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GOOD MORNING, PORTLAND! It's Tuesday. It's likely gonna rain, and we're in for a high of 50 degrees, with some brief visits from our elusive friend, the sun.

IN LOCAL NEWS:

  • Last week, during a Multnomah County Board of Commissioners meeting, Commissioner Sharon Meieran unleashed palpable frustration over a recent 90-day fentanyl emergency declaration by Gov. Tina Kotek, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, and County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson. Meieran is BIG MAD that the county hasn’t done more to address the fentanyl addiction crisis. She called the 90-day declaration a “baloney” resolution, saying it allows the county board chair to check a box, but will do nothing to help those in need.
  • Yesterday, we told you about two pedestrian fatalities in less than 24 hours, but Monday night, police reported a third pedestrian death in Portland, this time on NE MLK Jr Blvd. According to police, a man was struck by two vehicles near NE MLK and Gertz Road. The Major Crash Team investigated, but few other details have been released yet.
  • Last summer, the city announced it would rename O’Bryant Square to Darcelle XV Plaza, after Portland’s beloved, late drag performer. Since then, plans to transform a seedy public square into a vibrant community gathering spot have shifted, with critics fearing the recent plans, which call for the plaza to be fenced in, are catering too heavily to private business interests, while excluding the general public, especially unhoused people. Representatives from the Ritz-Carlton have apparently been pressuring the city to exclude food carts in the plaza, for fear of them competing with a forthcoming food hall inside the Ritz. Taylor Griggs has the latest on the plaza saga.
 
 
 
 
 
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In NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL NEWS:

  • In the latest reminder that too many Republicans are sycophantic puppets for Donald Trump, GOP are now trying to block a border security bill they pushed for and negotiated. Republicans are reportedly trying to tank the bill because Trump is promising to take action on border security if he’s reelected, and he doesn’t want any credit to go to President Biden. Pssst…Trump could have taken action when he was in office, if he wanted to shore up the border so badly.
  • Speaking of that guy, a federal appeals court ruled today that Trump isn’t immune from prosecution for his role in the 2020 election subversion case. CNN notes Trump is facing four counts, “including conspiring to defraud the United States and to obstruct an official proceeding.” Trump’s legal team is likely to appeal the ruling to the US Supreme Court.
  • Country music star Toby Keith died Monday after a battle with stomach cancer. Keith, 62, had reportedly received chemotherapy treatment in 2021 and had success. His publicist says the singer-songwriter died peacefully with family by his side.
  • Across the pond, it was revealed that King Charles III has an undisclosed type of cancer. King Charles is 75. Doctors discovered the cancer during routine treatment of an enlarged prostate, but the BBC reports it’s not prostate cancer. News outlets are reporting the man is optimistic about the prognosis.
  • While we’re on that depressing subject, Rice University scientists may have a glimmer of hope. Researchers have found success in rupturing cancer cells using “molecular jackhammers,” in other words, they use near-infrared light to cause membranes to vibrate so heavily, they rupture.
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