Vancouver and Portland. (Portland Police Bureau)
Police previously said surveillance video showed the man driving a black or dark-colored 2001 to 2004 Volvo S-60. The vehicle did not have a front license plate, but it did have a rear plate with unknown letters or numbers.
No ballots were damaged in the Oct. 8 incident. Only three ballots were damaged in the arson in Portland, but hundreds were damaged in the attack in Vancouver.
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Greg Kimsey, the elected auditor in Clark County, Washington, said the exact number of ballots destroyed in Vancouver isn’t known at this time, but officials retrieved about 475 damaged ballots from the box.
Kimsey has called the arsons a “direct attack on democracy.”
A ballot box is seen damaged in Portland, Ore., on Monday, Oct. 28 following a fire, police say. (Portland Police Bureau)
Kimsey said police will increase patrols around ballot drop box locations and Clark County Elections Office employees will observe ballot boxes 24 hours a day, seven days a week until the election is over.
Election staff on Wednesday planned to sort through the damaged ballots for information about who cast them, in the hopes that those voters can be given replacement ballots.
Fox News Digital’s Stepheny Price contributed to this report.
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San Francisco, CA
San Francisco mayor says he convinced Trump in phone call not to surge federal agents to city
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie told CBS News Friday that he was able to convince President Trump in a phone call several months ago not to deploy federal agents to San Francisco.
In a live interview with “CBS Evening News” anchor Tony Dokoupil, Lurie, a moderate Democrat, said that the president called him while he was sitting in a car.
“I took the call, and his first question to me was, ‘How’s it going there?’” Lurie recounted.
In October, sources told CBS News that the president was planning to surge Border Patrol agents to San Francisco as part of the White House’s ongoing immigration crackdown that has seen it deploy federal immigration officers to cities including Los Angeles, Chicago, New Orleans and most recently, Minneapolis.
At the time, the reports prompted pushback from California officials, including Lurie and California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
However, shortly after that report, Mr. Trump announced that he had called off the plan to “surge” federal agents to San Francisco following a conversation with Lurie.
“I spoke to Mayor Lurie last night and he asked, very nicely, that I give him a chance to see if he can turn it around,” the president wrote in a Truth Social post on Oct. 23. The president also noted that “friends of mine who live in the area called last night to ask me not to go forward with the surge.”
“I told him what I would tell you,” Lurie said Friday of his October call with Mr. Trump. “San Francisco is a city on the rise, crime is at historic lows, all economic indicators are on the right direction, and our local law enforcement is doing an incredible job.”
Going back to the pandemic, San Francisco has often been the strong focus of criticism from Republican lawmakers over its struggles in combatting crime and homelessness. It was voter frustration over those issues that helped Lurie defeat incumbent London Breed in November 2024.
Lurie, however, acknowledged that the city still has “a lot of work to do.”
“I’m clear-eyed about our challenges still,” Lurie said. “In the daytime, we have really ended our drug markets. At night, we still struggle on some of the those blocks that you see.”
An heir to the Levi Strauss & Co. fortune, Lurie also declined Friday to say whether he supports a proposed California ballot initiative that would institute a one-time 5% tax on the state’s billionaires.
“I stay laser-focused on what I can control, and that’s what’s happening here in San Francisco,” Lurie said. “I don’t get involved on what may or may not happen up in Sacramento, or frankly, for that matter, D.C.”
Denver, CO
Here’s how the NFL typically handles the top seeded team’s Divisional Round schedule
As the number one seed in the AFC, the Denver Broncos could end up playing on either Saturday or Sunday. It all comes down to which teams win during Wild Card weekend.
Head Coach Sean Payton was asked about the potential Divisional Round schedule and he said nothing is finalized. However, the NFL has been known to follow a certain schedule that could end up with the Broncos playing on Saturday if either the Buffalo Bills or Los Angeles Chargers win on Sunday and they’d play the following Sunday only if they had to wait until Monday for the outcome of the Houston Texans and Pittsburgh Steelers game.
