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GOOD MORNING, PORTLAND! Fall did not miss a beat. The first day of the season ushered in rain and gray skies over the weekend, and three days later, itā€™s still all wet outside. The weather gods say theyā€™re prepared to shower us until at least Thursday.Ā 

In Local News:

  • Police say a serial arsonist was found dead Sunday afternoon, Sept. 24. According to police, Portland Fire & Rescue alerted them of a man they suspected of starting 14 fires around Portland last week. The same person was arrested in Gresham two days earlier for starting three fires there. Police responded to a death call and realized the name matched the suspect named by PF&R. Authorities believe the suspect, 35-year-old Fredy Javier Pareves-Kancab, died by suicide.
  • Portland City Commissioner Rene Gonzalez is calling on the city and county to declare a public health emergency, citing a 911 call last Friday involving a toddler who had ingested foil with opioid residue. First responders gave the child Narcan and it survived. According to Gonzalez, who cited the 911 call log, police were called after firefighter/EMTs spotted drug paraphernalia in the parents' car. Gonzalez is largely responsible for a recent City Council vote to ban public drug use, pending changes in state law. He says an emergency declaration would "allow for the possibility of more serious interventions for drug related behavioral health [crises] ..." Ā 
  • We know how much you love when we come up with ways for you to eat cheap, so buckle up, because Wing Week is coming! The fun starts next Monday, Oct. 2.

In National/World News:

  • Is bubble water bad for you? Asking for a friend. According to recent reporting, seltzer water is just as hydrating as still water, but could be making you gassy and screwing up your teeth. Ughhhhhh.
  • Some of the thousands of Maui residents who lost their homes in devastating wildfires last month returned to where their homes once stood in Lahaina. The area has been off limits to all but authorized crews for the past seven weeks. Media on scene were confined to a designated area to give residents privacy and space to grieve, the Associated Press reports, noting many people were hoping to collect mementos or keepsake items among the ash.
  • In case you havenā€™t heard, the United States is facing a government shutdown this Saturday if Republicans and Democrats in Congress canā€™t agree on a spending plan. Some of the major issues fueling the potential shutdown include disagreements over extending more aid to Ukraine, (someoneā€™s gotta pay for all Volodymyr Zelenskyyā€™s t-shirts!) and bolstering disaster relief fundingā€”both priorities for Democrats. Itā€™s a political game played at the expense of Americans, many of whom would have their lives disrupted by a shutdown. While Social Security checks would still go out, many federal employees wonā€™t get paid on time.

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  • Speaking of the war in Ukraine, military leaders there claim to have killed a top Russian Black Sea navy commander last weekend, in Crimea, in an ongoing war over Russiaā€™s prior annexation of Crimea nearly a decade ago, which violated international laws.

The news can be distressing, but don't forget to be kind to each other.