Strong earthquake hits off Oregon coast

Strong earthquake
hits off Oregon coast

PORTLAND, Ore. — A magnitude-6.4 earthquake was recorded 150 miles off the Oregon coast Wednesday, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.

The quake struck at 5:37 p.m., the U.S. Geological Survey said. A tsunami is not expected, according to the West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center.

Police dispatchers in several coastal communities said they had yet to receive any calls from people who felt the quake. The U.S. Coast Guard also reported no quake-related problems.

Supreme Court likely
to uphold voter ID law

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court appeared ready Wednesday to uphold the nation’s strictest requirement that voters show photo identification before casting a ballot.

The justices are faced with a partisan dispute that echoes the bitterly divided decision that sealed the 2000 presidential election for George W. Bush. Now, as then, the court seemed divided along ideological lines.

Wednesday’s arguments were over a challenge to an Indiana law, passed in 2005, that is backed by Republicans as a prudent way to deter voter fraud. Democrats and civil rights groups oppose the law as unconstitutional and call it a thinly veiled effort to discourage elderly, poor and minority voters — those most likely to lack proper ID and who tend to vote for Democrats.

But Justice Anthony Kennedy, often a key vote on the court, did not sound persuaded that the challengers had made their case.

“You want us to invalidate a statute on the ground that it’s a minor inconvenience to a small percentage of voters?” Kennedy said near the end of the lively session. Kennedy did, however, voice concern over some aspects of obtaining an ID, including the difficulty the poor have in getting the birth certificates that are needed to get photo ID.

Idaho man cuts off,
microwaves his hand

HAYDEN, Idaho — A man who believed he bore the “mark of the beast” used a circular saw to cut off one hand, then he cooked it in the microwave and called 911, authorities said.

The man, in his mid-20s, was calm when Kootenai County sheriff’s deputies arrived Saturday in this northern Idaho town. He was in protective custody in the mental health unit of Kootenai Medical Center.

“It had been somewhat cooked by the time the deputy arrived,” sheriff’s Capt. Ben Wolfinger said. “He put a tourniquet on his arm before, so he didn’t bleed to death. That kind of mental illness is just sad.”

It was not immediately clear whether the man has a history of mental illness. Hospital spokeswoman Lisa Johnson would not say whether an attempt was made to reattach the hand, citing patient confidentiality.

Associated Press