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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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