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GOOD MORNING, PORTLAND! Get ready for another warming trend, as temps rise to 76 today with partly cloudy skies and a chance of a shower later, and hopping up to a balmy 82 by Friday! But keep reading, because there's about to be a strong chance of... NEWS.

IN LOCAL NEWS:

• Portland's Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) is apparently in far worse shape than most people know, and Mayor Wheeler's new plan to slash its budget by halting plans for a 40-cent parking meter price increase is raising serious alarms from PBOT workers and experts who say the bureau is currently on "life support." Where does PBOT get its money, and what can happen when it runs out? Find out in this excellent report from our Taylor Griggs.

• Yet even more random threats and desperate maneuvers from Mayor Wheeler: Now the mayor is threatening Multnomah County by saying he may not extend the city’s partnership with the Joint Office of Homeless Services, unless they commit the entirety of a $25 million windfall to his problematic mass shelter plan as well as a pittance to rental assistance. Oh, and Commissioners Mingus Mapps and Rene Gonzalez also chimed in with short-sighted, self-serving Portland Business Alliance talking points, to the surprise of no one.

• The lazy, runaway Oregon Senate Republicans are still refusing to do the job that taxpayers are paying them for... BUT! They are saying they'll return for the final day of the legislative session on June 25 in order to avoid the shutdown of the government. OR MAYBE we can tell them to go fuck themselves, kick them out of office, and run the state the way the majority of Oregonians would like it to be run. Just a suggestion, I guess!

• Hey, are you a big fan of our first print product since the pandemic, the"Say Nice Things About Portland" guide? Then here's an extra love note to you (from me!) about how you can support our gem of a city and the Mercury at the same time! 

IN NATIONAL/WORLD NEWS:

• Panicky lawyers for Donald Trump are requesting a meeting with Attorney General Merrick Garland, almost certainly because the Justice Department investigation into the former president's handling of classified documents is coming to an end and indictments could be on the horizon. (Hee-hee-hee.)

• Despite a filibuster from the state senate's five women, South Carolina has passed its draconian and life-threatening six week abortion ban—even though they fully realize that most people are unaware they're pregnant by the six week mark—which now heads to their Republican governor. 

• I love it when Republicans begin eating their own: The GOP legislature in Texas have announced a corruption investigation into Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton after he accused the also Republican House speaker of being drunk on the job. (They're probably all correct.)

• Very much related: The 19-year-old driver who crashed a U-Haul truck into a White House security barrier was not only carrying a Nazi flag, but also expressed his intention to kill the president and "seize power" over the government. 

• What kind of idiot would pay $100,000 for something sure to make them vomit? Ohhhhh... that tracks.

• Today in spineless corporate antics: Target is saying they are going to pull some LGBTQ+-themed products off their shelves due to reported threats against employees from right-wing extremists—because caving in to the demands of assholes has always been a winning strategy, and won't inspire them to make even more threats to more innocent people.

• Not that Republicans or gun nuts care, but: "Poll: Most Americans say curbing gun violence is more important than gun rights."

• And finally, here's one for all my multitaskers out there!