| As fires ravage California, Trump gives his climate-change solution: 'It'll start getting cooler' Posted: 14 Sep 2020 01:31 PM PDT  California Gov. Gavin Newsom unsuccessfully pressed President Trump on Monday to acknowledge that climate change is making wildfires worse across much of the West Coast.
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| A shocking image from space shows a record 5 tropical cyclones in the Atlantic basin at the same time Posted: 15 Sep 2020 12:38 PM PDT  The satellite image also shows smoke swirling across the US from wildfires in California, Oregon, and Washington.
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| Los Angeles authorities have 'promising leads' in search for gunman who ambushed two sheriff's deputies, offer $175K reward Posted: 14 Sep 2020 09:51 PM PDT  Officials offered a $100K reward for information leading to an arrest after a gunman shot two LA sheriff's deputies in a weekend ambush.
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| Theme park worker falls to death from world's tallest swing ride Posted: 15 Sep 2020 02:19 AM PDT  Incident took place at ICON Park, on Orlando's International Drive, amid routine checks
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| Rochester police chief out in fallout over Prude death Posted: 14 Sep 2020 02:11 PM PDT  Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren fired the police chief and suspended her top lawyer and communications director Monday in the continuing upheaval over the suffocation death of Daniel Prude. Chief Le'Ron Singletary announced his retirement last week as part of a major shakeup of the city's police leadership but said he would stay on through the end of the month. Instead, Warren said at a news conference that she had permanently relieved him while suspending Corporation Counsel Tim Curtin and Communications Director Justin Roj without pay for 30 days following a cursory management review of the city's role in Prude's death.
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| South Dakota attorney general involved in fatal car crash Posted: 13 Sep 2020 09:56 PM PDT  During a brief press conference on Sunday evening, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) announced that state Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg (R) was involved in a fatal car accident on Saturday night.The crash took place west of Highmore, in central South Dakota, and Noem said law enforcement is "working on identifying the deceased and notifying the family." The accident occurred as Ravnsborg was driving home from a dinner hosted by the state GOP.Following Noem's press conference, Ravnsborg's office released a statement saying he is "shocked and filled with sorrow following the events of last night. As Gov. Noem stated, I am fully cooperating with the investigation and I fully intend to continue to do so moving forward. At this time I offer my deepest sympathy and condolences to the family."Tim Bormann, Ravnsborg's spokesman, told the Rapid City Journal that Ravnsborg was not injured in the crash. He also said Ravnsborg "drinks lightly," and doesn't think he was drinking at the dinner. A spokesperson for the South Dakota Department of Public Safety said details about the car accident, like whether alcohol was a factor and if any charges are pending, are expected to be shared on Monday.More stories from theweek.com Cousins of man killed in accident involving South Dakota's AG share concerns over investigation Court-tapped judge-advocate tears into Barr's 'corrupt and politically motivated' move to drop Flynn case Biden campaign unveils high-powered legal war room
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| Trump Could Use the Huge Number of Mailed and Absentee Votes to His Advantage. Here's Why Democrats Should Consider Voting Early in Person Posted: 15 Sep 2020 08:45 AM PDT  In 2020, it could be millions of mail-in and absentee ballots in every swing state, with signatures and deadlines that can be used for delay past the Electoral College deadlines. In 2000, the Supreme Court decided the election before all the ballots were counted. In 2020, there could be a different undemocratic twist overriding the voters: If recounts are delayed and the Electoral College does not produce a certified majority by early January, the 12th Amendment could allow House Republicans to put Trump back in the White House.
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| Poll: Number of Americans willing to get COVID-19 vaccine falls to new low amid fears Trump is putting politics before safety Posted: 14 Sep 2020 01:37 PM PDT  The latest Yahoo News/YouGov poll reveals that less than a third of Americans (32 percent) say they plan to get vaccinated, a stunning 23-point decline that reflects rising concern about the politicization of the vaccine process.
