We need your help. The economic fallout of the coronavirus crisis is threatening our ability to keep producing the quality reporting you've come to love. If you’re able, please consider making a monthly contribution to the Mercury.
Good morning, Portland! A sports update for ya: The Portland Timbers beat the LA Galaxy 2-1 yesterday, in what our resident soccer writer called a "dystopian," fan-less match.
And here are the headlines.
Portland, Occupied: Donald Trump bragged yesterday that his federal officers had "very much quelled" the protests in Portland, as a protester who sustained a life-threatening injury remains in critical condition. Oregon's US Attorney Bill Williams, meanwhile, blamed the violence on "individuals who are anarchists, individuals who are agitators," rather than on the federal officers who landed a person in the hospital. Mayor Ted Wheeler is calling for federal troops to stay off the streets, but said he's ay-okay with them continuing to protect federal property in Portland.
Totally Quelled: A protest outside the union building for Portland Police Bureau's (PPB) rank-and-file officers was declared a riot last night, though it's not clear whether tear gas was used. An officer was also caught on camera knocking a cell phone out of a protester's hands as they were filming the encounter, which seems very unnecessary and kind of like the government is suppressing free speech!
So here's the video, from TeebsGaming on https://t.co/DafGnlPdl3 , of an officer smacking the phone from a protester's hand into the window of the PPA building. And the broken window is what they then used as their reason to declare a 'riot' and gas people. #PortlandProtest pic.twitter.com/x8iqQMFvTx
— KBOO Community Radio (@KBOO) July 14, 2020
Great Timing: The federal government carried out its first execution (i.e. government-sanctioned murder) since 2003 this morning, after the Supreme Court cleared the way for it to do so last night. Daniel Lee was convicted of killing three people over 20 years ago. His last words: "You're killing an innocent man."
Mask Up: Gov. Kate Brown announced yesterday that she is banning indoor gatherings of more than 10 people, and extending the statewide mask requirement to outdoor spaces, in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Lethal, Just Less So:
New: Police firing “less-lethal” munitions partially blinded a dozen people during the recent protests — eight of them on a single day. Video reconstructions by a @washingtonpost team undermine some official accounts of what happened: https://t.co/FeTrOwkV6y
— Jon Swaine (@jonswaine) July 14, 2020
Some Good News: A federal judge has ruled that during COVID-19, a person ought to be able to access the medical abortion pill without an in-person doctor's visit.
Seems Reasonable: A Black, disabled army veteran was recently caught by police officers when he was driving through Alabama while in possession of medical cannabis. He's just been sentenced to 60 months in prison.
A Whopper: A Burger King employee in Southern California recently died of COVID-19, after being made to work while displaying symptoms. The employee, Angela Martinez Gómez, was trans, and her coworkers allege that the restaurant's management blamed her death on complications from hormone injections, rather than on being made to work while ill.
Uncertainty at PPS:
Portland Public Schools is trying to hit a moving target with the fall calendar. Coronavirus conditions change almost daily. That means kids may need to pivot to full-time distance learning at any point, if they even see the inside of a classroom at all. https://t.co/FGc0SZAHjR
— Eder Campuzano 🇲🇽🇺🇸✏️🍎📚 (@edercampuzano) July 14, 2020
The Washington Racists: In 2003, Washington, DC football team owner Daniel Snyder said he would "never" change the team's racist name—but the franchise officially announced yesterday that it is finally abandoning the slur against Native Americans. Read more from the Washington Post about how "never" finally came during this moment.
RIP: Naya Rivera, the Glee actress whose portrayal of a teenaged Latinx lesbian was a revelation for many queer millennials, died last week in a drowning accident in Southern California—after mustering the strength to save her young son. Here's one of Rivera's most beloved Glee performances, a cover of Amy Winehouse's "Valerie."