SINKING BOAT-RESCUE
Coast Guard rescues 2 men from sinking boat
WARRENTON, Ore. (AP) — A Coast Guard crew recused two men after their 14-foot boat ran aground and began taking on water at the mouth of the Columbia River.
The U.S. Coast Guard says a mariner called to report a boat had run aground near Desdemona Sands and needed assistance Tuesday afternoon.
A rescue crew was able to pull the men from the sinking boat minutes before it capsized. The men were transported to Warrenton. No injuries were reported.
The men were wearing life jackets, which officials say was important because they had to use a line to pull the men through the water during the rescue.
RANCHING STANDOFF-NEVADA PLEAS
New Hampshire man’s plea delayed in Nevada in Bundy standoff
LAS VEGAS (AP) — A former New Hampshire sheriff candidate’s guilty pleas to federal charges in an armed confrontation with U.S. land management agents near cattleman Cliven Bundy’s ranch in Nevada have been delayed.
Defense attorney Brian Smith said Tuesday that a paperwork snag caused the postponement of Gerald “Jerry” DeLemus’ plea date to Thursday.
DeLemus (de-LAY’-mus), of Rochester, New Hampshire, will face prison time on federal conspiracy and interstate travel in aid of extortion charges.
The charges relate to a gunpoint standoff involving Bundy backers and federal agents in April 2014 about 80 miles northeast of Las Vegas.
Blaine Cooper of Humboldt, Arizona, is also due to plead guilty Thursday to reduced charges.
DeLemus and Cooper are among 19 people to face charges that include obstruction, weapon possession and use, and threatening and assaulting federal officers.
SEX OFFENDER-RAPE
Sex offender found guilty of rape in Washington County
(Information from: KPTV-TV, http://www.kptv.com/)
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A registered sex offender has been convicted on kidnapping and sexual assault charges in connection with the alleged rape of two women in Washington County.
KPTV-TV reports that 29-year-old Jose Omar Ortiz was found guilty Tuesday on multiple counts of rape, sex abuse and kidnapping.
He is accused of sexually assaulting two women in April and May 2015.
Authorities say one of the victims had asked Ortiz to help her move when he drove her to a secluded area and sexually assaulted her.
Court documents say Ortiz assaulted another woman after responding to her ad on Craigslist seeking a roommate.
Ortiz has criminal convictions from 2009 for prostitution and sex abuse, which required him to register as a sex offender.
He’s scheduled to be sentenced next month.
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APPEALS COURT-POT SEARCHES
Court: Out-of-state license plates don’t justify search
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A federal appeals court says law enforcement officials in Kansas cannot stop and search motorists for having nothing more than out-of-state license plates from states that have legalized marijuana.
The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday says the officer’s reasoning would justify the search of citizens from more than half of the states in the country.
The court reinstated the lawsuit filed by a Colorado motorist against two Kansas Highway Patrol officers who stopped and searched his vehicle while he was driving alone at night on I-70 in Kansas.
It found the officers violated Peter Vasquez’s Fourth Amendment rights in searching his car.
Twenty-five states permit marijuana use for medicinal purposes, with Colorado, Alaska, Oregon, Washington, and Washington, D.C. permitting some recreational use under state law.
IMPRISONED 35 YEARS-LAWSUIT
Woman wrongly imprisoned 35 years files US civil rights case
RENO, Nev. (AP) — A woman imprisoned for 35 years before being exonerated in a 1976 Reno murder case is suing officials in Nevada and Louisiana on federal civil rights, malicious prosecution and conspiracy claims.
Cathy Woods’ attorneys in the case filed Monday in Reno say she missed her entire adult life before she was freed in September 2014 and cleared last year in the fatal stabbing of 19-year-old Michelle Mitchell near the University of Nevada, Reno.
Officials now say DNA links former Oregon prison inmate Rodney Halbower to the crime.
Halbower is also believed to be responsible for several Northern California killings in early 1976.
Woods’ lawyer, Elizabeth Wang (WONG’), says Woods was severely mentally ill and didn’t have a lawyer with her when police got her to confess in Louisiana in 1979.
CORPORATE TAX PROPOSAL
Oregon citizen panel votes to support corporate tax proposal
(Information from: The Oregonian/OregonLive, http://www.oregonlive.com)
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — A $3 billion corporate tax measure that will be on Oregon’s ballot this November has earned another endorsement.
The Oregonian/OregonLive reports that a slim majority of a panel overseen by the Citizens’ Initiative Review Commission supported Measure 97.
The statement of support will be included in the state voter’s pamphlet alongside comments from opponents.
The measure would create a gross receipts tax by charging certain corporations a 2.5 percent tax on their gross annual sales above $25 million. State economists estimate that it would raise at least $3 billion annually.
Opponents of the tax cite a report from the nonpartisan Legislative Revenue Office that described the tax as regressive. Committee members say it could increase the price of food, clothing, housing and other essential goods and services.
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WESTERN WILDFIRES-THE LATEST
The Latest: 50 campers and other evacuated in Grand Teton
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Officials say about 50 people have been evacuated from campgrounds and lodging because of a wildfire in Grand Teton National Park in northwest Wyoming.
The fire made a 5-mile run Monday, forcing the closure of a 10-mile stretch of road that leads into Yellowstone’s South Entrance. More than 4,000 vehicles a day normally pass through the south entrance this time of year.
The road remained close Tuesday.
Several campgrounds and a lodge that rents cabins in the area were evacuated.
In neighboring Yellowstone, a fire burning near the West Entrance Road grew bigger Monday and a new team of fire managers was being brought in to help, although the fire was not being actively suppressed yet.
All roads and major tourist areas in Yellowstone remain open.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press.