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| DeVos vows to require standardized tests again: 4 questions answered Posted: 15 Sep 2020 04:49 AM PDT  Education Secretary Betsy DeVos announced on Sept. 3 that the government intended to enforce federal rules that require all states to administer standardized tests at K-12 public schools during the 2020-2021 school year. Nicholas Tampio, a Fordham University political scientist who researches education policy, puts this declaration into context. 1\. What did DeVos say?Since the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, U.S. public school students have had to take federally mandated standardized tests every year. Students got a break in the spring of 2020 when DeVos announced that states could apply for waivers due to the pandemic. "Neither students nor teachers," she explained, "need to be focused on high-stakes tests during this difficult time."In September, DeVos reaffirmed her commitment to federally mandated testing. "It is now our expectation," DeVos wrote in a letter to chief state school officers, "that states will, in the interest of students," administer standardized tests at the end of the 2020-2021 school year. 2\. How is testing data used?As a political scientist who researches education policy, I know that money is the main lever for the federal government to influence states and local school districts. For example, the federal government sets conditions that states must accept to secure Title I funding, which supports schools where many children are being raised in poverty. Only about 8% of the roughly US$720 billion that all levels of government spend on public schools comes from federal sources. Yet federal education money is vital because it helps state and local governments boost their budgets for the education of some of the most vulnerable students, including those with special needs.In the spring of 2019, the DeVos team threatened to withhold $340 million in federal education funds from Arizona. Why? Because the state had not complied with the testing requirements of the Every Student Succeeds Act, which replaced No Child Left Behind in 2015. In short, states may face a financial hit if they do not heed DeVos' warning about testing. And if states lose federal funding, they may, in turn, cut their funding for local school districts.In her letter, DeVos called federally mandated tests "among the most reliable tools available to help us understand how children are performing in school." This data provides information to teachers, parents, policymakers and the public about how schools compare to one another. Without this data, in DeVos' view, the American people will not have transparency and accountability in public education. 3\. What challenges might schools and students face?But getting good data during a pandemic may prove challenging. The recent precedent for large numbers of students taking standardized tests online, rather than at school or another appropriate public place, isn't promising.After the College Board administered Advanced Placement tests online in the spring of 2020, students and their families complained when they were not able to upload their exams. What's more, research shows that physical conditions where the testing happens matters. If administrators cannot adjust the thermostat in a public school building, for example, it can skew test outcomes. As a result, I'm concerned that unequal conditions at students' homes could make students who face economic hardship or have other challenges where they live score lower than they should – making their scores a less meaningful way to measure their academic strengths and achievements.In response to questions about whether testing will be feasible during the 2020-2021 school year, DeVos has asked chief state school officers to get more creative. "I am reminded of the old saying: Necessity is the mother of invention," she stated. DeVos also told chief state school officers to follow "the guidance of local health officials." And yet, her letter lacks any specific guidance on how states could administer tests in case students cannot safely take the tests in public school buildings due to COVID-19 surges. 4\. Could a Biden administration waive testing?Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden's official position on education, as spelled out on his campaign's website, doesn't mention high-stakes testing. Nor does his campaign say anything about revising the Every Student Succeeds Act, which Congress must revisit and possibly change through an upcoming reauthorization process after the 2020-21 school year.In her letter to the chief state school officers, DeVos observed that "statewide assessments are at the very core of the bipartisan agreement that forged ESSA." DeVos noted that a bipartisan coalition supports administering tests this year. [Deep knowledge, daily. Sign up for The Conversation's newsletter.]One of Biden's senior education policy advisers is Carmel Martin. A former Obama Education Department staffer, Martin until recently worked for the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank with strong ties to the Democratic Party that DeVos cited in her decision to proceed with federally mandated testing. If Biden becomes president, therefore, I think it's reasonable for schools to assume that his education team will only grant waivers, like the one DeVos issued in March 2020, in "extraordinary circumstances."This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts.Read more: * Few US students ever repeat a grade but that could change due to COVID-19 * Reopening elementary schools carries less COVID-19 risk than high schools – but that doesn't guarantee safetyNicholas Tampio does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
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| Birds are dropping dead in New Mexico, potentially in the 'hundreds of thousands' Posted: 15 Sep 2020 07:37 AM PDT  Scientists are investigating why so many birds are dying and are asking the public for help.
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| Fact check: Claim that Jill Biden will require Americans to learn Spanish began as satire Posted: 15 Sep 2020 07:05 AM PDT  An article from a satirical website became a viral social media claim. The claim is false.
