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GOOD MORNING, PORTLAND! 👋

You can expect another hotty-hot day with the highs stretching up to 94 degrees, before dipping significantly tomorrow down to a much more livable 87. Now let's dip into some hotty-hot NEWS!

IN LOCAL NEWS:

• Okay, let's imagine you live in Wisconsin and sit on the state cheese board—but you hate cheese and never eat it. Should you keep that job? Okay, now imagine you sit on the board of TriMet right here in Portland—but you never ride public transportation. Again, SHOULD YOU KEEP THAT JOB? That's what some are wondering after it was discovered that four out of six TriMet board members didn't ride public transportation a single time last year. Because if you're in charge of making decisions that affect thousands of riders each day, doesn't it seem like maybe a good idea to take public transpo now and then, jut so you could see how to improve it? Our Taylor Griggs has more on this interesting story, which unfortunately doesn't have a single mention of cheese. (It's still very good tho.)

• Portland Police are sending up a flare about a possible region-wide illegal street racing event this weekend called the “West Coast Invitational” in which up to 1,000 drivers could show up in town for some "Fast and Furious"-style antics. Now before you say, "Don't threaten ME with a good time," by and large these people tend to be rather incompetent drivers (you've probably seen them dangerously whipping through traffic on I-5) whose only real experience with racing is sitting in a BarcaLounger playing Mario Kart, and innocent people have died thanks to their idea of "fun." Yes, this all makes me sound old, and I don't give a shit. Grow up, my dudes—it's actually embarrassing.

• Me on the lookout for my haters:

• You probably saw this coming, but wildfires across the state have rapidly intensified and so far this season have burned more than 1 million acres. At current count, there are 33 major wildfires in Oregon, with the worst (the Durkee fire in Baker County, northwest of Ontario) having incinerated 293,882 acres thus far.

• Oh, and in case you missed it yesterday, we published our verrrrry smart and curated picks for which shows you better not miss at this year's Pickathon, which includes Lo Steele, Kassa Overall, Adi Oasis, and... wait. Why am I telling you this? Go read the damn story yourself! (I'm such an enabler. 😢 No wonder Rene Gonzalez hates me.)

IN NATIONAL /WORLD NEWS:

• The current most decorated gymnast in the world, Simone Biles, is bringing home two golds in this year's Olympics—while also delivering a sick Twitter burn to Trump. Referencing the presidential candidate/convicted felon's June comments in which he accused immigrants of taking "Black jobs" (!!), Biles commented on Twitter after winning her two medals that "I love my Black job. 🖤" Absolute GOAT.

• Vice President Kamala Harris (who raised TWICE as much as Trump in July) is getting verrrrrry close to picking her presidential running mate, has reportedly finished her vetting process, and will be meeting with her top picks within the next 72 hours. Harris is expected to announce her decision this coming Tuesday, introducing her pick at a rally in Philadelphia. So it's time to lay yer bets! 💰

• Oh, and you may recall Trump's absolutely DISASTROUS interview at the National Association of Black Journalists annual convention in Chicago on Wednesday (you know... the one where he said that Kamala Harris "turned Black"), and when he accused the organizers of delaying the start of the panel? Turns out that Trump himself was the probable cause of that delay, because only moments before the interview was set to begin, the convicted felon refused to go onstage because he did not want to be fact-checked live. Now, that makes sense.

• Reminder:

• Today in "Headlines that make you go 'hmmmmmmmm'": "Mitch McConnell compares Biden Supreme Court reforms to Jan. 6."

• And finally, let's salute one of the unsung heroes of the Olympics.