An immigrant from Iraq has pleaded guilty in federal court in Portland, Oregon, to conspiring to provide material support to the Islamic State group by producing and distributing propaganda and recruiting materials online. Hawazen Sameer Mothafar, who is 33, faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine when he's scheduled to be sentenced on January 11. The case underscores the Islamic State group’s focus on maintaining an online presence, or “digital caliphate,” after the group lost most of its self-declared caliphate in territory it seized in Iraq and Syria by late 2017.
A federal judge has rejected a request to block a new Washington state law banning the sale of certain semi-automatic rifles. U.S. District Judge Robert Bryan ruled Tuesday that given the “exceptional dangerousness of these weapons,” the state’s interest in regulating them trumps the challengers’ desire to purchase more assault weapons. The law was signed by Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee in April and took immediate effect. It prohibits the sale and manufacture of more than 50 types of guns, including AR- and AK-style rifles. The measure does not bar the possession of such weapons by people who already have them. Two gun-rights advocacy groups challenged the law, arguing it violates their constitutional right to bear arms.
SEATTLE (AP) For the first time in their history as Major League Soccer rivals, the Seattle Sounders and Portland Timbers played to a 0-0 draw on Saturday in a match where scoring chances were limited and neither goalkeeper was tested.
NEW YORK (AP) Stony Brook University, a part of the public State University of New York system, will receive $500 million from a philanthropic foundation started by a hedge fund billionaire who once taught math there, the foundation announced Thursday.
SALEM, Ore. (AP) The longest-ever walkout in the Oregon Legislature completed its fourth week on Wednesday as the enforceability of a ballot measure that would disqualify the boycotters from immediate reelection appeared in doubt.