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| Armed gangs ‘protecting property’ in wildfire evacuation zones are confronting people at gunpoint, Oregon police say Posted: 15 Sep 2020 11:01 AM PDT  'The last thing I want to see is something tragically happen because somebody is overreacting'
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| Pelosi: House will stay in session until COVID-19 rescue bill Posted: 15 Sep 2020 11:26 AM PDT  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Tuesday that the House will remain in session until lawmakers deliver another round of COVID-19 relief.
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| Astronomers see possible hints of life in Venus's clouds Posted: 14 Sep 2020 08:01 AM PDT  Astronomers have found a potential sign of life high in the atmosphere of neighboring Venus: hints there may be bizarre microbes living in the sulfuric acid-laden clouds of the hothouse planet. Two telescopes in Hawaii and Chile spotted in the thick Venusian clouds the chemical signature of phosphine, a noxious gas that on Earth is only associated with life, according to a study in Monday's journal Nature Astronomy.
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| Mike Pompeo's wife asked State Department staffers to work the week of Christmas so they could help her write personal holiday cards, report says Posted: 14 Sep 2020 09:26 AM PDT  Staffers on an email chain with Susan Pompeo testified before the House Foreign Affairs Committee in its investigation into the State Department.
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| Ice shelves propping up two major Antarctic glaciers are breaking up Posted: 15 Sep 2020 09:54 AM PDT  Two of Antarctica's most important glaciers are breaking free from their restraints, a new study reports.
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| White House blocks Navarro from testifying to House panel about ventilator deal Posted: 14 Sep 2020 04:15 PM PDT  Michael Purpura, deputy counsel to President Donald Trump, wrote to Krishnamoorthi on Sept. 9 that the White House would not make Navarro available.
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| US West Coast fires: Is Trump right to blame forest management? Posted: 15 Sep 2020 05:19 AM PDT  Is poor management of forests to blame for deadly fires in the United States?
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| Photos of coronavirus attacking lung cells show how ‘intense’ infections can get Posted: 15 Sep 2020 12:23 PM PDT  "These images make a strong case for the use of masks by infected and uninfected individuals."
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| US Space Force confirms Space Based Infrared System detected missile attack in January Posted: 15 Sep 2020 06:43 AM PDT  Chief of Space Operations Gen. John "Jay" Raymond has confirmed suspicions that the Space Based Infrared System was used to detect more than a dozen missiles launched at U.S. and coalition forces in Iraq back in January.
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| Jane Sanders says relationship between Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders is built on 'work' not friendship Posted: 14 Sep 2020 02:39 PM PDT  Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has gone on the record calling former Vice President Joe Biden — the man he is trying to help get elected to the White House after he was defeated by him in the race to become the Democratic presidential nominee earlier this year — a "good friend," but his wife, Jane Sanders doesn't love the characterization, which she describes as a false one, BuzzFeed News reports.As Jane Sanders sees it, she and her husband "don't go out" or "get dinner" with Biden and his wife, Jill Biden. But, ultimately, it might just boil down to semantics. Jane Sanders told BuzzFeed the relationship she and her husband have with the Bidens is "built on work," and even if she has a more specific definition of friendship than the senator, she seems to view that work relationship positively. "There's a mutual respect," she said. "There's a trust and a collegiality."Whatever the best way to describe the Sanders' connection with the Bidens is, it sounds stronger than the one they had with the Hillary and Bill Clinton in 2016, when the former beat Bernie Sanders out for the Democratic nomination. Jane Sanders did not explicitly criticize the Clintons, but she told BuzzFeed that she feels "better about this election than I do about 2016," and even though "it's not personal," she doesn't want to "revisit" four years ago. Read more at BuzzFeed News.More stories from theweek.com Trump says he'll be on Fox & Friends every week — but host Steve Doocy doesn't agree to have him USPS sends Utah residents inaccurate voting information The climate refugees are here. They're Americans.
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| Taiwan says it has Vatican assurances on China accord Posted: 14 Sep 2020 10:51 PM PDT  The Vatican has asked Taiwan not to worry about the extension of a deal between the Vatican and China on the appointment of bishops as it was a religious matter and not a diplomatic one, the island's foreign ministry said on Tuesday. Pope Francis has signed off on a two-year extension of the agreement that critics have condemned as a sell-out to the communist government, a senior Vatican source said on Monday. The Vatican is Chinese-claimed Taiwan's sole European diplomatic ally and the government has watched with concern as the Pope has moved to improve relations with China.
