RACIAL INJUSTICE-PORTLAND

Justice Department to investigate Portland protest shooting

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The U.S. Marshals Service is investigating after a protester was critically injured after being hit in the head by a less-lethal round fired by a federal officer. Oregon’s top federal prosecutor said the investigation will be reviewed by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of the Inspector General. Bystander video shows protester Donovan LaBella collapsing and bleeding profusely after a federal officer outside Portland’s federal courthouse fired at him. LaBella was standing with his arms in the air holding a large speaker when he was hit. Portland’s mayor, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown and Oregon’s two senators have condemned the shooting.

DEPUTY SHOT

Deputy shot twice while searching for stolen motorcycle

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The Ada County Sheriff’s Office says a deputy is in critical condition after he was shot twice Monday morning while trying to arrest a suspect in connection with a stolen motorcycle. Officials didn’t release the name of the deputy or the suspect, but say the suspect was arrested a few hours later in a cornfield near Star. Sheriff Steve Bartlett says the deputy and the suspect exchanged gunfire after the deputy attempted to pull the suspect over and the suspect fled on foot.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-ABORTION PILL

Judge: Women can get abortion pill without doctor visits

SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) — A federal judge has agreed to suspend a rule that requires women during the COVID-19 pandemic to visit a hospital, clinic or medical office to obtain an abortion pill. U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang in Maryland ruled Monday that the “in-person requirements” for patients seeking medication abortion care impose a “substantial obstacle” to abortion patients and are likely unconstitutional under the pandemic’s circumstances. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and other groups sued the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in May to challenge the rule.

AP-US-GRIZZLIES-NORTH-CASCADES

Conservation groups upset by North Cascades grizzly decision

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — The forested mountains in and around North Cascades National Park have long been considered prime habitat for threatened grizzly bears, so environmental groups are criticizing the Trump administration’s decision to scrap plans to reintroduce the apex predators there. U.S. Secretary of the Interior David L. Bernhardt on Tuesday announced his agency will not conduct the environmental impact statement needed to move forward with the plan. That drew swift rebukes from conservation groups, who have worked for decades to grow the tiny population of about 10 grizzlies in the vast North Cascades ecosystem. They called it a political decision that ignored science.

IDAHO PLANE CRASH

Final body recovered from Idaho airplane collision over lake

COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho (AP) — Authorities say they have recovered the final body of eight people killed when two airplanes collided over a scenic mountain lake in northern Idaho on July 5. The last body was found inside one of the wrecked aircraft on the bottom of Lake Coeur d’Alene and recovered Thursday. The body was turned over to the Kootenai County Coroner’s Office. One of the aircraft with six people aboard was a float plane operated by Brooks Seaplane of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, which conducts charter flights for tourists over the lake. The second airplane was a Cessna 206 carrying two people and was registered in Lewiston, Idaho.

PROPERTY TAX RELIEF

Idaho prosecutors question governor’s plan for federal funds

TWIN FALLS, Idaho (AP) — Prosecutors from more than half of Idaho’s counties questioned whether Gov. Brad Little’s plan to use $200 million in federal aid for property tax relief is legal under the federal coronavirus aid package. The Times-News reported Friday that prosecutors in 16 counties signed a letter that asks Little’s office to request a legal opinion from the U.S. Treasury Department and the Idaho attorney general’s office. The letter asserts that the governor’s plan “does not appear to meet legal requirements” of the federal rescue package.