Oregon utilities shut power amid high dry winds, fire danger

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Oregon utilities began shutting down power to thousands of customers on Friday as dry easterly winds swept into the region, raising the risk of wildfire danger. Portland General Electric halted power in the Columbia River Gorge and around Mount Hood and a second power company was poised to do the same Friday.

More than 40,000 customers will likely lose power in planned shutoffs as winds of up to 60 mph hit some areas. Authorities urged residents to charge cellphones and be ready to evacuate. Power shut-offs due to extreme fire weather, common in California, are new to the Pacific Northwest.

Judge tosses Trump’s Russia probe suit against Clinton, FBI

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge in Florida has dismissed Donald Trump’s lawsuit against 2016 Democratic rival Hillary Clinton and former top FBI officials, rejecting the former president’s claims that they and others acted in concert to concoct the Russia investigation that shadowed much of his administration.

U.S. District Judge Donald Middlebrooks said in a sharply worded ruling on Thursday that Trump’s lawsuit, filed in March, contained “glaring structural deficiencies” and that many of the “characterizations of events are implausible.” A lawyer for Trump said he would appeal the dismissal.

Computer experts urge Georgia to replace voting machines

ATLANTA (AP) — A group of computer and election security experts is urging Georgia officials to take extra security steps ahead of November’s midterm elections. They responded to what they call “serious threats” posed by an apparent breach of voting equipment in Coffee County. Their letter was sent Thursday to members of the State Election Board and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.

It urges them to immediately stop using the state’s touchscreen voting machines made by Dominion Voting Systems and to instead have voters use hand-marked paper ballots. And it suggests mandating a risk-limiting statewide post-election audit on the outcome of all the races on the ballot.

Gov. Kristi Noem tried to avoid ethics hearing, seal records

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem asked a state ethics board to dismiss a complaint against her without a public hearing and to seal off certain records. The Republican governor’s arguments in an April filing were made public Friday as the state’s Government Accountability Board released records in a complaint against her.

The ethics complaint was sparked by a report from the Associated Press last year that Noem had taken a hands-on role in a state agency shortly after it had moved to deny her daughter a real estate appraiser license. The three retired judges who evaluated the ethics complaint unanimously found last month that there was enough evidence for them to believe that Noem “engaged in misconduct” by committing malfeasance and a conflict of interest.

Federal judge blocks Arizona law limiting filming of police

PHOENIX (AP) — A federal judge in Phoenix has blocked enforcement of a new Arizona law restricting the filming of police. U.S. District Judge John Tuchi agreed with the American Civil Liberties Union and multiple media organizations that the law appeared to violate the First Amendment.

He issued a preliminary injunction Friday. The law was slated to take effect Sept. 24. Republican Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich and the prosecutor and sheriff’s office in Maricopa County told the judge they would not defend the law. The judge gave the Legislature a week to decide if it will do so. Bystander cellphone videos are largely credited with revealing police misconduct and reshaping the conversation around police transparency.

Trump team, Justice Dept. to make new Mar-a-Lago filing

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department and Donald Trump’s legal team are to stake out positions on the role to be played by an independent arbiter tasked with reviewing documents seized during an FBI search of the former president’s Florida home.