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| Calls for UK ban on all Chinese data firms after leak reveals 40,000 Britons in intelligence files Posted: 14 Sep 2020 09:16 AM PDT  No Chinese company dealing with data should be allowed to operate in the UK, a senior Conservative MP has said, following revelations that a firm has collected intelligence on 40,000 people in Britain. Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the former Tory leader, said all Chinese internet and data companies should be ejected from the UK to protect British citizens' cyber security. "The government should automatically ban any Chinese owned companies that are involved in the internet or the use of data," he told The Telegraph. Sir Iain's comments came after The Telegraph revealed a Chinese technology company, Zhenhua Data, has compiled an intelligence database of British citizens including members of Parliament, royals and convicts. Hundreds of thousands of social media posts, online biographies and newspaper records on British citizens have been collected and are thought to have been supplied to Chinese intelligence agencies. Experts said the leak showed the Chinese state was using ostensibly private companies as listening posts for its secret services. Although Zhenhua does not have an office in the UK, Sir Iain said the database showed that other Chinese data companies with plans to expand should be automatically banned from operating here. Boris Johnson has already committed to expelling equipment from the Chinese telecoms firm Huawei from the UK's networks, while ByteDance, the owner of the social media app TikTok, has abandoned plans to establish an office in the UK amid controversy over its links to the Chinese state. "Straight away, ByteDance should be banned and TikTok should not be allowed to set up their headquarters here," Sir Iain said. "[The Government] needs to look again at how quickly they can get Huawei out of their system. "There is a whole range of things they need to do, which is to say: 'We now recognise that China poses the biggest threat to democracy and human rights than anywhere else.'" The Zhenhua database revealed on Monday by The Telegraph contains information about the families and children of China critics in the UK, including Tom Tugendhat, the chairman of Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee. Mr Tugendhat said he did not support a blanket ban on Chinese data companies, but has "huge concerns" about ByteDance. A report by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute last year said ByteDance was working with security forces to facilitate human rights abuses against Uighur Muslims - a claim the company denies. Mr Tugendhat said TikTok should not be allowed to set up an office in the UK if it continues to be operated by its Chinese parent company. Bob Seely, the MP for the Isle of Wight, said the Zhenhua files showed the Government must do more to understand the threat of data technology used by China. "This is not just an authoritarian state issue, but it is made much worse by the fact that China is doing it, and is effectively globalising its surveillance state," he said. "Whether it's hoovering up information on us or whether it's spying on their own people, I think we're really behind the curve on this." Mr Seely suggested the Government should set up a royal commission or inquiry to analyse data privacy issues. "I think it's breathtakingly naive of us [...] and I just think there are all these 21st century problems our state hasn't got its head around," he said. Dr Alan Mendoza, executive director of the Henry Jackson Society, said: "While the U.K. hands out massive fines to companies that hold private data without good cause, in China it's not so much a commodity, as an instrument of state power. There's no point protecting our privacy at home, only to see it violated in Beijing. "Given grave concerns about the ability of the Chinese state to obtain data held by Chinese companies, it stands to reason that we should be wary of allowing any such companies to operate in the UK."
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| Hundreds turned out for anti-mask protest in Utah, which is being mocked as 'a straight parody' on social media Posted: 15 Sep 2020 11:05 AM PDT  The demonstration gained national attention after a news report from Salt Lake City TV station KTVX-TV was shared on Twitter and TikTok this week.
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| Federal authorities looking into Louisiana State Police after death of Black man in custody Posted: 14 Sep 2020 12:11 PM PDT  Federal authorities are investigating the death of a Black man during what Louisiana State Police described as a struggle to take him into custody following a rural police chase last year, officials told the Associated Press.
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| Column: Think we should scrap the electoral college? Here's why that's a bad idea Posted: 15 Sep 2020 03:00 AM PDT  We are already too partisan and divided. Eliminating the electoral college would magnify the discord.
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| Historic number of storms churning in Atlantic at once as 2020 hurricane season rages Posted: 14 Sep 2020 11:14 AM PDT  The last time this many weather systems roamed the seas at once was in 1971.
