Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/433121
ByDonnaCassata The Associated Press WASHINGTON Congress on Friday sent President Barack Obama a massive defense policy bill that en- dorses his stepped-up mili- tary campaign of air strikes and training of Iraqis and moderate Syrian rebels in the war against Islamic State militants. The Senate overwhelm- ingly approved the bill that authorizes funds for ba- sic military operations, in- cluding construction of new ships, aircraft, and weapons as well as a 1 percent pay raise for the troops. The vote was 89-11. A coalition of defense hawks and Western state Republicans overcame ob- jections by Sen. Tom Co- burn, R-Okla., and several other GOP senators, who were furious that unre- lated provisions to desig- nate 250,000 acres of new, federally protected wilder- ness were added to the pop- ular legislation dedicated to military operations. The measure would au- thorize the training and equipping of moderate Syr- ian rebels battling the ex- tremists, a mandate that lasts for two years. It also would provide $5 billion to train Iraqis to counter the militants who brutally rule large sections of Iraq and Syria. "American air power had changed the momentum on the ground somewhat and given moderates in the re- gion an opportunity to re- group, but ISIS cannot be defeated without an oppos- ing force to take the fight to it on the ground," said Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., chair- man of the Armed Services Committee. "To do that, our Arab and Muslim part- ners must be in the lead be- cause the fight with ISIS is primarily a struggle within Islam for the hearts and minds of Muslims." Debate on the bill was fraught with emotion as Levin, who is retiring af- ter 36 years in the Senate, delivered his valedictory speech. Congress now has passed a defense bill for 53 consec- utive years, and Levin noted that lawmakers' desire to help the troops has fostered bipartisanship despite bitter political divisions. "They not only protect us; they unite us," said Levin, who received sus- tained applause and hugs at the end of his remarks. The bill would provide the core funding of $521.3 billion for the military and $63.7 billion for overseas operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. Despite Obama's objections, the measure maintains the prohibi- tion on transferring terror suspects from the federal prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to the United States. The bill would prohibit the retirement of the A-10 Warthog, the close-air sup- port plane often described as ugly but invaluable. CONGRESS Senate OKs defense policy bill The Associated Press WASHINGTON The Su- preme Court will decide whether its 2-year-old rul- ing throwing out manda- tory life in prison without parole for juveniles should apply to older cases. The justices said Fri- day they will examine the case of a Louisiana man who has been imprisoned since 1985 for the acciden- tal shooting of his best friend during a botched armed robbery. George Toca was 17 at the time of the shooting and was given an auto- matic life term with no possibility of parole. Toca argues someone else acci- dentally shot the friend, but that issue is not be- fore the court. In 2012, the justices ruled that judges and ju- ries must take account of age when sentencing people who were younger than 18 at the time of even the most brutal crimes. Courts around the country have differed on whether prison inmates whose cases are closed can take advantage of the high court ruling and seek parole or new sen- tencing hearings. The Louisiana Supreme Court ruled against Toca. In a separate case, New Hampshire officials are appealing to the Supreme Court over a state court ruling that granted four men who were convicted of murder as teenagers new sentencing hearings. The Supreme Court has handed down a se- ries of rulings that hold juveniles less responsible than adults when their sentences are considered. The latest case involves how the court's views about juvenile sentences mesh with another line of cases that deal with when major court deci- sions should apply retro- actively to older cases. Toca has lost several rounds of appeals about his responsibility for the crime that landed him at the Louisiana State Peni- tentiary at Angola, includ- ing that witnesses mistak- enly identified him as the shooter. The case will be argued in the early spring. The case is Toca v. Lou- isiana, 14-6381. SCOTUS Justices to review sentences for youth By Steven Dubois The Associated Press PORTLAND,ORE. A shooter wounded two boys and a girl outside an alternative high school Friday in what is believed to be a gang-re- lated attack, Portland po- lice said. The victims apparently are students at Rosemary Anderson High School, which serves about 190 at-risk students. They all were conscious and breath- ing when they were taken to the hospital, police Sgt. Pete Simpson said. The shooting was re- ported after noon and hap- pened at a street corner outside the school, Simpson said. The assailant fled, and the students ran back to the school for help, he said. A nearby high school and community college were put on lockdown. Officers don't know whether the shooter was alone or with others, but Simpson said preliminary information suggests it's gang-related. The bureau's gang unit was deployed in the investigation. Rosemary Anderson High School serves at-risk students who were expelled or dropped out, or who are homeless or single parents. According to the school's website, 190 students an- nually are enrolled at the north Portland location. The school also has a sec- ond location in Gresham. Portland has been trou- bled by gang-related vio- lence for years and has seen