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GOOD MORNING, PORTLAND! After a brief, weekend-long cloudy respite, the sun returns today and for most of the week, with highs in the low 80s. And it would be remiss not to add that this is the FINAL WEEK for the Mercury’s Summer of Slushies, featuring $10 creative, frozen cocktails blended up by the best barkeeps in town. Get yours all the way through Friday, and now? Get you some of this NEWS!
IN LOCAL NEWS:
• In case ya missed it, Portland city councilors passed a supplemental budget last Wednesday that will save 30 jobs and preserve public safety services that were slated to be cut in the mayor’s 2026-27 budget. It was one of two competing budget ordinances under consideration (progressives vs. the centrists, with the center winning this time around). It was particularly notable because the mayor was called in to cast his first tie-breaking vote, which resulted in Wilson being called the centrists’ “daddy” by one councilor, which in turn led to other snarky jabs. However, the verbal slapfight revealed a deeper subtext surrounding the mayor’s role at City Hall, which our Courtney Vaughn explains in her excellent recap of the contentious vote.
• Thousands are being evacuated across central Oregon as more than 34 wildfires are currently sweeping the area, and the strain is starting to show on the state’s firefighters. Just west of Madras, Oregon, the Bench fire has spread to more than 6,200 acres and, as of Saturday evening, was zero percent contained, leading to a “go now” evacuation of Warm Springs and other parts of Jefferson County. Due to the number of out-of-control fires in the state, the Oregon Department of Forestry is having to prioritize where they can send their limited number of firefighters. Authorities say that, due to the winter’s low snow pack, this is one of the most aggressive fire seasons in years.
• A horrifying (if not completely surprising) story: A driver in Clackamas County was pulled over by three men claiming to be ICE agents (they weren’t), who detained the person and then assaulted them. One was carrying a rifle and instructed the driver to get in the back of their vehicle, where another man repeatedly insisted he and his cohorts were “the guard” and assaulted the driver before telling them they could leave. The person then drove to the hospital where they were treated for unspecified injuries. Authorities confirmed that the men were not ICE agents and are looking for the perpetrators. It’s been reported that actual, targeted ICE activity has been on the upswing in rural Oregon areas at workplaces and on commutes in areas such as The Dalles and Port of Astoria.
• Three people have been killed and four others injured by at least one shooter at the Bite of Seattle food festival near the Space Needle on Sunday evening, causing a panic in the crowd of thousands. According to Seattle Police Department Deputy Chief Andre Sayles, one suspect is in custody, and he believes that the incident started with two men firing at each other. The other suspect is still being hunted by police. Two men died at the scene while another perished at the hospital. Four others were wounded, including a two-year-old toddler. The investigation is continuing.
IN NATIONAL AND WORLD NEWS:
• Oregon isn’t the only place with deadly wildfires—a whopping 250,000 people have been forced to evacuate in France as fires continue to sweep through the southern part of the country, and has so far burned more than 100,000 acres. Meanwhile, wildfires in Spain—which have destroyed over 300,000 acres this year—are starting to get under control, and have been caused by repeated intense heatwaves in the country.
• The U.S. and Iran are currently taking a brief pause from their 13-day exchange of air strikes to “make space” for diplomacy. [Insert eye-roll emoji here.] After threatening last Thursday to launch a “massive attack” on Iran to shake loose their hold on the Strait of Hormuz, Trump has reportedly been convinced by insiders to chill the fuck out, which in turn has allowed fuel prices to temporarily drop and the stock market to rebound. (Funny how stuff like that works, huh?)
• Meanwhile, even Trump’s most loyal minions in the Senate are increasingly losing faith in former Fox News host and current Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who they think is bungling the president’s war against Iran. (They ain’t wrong.) Members of the GOP are extremely concerned that the administration failed to anticipate how long the closure of the Strait of Hormuz would last, or how the conflict is continuing to expand into the Red Sea. “I don’t have any confidence in him anymore. I think he’s all over the place,” said Republican Sen. Thom Tillis, who hilariously added, “I think he’s got a massive insecurity complex, he has a lack of experience in large organizations, he micromanages too much. He’s lost my confidence.” However, there are those Republicans who think Trump should step up his attacks on the country, such as warhawk Texas Sen. John Cornyn, who thinks an all-out military assault could end the crisis once and for all. “If anybody can do it, the United States can,” Cornyn said, which sounds like an example of “famous last words,” if I’ve ever heard them.
• Today in “hardy har-har”: The world’s worst boss, Elon Musk, has regrettably lost his “trillionaire” status after his primary businesses, SpaceX and Tesla, have taken a stock market nose dive this month. After a massive jump in valuation in June, Musk’s SpaceX stock price has been practically cut in half in July (OUCH!), while Tesla has lost 18 percent of its value in the last week alone. (DOUBLE OUCH!) What’s more, investors are growing increasingly suspicious of Musk’s ability to successfually run the companies, and are rightly demanding results. Too bad, so sad… you hate to see it. Hee-hee-hee.
• And finally… I just got back from a week’s vacation at the beach, and I’m ready to take on Monday like—THIS.