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| Three BLM protesters charged following confrontation with Pittsburgh diners Posted: 15 Sep 2020 03:04 PM PDT  Videos of demonstrators shouting at customers previously surfaced online
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| Apple just announced a new iPad Air with a borderless screen and Touch ID Posted: 15 Sep 2020 11:42 AM PDT  The new iPad Air features an edge-to-edge display and will be available in October starting at $599.
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| US drops tax on Canada aluminum, heading off retaliation Posted: 15 Sep 2020 11:53 AM PDT  The Trump administration said Tuesday that it is dropping taxes on Canadian aluminum, easing tensions with a close ally just hours before Canada was prepared to impose retaliatory sanctions. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said the U.S. is ending the 10% tariffs a month after imposing them. Canada was preparing to impose retaliatory tariffs on U.S. products Tuesday.
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| A 26-year-old American woman ignored quarantine instructions to go on a bar crawl in Germany, and caused a COVID-19 outbreak at the hotel she works in, officials say Posted: 15 Sep 2020 05:06 AM PDT  German media says the woman, who works in a Bavaria town, ignored instructions to quarantine until her COVID-19 test results were ready last week.
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| Georgia deputy fired for excessive force after video shows him striking Black man Posted: 13 Sep 2020 06:36 PM PDT  An attorney for Roderick Walker said he was a passenger in a car that had been pulled over for having a broken taillight.
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| Trump accuses Biden of taking performance-enhancing substance Posted: 15 Sep 2020 05:33 PM PDT  President Donald Trump, in his latest shredding of political niceties, suggested Tuesday that his Democratic opponent Joe Biden has taken drugs to improve his performance in debates.
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| Hurricane Sally approaches Gulf Coast, could bring two feet of rain and storm surge Posted: 14 Sep 2020 08:36 AM PDT  Hurricane Sally reached Category 2 strength Monday afternoon and by the evening its outer bands began lashing Florida's Panhandle as it neared the U.S. Gulf coast.
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| 13 photos that show how bad Oregon wildfires and air quality really are Posted: 15 Sep 2020 08:39 AM PDT  In Oregon, more than 1 million acres are burning, and wildfires have wiped out two small towns near the California border.
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| Patagonia says its new 'vote the a--holes out' clothing tag is a call to action on climate change Posted: 15 Sep 2020 11:52 AM PDT  The phrase been used by the outdoor brand's founder, Yvon Chouinard, to refer to politicians "who deny or disregard the climate crisis."
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| Perfectly preserved Ice Age cave bear discovered in Arctic Russia Posted: 14 Sep 2020 12:36 PM PDT  Reindeer herders in a Russian Arctic archipelago have found the immaculately preserved carcass of an Ice Age cave bear, researchers said Monday.
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| Arrest warrant issued for neo-Nazi podcaster in lawsuit Posted: 14 Sep 2020 01:20 PM PDT |
| The US Air Force has built and flown a mysterious full-scale prototype of its future fighter jet Posted: 15 Sep 2020 08:39 AM PDT  Does this give the Next Generation Air Dominance program more momentum, or does it open it up to more scrutiny?
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| Panama governor stopped in car with 79 drug parcels Posted: 15 Sep 2020 04:15 PM PDT  Erick Martelo, one of two people held by police after a tip-off, has since been removed from office.
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| Mass grave of victims ‘killed in violent exorcism’ linked to religious cult in Panama Posted: 15 Sep 2020 04:54 AM PDT  Police had to hike through mountains for 10 hours to reach the grave in remote Panama.
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| 'No bigger trophy': Trump sets his sights on flipping this Democratic stronghold Posted: 15 Sep 2020 01:31 AM PDT  The historically blue area with a tradition of organized labor surprised the country when it swung for Trump in 2016. He will need to expand that margin this year.
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| Hurricane Sally slows to 2 mph. Here’s why that’s very dangerous for the Southeast Posted: 15 Sep 2020 06:50 AM PDT  The rain will fall across multiple states as far east as the Carolinas.
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| Alaska Airlines suspends all flights in and out of Portland, Spokane amid wildfire smoke Posted: 15 Sep 2020 07:43 AM PDT  Alaska Airlines, along with regional carrier Horizon Air, is temporarily suspending all flights to and from Portland, Oregon and Spokane, Washington.
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