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Congress Debates Immigration
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March 29. 2006
Taser Deaths on Rise
Report cites
156 fatalities
try illegally.
stren g teh n b o rd er patrol, create new
T he p a n e l’s vote cleared the way o p p o rtu n itie s fo r so -ca lle d g u est
for the full S enate to begin d ebate w o rk ers and d eterm in e the legal fu
T uesday on the em o tio n al im m ig ra ture o f the estim ated 11 m illion im m i
(A P )— The Senate Judiciary C om tion issue.
g ran ts living in the U nited States
m ittee approved election-year im m i
“ All A m erican s w anted fairness illegally.
g ra tio n le g isla tio n M onday that and they got it th is e v e n in g ,” said
At sev eral critical p o p in ts, co m
clears the w ay for m illions o f u n Sen. E dw ard M. K ennedy, the M as m ittee D em o crats w ere united w hile
docum ented w orkers to seek U.S. sachusetts D em ocrat w ho play ed a R ep u b lican s sp lin tered . In general,
citizen sh ip w ithout having to first pivotal role in d raftin g the leg isla G O P Sens. L indsay G raham o f South
leave the country.
tion, approved 12-6.
C arolina, Sam B row nback o f K ansas
A fter days o f street d em o n stra
C om m ittee C hairm an A rlen S pec and M ike D eW ine o f O hio, w ho is
tions that stretched from C alifo rn ia ter, R -Pa., voted fo r the bill but sig seek in g re-electio n this fall, sided
to the gounds o f the U .S. C apitol, naled that som e o f the p ro v isio n s w ith D em ocrats.
the com m ittee also voted to strip could w ell be ch an g ed by the full
T h at gave D em o crats a m ajority
out p roposed crim inal p enalties for S enate.
that allo w ed them to shape the bill to
resid en ts found to be in this c o u n
In g en eral, the bill is d esig n ed to th eir liking.
Kennedy wins
vote for ‘fairness’
Il!r •¡¡Jortlanh (Observer Established 1970
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E ditor - in -C hief , P ublisher : Charles H. Washington
E ditor : Michael Leighton
D istribution M anager : Mark Washington
C reative D irector : Paul Neufeldt
O ffice M anager : Kathy Linder
(A P ) - The num ber of people
who have died in the U.S. after
being shocked by police stun
guns is growing rapidly. A m
nesty International says in a
report that catalogs 156 in the
past five years.
Deaths after the use o f Taser
stun guns have risen from three
in 2001 to 61 last year, the inter
national human rights group
said. Fourteen have died so far
this year, it said, citing police
and autopsy reports as well as
press accounts.
The rise in deaths accom pa
nies a marked increase in the
num ber o f U.S. law enforce
ment agencies em ploying de
vices made by T aser Interna
tional o f Scottsdale, Ariz.
A m nesty urged police de
Taserguns, such as
this one shown on St.
Paul, Minn., police
officer Julie Maidment,
are legal in 43 states.
(AP Photo)
partm ents to suspend the use
o f Tasers pending more study.
The com pany says on its
W eb site th a t T ase rs have
saved more than 9,000 lives
because police officers have
been able to use stun guns
instead o f bullets. Tasers d e
liver a 50,000-volt jo lt through
tw o barbed darts that can pen
etrate clothing.
T he A m nesty report is the
latest study that raises con-
cem s that use o f a T aser
— intended as a nonlethal
alternative to a gun — can
be fatal in certain circum
stances, m ost often when
the victim is using illegal drugs.
Many o f those whodied were
high on drugs, m entally ill or
o th e rw is e a g ita te d . M an y
deaths in the past year o c
curred after victim s w ere hit by
T asers at least three tim es and,
in som e cases, for prolonged
periods, the report said.
In seven cases m edical ex
am iners or coroners determined
that T aser use w as a cause o f
death.
Seattle Shooting Mystery
(AP)— Aaron Kyle H uff lived with
his twin brother and delivered pizzas
during the five years he lived in Se
attle. They w ere “tw in teddy bears,”
their apartm ent manager said, “the
kindest, sweetest, gentlest people.”
But police say the man who opened
fire on partygoers after a w eekend
rave, killing six and wounding two,
was anything but gentle. He “ap-
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Aaron Kyle Huff
p ro ach ed the h o u se sh o o tin g and
d id n ’t stop shooting” until he killed
h im s e lf, p o lic e s p o k e sm a n S ean
W hitcom b said.
The question everyone is now ask
ing is why.
T oxicology reports on the shooter
are still in process, and search o f his
apartm ent d id n ’t turn up anything that
might point to a motive, police said.
Rose Court Complete
The following young women complete the assembly o f
Ambassadors to the 2006 Rose Festival Court:
Asia Washington
Asia W ashington was crow ned as
Roosevelt High School am bassador
on M arch 23. W ashington is a
cheerleader w ho plans to study
business at Portland State U niver
sity and interior design at Portland
Com m unity College. She is in
volved in her church and Habitat
For Humanity. She is the daughter
o f Toni and Larry G ibson and Carl
W ashington. H er three siblings are
Chanel 1, D aem on and Carl.
Katrina Z. Holland
Katrina Z. Holland was voted M adi
son H igh S chool am b assad o r on
M arch 22. Holland aspires to use a
singing and acting career for public
education and political involvem ent.
She is also involved in student gov
ernm ent and com m unity organiza
tions like the O regon Bus Project. She
plans to attend C oncordia University
or an out o f state school. She is the
daughter o f W allace and Julia H ol
land, and has tw o siblings, Anthony
and Christopher Robertson.
Gambling can have its own safety features
Alix M. Sandbothe
When you gamble
Set a budget.
Set a time limit.
Play safe.
Alix M. Sandbothe was crow ned
D avid D ouglas High School
am bassador on March 20.
Sandbothe plans to attend medical
school, via a science degree at the
U niversity o f Portland. She is a
m em ber o f National H onor Society,
Student Council and various
theater and music programs.
Sandbothe is the daughter o f Tony
and stepm other Tam m y Sandbothe,
and her m other Kathy Sandbothe.
Julia George Mayfield
Julia G eorge M ayfield becam e Lin
coln High School am bassador on
Mach 21. M ayfield enjoys historical
fiction and will pursue a com m unica
tions degree at Lake Forest College in
Illinois. She is M adison’s student
body vice president and y ea rb œ k
c o -c h ie f ed ito r and v o lu n teers at
Legacy Emmanuel Meridian Park Hos
pital. She is the only child or John
M ayfield and D iane G eorge.
Beth Susan Ford
OREGON
LOTTERY
t
Elizabeth “ Beth" Susan Ford was
crow ned M arch 24 as the final
am bassador to the 2006 Rose
Festival Court. The W ilson High
School senior is involved in theater,
speech and debate, and is co-senior
editor o f her school new spaper. She
is also a counselor in training at an
all-ages sum m er camp. She plans to
m ajor in journalism , with a m inor in
creative writing. She is the daughter
o f Diane and Charlie Ford and has
two siblings. Julia and Benjamin.
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