Here’s your daily roundup of all the latest local and national news. (Like our coverage? Please consider making a recurring contribution to the Mercury to keep it comin’!)
In local news:
• Some parents at an elementary school in South Portland are worried that tear gas and other dangerous chemicals emitted by federal agents may have contaminated the school. The school is close to the Southwest Portland Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility, the site of frequent protests (and federal officer violence) over the past year.
• In completely thrilling news, movie theaters in Oregon’s “extreme risk” counties can reopen today! Only six customers are allowed in a theater at a time, and of course moviegoers have to mask up—sounds like a wonderful cinematic experience.
• And here’s another sad local business casualty of the pandemic: Base Camp Brewing in Southeast Portland is closing up for good.
In national news:
• Dr. Anthony Fauci today welcomed some “encouraging” COVID-19 vaccine news: A new vaccine from Johnson & Johnson is effective at preventing COVID-19 cases that lead to hospitalization. But he also sounded the alarm that new, more contagious coronavirus strains are becoming more pervasive in the US.
• Meanwhile, medical experts are advising that it might be a good idea to start double-masking, especially if you use a cloth mask rather than an N95 respirator. Here’s a guide on when and how to double-mask.
• More and more bizarre comments are resurfacing from Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Q-anon-believing US congressperson who would very much like to speak with your manager. In today’s uncovered video clip from 2019, Greene suggested that now-late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had been replaced with a body double. (To be fair, I have a body double, but I only use it to write Good Afternoon, News while also catching up on my daytime TV!)
• This is great news—now just build a time machine and set this goal 20 years ago:
BREAKING: General Motors plans to exclusively offer electric vehicles by 2035 as part of a larger plan for the automaker to be carbon neutral by 2040 in its global products and operations.https://t.co/fIFHXRDftm
— CNBC Now (@CNBCnow) January 28, 2021
• Russia has seen reinvigorated protests against the Putin regime in the last couple weeks. If you aren’t caught up on imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny and his tumultuous political saga, here’s a good explainer.
• In LA County, the COVID-19 death toll among Latinx people has increased by 1000 percent since November.
• As of this afternoon, President Joe Biden has signed a whopping 42 executive orders. Here’s a list explaining all of them.
And just for fun:
• What’s that, you don’t have weekend plans? Well, now you do: Light up a joint and watch some horse-girding videos.
• And finally: Rest in power, Cicely Tyson.
Legendary actress @IamCicelyTyson has died at age 96.
In one of her final interviews, she opened up to @GayleKing about her impressive career and personal life. pic.twitter.com/qd6bzlkEqF
— CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) January 29, 2021
