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Good morning, Portland! By now, itâs likely youâve run out of leftover turkey sandwiches to brace you against the rainy cold of the week ahead. Might I suggest an alternative source of warmth: the Portland Mercuryâs HOLIDAY DRINK WEEK! From November 28 to December 4, our friends at some of the best bars in town are featuring specially crafted, original holiday themed cocktails for only $7 each! Don't forget to tip your bartender. Now, for the news:
- Portland Thorns captain and Canadian National Womenâs Team player Christine Sinclair has published a bookâgiving OPBâs Geoff Norcross an opportunity to ask her a few questions on air. Hereâs what âfamously privateâ Sinclair has to say about the reported abuse within Thorns and US Soccer management: âI think itâs important for young girls to know that this isnât a Portland Thorns problem. This isnât an NWSL problem. Itâs not a womenâs soccer problem. Itâs a cultural problem. This is how women are treated around the world. We had brave women come out and step forward and bring this to light. I know here in Portland, positive changes have been made, but thereâs still more to be done.âÂ
- The Oregonian took a look at how the âsecond lookâ bill passed by the Oregon Legislature last year has allowed district attorneys to successfully petition judges to reconsider charges for convicted individuals. The article chooses to highlight a few particularly grim cases, but leaves readers with a clear understanding of how the policy can truly help rehabilitate people convicted of a crime.Â
- Oregon Senate lawmakers meet today to decide whether to rescind a current policy restricting a senator with a history of calling for violence when he doesnât get his way from accessing the Capitol building. The senator, Independent Dallas lawmaker Brain Boquist, specifically directed authorities to âsend bachelors and come heavily armedâ in 2019, when Gov. Kate Brown suggested she would call on state troopers to force Republicans to return to the Capitol if they walked out. Since then, Boquist has been required to give 12 hoursâ notice before reporting to the state Capitol for work. That rule make be rescinded at todayâs meeting.
- If you have a slow Tuesday night and want to hear some political nerds wax about Oregon election resultsâŠI may have the event for you:
Election DeBrief, Whatâs Next â November 29 7 p.m.
â LWV of Portland (@LWVPortland) November 25, 2022
Anna Griffin, VP, news, OPB
John Horvick, Sr VP, DHM Research
Dr. Dan Qi, Visiting Asst Prof, Political Science, Reed
Alex Zielinski, News Editor, Portland Mercury
Register here: https://t.co/jbN36T6sMj
- Georgia is again seeing record voter turnout in early voting for its US Senate runoff race between incumbent Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and ex-football Republican guy Herschel Walker. Polls show the two candidates are still neck-and-neck in the runoff race, which takes place on December 6.Â
- In the darkest timeline, a federal court has denied a 19-year-oldâs request to witness her fatherâs execution on Tuesday by the state of Missouri. Thatâs because Missouri law prohibits people younger than 21 from witnessing executions. Kevin Johnson was arrested for murdering a police officer when his daughter, Corionsa Ramey, was only two years old. Ramey challenged the stateâs law, with the help of the ACLU, to no avail. âIâm heartbroken that I wonât be able to be with my dad in his last moments,â said Ramey.
- Mauna Loa, the worldâs largest active volcanoâessentially the reason Hawaiiâs big island existsâhas begun to erupt. The timing significant:
Mauna Loa is erupting on LÄ KĆ«Ê»okoÊ»a, Hawaiian Independence Day. Settler society sees her as a destructive threat for containment. This is true too for Hawaiian sovereignty. But we are irrepressible. It may be destructive, but it creates life to stand on for generations to come. https://t.co/X4jmLS2cLD
â Uahikea Maile (@uahikea) November 28, 2022
- Iran leaders want the US kicked out of the World Cup after the United States Soccer Federation temporarily altered an Iranian flag on social media to show solidarity with Iranians protesting for womenâs rights. (Apparently if you remove the Islamic Republic symbol in the center of the Iranian flag, it means you support activists). To be frank, the discussion is one of the few positives re: human rights that has taken place at the draconian World Cup this year.
- Chinaâs intense and sustained COVID-19 regulations have led to frustration and upset among its citizens. China saw protests in eight cities Sunday, in which demonstrators expressed a ârare direct challengeâ to the ruling Communist Partyâ and called for leader Xi Jinping to step down. Per the Associated Press, these protests erupted after a fire killed at least 10 people in an apartment building Thursday in a particularly locked-down cityâraising questions about whether firefighters or people trying to escape were blocked by COVID-19 restrictions.Â