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Here's your daily roundup of all the latest local and national news. (Like our coverage? Please consider making a recurring contribution to the Mercury to keep it comin'!)

In local news:

• In case you missed it: Protesters against police brutality and racial injustice set the Portland Police Association's building on fire last night. The entrance appeared significantly damaged by the flames, but no one was reported injured by the fire.

• Some wonderful middle schoolers in Grants Pass are protesting against two staffers who tried to push an anti-trans bathroom resolution at the school. They're speaking out and putting up signs around the school with messages like "trans lives are valid." The kids are alright!

• The Oregon Senate passed a bill that will give residential renters a short grace period for paying any back rent that was delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, Oregonian renters—many of whom are living paycheck-to-paycheck—will have until February to pay the rent. The House still needs to approve the bill as well.

• Cartoonist Matt Bors announced last week that he’ll no longer be creating and publishing weekly political cartoons—18 years and over 1,600 cartoons after the former Portlander and two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist first started making them. The Mercury recently spoke with Bors about his decision to end his weekly political cartoons, and the future of comics in a post-print era.

In national news:

• Kim Potter, the former Minnesota police officer who killed Daunte Wright last weekend, has been arrested and charged with second-degree manslaughter. That charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, and it isn't necessary to prove meditation or intent when prosecuting someone for it.

• This New York Times piece reveals that at least 15 cops in the US have "mistakenly" used guns instead of tasers—and only three have been convicted of any crime. That suggests that prosecuting Potter could be an uphill battle, and shows how difficult it is to hold cops accountable, even for life-or-death actions.

• In a speech this morning, President Joe Biden announced he plans to pull all US troops out of Afghanistan by September 11 of this year—a full 20 years after the attacks on the Twin Towers. "We went to Afghanistan because of a horrific attack that happened 20 years ago," Biden said. "That cannot explain why we should remain there in 2021."

• Former The Bachelor star Colton Underwood came out as gay today on Good Morning America. Depending on who you ask, this means both everything and nothing.

And just for fun:

• The latest Cocktail To-Go Club recommendation: Bit House Collective's fruit-forward cocktails and creative shot-and-beer combos.

• Finally, some crucially important context on the whole Johnson & Johnson debacle: