The Mercury provides news and fun every single day—but your help is essential. If you believe Portland benefits from smart, local journalism and arts coverage, please consider making a small monthly contribution, because without you, there is no us. Thanks for your support!

ADA_YOKOTA___GETTY_IMAGES.jpeg
ADA YOKOTA / GETTY IMAGES

Good afternoon, Portland! Here's the latest on local news, national news, and a little bit of fun.

In local news:

• Multnomah County is now recommending that all people 5 and older wear masks indoors, regardless of vaccine status. The county, which previously recommended that only unvaccinated people wear masks indoors, announced the new recommendations today in response to a dramatic spike in COVID-19 cases across the state.

• New data obtained by the Mercury shows that as of July 2021, only 18 percent of all sworn officers employed by the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) live inside Portland's city limits. That's 155 of Portland's 828 total officers.

• 🥴:

• After months of simmering tension regarding the growing houseless encampment at Southeast Portland's Laurelhurst Park, Portland City Council has approved a plan to evict campers by the end of the week. Our Alex Zielinski has all the details on this fraught situation.

In national news:

• Some people with long-haul COVID symptoms experience memory loss for months after contracting the virus. Now, researchers at UT Health San Antonio are studying these patients, and are looking into whether the memory loss and cognitive problems associated with COVID could put them at higher risk for having Alzheimer's later in life.

• A tough but fascinating read:

• President Joe Biden announced today that "the US combat mission in Iraq"—which I guess is what we're calling the Iraq War now—will be over by the end of 2021. This comes as the US is also pulling troops out of Afghanistan.

• The US Department of Veterans Affairs will require all of its doctors and other medical workers to receive a COVID vaccination, making it the first federal agency to require the shots—but probably not the last.

And just for fun:

• Consider yourself warned: It's the last week to enjoy delish, $5 frozen cocktails in the SUMMER OF SLUSHIES!

• Finally, the Olympics are officially problematic this year, but you can't not love this: