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Oregon Secretary of State Dennis Richardson has decided that educating the state's large population of nonaffiliated voters on how to vote in the primary election isn't worth the cost of a stamp.
Prez Trump has made the sweeping decision (entirely based on a FOX News conspiracy) to deploy the US National Guard to the US-Mexico border to... I don't know, look menacing? As it turns out, a "big, beautiful wall" of humans is still going to cost a lot of money.
Here's how Oregon Gov. Kate Brown has responded to Trump's new strategy:
If @realDonaldTrump asks me to deploy Oregon Guard troops to the Mexico border, I’ll say no. As Commander of Oregon’s Guard, I’m deeply troubled by Trump’s plan to militarize our border.
— Governor Kate Brown (@OregonGovBrown) April 4, 2018
Read this fantastic investigation in Lincoln High School's student paper on the serious roadblocks that keep Lincoln students from reporting abusive teachers. These kids can WRITE.
The Northern California crash that killed the majority of young activist Devonte Hart's family has been officially dubbed a "crime" instead of an "accident," according to the California sheriff investigating the case. Devonte and two of his siblings are still missing from the crash site.
Officials in Josephine County, one of the top marijuana-producing counties in Oregon, have sued the state for its lax pot laws—arguing that federal law preempts state law. In the words of complainant County Commissioner Dan DeYoung: "The good people are leaving and the marijuana people are staying."
We checked in with the marijuana people:
via GIPHY
Brooklyn police fatally shot a mentally ill Black man they believed was carrying a gun. Neighbors say it was common knowledge that Saheed Vassell, 34, was suffering from bipolar disorder, and local cops had already classified him as "emotionally disturbed" in previous encounters. Regardless, police fired ten bullets at Vassell for pointing a metal pipe at them.
Tens of thousands of Oklahoma teachers filled the state capitol yesterday, in the third day of an organized strike that's forced public schools to close. The teachers, who make an average $42,000 a year ( less than teachers in nearly every other state), are asking for a pay raise and increased budget for basic classroom needs. Extremely charming Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallon compared their ask to “a teenager wanting a better car.”
Teachers at Anacostia High School, located in the heart Washington, DC's lower-income neighborhoods, also staged a walkout yesterday to protest their school's uninhabitable environment (flooding cafeteria, no working toilets, etc.)
"It's not good" that people are unhappy with Facebook for sharing 87 million users' personal information with political consultant firm Cambridge Analytica, said Mark Zuckerberg.
Make time for this collection of stories and photos from DC residents who witnesses the riots—or, rebellion—that followed the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. exactly 50 years ago.
And now, please appreciate this 9-year-old's brilliant submissions to the New Yorker's cartoon caption contest. My favorite:
p.s. The Mercury is looking for a new Arts and Culture editor to (somehow) replace our fantastic Megan Burbank. Help!
