Oregon
Republican senators walk from Oregon Capitol, as vote on contentious abortion bill nears
Oregon Republicans have change into fairly expert at exploiting arcane sections of the state’s statutes and structure to gradual the legislative course of to a snail’s tempo.
It’s labored earlier than. Now, they’re attempting it once more.
On Wednesday, Republicans signaled their ongoing displeasure with payments Democrats are prioritizing this yr by strolling away from the Capitol, denying the Senate the 20-member quorum essential to conduct enterprise.
“Colleagues, a quorum will not be current for the proceedings of the Senate,” stated Senate President Rob Wagner, D-Lake Oswego, after Democrats had the chamber’s sergeant at arms search the Capitol for lacking lawmakers.
On one degree, the most recent maneuver is shocking. Voters final yr accepted a statewide poll measure that ensures stiff penalties if the minority social gathering participates in a walkout. If any lawmaker receives 10 or extra unexcused absences within the session, they can’t run for reelection.
However some Republican senators have insisted for years they had been keen to check the brand new regulation if Democrats pressed ahead with an agenda they may not assist. That battle got here to a head in latest weeks as Democrats superior payments creating new gun laws and including protections for abortion and gender-affirming care.
“We’ve received some actually hyper-partisan payments popping out proper now. Payments I don’t assume are a real reflection of what Oregonians are asking for,” Sen. Daniel Bonham, R-The Dalles, stated final week. “I don’t assume these are issues which were campaigned on. My degree of frustration is excessive.”
In the meantime, Senate Majority Chief Kate Lieber, D-Beaverton, stated Wednesday it’s “no coincidence that Republicans are using these embarrassing antics because the Senate is about to vote on payments that shield reproductive well being freedom and set up widespread sense gun security legal guidelines.”
“By strolling out as we speak,” she stated, “Senate Republicans are abandoning all who imagine in our democracy, significantly the voters who despatched them to Salem to vote on their behalf.”
If Republicans are adamant about staying away from the Capitol, the query turns into how lengthy they maintain out. Six GOP lawmakers had been listed as excused on Wednesday. Two Republicans, Senate Minority Chief Tim Knopp, R-Bend, and Sen. Dick Anderson, R-Lincoln Metropolis, had been in attendance. 5 senators had been marked unexcused.
Republicans have demonstrated that poring by the state’s structure and statutes can show fruitful.
For instance, the state structure requires, earlier than last passage of a invoice, that the measure be learn in full. For years, lawmakers skipped that requirement and solely learn the invoice’s title. Waiving the rule, nevertheless, requires a two-thirds vote, which implies votes from each side of the political aisle.
In 2019, Republicans stopped voting to waive that rule and studying payments in full turned the brand new regular till voters tried to make that more difficult.
This time, nevertheless, Republicans are halting the Senate by counting on a statute that claims every regulation have to be “written in a fashion that ends in a rating of a minimum of 60 on the Flesch readability take a look at.” Principally, Republicans try to make the case that each invoice must be plainly worded and have a invoice abstract that could possibly be understood by somebody who reads at an eighth grade studying degree or beneath.
“Legal guidelines are to be plainly written and straightforward to know. When nearly all of invoice summaries written demand a post-graduate diploma to know what the payments do, we disenfranchise Oregonians throughout the state and violate the regulation within the course of,” Knopp stated in a press release.
Knopp is suggesting to adjust to the regulation, each invoice should return to the legal professionals who draft the payments to allow them to write the summaries in easier language. He additionally steered every invoice be despatched again by the committee course of earlier than being reconsidered on the Senate and Home flooring. That might be an extremely prolonged course of because the session is effectively over midway by.
The dynamic within the Senate will not be being helped by the stress between the Senate president, Wagner, and his Republican counterpart, Knopp. Republicans made an unprecedented however unsuccessful try earlier within the week to take away Wagner as Senate president.
“For the reason that starting of the Session, I’ve argued that Wagner is untrustworthy, deeply partisan, and lacks the mandatory abilities to run the Senate in a bipartisan style,” Knopp stated in a press release. “That has been confirmed true each step of the way in which, and his habits this week would be the clearest demonstration but.”
