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GOOD MORNING, PORTLAND! It'll be a nice, drizzly autumn day. It'll be nice and sunny this weekend, though, so hold tight if you're into that sort of thing. And onto the NEWS!

IN LOCAL NEWS:

• The Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) is deep in the red, and they're therefore issuing a big CODE RED to City Council and all city residents: if they don't get about $32 million in funding before the next fiscal year, the bureau will have to cut about a third of its services. On the chopping block: more than 100 jobs, programs like Sunday Parkways, and, uh...landslide repair? PBOT officials went to City Council on Tuesday to ask for some help, but City Council members—Mayor Ted Wheeler and Commissioner Rene Gonzalez in particular—don't seem too keen on allocating more money to our city's transportation system if it means taking anything away from the cops. It's only the beginning of next year's budget season, so we'll see what happens. In the meantime, read the Mercury's story to learn more. 

• Well...it's finally confirmed. Damian Lillard is leaving the Portland Trailblazers to join the Milwaukee Bucks, and Portlanders everywhere (even ones who don't pay, like, that much attention to basketball) shed a tear. Unfortunately, that's pretty much all the sports commentary I'm equipped to offer. But I wish him luck.

• Obama was in Portland (well, Beaverton) yesterday visiting the Nike HQ, and nobody knows why. New Nike Air Obamas coming soon? It seems to be a top secret affair. Maybe he just wanted to buy some shoes at a 40% discount.

• Portland City Council approved a five-year, $750 million Climate Investment Plan yesterday, funded by the Portland Clean Energy Fund. The plan will bring more trees to Portland's streets, as well as electric bike rebates and clean energy retrofits for housing and businesses. It's a drop in the bucket compared to what's going to be needed to solve the climate crisis, but it's a pretty solid first step, and a bright spot in Portland's current government woes. 

IN NATIONAL/WORLD NEWS:

• In order to fix overheated and dying coral reefs on Florida's coast, scientists will let loose an army of Caribbean king crabs into the ocean nearby. These crabs feast on macro algae, which has been "choking reefs" and making it even more difficult for them to recover from deadly marine heatwaves. As this Vox article astutely puts it: "Not all heroes wear capes. Some are crabs." 

• As the start of October looms this weekend, the U.S. government nears ever closer to a shutdown. As you may recall from past government shutdowns, which seem to be a pretty regular occurrence in this day and age (though the most recent one was during the Trump administration), this will have a big impact on basic government functions and millions of employees won't receive paychecks. If you're wondering who to blame, look no further than the flank of far-right House Republicans and weak-willed Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who can't seem to get them in line to come to a budget agreement. 

• Irish actor Sir Michael Gambon, best known for playing Dumbledore in most of the Harry Potter movies (he took over the role after the death of his predecessor Richard Harris), has died at age 82 after a bout of pneumonia. Sad! 

• At last night's second Republican presidential debate, contenders called out their rival Donald Trump, who was notably absent from the stage. None of their remarks about him were very strong, though. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said the former president “hides behind the walls of his golf clubs and won’t show up here to answer questions like all the rest of us are up here to answer.” Christie also issued the epic burn of calling Trump "Donald Duck." (I bet he feels really roasted.) Nikki Haley, however, issued a referendum on the truly crazy Vivek Ramaswamy, saying “honestly, every time I hear you, I feel a little bit dumber for what you say.” (Haha.) This is all such a mess, but what else was anyone expecting?

• Finally...in honor of Sea Otter Awareness Week:

 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by Monterey Bay Aquarium (@montereybayaquarium)