The other thing with that extra week off is about preparation. One of the better questions the media asked of Payton on Friday was whether or not they do more advanced scouting on potential opponents they have not yet played this season.
“Look, there are four options,” Payton said. “One is in the division. We’ve played one two years in a row—or it feels like that with Houston. Buffalo. We’ll break down kind of all four and then look at… We’ll have personnel reports on the four… You do have enough time to look at third down, look at personnel packages, study situational football. I think that’s pretty common when you look at playoff history. A lot of times, you end up with a division team sometimes in the first round. I know that’s happened a number of times over the years with me. It’s hard to gauge how these other games are going to go not having spent much time looking at New England. [We’ve] seen Jacksonville. It’s one of those where you just watch them. You’re working while you watch them. You’re working on each plan, and then you go from there.”
I came away feeling like Payton and the Broncos know two of their potential opponents fairly well. The other two will get some high level review, but nothing super deep as there just isn’t enough time. That is saved for this coming week when the opponent is finalized.
Payton and his staff have some great experience coaching in the playoffs, so this young Broncos team should be well-prepared for their football game.
Frankly, I like the idea of the Broncos getting their game out of the way early. Give Payton and his staff an extra day to begin the prep work needed for the AFC Championship game provided they come out with a win in the Divisional Round.
Seattle, WA
Seattle Seahawks land 2 players on list of potential salary cap cuts in 2026
No matter how the playoffs go for the Seatte Seahawks, general manager John Schneider and his team are looking at a very busy offseason ahead.
In addition to their usual preparations for the 2026 NFL draft, Seattle has a ton of important players who are about to become unrestricted free agents. That list includes special teams superstar Rashid Shaheed, running back Ken Walker and defensive standouts Boye Mafe, Riq Woolen and Coby Bryant.
It’s going to be really difficult to keep that entire group together, even with a lot of cap space projected to be open in 2026. The Seahawks may have to create room with some salary cap casualties after the season is over.
On that note, Over the Cap has listed a pair of Seattle players as potential cap casualties. Let’s review both of them.
OLB Uchenna Nwosu
Coming in at No. 46 on OTC’s list is veteran edge rusher Uchenna Nwosu, who has one year remaining on his contract with a cap hit just over $20 million. Nwosu has been valuable when he’s on the field but he’s also missed a ton of time due to injuries and it will be difficult to justify his cap hit with so many other players to pay.
Seattle can save a little over $11.5 million if they cut Nwosu, before June 1 or after. However, they would also take on a dead money hit north of $8.5 million, which takes a lot of the flavor out of those cap savings.
In 45 games with the Seahawks, Nwosu has tallied 19.5 sacks, 52 QB hits, 24 tackles for a loss, five forced fumbles and eight pass breakups.
That’s a lot of good production across the board as an all-around defender, but he’ll turn 30 years old before next season is over and there are a lot of mouths to feed for Mike Macdonald’s defense.
Over the Cap projects there’s a 58.5% chance that the Seahawks will wind up cutting him. Our best guess is that will be the case, especially if they want to pursue someone like Maxx Crosby on the trade market.
K Jason Myers
The only other Seahawks player who made the list (at No. 77) was placekicker Jason Myers, where the team has an interesting choice to make.
Myers has been around since the 2019 season and he’s come through for them more often than not. In 117 games he’s converted 200 of 232 field goal attempts, coming out to 86.2%. On extra point attempts he’s gone 292/307 for 95.1%.
Those are very solid numbers for an NFL kicker, and when you have a solid option at this position you don’t mess with it.
Another factor working in Myers’ favor is that Seattle really can’t save all that much money by cutting him. According to OTC’s numbers the Seahawks would create $5.1 million in cap room by cutting him, with a dead money hit of $1,875,000.
Five million might get Seattle a decent backup for their interior offensive line, or another contributor to Mike Macdonald’s defense. It’s not enough to really move the needle for this roster, though.
OTC gives it a 52.5% chance that Myers will get cut, but we don’t see that happening. If they want to lower his cap hit, the Seahawks can create a little over $3 million for 2026 with an extension. That’s the only move they should be looking to make at this spot.
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