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Former top White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson gave testimony that Donald Trump told his colleagues maybe Vice President Mike Pence should be hanged.
Former top White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson gave testimony that Donald Trump told his colleagues maybe Vice President Mike Pence should be hanged. Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Good Afternoon, Portland! I don't know if you also became half a person during the heat, but I am grateful that the benevolent overcast gods have returned and WILL NEVER LEAVE AGAIN. Now that it will be 70 degrees forever and evermore, let's hit the news!

IN LOCAL NEWS:

• A new report alleges a connection between one of Southern Oregon's largest homeless shelter providers and conversion therapy programs. High Country News spoke with one of the report's authors, Maig Tinnin, about the report's findings and the intersection of anti-LGTBQ+ politics and homeless services.

• US gas prices have hit record highs thanks to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and while it seems like a no-brainer for this pain at the pump to push the US towards less dependence on fossil fuels, President Biden instead seems set on temporarily lifting the federal gas tax. Bike Portland reports that everybody's favorite cannabis caucusin' Congressman Earl Blumenauer, wrote Biden, urging him to consider alternate solutions—like a bill to make e-bikes more affordable.

• Prolific and polemic Portland author Lidia Yuknavitch appears tonight at Powell's City of Books, to promote her latest novel Thrust. Read our Q & A with her—where she discusses the state of her downtown writing center, how she keeps creativity flowing, and how she thinks that post-pandemic we have a chance to " take turns resuscitating each other."

• For a second year, the Portland Horror Film Festival will present a hybrid (in-person and online) event. However fest organizer Gwen Callahan hopes you'll join them in the theater, if you can. "I think it’s a much different experience for people to be watching something new and interesting together,” she said.

IN NATIONAL / INTERNATIONAL NEWS:

• The Jan 6 committee hearings have been pretty wild so far, but today's was one for the record books. Former top White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson gave testimony that—while the insurrection was underway—Donald Trump grabbed the steering wheel of his limousine from his Secret Service, in an attempt to drive to the Capitol and join his supporters. She also testified he told his colleagues that maybe Pence should be hanged. For the straight-up wildin' recap, check this New York Magazine Intelligencer rundown.

• Today in Everybody Joining NATO news, Finland and Sweden will be formally invited to join the North Atlantic Alliance tomorrow, as today Turkey removed its lingering objection. In order to secure Turkey's approval, the two Scandinavian nations pledged to support Turkey's national security, cracking down on PKK activities, and allowing extradition from their countries to Turkey.

• Former socialite Ghislaine Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in prison today for her part in Jeffrey Epstein's yearslong exploitation and trafficking of young women and girls. According to the New York Times, Maxwell acknowledged the pain and the anguish of the victimized women, but she stopped short of apologizing.

• Over the weekend, 380 people dressed as Tyrannosaurus rexes attempted to break the world record for largest gathering of people dressed as dinosaurs (previously 252). Dinos, I salute yee.