Hate crime charges at OSU — An Oregon State University student faces felony charges after police say he stuck racist bumper stickers on cars that belonged to members of a group called Showing Up for Racial Justice. Andrew Oswalt, 27, was indicted this week on two counts of felony intimidation and two counts of misdemeanor criminal mischief. Chief Deputy District Attorney Ryan Joslin called the act a hate crime “inspired by ignorance and fueled by racism.” Oswalt initially told a judge at Wednesday’s court appearance he did not want to apply for a court-appointed attorney. He later changed his mind. Oswalt said police are involved in an “extremely politicized attempt at character assassination.” He is pursuing a doctorate in chemistry and is a member of the university’s student government.

Washed-up blue whale — A group of researchers at Oregon State University are hoping to raise a 78-foot blue whale carcass that washed ashore near Gold Beach. The whale washed ashore in November 2015 and has been submerged in Yaquina Bay, allowing scavengers to clean the bones. Researchers with OSU’s Marine Mammal Institute hope to bring the skeleton to the surface and treat it with chemicals to get oil out of the bones and keep it from becoming rancid. They hope to display it for the public as an educational exhibit at the new Marine Studies Building that the university will open in late 2019 on the Hatfield Marine Science Center campus in Newport. The project will cost $125,000.

Soldier killed at training camp — Authorities say a soldier died in an accidental shooting at a training facility near the Oregon Coast. The Clatsop County Sheriff’s Office says members of a U.S. Army unit reported the shot was fired Wednesday night in the housing area at Camp Rilea, the primary training facility for the Oregon National Guard, in Warrenton. The soldier died in the emergency room at Columbia Memorial Hospital in Astoria. The soldier’s name has not been released.

Offshore drilling concerns — Attorneys general for Oregon and almost a dozen other coastal states want the U.S. Interior Department to cancel the Trump administration’s plan to expand offshore drilling, warning it threatens their maritime economies and natural resources. The officials, all Democrats, wrote Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke on Thursday about his agency’s proposed five-year oil and gas leasing plan that opens new ocean waters. North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein says he assembled the coalition; his state’s coastal tourism industry alone generates $3 billion and 30,000 jobs. The letter also was signed by attorneys general of California, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, Oregon, Rhode Island and Virginia. Stein also told federal regulators this week that proposed changes to drilling safety requirements will increase exploration risks.