By SARA CLINE Created: June 22, 2021 05:53 PM
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Police in Oregon s largest city are being advised to no longer pursue low-level traffic infractions - including expired plates and broken headlights - unless related to an immediate safety threat, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler announced Tuesday.
In addition, if police do stop a driver they must receive recorded consent before searching the vehicle and clearly inform the person they have the right to refuse.
Wheeler said both changes are an attempt to refocus on immediate threats and are also occurring in response to data showing a a disproportionate impact on Black drivers for traffic stops and vehicle searches. While 6% of Portlanders are Black, he said they account for 18% of traffic stops in the city.
By LEAH WILLINGHAM Created: June 22, 2021 06:19 PM
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - First lady Jill Biden visited one of the states least vaccinated against COVID-19 on Tuesday, encouraging residents of Mississippi to get their shots and telling them, The White House, our administration - we care about you. I m here today to ask all of the people who can hear my voice, who can see my face, to get their shot, Biden said after visiting a clinic at Jackson State University, one of the largest historically Black universities in the country. Biden later encouraged people who were getting vaccinated in Nashville, Tennessee, with the help of country singer Brad Paisley later Tuesday evening.
Turkish businessman arrested in scheme with Utah polygamists
SOPHIA EPPOLITO, Associated Press/Report for America
June 22, 2021
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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) A Turkish businessman has been arrested by the U.S. Justice Department in connection with what authorities say was a biodiesel fraud scheme operated by a Utah business that stole nearly $500 million in government funds.
Sezgin Baran Korkmaz was arrested in Austria on Saturday on suspicion of laundering over $133 million through bank accounts that authorities contend he controlled in Turkey and Luxembourg, federal prosecutors said in a statement Monday.
Prosecutors said Korkmaz was connected to a biodiesel fraud scheme run by Utah polygamists Jacob and Isaiah Kingston and gas station owner Lev Dermen to defraud the the U.S. Treasury by filing false claims for over $1 billion in refundable renewable fuel tax credits. They are accused of using the money to buy luxury sports cars and million-dollar homes, prosecu
Nevada lawmakers OK spending federal relief funds
SAM METZ, AP / Report for America
June 22, 2021
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CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) Nevada lawmakers approved the transfer of $2.7 billion in federal coronavirus relief to a state account on Tuesday, paving the way for millions in new spending for schools, food subsidies and housing assistance on Tuesday.
Members of the Legislature s Interim Finance Committee met in Las Vegas and approved $40 million in rental assistance, $12 million for homeowner s assistance, $5.6 million to the state s unemployment insurance system and additional funds to hire auditors to oversee $1.1 billion in relief funds designated for elementary and secondary schools.
Nevada received $2.7 billion in unrestricted funds as part of the latest package of federal coronavirus relief approved in March, as well as billions of additional funds geared toward specific spending on schools, infrastructure and other aid. Lawmakers begun allocating the funds
Portland police change traffic stop and search procedures June 22, 2021 at 4:08 pm FILE - In this Aug. 30, 2020 file photo, Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell speaks during a news conference. On Tuesday, June 22, 2021, Lovell and Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler announced that officers will no longer pull over vehicles for low-level violations where public safety isn t a concern. Wheeler said the change was due in part to the fact that Black drivers are pulled over in disproportionate numbers in the city. (Sean Meagher/The Oregonian via AP)
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) Police in Oregon’s largest city are being advised to no longer pursue low-level traffic infractions including expired plates and broken headlights unless related to an immediate safety threat, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler announced Tuesday.