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Good morning, Portland! Today is going to cloudy and humid as hell with a chance of rainâwow, how surprising (I said that in a voice that is very clearly not surprised, just in case it didnât translate over text). Now, onto the news!
In local news:
â˘Â Over the past two months, the city has swept 343 tents from Old Townâabout 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.
â˘Â 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.
Oregon health officials prepare for possible pediatric COVID vaccine rollout https://t.co/VjZdYsQ0dZ
â KGW News (@KGWNews) June 13, 2022
â˘Â Due to the ridiculous amount of rain weâve 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 Riverâs bloated water level. While all this rain is good for delaying fire season, the lack of sun has been detrimental to the stateâs agriculture.
â˘Â Sandwich lovers rejoice! Starting Monday, June 20 through Sunday, June 26, get deeeeelicious $8 sammies from 30 (!) local restaurants. Itâs the Mercuryâs SANDWICH WEEK! Eat âem up!
The Klamath Basin in Southern Oregon is parched, and this summer is going to be another dry one. OPB spoke with people from the region to hear how theyâre faring as they face ongoing drought. https://t.co/1MRGXhw6bt
â OPB (@OPB) June 14, 2022
In national news:
â˘Â Ukrainian workers found another mass grave in a forest on the outskirts of Kyiv. The victimsâ bodies indicate that they were tortured by Russian soldiers before being killedâmany 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 Russiaâs invasion.
â˘Â Now that McDonaldâs has pulled out of Russia in protest of the countryâs invasion of Ukraine, the former locations are being rebranded under a new buyer. Russiaâs 850 McDonaldâs locations are now called "Vkusno I Tochka,â translating to âDelicious, thatâs allâ in English. The restaurants will aim to serve the same food, just in different packaging.
â˘Â Pop quiz: Is this an AI generated image of âgeneric white guyâ or photos of the 31 people arrested for conspiracy to riot near a Pride parade in Coeur dâAlene, Idaho, last weekend?
A toxic brew of hateful rhetoric and outrage directed at LGBTQ people has been growing for months on and offline, long before the arrests of Patriot Front members for allegedly planning to riot at a pride event Saturday in Idaho. https://t.co/yTaHEDYTnT
â The Associated Press (@AP) June 13, 2022
â˘Â For those of us who do not spend our free time watching CSPAN livestreams (itâs called boundaries, thank you very much), hereâs the highlights from Mondayâs 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) Trumpâs lawyer Rudy Giuliani urged the former President to claim victory on election night; 3) Trumpâs campaign raised $250 million for the âOfficial Election Defense Fund,â except the money actually went to a newly created political action committee supporting Trump.
â˘Â 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 Happyâs humanity, with the dissenting judges arguing that Happy has a right to liberty.
â˘Â Consider this an eye test:
pic.twitter.com/4G7qzGwrYx
â cats being weird little guys (@weirdlilguys) June 14, 2022