Knopp informed OPB that Republicans are working on a day-to-day foundation and wouldn’t say how lengthy denying quorum would final.
“We’re not going to speak about what our protest will seem like aside from to say this can be a constitutional protest and we imagine it’s a authorized protest,” he stated.
This story could also be up to date.
Oregon
Powerball ticket worth $328.5 million sold in Oregon
Powerball, Mega Millions jackpots: What to know in case you win
Here’s what to know in case you win the Powerball or Mega Millions jackpot.
Just the FAQs, USA TODAY
The first Powerball jackpot of 2025 was sold in Oregon and is worth $328.5 million, according to lottery officials.
The winner purchased the winning ticket in Beaverton on Thursday, Jan. 17, the Oregon Lottery said. The retail location will not be revealed until a winner has come forward.
The winning numbers for the Saturday drawing were: 14, 31, 35, 64 and 69 and Powerball 23.
The winner has a year to claim their prize, Oregon Lottery spokesperson Melanie Mesaros said. After the winning ticket is presented, “it will take time before a winner can be identified due to security and payment processes.”
Oregon lottery winners, with few exceptions, cannot remain anonymous, Mesaros said.
The winner will have a choice between an annuitized prize of $328.5 million or a lump-sum payment of $146.4 million, according to lottery officials, which are both options before taxes.
Last year, the largest Powerball prize won in Oregon — a $1.3 billion jackpot — was split between a Portland man, his wife, and friend.
Before Saturday, the most recent Powerball jackpot was sold in December in New York and was worth $256 million.
Powerball is a multi-state jackpot operated by 44 states, plus the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.
Fernando Cervantes Jr., a news reporter for USA TODAY, contributed to this story.
Cherrill Crosby is the executive editor of the Statesman Journal and The Register-Guard. Reach her at crosbyc@gannett.com
Oregon
Oregon’s Dan Lanning visits 5-star recruit Cantwell, top TE Premer during Midwest run
Oregon head football coach Dan Lanning has been a busy man.
But when you’re the man tasked with running one of the top college football programs in the country, burning jet fuel to shake hands and take photos is a big part of the gig. And Lanning was doing plenty of that last week.
A native of Kansas City, Mo., Lanning returned home last week on a two-day tear recruiting some of the top 2026 prospects in the country.
Lanning’s known stops included Lee’s Summit on Jan. 16, where the Tigers have 2027 interior line prospect Zach Harsha (6-5, 260) and 2028 tight end Max Trillo (6-4, 225).
He was even busier the following day. He had stops at Raymore-Peculiar, where he visited with and offered four-star uncommitted running back DeZephen Walker (6-0, 205) who is believed to be heavily considering Kansas and Nebraska.
He also headed to Illinois, where he swung by Lincoln-Way East to visit with quarterback Jonas Williams, who agreed with the Ducks on Aug. 3, 2024,
A trip to the Springfield, Mo. area was also on the docket, as Lanning traveled to Nixa High School to again meet with the country’s No. 1 2026 offensive lineman, Jackson Cantwell, on Jan. 16. The 6-8, 315 offensive tackle has offers from just about everyone in the country, though he has spoken highly of Lanning and his relationship with the Ducks coach – making Oregon one of the favorites for his services.
Cantwell was honored by the Kansas City Chiefs on Jan. 18 during their AFC Divisional playoff game against the Houston Texans after he was selected to represent the Chiefs at the ‘Nike Ones’ showcase during Super Bowl weekend in New Orleans.
Lanning concluded his trip with a little basketball in Hutchinson, Kan., where he watched Great Bend tight end Ian Premer (6-6, 215) – the top tight end in the 2026 class – take on Hutchinson. Premer, a three-sport star in football, basketball and baseball, impressed with 22 points in the game.
The Midwest swing adds to a busy month for Lanning, who also has been spotted with Utah No. 1 athlete Salasi Moa and recently secured a visit with top 2026 quarterback and Nashville native Jared Curtis.
