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GOOD AFTERNOON, PORTLAND! It's gonna be another hot one today and tomorrow with temps swooping up to 95 degrees on Saturday—making things very tough for wildfire fighters across the state. Let's dive into the NEWS.

IN LOCAL NEWS:

• As previously mentioned, hot and windy conditions in the state will be making fire officials very nervous over the next three days as new wildfires could start, and existing ones can worsen. People in the most dangerous areas should prepare to evacuate, and PGE and Pacific Power have already begun shutting off power in areas that are threatened by high winds knocking down power lines and causing even more fires.

• Unlike their counterparts on SE Division, workers at the Sellwood location of New Seasons have voted NOT to unionize. Our Alex Zielinski has the latest.

• Gov. Jay Inslee of Washington state has announced that his COVID-19 state of emergency will end on October 31. While most mandates in the state have been already been lifted, the rest pertain to the health related fields, such as vaccine storage, and mandated vaccinations for health and education workers. (And as we've seen in the past, as Washington goes, Oregon often follows.)

• State auditors have discovered that the state of Oregon most likely spent more than $10 million of federal COVID-19 funds on things they shouldn't have, and then failed to adequately monitor many of the recipients.

• Thinking caps on! It's time for another super fun POP QUIZ PDX. This week: Sassy-ass trivia Qs about crybaby cops, movies made in Oregon, and Portland's coming Chick-fil-A invasion! 🐔

• If you're looking for a new fave podcast, may we point you in the direction of You're Wrong About hosted by Portland journalist Sarah Marshall? She's dropping truth bombs about stuff you thought you knew... but in a fun, entertaining way! McKinzie Smith has the profile.

IN NATIONAL/WORLD NEWS:

• Britain (and most of the world) is mourning the death of Queen Elizabeth II, who perished yesterday after 70 years on the throne. Her son, the now King Charles III, will deliver an inaugural speech sometime today as funeral arrangements are being prepared.

• And because you saw it coming: "QAnon Wackos Celebrate Death of ‘Evil Witch’ Queen Elizabeth."

• The Justice Department has appealed the highly suspicious ruling of a Trump-appointed judge who happily went along with the former president's request for a "special master" to examine the Mar-a-Lago documents that have already been examined by the FBI. The DOJ said if the ruling held it would seriously damage their current investigation... which is exactly Trump's point.

• A near total abortion ban was narrowly rejected by the South Carolina senate—but it took the daughters of a hard right Republican to convince him to do the right thing, threaten a filibuster, and vote against it.

• After two scrubbed missions for the Artemis moon shot due to fuel issues, NASA is now eyeballing September 23 or 27 for a possible launch.

• And finally... find a baby monkey friend like this baby goat has.