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Good morning, Portland! It's still super smoky in Portland and the Willamette Valley, due to wildfire smoke from the Nakia Creek Fire blowing over. According to the National Weather Service, a "strengthening temperature inversion " has kept the smoke close to the surface, and in our faces. Arg! Is there any good news? (There is not.)

IN LOCAL NEWS:
• Two students appear to have been wounded by gunfire yesterday, outside Jefferson High School just before 4 pm. The shooting occurred after the end of the school day, as most Jefferson classes conclude at 3:30 pm. A nearby crashed vehicle and a witness account suggest someone fired at the school from a car. However, at 8 pm yesterday evening, officers were still working to locate the second possible victim—so there are still a lot of unconfirmed details. The idea of gunfire and students makes the public understandably anxious.

• What about students and dangerous traffic, though? The Mercury's Isabella Garcia reports that Portland City Council plans to discuss a proposal today to "install a 'School Speed Zone' around all schools that are on state-owned highways, including Cleveland High School—which would lower the speed to 20 mph on Southeast Powell during school hours." Are you fucking kidding me?  1) That would make people so outraged and 2) why aren't we already doing that? (Dry laugh of a withered cyclist who has been in too many accidents echoes from the back of the Mercury offices.) This conversation comes following the horrific and tragic death of celebrated local chef Sarah Pliner, at a dangerous intersection in front of the high school on October 4. AND LAST NIGHT another collision occurred at that intersection, when a car struck a Cleveland student, leaving them with minor injuries.

• Last year, a judge dismissed a lawsuit launched by several environmental organizations, which alleged that DHS and the Portland police violated the law with their enthusiastic deployment of tear gas during the Portland protests. Now in appeal, the complainants argue that—even two years on—DHS owes the people of Portland an environmental impact analysis and a full list of chemicals used in the city.

• In-theater Halloween movies have been sparse this season. But a new feature from "Nightmare Before Christmas" director Henry Selick opens at the Hollywood this week, and it was co-written with Jordan Peele:

IN NATIONAL NEWS: 
• The Associated Press reports that President Biden will address the release of 15 million barrels of oil from the nation's strategic reserve today. The drawdown is part of his administration's attempts to offset rising gas and oil prices, which are a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Saudi Arabia's production cuts. Though the Biden administration has been pretty loud about encouraging green alternatives to fossil fuel dependency—which so firmly has the US by the balls—the use of reserves hopes to lessen the pinch.

• This episode of Science Vs explores academic research, much of it based on looking at hundreds of police reports, on similarities in mass shootings. It's strangely relevant to the Oregon ballot, in that smaller capacity magazines may be a really impactful way to decrease the number of people harmed in a shooting—much more than school security guards (which statistics suggest make the situation worse) or armed teachers. The episode also goes into Red Flag laws and thoughtful approaches to mass shootings when it comes to mental health.

• Any Joe Coscarelli fans in the audience? While I haven't been able to dig into the New York Times culture reporter's new book Rap Capital: An Atlanta Story this long form excerpt is a fascinating test dive into Atlanta rap, Lil Baby, and the history of the city that shaped one of the nation's most influential music scenes.

• Is this what live tweeting was like in the '70s?