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Good Morning, Portland: It’s a big weekend for local actions against federal agents, beginning today. Don’t be surprised if your neighborhood coffee shop is closed this morning; many Portland businesses are taking part in a nationwide strike and protest going on Friday and Saturday. More below.

IN LOCAL NEWS:

  • Portland's public transit agency is in a dire financial place, and it's unclear when—or if—help will arrive. In the meantime, TriMet is going to have to make major bus and MAX service cuts, potentially eliminating several entire bus lines. Riders still have a limited time to weigh in on the changes through a survey. The local transportation system appears to be facing a doom loop of its own, as service cuts lead to lower ridership which leads to cuts and so on. Taylor Griggs has the story here. 

    Portland's public transit agency is in a dire financial place, and it's unclear when—or if—help will arrive. In the meantime, TriMet is going to have to make major bus and MAX service cuts. Riders still have a limited time to weigh in on the changes through a survey.

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    — Portland Mercury (@portlandmercury.com) January 29, 2026 at 7:35 PM

  • Portland City Councilors Angelita Morillo and Mitch Green asked Mayor Keith Wilson earlier this week to expedite enforcement of a new detention center impact fee. The new city code targets property owners whose tenants release harmful chemicals like tear gas. It went into effect January 2, but the fee structure and enforcement particulars have yet to be determined by administrative staff. The councilors say the ICE facility in Portland has already violated the new rule at least once, when agents used tear gas on protesters last weekend. Catch up on the details of the ordinance, and what the bill’s cosponsors want to see from the mayor and his administration, from Courtney Vaughn, here.

  • A resolution passed through the city's Housing and Homelessness Committee in December predominantly focused on sending out $21 million in unexpected housing funds for rent assistance and rapid rehousing programs. But a competing piece of legislation made its way into an amendment City Council passed on Wednesday, and it could redirect over 25 percent of the total dollars to the city's economic development corporation, Prosper Portland, to help fill a funding gap for one of its housing projects. Whether to prioritize people on the verge of housing or new developments is a central piece of a fiery discussion among city councilors. The discussion gave further insight into increasingly frequent clashes between councilors whose legislative priorities appear favorable to low-income Portlanders, and those poised to guide that funding toward corporate developers. More on this story here.

  • NBC News reported this week that a former White House official said “Oregon was next” for a surge of federal agents a la Minneapolis, after agents shot and killed Alex Pretti last Saturday. (Aside: How often do White House officials come and go? We have a “former” official just six days later?) It’s unclear whether it’s still the case that boots will be on the ground soon, or if the guy was telling the truth, and the Department of Homeland Security apparently isn’t saying much. Not that you can believe them either. In any case, Portlanders will know what to do if this ever materializes, and there’s plenty of inspiration to pull from Minneapolis’ response to the siege. The Oregonian has the local angle on a national scoop, here.

  • Preparation is key.

me, emotionally writing an essay on the use of force by federal agents: ok but what if i packaged this in the most insane way possible www.theverge.com/policy/86857...

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— sarah jeong (@sarahjeong.bsky.social) January 29, 2026 at 6:25 AM

  • Here at the Mercury, we love an action film director who’s secretly so much better than anyone asked him to be. On Friday, Ric Roman Waugh’s Shelter hits theaters with a nearly wordless guy (Jason Statham) forced to return to a secret, violent vocation. Why do parts of this look like an Ingmar Bergman film? Enjoy! Here, you can read the review from our film critic Dom Sinacola.

IN NATIONAL / INTERNATIONAL NEWS:

  • Don Lemon has been arrested. The former CNN anchor was arrested on charges related to a protest inside a Minneapolis church where the pastor is also an ICE official. Lemon appeared to be working during the protest, and the First Amendment protects that work as well as, let’s see
 the “right to peaceably assemble.” His lawyer called it a “transparent attempt to distract attention from the many crises facing this administration,” which I fact checked, and is partly true. It is actually a transparent sign of authoritarianism and is itself one of the many aims of the regime. Shows of force like arresting dissidents and journalists to make them afraid has the desired impact for the Trump administration—the question is whether or not we take the bait or keep shedding light on truth. Now, don’t forget to smash that subscribe button.

  • Oh?

 

  • Congressional Democrats on Thursday finally did what many Americans have been screaming about, and repeatedly put their lives on the line for: They split a DHS funding bill from a larger package of other funding bills to avoid a government shutdown. The Overton window for abolishing ICE is wide open if the Democrats wanted to jump through it, but the main story out of Senate leadership is one of reform, like ending mask-wearing and introducing a code of conduct before they would ultimately go on to abolish the
 wait
 it looks like they want to do a “set of commonsense and necessary policy goals that we need to rein in ICE and end the violence.” Well that doesn’t fit well on a protest sign! In either case, immigrant families who have experienced the US deportation machine since ICE was created in 2003 might disagree with the notion that the violence can end while the agency remains functional. Don’t forget them, Mr. Schumer. Talks stalled Thursday evening, so things are still in flux. 

  • New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani made big waves when he showed up to a press conference wearing quite a fashionable jacket. The inside collar reads “No problem too big. No task too small,” which is obviously what the dictator of the largest economy in the world would say, while delivering what many viewed as a highly effective response to the weekend’s blizzard. It appears he passed an early test on whether he can deliver for New Yorkers as an elected official and not just a candidate. Either way, these jackets are about to pop up all over your Instagram ads so don’t be surprised if you and a few of your friends are wearing the same thing at the function in a few weeks.

    At a press conference for this past weekend's snowstorm, NYC mayor Zohran Mamdani wore a personalized Carhartt jacket with a quote embroidered on the collar: “No problem too big. No task too small.” gq.visitlink.me/EBkyEk

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    — GQ (@gqmagazine.bsky.social) January 28, 2026 at 12:46 PM
  • Speaking of fashion. Who wore it best? 

outfit has the same colors as the crying emoji 😭

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— derek guy (@dieworkwear.bsky.social) January 29, 2026 at 7:46 PM

  • The FBI raided Fulton County, Georgia elections center Thursday, trying to find records of the 2020 election, which Trump has publicly maintained was stolen since he lost the election to Joe Biden in reality. Some experts say raiding the office, particularly the office that has been at the center of Trump's baseless claims, could help the regime consolidate power by muddying or even attempting to interfere in the midterm elections this November. Trump has floated the idea of using the National Guard to "secure the election," in his words. That would be a major escalation. Trump has also demanded voter roles from states he sent DHS to as a condition for halting what he insists is immigration enforcement. Also, the Director of National Intelligence and Russian agent Tulsi Gabbard was there.


    “.. U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard speaks on the phone while standing inside a vehicle loaded with boxes outside the Fulton County Election Hub and Operation Center after the FBI executed a search warrant there.” @reuters.com

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    — Carl Quintanilla (@carlquintanilla.bsky.social) January 28, 2026 at 4:47 PM

  • The song of the weekend is right here, from some friends of the Mercury: