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A person at a zoo watching an elephant eat
A New York court ruled that elephants aren't entitled to fundamental human rights because they aren't legally human. Fiona Goodall / Getty Images

Good morning, Portland! Today is going to cloudy and humid as hell with a chance of rain—wow, how surprising (I said that in a voice that is very clearly not surprised, just in case it didn’t translate over text). Now, onto the news!

In local news:

• Over the past two months, the city has swept 343 tents from Old Town—about a 400 percent increase in the removal of homeless people compared to last year. According to the city, outreach workers have offered to connect homeless Portlanders with resources like shelters before they are swept. According to actual homeless people, many of them were never contacted by an outreach worker and they ended up moving their tent from Old Town to the Pearl. Labeling the massive increase in sweeps a success in Old Town, Mayor Ted Wheeler announced a plan to use similar tactics citywide during a press conference Monday.

• This year's Juneteenth falls on the same day as Portland's Pride Parade. Mx. Dahlia Belle spoke with two local icons, Kimber K. Shade and Isaiah Esquire, about how to celebrate the intersection of Black and queer identity.

• Due to the ridiculous amount of rain we’ve received this year (the wettest spring in 80 years!), the floating portion of the Eastbank Esplanade trail is closed until further notice. Additionally, the bridges may have to be lifted more frequently due to the Willamette River’s bloated water level. While all this rain is good for delaying fire season, the lack of sun has been detrimental to the state’s agriculture.

• Sandwich lovers rejoice! Starting Monday, June 20 through Sunday, June 26, get deeeeelicious $8 sammies from 30 (!) local restaurants. It’s the Mercury’s SANDWICH WEEK! Eat ’em up!

In national news:

• Ukrainian workers found another mass grave in a forest on the outskirts of Kyiv. The victims’ bodies indicate that they were tortured by Russian soldiers before being killed—many had their hands tied behind their backs and their knees shot. Since Russian troops have started their withdrawal from areas of Ukraine, Ukrainian officials have discover the bodies of 1,316 people, many in mass graves. Authorities have opened criminal investigations into the killings of more than 12,000 since the beginning of Russia’s invasion.

• Now that McDonald’s has pulled out of Russia in protest of the country’s invasion of Ukraine, the former locations are being rebranded under a new buyer. Russia’s 850 McDonald’s locations are now called "Vkusno I Tochka,” translating to “Delicious, that’s all” in English. The restaurants will aim to serve the same food, just in different packaging.

• Pop quiz: Is this an AI generated image of “generic white guy” or photos of the 31 people arrested for conspiracy to riot near a Pride parade in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, last weekend?

• For those of us who do not spend our free time watching CSPAN livestreams (it’s called boundaries, thank you very much), here’s the highlights from Monday’s public hearing on the January 6 attack. 1) A bunch of people surrounding President Trump told him repeatedly that his claims of the election being stolen were wrong; 2) Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani urged the former President to claim victory on election night; 3) Trump’s campaign raised $250 million for the “Official Election Defense Fund,” except the money actually went to a newly created political action committee supporting Trump.

• A New York court ruled Tuesday that Happy, an Asian elephant living at the Bronx Zoo for more than 40 years, is not a human and therefore not entitled to fundamental human rights. The legal case was created by animal activists who believe that Happy is being illegally detained and should be moved to a more natural environment. The court ruled 5-2 against Happy’s humanity, with the dissenting judges arguing that Happy has a right to liberty.

• Consider this an eye test: