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Good Morning, Portland! We're looking at a warm weekend—with a high of 91-degrees today, 92 tomorrow, and 87 on Sunday. That's warmer than I personally like, but seems pretty blissful for a glamorous Pride weekend. See you all at the parade!

IN LOCAL NEWS:
• Portland city commissioners Rene Gonzalez and Dan Ryan are trying to make substantial changes to charter reform, by reducing the size of the new city council and giving the office of the mayor veto power, among other ideas. Late yesterday, we learned Portland City Council will hold a Charter Reform Amendments Referendum Work Session on Tuesday, July 18, from 9:30-11:30 am, to discuss the proposed ballot initiative altering aspects of the voter-approved charter reform measure. Can't wait for City Council to let their friends speak first—they're just classy like that.

• On Wednesday, Guinness World Records announced that Darcelle XV Showplace and Wildfang had set a new world record for longest drag artist stage show. We were there for the whole 48-hours: Read the live blog here.

• PDX Eater reports Sisters of the Road purchased the building formerly home to House of Louie. It's expected to open in 2025.

• "BLEEP! BLORP! (That's robot speak for "Howdy there, smarty brains!") Have you taken this week's POP QUIZ PDX? 

 
 
 
 
 
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• It's Friday morning, and tickets for upcoming shows are about to go on sale. You wanna see Kaytraminé—Aminé & Kaytranada—at Edgefield? Tickets drop this morning? Brian Jonestown Massacre at Rev Hall? THAT'S ALSO DROPPING THIS MORNING. Check the list our Everout calendar team made for even more shows!

IN NATIONAL / INTERNATIONAL NEWS:
• The US Supreme Court gave a middle finger to those drowning in student loan debt when it ruled the government can't forgive the debts of borrowers who had payments paused during the pandemic. On the bright side, the Biden administration recently fixed a major issue with the student loan system, forgiving decades-old loans for more than 800,000 people who were supposed to be debt-free by now.

• This week, we've heard statements from film and TV executives opposing the ongoing Writers Guild strike that seemed ripped from the lines of a poorly-written cartoon villain. Now, SAG-AFTRA—the world’s largest performer and broadcaster labor union—has joined them, after their own contract negotiations failed. The New York Times reports that "actors agreed to a strike authorization... with 97.9 percent of the vote—a stunning figure that even eclipsed the writers’ significant strike authorization." As the strike time of midnight, Friday morning went into effect, the cast Oppenheimer walked out of their red carpet premiere, and everyone remembered their love for Fran Drescher:

• Police in the UK responded to reports of a screaming woman in a home, only to instead find...parrots. The birds' owner laughed at the arrival of police, claiming one of his macaws was extra vocal that day. Still think the cops should check under this guy's baseboards for a body.

• I don't think the morning news will be late this morning, but if it is—I'm sorry, and this is why: