In brief: Tribes join protest of Stossel comments

The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation on Friday issued a letter of protest to Fox News due to statements commentator John Stossel made about Native Americans.

Stossel claimed on a recent segment of “Fox and Friends” that no group has benefited more from the generosity of the federal government than American Indians.

“Please make note of this basic truth: the federal government has never given Indians anything,” tribal Chairman Michael Finley wrote in a letter to Fox News President Roger Ailes. “Its paltry payments for vast and rich millions of acres of land ‘purchased’ through treaties … make Stossel’s remarks not just careless or wrong, but cruel.”

The Coeur d’Alene Tribe also recently protested Stossel’s remarks in a letter to Ailes.

Finley recommended Stossel be re-educated in an American Indian history class at a reputable university, then sent to live on a reservation for a month.

California driver dies in one-car crash, roll

A California man was killed around 2:15 a.m. Friday while traveling “at a high rate of speed” on state Highway 41 in Oldtown, Idaho.

Dwayne Madden, 39, of Whittier, Calif., drove off the west shoulder of Highway 41 near the southern city limits of Oldtown and hit several signs and trees, the Idaho State Patrol said. His 2005 Cadillac overturned several times before landing on its top in a residential yard.

Whittier was wearing a seat belt.

The crash was under investigation.

Slide closes portion of Ben Burr Trail

A small rockslide on the Ben Burr Trail has led the city of Spokane to close a portion of the trail indefinitely.

The trail between the new trailhead at West Liberty Park and the Liberty Aquatic Center entrance off Pittsburg Street will be restricted.

The city wants an engineer to look at the stability of the remaining retaining wall while park operations staff look for permanent solutions to prevent further slides.