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A rescuer checks scuba tanks in Thailand
A rescuer checks scuba tanks in Thailand Linh Pham / Stringer / Getty Images

Good Morning Portland! It sure feels like summer has finally gotten started—it's a bright, bright, sunshiny day. And tomorrow, Independence Day, is set to be 88 and cloudy. Let's get to the news!

An entire soccer team of young teenage boys has been found trapped in a cave in Thailand. The boys are still trapped there alongside their soccer coach—only accessible by scuba and trapped nearly a kilometer below the surface. Divers have brought them some food, but they might need to learn how to scuba dive to escape.

It's not a surprise that Trump's head of the Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt, is only there for the money. After all, he hates the environment. Now we know that, in addition to killing the environment, Pruitt has abused his position of power—trying to get his wife a six-figure salary, going on expensive trips, and using staffers to perform personal tasks.

Speaking of corrupt Trumpies, the president's attack dog, lawyer Michael Cohen, may soon cooperate with federal prosecutors. His loyalty, he says, lies with his family first. I think I like that a bit better than the usual "America First" slogan.

Trump is demanding that NATO allies increase their defense spending.

And he has dropped legal immigration in the United States by 12 percent in his first two years.

He's also interviewing candidates for the Anthony Kennedy Supreme Court replacement. He has met four so far and plans to meet a few more before deciding on a nominee. Shaping the Supreme Court with Trump's ideology is among the most terrifying things that have happened since his election—already the court has upheld some of his worst policies, including the Muslim ban. Now many fear his nominees could overturn Roe v. Wade.


Harvey Weinstein has been indicted. Again. The nasty boy could end up with a life sentence from this one: he allegedly commited a forcible sexual act on a woman in 2006, and also faces two charges of predatory sexual assault.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is tightening up security on the border with Austria in a shocking reversal—her new stance against asylum seekers is an attempt to save her government. The agreement with conservatives in the coalition government will also create camps for asylum seekers. Could this mean that Germany is making a hard shift to the right?

Saudi Arabia is pumping more oil for the United States—probably because the Trump administration is trying to get every other country to cut oil imports with Iran. Considering that Trump cancelled the nuclear deal and is at economic war with all our allies, that seems like a stretch.

This is just cruel: Trump declined to order that flags fly at half-mast to honor those killed in the shooting at the Capital-Gazette in Maryland—yet another sign that the administration's animosity towards the press knows no bounds. CORRECTION: This morning, Trump reversed his previous decision and has ordered that flags fly at half mast. It's still five days late, and he probably only did it after receiving intense criticism. In other words, he's still a total turd.



Many reporters I know are worried about the growing American mistrust in the media and the hateful rhetoric directed our way, and we want to know what to do about it. Perhaps explaining ourselves could help. At the Portland Mercury, we have just two people on our news team. Every other section has about one editor who juggles all the work—managing freelancers, writing pieces, and editing their sections. We have a fact checker/copy editor who combs through our work to make sure we're accurate, and we bust ass to bring you breaking news. Every day, we call sources in the local government, track down leads based on emails from the public, and attend public events to hear from you. We do it because we care about the truth, we care about our community, and we want to see our city thrive. Because we love you, Portland, we really do! Let's look at some of that great Oregon journalism.

Immigration attorneys in Sheridan are still struggling to get access to detainees in the federal prison there. Lawyers are supposed to get six hours of access every day after a judge ordered that access, but it's not happening, Portland Mercury's Alex Zielinski reports.

Oregon wild land firefighters are preparing for the coming fire season with practice fires near Sweet Home. Nearly 200 firefighters got certified with the practice, according to Dylan Darling.

Emergency systems sent out false alerts of a 9-1-1 outage to five counties around Portland. The 9-1-1 system isn't actually out—it was just a test that went awry, writes Everton Bailey Jr.

A measles case in Portland may have exposed 500 people to the dangerous—and preventable—disease, reports Molly Harbarger.

The ICE building in Southwest Portland is reopening today with a fence to keep protesters out, according to Tim Gordon. The fence surrounds nearly the entire ICE building and went up in response to the Occupy ICE PDX protest.

And finally, here are 31 songs to get you through July, courtesy of the Merc's own music editor, Ciara Dolan.

That's all, folks! Here's a baby on a laundry basket roller coaster. And each of these words links to another great Oregon reporter. Have a great Fourth of July!