Oregon
People with disabilities are extra vulnerable in major disasters like wildfires, says Oregon advocate
Jake Cornett, Executive Director and CEO of the advocacy group Disability Rights Oregon, says he will forever be haunted by Ashlyn Maddox’s death during the 2021 Oregon heat wave.
The Portland woman, 36, was disabled and living in a group foster home. She was dropped off by a medical transport company, but the company didn’t make sure she made it safely into her air-conditioned home. She ended up wandering around for hours in the heat, and died only 50 feet from safety.
Cornett says, “These deaths are preventable with the right planning, the right strategy for mitigation, the right preparedness and a response plan that complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act and respects the needs of people with disabilities.”
Cornett spoke with “All Things Considered” host Geoff Norcross about Oregon’s ability to help people with disabilities during a natural disaster, such as the deadly wildfires burning in the Los Angeles area.
This conversation has been edited for clarity and length.
Geoff Norcross: If we were to transport those fires in Southern California here, would we see a similar catastrophe for people with disabilities?
Jake Cornett: Surely, we fear that the same disasters we’ve seen play out in the catastrophes in the lives of people with disabilities in LA would play out right here in Oregon as well. And I don’t think this is just a theoretical question. It’s only a matter of time before we have major wildfires along Highway 20, very close by in Portland and in other major cities throughout our state.
Norcross: What is the obligation of local governments to provide for people with disabilities when disaster strikes? I guess I’m asking if the Americans with Disabilities Act applies here.
Cornett: Absolutely. The Americans with Disabilities Act requires that cities, counties, the state and the federal government are taking into account what the needs are of people with disabilities, and providing accommodations for those needs when engaging in disaster planning.
Norcross: Getting information out to people quickly in a disaster is so critical, especially for something that’s as fast-moving as the LA wildfires. For people who are deaf or blind, can you talk about how that’s extra complicated?
Cornett: Absolutely. You know, emergency response notification systems that happen on your phone are a great tool if you have a phone, or if you have the technology to make your phone provide you the information you need. And that’s particularly important for folks who are blind.
I think about a blind person who may not have the same visual access to information as others. If police run around your neighborhood and put a notice on your door that says “get out of town, there’s an evacuation order, you’re under wildfire threat,” that notice on your door might not be enough because you can’t access that information.
And this is where cities, counties and the state really have an obligation to adjust to how they communicate so that it’s effective for all people with disabilities.
Norcross: And again, when you say obligation, you mean a legal obligation, not just because it’s the right thing to do.
Cornett: Absolutely. There’s a legal obligation to do that under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Norcross: Even if an evacuation order gets to affected people quickly, there’s this expectation that most people will get in their car and they will leave. How does that expectation leave people with disabilities in even greater danger?
Cornett: Yeah, that’s another huge issue for people with disabilities, especially when it happens quickly like the LA fires. People think evacuating is getting in the car, driving quickly away to safety.
But many people with disabilities don’t have access to a car, or they can’t physically drive a vehicle. They’re totally reliant on others to transport them to safety. So just providing that notice is not an adequate way to ensure that we are saving the lives of people with disabilities in the way it needs to be done.
Norcross: Is there an event here in Oregon that you can point to that shows us how situated we are to help people with disabilities when disaster strikes, good or bad?
Cornett: Here in Oregon, we’ve seen hundreds die or have serious injuries because of heat in the past few years. Climate change is real. We live in a warming environment, and it’s having a really disproportionate impact on seniors, on people with disabilities and people with underlying medical conditions.
And I’ll forever be haunted by a story of a 30-something year old woman who was dropped off by a medical transport company, but didn’t wait in their air-conditioned van to make sure that she got inside her home where there was air conditioning. Instead, they took off. She wandered around for hours before dying of heat, just 50 feet from her adult foster home.
These deaths are preventable with the right planning, the right strategy for mitigation, the right preparedness, and a response plan that complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act and respects the needs of people with disabilities.
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