Oregon ballot fiasco highlights 'invisible' election chiefs
Voters in an Oregon county where a ballot-printing error delayed primary results for nearly two weeks have elected the same county clerk five times in the past 20 years despite missteps that impacted two previous elections and cost taxpayers $100,000.
Timeline of Oregon county's ballot tally remains uncertain
Three weeks after Oregonโs third-largest county learned that a majority of their ballots had blurry barcodes and unreadable by vote-counting machines, state officials have yet to receive a written plan and detailed ballot count timeline from the county as frustrations continue to grow and the results of a key U.S. House race hangs in the balance.
'Evacuate now:' Wildfires grow in Oregon as 500K flee
This photo taken by Talent, Ore., resident Kevin Jantzer shows the destruction of his hometown as wildfires ravaged the central Oregon town near Medford late Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2020. Fearing for his life, he drove his car to the entrance of a nearby mobile home park, where his tires began melting. Oregon officials havenโt released an exact death count for the wildfires but at least four fatalities have been reported in the state. Oregon officials were shocked by the number of simultaneous fires, which stood at 37 Thursday, according to the state Office of Emergency Management. AP freelance photographer Paula Bronstein also contributed to this report from Talent and Phoenix, Oregon.
'Unprecedented' Pacific Northwest fires approach Portland
The fires trapped firefighters and civilians behind fire lines in Oregon and leveled an entire small town in eastern Washington. About 80% of the small eastern Washington farming town of Malden was leveled by flames from a fast-moving fire on Monday. He blamed hot weather, high winds and low humidity for the explosive growth of the fires in Washington state. In Oregon, at least four major fires were burning in Clackamas County, a suburban county in Oregon that's a bedroom community of Portland. Near Eugene, Oregon, dozens of people ordered to evacuate on Tuesday couldn't get out because fire debris was blocking roads, according to the Oregon State Fire Marshal.
Emerickโs personnel records from Oregon reveal clashes with another health executive
Swift remains the countyโs HHS director and it appears he assumed Emerickโs former role for a time, as he is also listed on the countyโs website as its interim public health director. The Defenders found a media release from last month naming a new public health director for the county, however. When Bridger requested something from Emerick, Emerick would either say โit was a dumb request or that she couldnโt do everythingโ asked of her. โMultiple employees expressed concern about Dawn being rude, condescending and demeaning of (epidemiological) staff on calls with multiple people,โ Bridger wrote. โThere is also a glaring deficit in her ability to understand and explain epidemiology and public health science,โ Bridger wrote.
The Latest: Nevada officials seek removal of McCarran statue
A pedestrian passes a colorful painted tribute to George Floyd on a boarded-up business, Thursday, June 18, 2020 in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)TOP OF THE HOUR:โ Nevada officials renew proposal to remove statue of McCarran. The organization said the letter was inspired by the recent protests against police brutality and systemic racism. St. Louis and its surrounding suburbs have been the site of dozens of marches in the nearly four weeks since the death of George Floyd in Minnesota. A small African American boy, marching with his mom, held a sign that read, โAm I next?โ___More news about the death of George Floyd at https://apnews.com/GeorgeFloyd