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Good morning, Portland, and welcome to the Good Morning, News rapture edition. In case you’re not a person who’s chronically online, today is the day Christians get swept up into the sky with Jesus, according to a large swath of people on TikTok. The sheer number of people who believe in earnest that the world as we know it will end on September 23 is puzzling, but also inspires hope in those of us who know we’ll get left behind and undoubtedly have fewer people to fight with for resources like housing, food, jobs, and that last pack of key lime La Croix.

Aside from a major biblical event, today we can expect sunshine and a high of 82. If you’re still around tomorrow, expect the same weather.  

IN LOCAL NEWS:

• Portland Police Bureau shot a guy last weekend in what the Bureau called an “exchange of gunfire” while responding to reports of an armed suspect “threatening employees at a service station before fleeing.” Officers eventually found the suspect and engaged in a high risk traffic stop, which ended in the guy firing at police and police firing back, injuring the suspect who was later transported to a hospital with what’s described as non-life threatening injuries. Bullets hit a PPB SUV, as well as a bystander’s car. For some reason, the Bureau didn’t call the incident an officer-involved shooting as it typically does when officers deploy deadly force, but the involved officers are on paid administrative leave, which is standard after an officer-involved shooting. You can track PPB’s uses of deadly force here.

• In other city bureau news, Portland Parks & Recreation’s (PP&R) Urban Forestry division reports there are 15 percent more street trees now than there were a decade ago. The division did a three-year analysis by mapping, measuring and identifying more than 252,000 street trees across the city, according to PP&R. “The data shows there is still room for improvement, but key findings include a 15% increase in Portland’s street trees over the past decade, greater species diversity, and about 90% of street trees are in good or fair condition,” the bureau reported Monday. 

• Kaiser Permanente nurses and other health care workers in Oregon and Southwest Washington authorized a strike last week. The Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals (OFNHP) voted to authorize the work stoppage amid ongoing labor contract negotiations with Kaiser. OFNHP members say the health care organization isn’t doing enough to raise wages that will attract new employees, which are needed to adequately staff Sunnyside Medical Center in Clackamas, Westside Medical Center in Hillsboro, and other surgical centers and medical and dental clinics spanning the I-5 corridor. OPB previously reported that Kaiser offered staff a 20 percent pay raise over the next four years and the Oregonian notes Kaiser is “pushing back on the union’s concerns about staffing and quality of care” saying more than 6,300 employees were hired last year, including nearly 4,700 front line health care workers. If a strike occurs after OFNHP’s contract expires at the end of the month, Kaiser would get 10 days notice.

• Several food carts were damaged after a propane tank exploded at Springwater Cart Park (formerly Cartlandia) early this morning. KGW reports residents up to 40 blocks away from the pod near SE 82nd and Harney heard the blast just before 5 am. Apparently a propane canister at one of the carts had a leak that trapped gas inside the cart and exploded once it reached an ignition source. No one was hurt, but eight carts were damaged, along with two permanent structures on the site after cart doors were blown off and glass shattered across the pod. 

• We’re here to remind you of Portland’s thriving arts and culture offerings and help you plan your next outing. This week’s Do This; Do That! provides a bevy of suggestions, including a Spike Lee film series, OG art rockers Sparks at Revolution Hall, and the works of Yoshida Chizuko at the Portland Art Museum. 

The autumn equinox is today, and Do This, Do That has you covered with a weekful of events to start your season right. Inside: two touring comedians, '70s art rock, and a Q&A with director Sean Baker.

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— Portland Mercury (@portlandmercury.com) September 22, 2025 at 1:53 PM

IN NATIONAL/WORLD NEWS:

• Late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel will be back on the air tonight (if he isn’t sucked up in the rapture, of course) after being suspended and having his show taken off the air last Wednesday. Disney suspended Kimmel for what the company deemed insensitive remarks Kimmel made following the death of Charlie Kirk. Kimmel said the MAGA movement is attempting to paint Kirk’s killer as “anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points.” Disney, which owns ABC–the network that airs Kimmel’s show–faced threats from the FCC over Kimmel’s comments. Disney also faced intense public backlash for its assault on free speech, with several calls to boycott the company and its products. Adding to the pressure was an open letter from the ACLU signed by hundreds of actors, urging the company to reverse its decision. 

Breaking: Jimmy Kimmel to return Tuesday.

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— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy.bsky.social) September 22, 2025 at 12:33 PM

• Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s attempt to roll out a live demo of his new Meta AI glasses went as awfully as it possibly could have last week. Zuckerberg’s Meta Ray-Ban Display smart glasses use AI to display messages, texts and other prompts right onto the lenses. An accompanying neural wrist band is supposed to use muscle movements to navigate the features of the goofy $800 frames. During the demo, Zuckerberg tried to answer a call using his glasses, which failed to react, leaving the endearing nerd-turned tech bro douche on stage in silence several times, waiting for the glitches to resolve, before eventually blaming the building’s WiFi. "I don't know what to tell you guys," Zuck told his crowd. Things didn’t get any better when the demo pivoted to a chef using the glasses to help him find a recipe for a Korean steak sauce. The chef asked the live AI feature for ingredients, then asked what the first step should be to make the sauce. “You’ve already combined your base ingredients,” the AI voice responded. Whoops. 

Zuck fumbles the Meta Ray-Ban Display AI glasses video call demo on stage at Connect 2025. #Meta #AI #MetaRayBanDisplay

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— Shacknews (@shacknews.com) September 17, 2025 at 5:48 PM

• Trump is claiming, without conclusive evidence, that Tylenol use during pregnancy can cause autism. He and Robert F. Kennedy Jr, who now heads the US Health and Human Services department, said Monday that that drug labels will soon be updated to warn pregnant women against taking acetaminophen due to increased risk of autism. There is no clear scientific evidence of any link between the drug and autism. There is however, a recent study that examined findings from other studies and concluded there is an association between acetaminophen use during pregnancy and elevated risk of autism spectrum disorder, ADHD, and neurodevelopmental disability. NPR noted one of the study’s authors cautioned that “stronger evidence” is needed before the government changes its health guidance on the matter. Update: Physicians note the Harvard study trotted out by Trump and RFK Jr was flawed in its approach and showed correlation, not causation. They point to a much more robust and reliable study done in Sweden, with a sample size of 2.4 million children born between 1995 and 2019, which "found no evidence of increased risk" of autism, ADHD, or intellectual disability associated with acetaminophen use.

• In unsurprising but frightening news, Trump also signed an executive order deeming antifa a terrorist organization. Emboldened by the recent murder of Charlie Kirk, Trump is capitalizing on the moment in order to target left-wing groups. “Antifa” isn’t an organization or singular group. It’s a decentralized movement comprised of individuals who often use protest as a means of pushing back against fascism and fascist government entities. 

Speaking of government overreach ... don't get me wrong, I want the guvment to back off from that authoritarian power trip and stay out of my business, but I absolutely want to be all up in everyone else's biz. 

@ringodanyan I just want to know the tea😜 #cute #cat #catsoftiktok ♬ original sound - Landon