RACIAL INJUSTICE-PORTLAND

Mayor: US Marshals probing protester’s shooting at protest

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The U.S. Marshals Service is investigating after a protester was hospitalized in critical condition over the weekend after being hit in the head by a weapon fired by a federal law enforcement officer. Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler said late Sunday that he has spoken with U.S. Attorney for Oregon Billy J. Williams and learned of the investigation. Bystander video shows the protester collapsing to the ground and bleeding profusely after a federal officer outside the Mark O. Hatfield Federal Courthouse fires a round at him. The protester was standing with both arms in the air holding a larger speaker across from the courthouse when he was hit.

DEPUTY SHOT

Deputy shot, Idaho authorities search for suspect

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A sheriff’s deputy was shot and injured Monday morning and law enforcement officers warned some residents near the rural town of Star to shelter in place while they searched for the suspect. The Ada County Sheriff’s Office didn’t immediately release any details about the deputy’s condition. The shooting happened about 7:30 a.m. near Highway 16. The sheriff’s office says the suspect, who fled the scene, is considered armed and dangerous. He’s described as a white man wearing jeans and a grey jacket.

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.

REDFISH-STANLEY TRAIL

U.S. drops injunction request in dispute over trail project

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The U.S. Department of Justice has dropped its request asking a federal judge to prohibit an Idaho man from flying his helicopter near work crews building a public trail on an easement crossing private land. The department says it has accepted Michael Boren’s statements that he won’t again fly near the work crew that’s building a trail connecting the popular tourist destinations of Redfish Lake and Stanley in central Idaho. The trail is at the center of a federal lawsuit seeking to have the project stopped. The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the June 20 incident.