Bill Barr testifies before House Judiciary Committee and his lord and master Donald Trump.
Bill Barr testifies before House Judiciary Committee and his lord and master Donald Trump. Bill Pugliano / Getty News

Here's your daily roundup of all the latest local and national news. (Like our coverage? Please consider making a recurring contribution to the Mercury to keep it comin'!)

• The ACLU of Oregon has filed a motion of contempt after federal officers routinely continued targeted, injuring, and intimidating journalists and legal observers—the very day after a judge issued a restraining order against them. Our Blair Stenvick has more.

• On July 17, freelance reporter Andrew Jankowski was covering a protest and was arrested by Portland Police for the crime of doing his job. In this first person essay, Andrew describes what it's like to go to jail when you're a journalist.

• Yesterday government law enforcement leaders said that federal agents won't be leaving Portland until protests outside the federal courthouse stopped happening, and urged the city to “join together and ask that this violence comes to an end." (A weird request, since the feds are committing 99 percent of the violence.)

• Flash forward to today: According to the AP, the US government is in talks to withdraw federal officers from Portland if the state of Oregon agrees to "step up its own enforcement." (A weird request, since protesters were mostly leaving the federal courthouse alone until fed officers came to town.)

• Mayor Ted Wheeler announced he and Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty have requested a meeting with Acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Chad "CHAD!" Wolf to discuss a "ceasefire." (A weird request, since the feds are committing 99 percent of the "firing.")

• In coronavirus news, health authorities reported a whopping 14 additional COVID deaths since yesterday, a new single day record. The number of positive new cases remained somewhat steady today at 342.

• Today in absolutely unshocking headlines: "Oregon students may not return to classrooms if state sees surge in coronavirus infections, Kate Brown says." WASH YA DAMN HANDS, WEAR YA DAMN MASKS, KEEP YA DAMN DISTANCE.

• The wrongful death civil suit filed by the family of fatally shot Malheur militia member Robert "LaVoy" Finicum can proceed according to a judge—but only against Oregon state troopers rather than the FBI and governor.

IN NATIONAL NEWS:

• Attorney General (and Trump's shameless crony) Bill Barr battled Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee panel today, hopelessly trying to defend his views on federal officer violence in Portland and beyond, his corrupt intervention in the Roger Stone case, his continued lies about vote-by-mail, and his ceaseless defense of his deranged mentor Donald Trump.

• Government memos reveal that top federal officials were determined to insert themselves and police protests around the country, even though they had little knowledge of the hornets' nest they were about to kick.

• Perhaps because he is such a clueless, raging narcissist, President Trump is having a devil of a time figuring out why Dr. Anthony Fauci's positive polling numbers are so much bigger than his.

• Even Republicans are pushing back against the GOP leadership's brand new stimulus plan that's designed to cut social services and federal unemployment benefits during a pandemic.

• So not only did the Russians interfere in the 2016 election, they are doing their damned best to do the same thing in 2020, WHILE ALSO spreading disinformation about the coronavirus pandemic. Remind me again of exactly what President Trump is doing about all this?

• Speaking of disinformation, a misleading video about hydroxychloroquine—a drug that very much does NOT cure COVID-19—has gone viral, thanks to Republicans like walking shoehorn Donald Trump Jr., who has been put into temporary time-out by Twitter.

• If elected, Joe Biden promises to spend $30 billion on a "small-business opportunity fund for black, brown and Native American entrepreneurs."

• In less awesome Joe Biden news:

• The Ellen DeGeneres Show is currently under investigation by WarnerMedia and a third party firm after employees claimed their workplace is a toxic environment.

• The 2020 Emmy nominations (which I suppose is a thing people are still doing) were released today, and HBO's terrific sci-fi show Watchman is leading the pack, with Netflix also racking up a poop-ton of nods.

• THE WEATHER REPORT: Expect another warm day tomorrow with a high of 93.

• You need some laughs, right? Then get your tickets now for the I, Anonymous livestream show featuring funny-as-all-get-out comedians including Arlo Weierhauser, Sean Jordan, and David Gborie coming at you TOMORROW Wednesday, July 29!

• And finally, a very accurate tweet.