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GOOD MORNING, PORTLAND! It’s a soggy Tuesday and it doesn’t look like we’ll get any reprieve until next week. If you haven’t heard by now, we’re in for snow this weekend. Stock up on essentials now, because we all know the city will likely shut down at the first site of a snowflake.

Let’s get into the headlines!

In Local News:

  • They’re calling it a blizzard warning. The Cascades are in for not inches, but “feet of snow” in the mountains today and tomorrow, with what meteorologists say could be “whiteout driving conditions” in higher elevation areas. Later this week, we’re predicted to get snowfall. 
 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by Tatum, Diego + Phoebe | Chihuahuas (@mellowyellowspets)

  • Right after that snowstorm, prepare for the MAX Red Line to shut down for six weeks, with the Blue and Green Line service heavily throttled through late February. As Taylor Griggs reports, the shut down is part of TriMet’s “A Better Red” project.
  • In other instances of things falling from the sky, no one can stop talking about the airplane emergency plug cover thingy (that’s the technical term) that mysteriously became dislodged from an Alaska Airlines Boeing plane last week, landing in a Portlander’s yard. Aviation safety inspectors are questioning why the airline allowed the plane to take off in the first place.
  • This morning, Portland City Commissioner Carmen Rubio announced her bid for mayor. Rubio is the third current city council member to enter the mayor's race, joining Commissioners Mingus Mapps and Rene Gonzalez. A political newcomer and recent Portland transplant, Durrell Kinsey Bey, is also running. In a campaign announcement, Rubio emphasized the need for someone who will lead "without drama."

“I made my decision with the full recognition of where we are as a city," Rubio said in a Tuesday morning press release. "And we need a mayor who will take responsibility for the way forward. One with a track record of building bridges, focusing our city’s energy into a force for change, and getting results. Portlanders deserve a mayor who will take us into our future without drama – just hard, collaborative work, especially on community safety, homelessness and housing."

In National/World News:

  • Who could’ve seen it coming?! President Biden was interrupted by protesters Monday while giving a speech at a church where a white supremacist killed nine people back in 2015. The hecklers shouted at the president, encouraging him to call for a cease-fire in Gaza.
  • The US is investing $1 billion into a plan to swap out traditional diesel-powered school buses with electric buses. The funding is coming in the form of grants from the Environmental Protection Agency, but as The Guardian reports, some districts could face snags in installing the infrastructure to charge the massive buses. Building enough electric vehicle charging stations around the US could strain the power grid. 
  • Just a reminder that the nation's high courts are currently deciding whether Donald Trump—the man who is still the GOP frontrunner for this year's presidential race—can be prosecuted for his role in trying to overthrow the last election. His lawyers argue his former status as president gives him immunity. .

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