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Experts predict "surge upon surge" of COVID-19 following Thanksgiving travels. David McNew / Stringer /Getty

GOOD MORNING, PORTLAND! We can go wherever, so let's do it now or never. Baby, nothing's ever, ever too far. LET'S GO TO PRESS.

• Oregon came close to breaking another COVID daily record on Sunday when the OHA announced an additional 1,599 positive cases and nine more deaths. The state death toll has passed 900.

• Robert Keegan, a white man who shot and killed Black teenager Aiden Ellison in an Ashland hotel parking lot, has pleaded not guilty to four criminal charges.

“He was listening to his music too loudly—that’s irrelevant. It doesn’t change a thing, how good the man who shot him was. All of those things are not relevant to what occurred. But that’s the narrative, that’s the frame of white supremacy.” — Precious Edmonds w/ SOBLACC

— Alex Zielinski (@alex_zee) November 27, 2020

• Very much related: Black drivers in Portland were stopped 18 percent of the time by cops in 2019, even though they only make up 5.8 percent of the population.

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.

Trump feat. tiny desk. Getty Images / White House Pool

- Iran's top nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh has been assassinated near Tehran. Fakhrizadeh, who'd been described as the "father of the Iranian bomb," has been compared to J. Robert Oppenheimer, the US physicist who produced the first atomic weapons. Fakhrizadeh's death comes amid concerns about Iran's production of enriched uranium.

- A Venezuelan judge has sentenced six American oil executives to prison for embezzlement. The six men—all executives with Houston-based, Venezuela-owned Citgo—have each been sentenced to more than eight years behind bars.

- Mexican feminists have occupied the federal Human Rights Commission building in Mexico City for two months straight in protest of the country's alarming rates of femicide. Activists have turned the building into a shelter for women and children escaping abuse, and a memorial for those who've been killed or sexually abused. None of the activists' demands—including "police training, a public review of government actions to stop the violence, and a guarantee of the protesters’ safety"—have been met.

- On Wednesday, the US Supreme Court barred the New York state government from restricting religious services in New York City to stop the spread of the coronavirus. This decision butts heads with previous SCOTUS rulings that upheld COVID-19 restrictions to religious spaces. What's different this time? Justice Amy Coney Barrett.

"I'm With Asshole": As expected, a traitor (Trump) pardons another traitor (Michael Flynn). George Frey / Getty Images

• We're one week into the "two-week freeze" that Gov. Brown declared for Oregon—but what happens afterward? Brown held a press conference today in which she announced the majority of the state's counties would remain under tight restrictions—though those restrictions will now depend on what level of "risk" the county is experiencing. (Multnomah, for example, is under "extreme risk.") However, restaurants and bars will be able to do outdoor service even in the most restricted counties, while grocery stores will be limited to 50 percent capacity (down from 75 percent). The most hopeful takeaway is that Oregon can expect 30,000 vaccine shots by late December, with priority given to healthcare workers and those in long-term care facilities. There's a lot here, but our Alex Zielinski breaks it all down for you.

For Multnomah County, this generally means an extension of the restrictions Brown set into motion last week, PLUS tighter rules on grocery store capacity and permission for outdoor dining. https://t.co/OeygsBKLaH

— Portland Mercury 🗞 (@portlandmercury) November 26, 2020

• Since yesterday, the OHA is reporting another big number of positive COVID-19 infections (1,189) and 20 additional deaths.

• The constant crush of COVID illnesses are driving some Oregon health care workers to leave their frontline positions due to stress and exhaustion.

• According to new footage released by investigators, Clark County officers fired 34 rounds at Kevin Peterson Jr.—a Black 21-year-old—who was killed during an attempted arrest in which police claim he was armed. These same officers refused to be interviewed until a full week (and in one case almost two weeks) after the killing.

Governor's Office

UPDATE: Governor Brown has issued tighter restrictions on high risk counties, but certain restrictions have been loosened statewide. Get all the details here.

On Wednesday, November 18, Oregon entered what Governor Kate Brown dubbed a two-week "freeze" in an attempt to slow the surging number of COVID-19 cases and subsequent hospitalizations and deaths across the state. During this two-week period (four for Multnomah County), residents have been advised to work at home, while restaurants and bars were told to cease indoor dining and revert to take-out only. Additional orders shuttered gyms, reduced the capacity of grocery stores and pharmacies to 75 percent, and restricted indoor religious spaces to 25 people.

But what happens after the freeze?

COVID infections—along with subsequent hospitalizations and deaths—continue to surge, hospitals and healthcare workers are reaching their breaking point, and if enough large Thanksgiving get-togethers transpire, Oregon could be facing an extremely dark December.

Brown is expected to discuss what to expect after the current "freeze" today at a 1:30 pm press conference.

Brown will be joined by representatives from the Oregon Health Authority and the Oregon Health & Science University. Find out what's in store for the state by WATCHING THE GOVERNOR'S LIVE PRESS CONFERENCE HERE, AT 1:30 PM.

Wildfires swept through Clackamas County this summer. JUSTIN KATIGBAK

Now, a coalition of activist groups focused on police abolition is holding a fundraiser to further compensate the inmate firefighters for their life-risking work. The goal is to raise around $55,000—enough to put $200 into each person’s commissary account.

“Every year, during the wildfire season, a lot of people are outraged to hear that inmate firefighters aren’t fairly compensated for their labor,” said Evan Quarles of Lane County Mutual Aid, one of the groups in the coalition. “They’re putting their lives in danger because of climate change, to save the lives impacted by it.”

Officers standing outside Portland City Hall on October 12, 2016. Doug Brown

The new board, which will take at least two years to get off the ground, will be granted the authority to mandate officer discipline and compel officer testimony during an investigation—along with other privileges that are currently off limits for people outside of law enforcement. But, despite these significant changes, the new oversight program shares the same basic purpose as the current system, the Independent Police Review (IPR): Review and investigate citizen reports of officer misconduct.

With the voters' approval of the new oversight board, which was first proposed by City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty this summer, the responsibility now lies on Portland City Council to actually create the system intended to replace the 20-year-old IPR. That means appointing a community-led committee to work with city staff to draft the new system's basic structure, guidelines, and breadth, a proposal that will eventually land before city commissioners. This to-be-determined committee, set to dissolve once City Council approves its proposal, will also turn to experts in police oversight and accountability to guide their work.

But there's a catch: The city staff who are perhaps the most enlightened about what works—and what doesn't—within the current oversight system won't be at the table.