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GOOD MORNING, PORTLAND! If you were a fan of our "Say Nice Things About Portland" guide (or just Portland in general), then you're gonna want one or both of the Mercury's new "SAY NICE THINGS ABOUT PORTLAND" T-shirts! They're a great answer to the conservative politicians, wealthy people, and special interest groups who talk shit about our city, AND they are sexy, dare I say! But don't just take it from me...

I rest my case, and go snap 'em up! And while you're at it, snap up this NEWS.

IN LOCAL NEWS:

• First things first... HAPPY JUNETEENTH! In case you missed Friday's stunning Race Talks presentation of the history of Black drag in Portland, our Suzette Smith's preview contains some great quotes and insight into an often neglected part of our city's history. Check it out!

• WHOOOO-WHEEE! Were you stuck outside yesterday during that massive thunder/hail storm that swept through the area? (That also partially flooded my basement, because it is an ASSHOLE.) The storm system also produced a mini tornado in Linn County, as well as a waterspout over the Columbia River Gorge—though it really wasn't much to speak of, and no one was injured. But still! WHOOO-WHEEE!

• On Saturday night, a person opened fire at the Gorge Amphitheater campground during an EDM festival killing two people and injuring at least two more, before being shot and injured himself by a sheriff's deputy. The motive for the shooting remains unclear.

• Now that state Dems and lazy, runaway Republicans have reached a compromise (or caved in to extortion, depending on how you look at it), the Oregon legislature is tearing through a backlog of important bills—including ones covering state budgets, suicide prevention, climate change, and more—at a furious pace. HOWEVER, while a quorum has been reached, there are a number of Republicans who are still holding out and refusing to return—including Oregon "Independent"/shadow Republican Senator Brian Boquist (representing District 12 as well as a closet full of mock turtlenecks 😬). In his latest "bi-weekly" newsletter (it's biweekly, ding-dong), Boquist says the Republicans who returned to do the taxpayers' work have committed a horrible "betrayal," allowing Dems to once again "run roughshod over Oregonians’ freedoms." 🙄 Boquist also spent multiple paragraphs disparaging Juneteenth, calling it the "Democrat Holiday Weekend." Hmmm... you know... there should be a word to describe someone who's fine with white-centered federal holidays, but pisses on the one that celebrates the freedom of Black people. I'll think of that word eventually—but it's definitely not "bi-weekly"!

• Sounds like our Portland Pickles had quite a game the other night!

• Today in OH, HELL NO: Pacific Power, who has been found liable for $90 million for their role in worsening the Labor Day wildfires of 2020, have asked a judge if it would be okay to pass along the payment of those fines to their current customers... which, again, is a OH, HELL NO!

IN NATIONAL/WORLD NEWS:

• Tasked with cooling relations between the US and China, Secretary of State Antony Blinken is visiting the country to meet with President Xi Jinping, and while both say that progress is being made, there have been no significant breakthroughs.

• America celebrated the holiday weekend in its usual way with multiple mass shootings, which left at least six dead and dozens injured in Chicago, Pennsylvania, St. Louis, Southern California, Baltimore, as well as neighboring Washington state.

• Meanwhile, deadly storms and sweltering heat swept across the South this weekend, with a tornado killing one and injuring dozens in Mississippi, and dangerously high temperatures topping 100 across Texas and the gulf coast.

• An investigation from the Washington Post reveals that the FBI dragged their feet for nearly a year before finally launching an all-out investigation of Trump's role in the January 6 domestic terrorist attack and his repeated attempts to steal the election. (As usual, they were allowing him to get away with his crimes out of fear of looking "partisan." 😡)

• And finally... new "Team Orcas" shirt just dropped.