Egypt is simmering in conflict, amid discontent with a lack of reform after the 2011 ouster of then-President Hosni Mubarak. One cleric warns the weekend could bring “civil war.”

Not sure what the total death toll from the clashes is, but an American student is among those killed.

President Obama won’t meet with an ailing Nelson Mandela, after all, instead spending time with members of the civil rights icon’s family.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai says he’s still willing to negotiate peace terms with the Taliban, despite an attack on his palace earlier in the week. “Peanuts,” he called the incursion of four gunmen and an exploding truck into an area near his home.

The Associated Press reports the nation’s finally cool with pot. Sorry all you folks had to go to prison.

Dear god no. “Portland woman makes handmade bow ties for cats out of recycled materials.”

A So-Cal woman who cut off her then-husband’s penis and threw it in the garbage disposal in 2011 gets life in prison. Which means parole in seven years.

For a little perspective on Portland’s problems with homelessness, look down the coast to LA. A recent count found the Portland area has 1,895 people living without shelter, and an additional 2,500 or so people sleeping in shelters or transitional housing. LA’s latest homeless estimate? 58,000.

I’m damned if summer’s not finally upon us. I know I said this is what I wanted, but it’s hot, you guys. The Weather Widget doesn’t half-step.

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I did a Youtube search for “summer dance,” thinking I might find something quaint and evocative of the excitement the season engenders. Instead I just got depressed about our priorities as a society. But this Lithuanian guy was okay.

I'm a news reporter for the Mercury. I've spent a lot of the last decade in journalism — covering tragedy and chicanery in the hills of southwest Missouri, politics in Washington, D.C., and other matters...

5 replies on “Good Morning, News!”

  1. So Los Angeles has 58,000 homeless among about 3,857,000 people and Portland has about 4,300 among 603,000 people. It helps to look at population size to “put things into perspective.”

  2. It’s a good point, Devin. To take it a step further—using your figures—if Portland were the size of LA, with the same ratio of homeless people, we’d have about half of LA’s homeless.

  3. I think the average weather has a lot to do with it. Seems like it would be easier to be homeless in LA than here, what with the wet weather and lower average temps.

  4. @ Devin:

    Yeah, i’ve eaten crow before, too. Don’t worry — it’s not so bad after the first few bites. Eat up, man. It’s a little gamy, yes, but it has plenty of protein and humility, both of which are good for producing a nice, efficient bowel movement for the next day.

    (Pro tip: I find it most palatable when it’s soaked in BBQ sauce; and served with a side of fried okra and red beans; and a double shot of 12-year-old, served neat; and then two slices of humble pie for dessert.)

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