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GOOD MORNING, PORTLAND! Baby, it's HOT out there! And that means it's perfect timing for the Mercury's SUMMER OF SLUSHIES which is now underway! Frosty, boozy cocktails made by Portland's finest barkeeps, and for only $8 each, every day all damn month long? That's the kinda heat I like. Now let's heat up some NEWS!

IN LOCAL NEWS:

• Welp, it had to happen sooner or later: Portland's beloved Dame Lillard—after years of patiently waiting for Blazers management to build a team around him that he could take to a championship—has gotten tired of waiting, and after the front office failed to turn their number three draft pick into what Lillard wanted, he announced he is ready to be traded to the Miami Heat. People who know about such things say such a trade might be out of the question since the Heat probably isn't interested in trading away any of their top players, even for Lillard who they desperately want. However, Blazers management could just suck it up and trade him anyway as reward for Lillard's extreme patience and loyalty to the team... but HA-HA-HA, that ain't gonna happen is it? Anyway, Blazers fans—and for very good reason—are deep in their feelings.

• While the mayor tried to snag some credit for turning downtown's Fairfield Apartments into extreme low rent housing for up to 75 homeless Portlanders, WE KNOW BETTER DON'T WE. While he's been putting his money into sweeping camps from one neighborhood into yours, Home Forward and the Urban League of Portland are actually getting people—particularly Black homeless Portlanders—into permanent housing. (I'm sure cynics like Commish Rene Gonzalez consider affordable housing as just another way the city "enables" the victims of out-of-control capitalism.) Anyway, it's good news, and our Courtney Vaughn has the story!

• As mentioned in the intro, things are about to get HOT for July 4, with temps expected to rise to almost 100 degrees, before eventually cooling later in the week. Keep an eye on your neighbors, homeless or otherwise!

• A wildfire in Skamania County, Washington—which is right across the Columbia River Gorge from Hood River—has reached the level three evacuation stage (which means "GET OUT NOW"), and it's unclear if any homes or structures have been lost.

• Congrats to the local McMenamins restaurant and hotel chain which celebrates its 40th anniversary this month! Owner Brian McMenamin kicked off the enterprise in 1983 with his Barley Pub restaurant on Hawthorne, and then went on build a total of 56 properties in two states, with 40 of those built on historic sites such as Edgefield and the Kennedy School. (Maybe he'll get to the Lloyd Center mall before the baseball people do?)

• THIS THURSDAY! Get your tickets now for this week's heeee-larious live comedy game show, "TWO EVILS with Arlo Weierhauser & Kate Murphy"! The audience (that's you)  will compete against a comedian special guest (that's the very funny Shain Brenden) in a game of good vs. evil for PRIZES (again, that you... if you answer correctly)! DO NOT MISS IT! 

IN NATIONAL/WORLD NEWS:

• Following the Supreme Court striking down Affirmative Action—which, make no mistake, is intended to deny educational opportunities to people of color—a civil rights group is now suing Harvard to make them stop "legacy admissions," which benefit the white children of alumni.

• Eight people have been killed and at least 50 injured after Israel launched their biggest attack in 20 years on the West Bank city of Jenin. Five among those killed were teenagers.

• In yet another weekend of mass shootings, a block party in Baltimore was the scene of a massive shootout that killed two and injured 30—again, many of whom were teenagers.

• The upcoming Barbie movie (starring dreamboats Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling) has been banned in Vietnam, because... *checks notes once again*... it depicts "China’s controversial nine-dash line" in which they are unilaterally claiming ownership of Vietnam's continental shelf in the South China Sea. (I agree what China did is bullshit... but is it okay if I go see it anyway? 😬 I have so little to look forward to!!)

• And finally... when I realize I may have gone a bit too far this time.