a spike this year. At midyear, the Police Bureau reported that of- ficers had responded to 52 gang-related violent crimes, up from 35 through the same period last year, The Oregonian reported. The paper quoted the di- rector of the city's Office of Violence Prevention, Antoi- nette Edwards, as saying a few people are responsible for much of the violence. "We are allowing 17 to 20 violent people — shoot- ers — to bully and to hold us hostages, our kids, our communities, our homes, our parks," she said. Some of the violence oc- curs between rival gangs, but bystanders have also been hurt. Two men died in sepa- rate gang-related shootings earlier this year, including one outside a strip club. In another shooting in June, at least nine gun- shots were fired into an apartment complex, and a 5-year-old boy who was vis- iting his grandfather was wounded in the leg. Portland police have been calling for more re- sources to deal with the gang problem. In years past, much of the violence has occurred in north Portland, where Friday's shooting occurred. As the area undergoes gen- trification, the violence has spread to areas on the city's outskirts. PORTLAND 3 victims conscious in shooting near school BRUCEEL—THEREGISTER-GUARD The scene in North Portland where a shooting occurred near Rosemary Anderson High School is seen on Friday. By Jesse J. Holland The Associated Press WASHINGTON Who, if any- one, is leading the emerg- ing movement around the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner — younger activists or legacy civil rights groups? Established civil rights organizations — the Na- tional Action Network, the NAACP, the National Ur- ban League — last week called for people to gather in Washington Saturday for a national march with the families of the two un- armed black men who died at the hands of white police officers. Grand juries de- clined to indict the officers. In the past, calls like that would have brought activists from around the nation to the capital. But groups like Ferguson Ac- tion are instead sponsoring their own actions in cities around the nation, calling for a "National Day of Re- sistance" in such places as Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Bloomington, Indiana, and Bend, Oregon. "There are many ways to take action in this im- pactful moment," said Phil Agnew, executive director of the group Dream De- fenders. "This Saturday we will be where we have been, and will continue to be — building a movement in the streets of our com- munities." A major march in New York City had already been planned when the Wash- ington march was declared last week, said Ferguson Action's Mervyn Marcano. "There are young people on the street — and not just young people — who don't belong and don't want to belong to any particular organization, and so we want to make sure those folks have a way to plug in as well," he said. "We all have the same vision, and want to be able to coordi- nate with any group that wants to work toward that vision." It's about getting results, not about "turf," who's in charge or who gets to stand before a microphone, said Marc Morial, president of the National Urban League. "Some of us have been at this for a long time," Mo- rial said. "And it's our work and we work on these is- sues all the time. There's a new spark and I welcome the involvement of broad cross sections of Americans for whom perhaps the dis- parities in the justice sys- tem were not on the top of their consciousness before these incidents occurred." These are the kind of growing pains that all movements go through, said Barbara Arnwine, leader of the Lawyers' Com- mittee for Civil Rights Un- der Law. Some of the older and newer groups met in Washington for a face- to-face on Thursday, and while there were some harsh words exchanged between groups, Arnwine said that was to be ex- pected at this early point. "There's a need for more discussion on how to pro- ceed between the younger movements and the estab- lished groups," Arnwine said. "It's a tough space for everybody because ev- erything is happening re- ally quickly, everyone's un- derresourced tremendously and everyone's under a lot a stress. So it's a very, very tough time." Even though they're working toward the same goal, there's a generational divide between the younger groups and the establish- ment civil rights groups, said Laura Murphy of the American Civil Liber- ties Union. And it can be good to have younger en- ergy pushing and testing boundaries with the older groups, she said. For example, she said it was younger immigration activists — the "dreamers" — and not the established groups that caused the White House to give depor- tation protection to nearly 5 million immigrants liv- ing here illegally. POLICE SHOOTINGS Questions rising over who's in charge of protests JOHN MINCHILLO — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE Demonstrators participate in a rally against a grand jury's decision not to indict the police officer involved in the death of Eric Garner, in New York. Thankyou! PLEASE RECYCLE THIS NEWSPAPER. Landscape/Fence Steve's Tractor &LandscapeService •FenceBuilding•Landscaping • Trenching • Rototilling • Disking • Mowing • Ridging • Post Hole Digging • Blade Work • Sprinkler Installation • Concrete Work Cont. Lic. #703511 SteveDyke 385-1783 Construction Burrows Construction Remodel, New Additions, Siding Repair and Replacement, Water and Dryrot Damage Specialist, New Construction Foundation to Finish Ph:(530) 515-9779 Residential • Commerical PATIOS•DECKS REFRENCES Lic#824770 In Print Every Tues. - Thurs. - Sat. Online: Publishes 24/7 www.redbluffdailynews.com Threeadditionalonline locations at no extra cost! 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