SALEM – Oregon resident taxpayers preparing their respective tax returns in 2025 will have the option to electronically file their federal and state income tax returns using the combination of IRS Direct File and Direct File Oregon, the IRS and the Oregon Department of Revenue (ODR) announced Oct. 3. “The Direct File Program is a game-changer for taxpayers,” Gov. Tina…
Category: National News
Idaho state senator tells Native American candidate ‘go back where you came from’ in forum
KENDRICK, Idaho (AP) — Tensions rose during a Sept. 30 bipartisan forum after an audience question about discrimination reportedly led an Idaho state senator to angrily tell a Native American candidate to “go back where you came from.” Republican Sen. Dan Foreman left the event early after the outburst and later denied making any racist comments in a Facebook post.…
Wildlife trafficking ring killed at least 118 eagles, prosecutors say
By MATTHEW BROWN, Associated Press BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A man helped kill at least 118 eagles to sell their feathers and body parts on the black market as part of a long-running wildlife trafficking ring in the western U.S. that authorities allege killed thousands of birds, court filings show. Travis John Branson is scheduled to be sentenced in federal…
Senators demand the USDA fix its backlog of food distribution to Native American tribes
By GRAHAM LEE BREWER, Associated Press A bipartisan group of senators is demanding immediate action from USDA Secretary Thomas Vilsack after several tribal nations reported that a federal food distribution program they rely on has not fulfilled orders for months, and in some cases has delivered expired food. Last spring, the USDA consolidated from two contractors to one for deliveries…
Judge blocks Arizona lithium drilling that tribe says is threat to sacred lands
By SCOTT SONNER, Associated Press A federal judge has temporarily blocked exploratory drilling for a lithium project in Arizona that tribal leaders say will harm land they have used for religious and cultural ceremonies for centuries. Lawyers for the national environmental group Earthjustice and Colorado-based Western Mining Action Project are suing federal land managers on behalf of the Hualapai Tribe.…
A win for the Harris-Walz ticket would also mean the country’s first Native American female governor
By GRAHAM LEE BREWER, Associated Press ST. PAUL, Minn. – If Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, are elected this fall, not only would a woman of color lead the country for the first time, but a Native woman would govern a state for the first time in U.S. history too. Peggy Flanagan, the…
Federal action on U.S. boarding schools inches forward
Legislation is moving through Congress to create a Truth and Healing Commission. Meanwhile, Catholic bishops issued an apology for boarding schools run by the church. By MARY ANNETTE PEMBER, ICT The U.S. is beginning to face its Indian boarding school history. Both the U.S. Congress and the Catholic Church took visible steps forward last week in officially taking action on…