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GOOD MORNING, PORTLAND! 👋

Thought summer was over? PSYCH! Get ready for a mostly sunny week—starting today with a high of 83 and working its way up to 92 by this weekend. (Sorry, but you haven't seen the last of my thong yet! You also haven't seen the last of my Good Morning, Newses, either!)

IN LOCAL NEWS:

• Starting today a federal district court judge based here in Portland will hear a case that could possibly torpedo the planned merger of supermarket chains Kroger and Albertsons. The Federal Trade Commission is seeking an injunction to stop the deal, saying the merger would create a monopoly that would eliminate competition in many areas while at the same time raise prices on groceries. Meanwhile K&A argue that they just want to compete with rivals such as Costco. (Huh... it's almost like capitalism isn't working out as well as some had hoped!)

• Lotsa big changes for your public transit commute have been announced by TriMet, which includes eliminating some bus lines while adding others, shifting late-night MAX service to busses to increase time for maintenance on the trains, as well as updates to roughly 550 bus stops. Check out all the changes (some of which could affect your commute) here.

• In the fourth "deadly force" incident of the year, Portland Police shot and wounded a man in North Portland who was allegedly threatening a neighbor with a gun and hammer. Details are scant, and as usual, the police have not released the name of the officer(s) who pulled the trigger.

• While performing in Cirque du Soleil's Kooza in Portland this weekend, aerialist Mariia Konfektova was injured after falling from a suspended hoop over the stage and hospitalized. Like all of Soleil's performers she was working without a net when the accident occurred, and the show was temporarily stopped. Happily, Konfektova wrote on Instagram that she's going to be okay and expects to return to the show.

IN LOCAL/NATIONAL NEWS:

• Apparently Trump is trying to squirm out of debating Kamala Harris in an September televised debate, saying that a) the hosting network, ABC, is biased against him and b) he wants Kamala's microphone to be muted while he's talking so she won't be able to call him on his blatant and unending stream of lies. (Ohhhhh, the intellectual beating he's going to receive will be tantalizing!)

• Meanwhile the Kamala campaign has raised a record-breaking $540 million since entering the race, with $82 million arriving during last week's Democratic National Convention. The most common occupations listed by donors include "teachers" and "nurses," as opposed to, say, "panicky billionaires" and "Putin."

• After ordering civilians to evacuate, Israeli forces are reportedly moving into one of the few remaining Gaza towns that have escaped being attacked, thereby forcing local officials to shut down one of the last functioning hospitals serving the country. Thus far Israeli military have killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, and in addition... well, I'm just going to leave this here for you: "Israeli evacuation orders now cover around 84% of Gaza’s territory, according to the United Nations, which estimates that around 90% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million have been forced from their homes."

• Pavel Durov, the CEO of the messaging app Telegram has been been arrested by French authorities after being accused of allowing the service to be used as a front for money laundering, drug trafficking, child sexual exploitation, and other crimes. The app originated in Russia as a way for users to communicate and bypass the country's strict anti-privacy laws, though it has also been a source of criticism for its lack of content moderation.

• And finally... here's the TikTok I watched 37 times this weekend, AND I HAVE NO INTENTION OF STOPPING.

@iamtelesmar LET'S GO! I'm ready for Kamala to have her next Black job as the 47th President of the United States of America!  #blackjob #kamalaharris #coconuttree #kamala #timwalz #dnc #elections2024 ♬ Black Jobs x Michelle Obama x House of Evo Remix - CasaDi