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Mercury Staff

Stay up to date on Portland news and politics. Looking for fun? Here are the best Things to Do in Portland today.

Good morning, Portland! Here's some news to help you start your day off right:

Bathroom Laws: A federal judge in Portland has sided with the ACLU by ruling that a transgender boy using male restrooms in a rural Oregon high school does not threaten other studentsā€™ privacy.

This Again?: We're days away from learning if an anti-abortion measure will make it onto Oregon's November ballot. Regardless of the campaign's outcome, what does the measure's success thus far say about the changing landscape of abortion regulation locally and across the country?

Suck it, Landlords: Portland City Council voted yesterday to introduce a new data collection system to track all rental unitsā€”and slumlordsā€”in city limits.

E-scooters are here. PREPARE YOURSELF.


Still a Cesspool: Portland Police Association President Daryl Turner doubles down on his description of Portland being turned into a "cesspool" by negligent policies for people facing homelessness.

One of Us, One of Us: Multnomah County Comissioner Lori Stegmann is making national headlines with her decision to leave the GOP over Trumpā€™s misogyny and racism. ā€œIf you don't stand for something, then you stand for nothing," she said in an interview yesterday. "I prefer to stand. And now I stand with the Democrats."


Racist Technology: Good news, everyone! Amazonā€™s facial recognition technologyā€”which is being used by a number of police departmentsā€”has been proven to do the same job as a police officer. Unfortunately, that means it disproportionally misidentifies innocent African-Americans and Latinos as criminals.

Life on Mars? Space scientists (I assume this is their job title) have discovered a 12-mile-long underground lake on Mars. I repeat: Water on Mars.


Taking Out the Garbage: In an attempt to overturn a sexual assault conviction against garbage human Brock Turner, the former Stanford student arrested in 2015 for raping an unconscious woman behind a dumpster, Turner's lawyer said Turner engaged in "outercourse," which is not a word. One judge's response: "I absolutely donā€™t understand what you are talking about.ā€

Employment Rights for Victims: New Zealand's legislature has made history by passing a law that gives victims of domestic violence up to 10 days of paid leave to escape their abuser, find a new how, and seek protection.

Finally: REALLY, JAMES COMEY?!?