FIVE GRUELING SETS
N.Y. FIREFIGHTER DIES
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MONDAY, JULY 7, 2014
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Firefighters help spark holiday fun on Fourth The Coos Bay Fire Department pulls double duty to make sure there is plenty of family fun ■
BY TIM NOVOTNY The World
By Alysha Beck, The World
Sen. Ron Wyden answers questions from the public at a town hall meeting in the Egyptian Theatre in Coos Bay on Saturday afternoon.
Jordan Cove anxiety courses through Ron Wyden town hall BY CHELSEA DAVIS The World
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — A top Obama administration official says no one, not even children trying to escape violent countries, can illegally enter the United States without eventually facing deportation proceedings. But Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson basically acknowledged Sunday that such proceedings might be long delayed, and he said that coping with floods of unaccompanied minors crossing the border is a legal and humanitarian dilemma for the United States. “Our border is not open to illegal
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Supreme Court to consider nonprofits’ contraceptives BY MARK SHERMAN AND RACHEL ZOLL WASHINGTON — How much distance from an immoral act is enough? That’s the difficult question behind the next legal dispute over religion, birth control and the health law that is likely to be resolved by the Supreme Court. The issue in more than four dozen lawsuits from faith-affiliated charities, colleges and hospitals that oppose some or all contraception as immoral is how far the Obama administration must go to accommodate them. The justices on June 30 relieved businesses with religious objections of their obligation to pay for women’s contraceptives among a range of preventive services the new law calls for in their health plans. Religious-oriented nonprofit groups already could opt out of covering the contraceptives. But the organizations say the accommodation provided by the
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administration does not go far enough because, though they are not on the hook financially, they remain complicit in the provision of government-approved contraceptives to women covered by their plans. “Anything that forces unwilling religious believers to be part of the system is not going to pass the test,” said Mark Rienzi, senior counsel for the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which represents many of the faith-affiliated nonprofits. Hobby Lobby Inc., winner of its Supreme Court case last month, also is a Becket Fund client. The high court will be asked to take on the issue in its term that begins in October. A challenge from the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, probably will be the first case to reach the court. The Obama administration argues that the accommodation creates a generous moral and financial buffer between religious objectors and funding birth conSEE SUPREME | A8
Some U.S.-bound air travelers must turn on phones BY WILL LESTER The Associated Press WASHINGTON — Passengers at some overseas airports that offer U.S.bound flights will soon be required to power on their electronic devices in order to board their flights. The measure is intended to enhance aviation security at a time of increased threats. The Transportation Security Administration says it is adding the requirement that passengers coming to the U.S. from some airports must turn on devices such as cellphones before boarding. It says devices that won’t power up won’t be allowed on planes and those travelers may have to undergo additional screening. “As the traveling public knows, all electronic devices are screened by security officers,” the TSA said in the Sunday release announcing the new steps. American intelligence
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STATE
BY CHARLES BABINGTON
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COOS BAY — Ron Wyden didn’t have concrete answers for Coos Bay residents dreading the looming Jordan Cove Energy Project decision. The audience was smaller — and tamer — than the Democratic U.S. senator’s tense town hall last fall, but the focus of Saturday’s town hall at the Egyptian Theatre was the same: Jordan Cove. “I’m leaving with a sense that the South Coast is really anxious,” Wyden told The World afterward. The liquefied natural gas export terminal’s regulatory process doesn’t really begin, he said, until the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s environmental impact statement is released. The draft EIS is expected any day. “This community is going to have a chance to be part of a real debate,” he said at the end of the town hall. “My goal is to make sure when we’ve had that debate, that even those who don’t agree with the judgment will be
The Associated Press
Child migrant crisis has legal, political hurdles
process was butchered from the start. One resident was concerned that Jordan I want it understood that I Cove was deemed a done deal before an am going to insist that the objective evaluation ever took place, though Wyden reassured him the regulatory process community be given answers is being followed by the book. You can’t guarantee that, said Jody to all legitimate questions. McCaffree, a leader in the local anti-LNG Sen. Ron Wyden movement. “You want the process to be done fair, but D-Oregon it’s not being done fair,” she said, referring to Jordan Cove-backed economic and environmental impact studies that FERC is relying on. “They give them what they want to hear. able to say they were treated fairly. “I want it understood that I am going to There’s got to be another process to get the insist that the community be given answers real facts out, not just what the industry wants people to hear.” to all legitimate questions.” Jordan Cove officials have pledged to work Boost Southwest Oregon co-chair Mark Wall agreed that all questions need to be with local unions to employ as many local “answered by people a lot smarter than us in workers as possible on the project’s conthis room.” struction. “I have confidence in the regulatory “Not everyone that’s a construction workprocess that these issues will be vetted out er or in the unions is for this project,” said a and the project will move forward,” he said. North Bend electrician. Not everyone shares his certainty. The anti-LNG crowd said the regulatory SEE WYDEN | A8
This woman is one of more than 3,000 whose remains were never claimed from Oregon State Hospital in Salem. Page A5
FORECAST
COOS BAY — A number of groups make up the annual Family Fun Day at Mingus Park each Fourth of July, but few put in as many hours as the Coos Bay Fire Department. Their leader says they wouldn’t have it any other way. Coos Bay Fire Chief Mark Anderson was among those manning the fishing poles to help the kids land a fish during their annual derby. This was the 25th year that the city of Coos Bay hosted a day of family-oriented activities for Independence Day, which began Friday with the More online: M a y o r ’ s The World’s Tim Firecracker Run. Novotny filmed There are always some of the holicrafts, food, day festivities. See the video at entertainment theworldlink.com. and activities to keep the kids happy, but the fishing derby, cosponsored by the O r e g o n Department of Fish and Wildlife, is a particular fan favorite. It is also one the Fire Department looks forward to, especially when it’s coupled with the annual fireworks display that they handle later in the evening. Although, Anderson admits, it does make for a lengthy day. “We start about four o’clock in the morning, (as we) have to collect the fish from the Elk River Fish Hatchery, and get setup,” Anderson said. Later, as the event at Mingus Park winds down around 3 p.m., the firefighters start to focus on the fireworks. They head out to the Eastside district and start clearing an area for the various launch tubes to be dug into the ground. They are also on the front lines when the fireworks start flying around 10 p.m., making sure the display goes off without a hitch. “It does make for a long day, but it’s so much fun seeing these kids catch fish, and we just know people are enjoying the fireworks,” Anderson said. Other events that kept families busy this year at Mingus Park included face painting, free flags, the Furry Friends Therapy Dogs, Coos Bay Elks, Tender Spirit Ranch, Happy Feet Professional Pedicures, the Coos Forest Protective Association, Polka Dot Ice Cream, and there was even some free swimming at the Mingus Park pool.
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officials have been concerned about new al-Qaida efforts to produce a bomb that would go undetected through airport security. There is no indication that such a bomb has been created or that there’s a specific threat to the U.S. Homeland Security Johnson Jeh Secretary recently ordered the TSA to call for extra security measures at some international airports with direct flights to the United States. TSA does not conduct screening abroad, but has the ability to set screening criteria and processes for flights flying to the U.S. from abroad, according to a Homeland Security Department official, who was not allowed to discuss the changes publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. During an interview aired Sunday on NBC’s “Meet The Press,” Johnson declined to SEE PHONES | A8