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- The Proud Boys came to town Saturday for a small rally (attracting a sliver of the promised 20,000 attendees), which concluded without the anticipated levels of violence that's usually associated with gatherings of far-right dudes in our leftie metropolis. Three miles away, thousands of antifascist Portlanders gathered to support mutual aid groups, celebrate local civil rights organizations, and joyfully ignore the right-wing visitors.
- I wash brainwashed by plantbloc:
Plant bloc is here: They hand out free fruits/veggies/etc. and also do guerrilla gardening (seed bombs!) in food deserts in town. pic.twitter.com/SEtXGrZYuH
— Alex Zielinski (@alex_zee) September 26, 2020
- The anticipated Proud Boy violence that had lawmakers wringing their hands instead came from law enforcement officers Saturday night. Officers appeared to take pleasure in trampling and shoving hundreds of protesters gathered in downtown Portland to decry police brutality and listen to speeches by Black activists.
- Despite deeming the response a victory, Gov. Kate Brown has asked the police to please investigate themselves to make sure they didn't do a bad thing. Seems foolproof!
Aggressive arrests, baton jabbing and knocking a photographer to the ground. pic.twitter.com/OXdGhfOs3k
— Mike Baker (@ByMikeBaker) September 27, 2020
- Oregon saw 457 new cases of COVID-19 Friday, the state's highest single-day total since the pandemic began. According to state health officials, this is 100 percent the fault of reckless individuals (not the state, of course!).
- Officials have confirmed that Oregon environmental activist George Atiyeh died in the Beachie Creek Fire. A former miner and logger, Atiyeh dedicated his life to protecting old-growth forests threatened by logging around Opal Creek.
- In other news, the New York Times finally obtained those pesky copies of Donald Trump's tax returns. Surprise! Our Billionaire Leader avoided paying his taxes for 11 of the past 18 years. Here are the most important takeaways from the Times' in-depth investigation.
- The parole approval of 68-year-old Jalil Abdul Muntaqim—a former member of the Black Panther Party convicted of killing two police officers in the 1970s—has sparked debate over when a convicted criminal is allowed freedom for long-ago crimes.
- Trump has nominated Amy Coney Barrett, a conservative Catholic judge on the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago, to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg on the US Supreme Court. Here's what you need to know about Barrett before her confirmation hearing begin next month.
https://t.co/enw9LxuNrq pic.twitter.com/OY6IeUqAKU
— Gillian Anderson (@GillianA) September 27, 2020
- School closures for children in developing countries with little access to remote learning tools have forced many minors into the workforce. The United Nations estimates that at least 24 million children will drop out of school and that millions could be sucked into work due to global COVID-19 closures.
- Our lord and savior Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, has made a presidential endorsement, ya'll:
As a political independent & centrist, I’ve voted for both parties in the past. In this critical presidential election, I’m endorsing @JoeBiden & @KamalaHarris.
— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) September 27, 2020
Progress takes courage, humanity, empathy, strength, KINDNESS & RESPECT.
We must ALL VOTE: https://t.co/rZi1mxh8DC pic.twitter.com/auLbc8xDBv