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GOOD MORNING, PORTLAND! Expect those clouds and occasional showers to stick around today with a balmy high of 56, but you can ALSO expect things to get increasingly drier and sunnier going into the weekend! And now, may I interest you in some medium moist NEWS?

IN LOCAL NEWS:

• The sold-out Moda Center crowd showed nothing but love last night for returning hero Damian Lillard who dropped into Portland with his new team, the Milwaukie Bucks, to play the Blazers on his former home court. And while the standing ovation was nice, it was perhaps fitting that it was Lillard's protégé, the Blazers' Anfernee Simons, who scored an impressive 24 points and led our home team to a victory over the Bucks, 119-116.

• You may recall yesterday's Good Morning, News, in which Taylor Griggs informed you about ding-dong bigot and Republican state lawmaker E. Werner Reschke, who essentially said that non-Christians shouldn't be allowed to hold public office. 🙄 Today we have yet another example of deep Republican dumb-assery, this time uttered by Rep. Dwayne Yunker, who stated during his campaign that supporting Pride Month is akin to supporting child abuse, and that drag queens are pedophiles. (Then he got mad when people responded by calling him, in his words, "homophonic." 🤣) Wow. The hatred and ignorance really runs deep with these Republican "homophones."

• Speaking of conservatives who get mad when they don't get their way, Commissioner Rene Gonzalez is deeply butt-hurt that city council refused to include his sweetheart deal amendments for developers in yesterday's vote to relax requirements and provide tax breaks for those building new housing with affordable units. Both of Gonzalez' ideas were terrible for the environment, and despite the fact that developers are getting more than they deserve (and will probably not produce the desired results), Gonzalez bellyached that the sweetheart deals didn't go far enough. Why would he say such a thing? Well....

• It's looking more and more like a rollback on the voter-approved Measure 110—which decriminalized drugs—is going to happen, particularly after Governor Tina Kotek noted on Tuesday that she would be in favor of recriminalization, if the package Democrats presents also focused on the expansion of treatment options and getting users into said treatment. (Welcome back to the failed and racist "war on drugs"... maybe second time's the charm?)

• After nixing the Lloyd Center mall as a potential site for a major league baseball stadium, the Portland Diamond Project is now in talks to purchase the Portland-owned 164-acre RedTail Golf Course in Beaverton to house their pet project. The group expects a deal to be made by the end of the year, and if you don't like the idea of traveling out to Beaverton to watch pro baseball, at least remember this: Every time a golf course is decommissioned, an angel get its wings. 😇

IN NATIONAL/WORLD NEWS:

• As previously hinted, President Biden is expected to issue an executive order that would target violent Israeli settlers who have occupied the West Bank and have been undermining stability in the area by attacking Palestinians. Meanwhile, Biden is also reportedly looking into the possibility of the US recognizing a Palestinian state before sealing any deal with Israel to end their war against Gaza.

• Today marks the 20th anniversary of the Super Bowl "nipplegate" scandal, in which Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake's halftime show was marred by an almost certainly planned "costume malfunction"/nipple reveal. The incident sent the "what about the CHILDREN???" conservatives into a spiraling conniption fit, showed Timberlake to be a spineless prick, and once again revealed the deep residing misogyny that infects this country. Never forget.

• The "feel good" headline of the day: "More than $27M in Trump campaign fundraising went to legal costs in the last six months of 2023."

• And the Trump losses just keep on comin': A London judge has dismissed Trump's legal claim accusing former Brit spy Christopher Steele of slandering him with that famous dossier which included lots of delicious accusations, such as Trump allegedly bribing Russian authorities, and ordering prostitutes to pee on a hotel bed once slept in by Obama. Once again... NEVER FORGET.

• Three are dead and nine more were injured in a Boise, Idaho building collapse at a hangar being built at the city's airport. The cause of the accident, which apparently was happening during construction, is under investigation.

• And finally, for those who want the Mercury to fail (you know who you are), this gentleman sums up my thoughts exactly: