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Good morning, Portland! And it is a good morning, indeed, because temperatures have dropped significantly compared to yesterday’s scorching highs. We’re in for a relatively reasonable high of 79 degrees today, which is honestly 15 degrees higher than I’d prefer but you can’t always get what you want, especially not during a climate emergency.
Time for the news.
IN LOCAL NEWS:
• First, on the heat: Temperatures didn’t quite hit triple digits yesterday, capping out at about 97 degrees, but that’s still much, much hotter than usual for this time of year (or any other time, really). As I said earlier, it’s set to cool down today and will stay relatively mild the next few days, but early forecasts show another spike next week. UGH. Meanwhile, climate change is no longer treated like a big issue by the news or politicians (but what can we expect from the latter group, anyway?). Hope you have been able to stay cool enough.
• There’s a Portland City Council work session about the potential Moda Center renovation next week. City councilors have advertised it as an opportunity for the public to weigh in on the contentious topic of whether or not the city should be spending hundreds of millions of public dollars to accommodate the Trail Blazers’ new owner, Tom Dundon. But the work session happens to be scheduled at the same time as Dundon is set to attend a Portland Metro Chamber event taking place at the Moda Center (which will feature several other public officials). Last week, Metro Chamber President and CEO Andrew Hoan emailed councilors to request they reschedule the work session in order to attend the event at the Moda Center. Many bristled at the request, especially because the Moda Center event costs between $250 and $350, while the City Council event is free and open to the public. As the Mercury‘s Jeremiah Hayden put it in his story: “The scheduling conflict highlights the tensions around who is making decisions about public dollars, and what renovations are necessary to keep the arena in good shape for the NBA franchise.” City Council Prez Jamie Dunphy, likely recognizing what a bad look it would be to capitulate to the Blazers owner and business lobby, says the work session will go on as planned. Find out more here!
• What is there to get up to in Portland this week? Well, I’m so glad you asked. How about the seventh annual CAT RIDE tomorrow evening, a bike ride all about cats (and most likely featuring some real cats)?? On Thursday, Race Talks will put on a very interesting celebration of Black drag in Portland, hosted by Poison Waters and Lawanda Jackson. Friday is Juneteenth, which you can commemorate by attending the Black liberation bike ride, a Juneteenth comedy show, and/or the Juneteenth Oregon Festival (taking place on Saturday). On Sunday, check out the 8 Seconds Rodeo, the annual event honoring the legacy of Black cowboys in the American West. You can find out about all of this week’s best events right here.
• Sad basketball news: The Portland Trail Blazers are losing Tiago Splitter, the very competent coach who led the team this season, after former coach Chauncey Billups was arrested for participating in a gambling conspiracy. Splitter is departing for the Chicago Bulls, and it’s unclear who will next coach the Blazers. Good luck to him, but Blazers fans could really use a win (or just some stability) right now! So this news was somewhat of a bummer to hear.
IN NATIONAL/WORLD NEWS:
• Oil prices dropped significantly following news of the alleged deal between the US and Iran, which is supposed to result in the Strait of Hormuz reopening to oil and gas tanker ships. While crude oil prices reached a high of $126 a barrel during the war in Iran, it’s now sitting around $83. Prior to the war, a barrel of crude oil was around $60. (These skyrocketing rates resulted in a big windfall for oil and gas companies.) This whole situation should be a wake-up call about the instability of the global oil market, resulting in a global push to electrification—but I’m not holding my breath. At least, the US is certainly not taking away any good lessons from this whole catastrophe.
• Remember how Trump wanted the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool to be bright blue, as a shamelessly tacky stunt for the country’s 250th anniversary? Well, the pool is disgusting now, coated in a thick layer of green algae. (And it’s all their fault, as the below post explains.) As usual, the Trump administration is displaying unwarranted confidence that the algae will go away in record time, an assertion that is not backed up by people who actually know anything about this topic.
The Dept of Interior claims that the algae in the reflecting pool is left over from rarely used pipes No. Painting the pool dark blue means that it absorbs heat much faster than if it were a light color. Warmer = faster algae growth That’s why you don’t see black swimming pools Science!
[image or embed]— Laurie Loves Data (@laurelann.bsky.social) June 15, 2026 at 12:31 PM
• The Trump administration has apparently initiated a probe into California Governor Gavin Newsom and his wife (or so Newsom alleged in a video yesterday). Newsom said his friends and former staffers have received visits from federal cops, who he said are seeking information pertaining to “increasingly personal matters involving the Governor’s family and professional network.” Newsom said the investigation is politically targeted because the California governor—who has been adversarial to Trump—is considering running for president in 2028. It’s slightly unclear if this probe truly exists, as the US Justice Department itself hasn’t announced anything. But in fairness, it wouldn’t be surprising, considering how often Trump goes after his critics and perceived rivals.
• With Luigi Mangione’s trial on the horizon, it’s becoming clear to attorneys that it may be difficult to find a jury that isn’t inherently favorable to the alleged murderer. (It’s kind of funny to see stoic media outlets try to describe why, exactly, Mangione is so charming—this NPR article cites his “populist appeal, fueled in part by what many describe as his Instagram-ready good looks.”) Mangione stands accused of killing healthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December 2024. As NPR delicately attempts to explain, people weren’t really shocked or appalled about the killing, with some seeing it as a “referendum on the costly, frustrating and often inaccessible U.S. healthcare system.” (And, yeah, the fact that he’s hot doesn’t hurt.) More than 42,000 donors have given a total of $1.5 million to his legal defense fund. Will New York and federal prosecutors be able to select an unbiased jury for the upcoming cases? That remains to be seen.
• The British government will ban children under the age of 16 from using most popular social media apps, including Snapchat, TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. The decision to prevent kids from using these apps, announced yesterday by Prime Minister Keir Starmer, was met with some praise…but it also prompted significant pushback from free speech and data privacy advocates. Critics say the ban will push kids into darker corners of the internet, and force all users to forego privacy by verifying their ages with the tech companies. At any rate, this type of policy is becoming more popular—Australia initiated a similar ban last year, and other countries are looking into it, too. (Probably not the US, considering the power our tech bro oligarchs have. Not that I really think this is a good idea, but still.)
• Happy Tuesday!! XOXO
