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Good morning, Portland! Thanks for reading, or listening along this morning. Many of us are in for another long weekend to celebrate the birth of a nation, but that doesn’t mean you have to. In fact, it appears many people are not celebrating, including at President Donald Trump’s Great American State Fair, which appears to be flopping spectacularly. A heat wave is also expected in D.C. on July 4th, with highs of 107 degrees. Here in Portland, expect temperatures in the high 70s. Let’s get to more news! 📰
IN LOCAL NEWS
• With America’s 250th birthday and Fourth of July extravaganza right around the corner, and extreme fire warnings across the West, Oregon is not utilizing any statewide fire restrictions, the Oregon Capital Chronicle reports. With dry vegetation across the state, and a state of emergency declaration from Governor Tina Kotek issued just two weeks ago, Oregonians are largely free to use their discretion and set flying things on fire in their neighborhoods. Portland, however, banned the sale and use of fireworks within city limits in 2022, so don’t get any ideas, pyros. It can lead to heavy fines, jail time, or worse (the animal kingdom turning on you when the time arrives).
• The Interstate Bridge project connecting Oregon and Washington across the Columbia River has reached a new milestone. The project completed a federal environmental review process, and it was approved, meaning the bottlenecked bridge replacement can begin construction on a host of construction projects included in that review. The cost of the project is expected to top some $15 billion—a much higher cost than initial estimates. The 109-year-old bridge badly needs to be replaced, as an earthquake could shake the bridge and anything on it into the river. But as with any planning, people have a lot of ideas of how to build a bridge of the future, or rather, the present, rather than just building for cars cars cars. But the light rail idea is absent from the latest plan, and Washington will still need to pony up to get it back in. Read more from OPB, here.
• Local entrepreneurs Jessie Burke and her husband Jonathan Cohen, on many occasions the subject of scrutiny in this newspaper, are selling their Old Town Society Hotel and skipping town. First reported by Willamette Week, the two mini-moguls and recipients of many a city funds for gentrification projects have decided the city is not for them, so they’re moving to the East Coast. Together, they have been staunch critics of the city’s response to homelessness after they bought up cheap property in a neighborhood long committed to providing homeless services but found they could not successfully displace people and flip the neighborhood for their own self interest. Burke also ran for Multnomah County commissioner and lost in 2024, ran District Attorney Nathan Vasquez’s campaign, and chaired the Old Town Community Association for a stint. Cohen was a central character in the unsuccessful Made in Old Town project, and as our Courtney Vaughn reported in 2024, he got a bunch of money through what many might perceive as direct conflicts of interest. At press time, it was unclear if taxpayers would have to pitch in for their U-Haul too.
• If you’re looking for something to do this weekend, look no further than the Mercury‘s Do This, Do That calendar. This long weekend, the USA fencing summer nationals are taking place at the Convention Center, the Waterfront Blues Festival comes to the waterfront, and a cool DEVO night comes to the Hollywood Theatre. It’s also the 4th of July on Saturday. Find more great stuff around town in this week’s calendar by Lindsay Costello and Mercury staff.
IN NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL NEWS
• A new report stemming from a congressional investigation released Thursday morning—called “From Vanity to Insanity: How the White House Cheated the American People Out of Their 250th Birthday”—says Trump’s big, weird, empty 250th anniversary party was a corrupt, pay-to-play scheme. The report said the party was “orchestrated through a shadow corporation embedded within the National Park Foundation.” Allegedly, Trump did what Trump has done his whole life: In 2016, Congress established a nonprofit to plan the 250th birthday party, but Trump took it over, installed his people, brought in a bunch of money for himself and his friends and threw his name on it. Now, the party is not much of a party, but people connected to the party are likely making a lot of money off the contracts, so who is laughing now? Read more on this perfect metaphor for the Trump regime in the Guardian.
• Russia has attacked Kiev again, this time over the course of 11 hours on Wednesday and into Thursday. The drone and missile attacks—in response to Ukraine’s recent strikes that caused fuel shortages in Russia, its Defense Ministry said—killed at least 20 civilians and injured at least 90 others, the Associated Press reports. Ukraine says it is trying to force Russian President Vladimir Putin back to the negotiating table, but Putin is instead hitting back despite the unpopularity of his aggression. Read the latest here.
• The USA men’s soccer team is advancing to the FIFA World Cup round of 16 after defeating Bosnia and Herzegovina. USA won the match 2-0 on Wednesday after Malik Tillman scored on a free kick in the 82nd minute. Reports later surfaced that Tillman had injured his foot prior to the kick, as he revealed a bloody sock and torn shoe to reporters, making him all the more legendary in the annals of the 2026 World Cup. The USA will meet Belgium in Seattle on Monday.
• Have a good weekend.
