Curses! Another brilliant conspiracy theory... foiled again!
"Curses! Another brilliant conspiracy theory... foiled again!" 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'!)

• Whatever you do, DO NOT MISS this troubling and heartbreaking long read from our Alex Zielinski, in which she shares stories from multiple sources who say they've been sexually, physically, and/or psychologically abused by the current president of Portland's NAACP and longtime pastor of Celebration Tabernacle, E.D. Mondainé. While it's a tough read, it's definitely worth your time.

• Questions are still swirling around the police-involved death of protester Michael Reinoehl, who was shot 30 times (!) by officers who apparently did not identify themselves and then fired on the murder suspect even though he didn't pull a gun. The New York Times provides a video reconstruction of what happened.

• This week three more lawsuits were added to the pile of 21 cases against the Portland Police for the continuous assault and harassment of peaceful Portland protesters.

• In an attempt to enforce campaign finance laws, City Auditor Mary Hull Caballero has four lawsuits filed against her, with two of those being from Mayor Ted Wheeler's campaign.

• The bad news? According to the OHA, Oregon's COVID infections took a hefty jump to 390 new cases since yesterday's report and three additional deaths. The somewhat good news? One reason for that increase was the influx of 10,000 new tests the state received from the feds, which means our testing is finally moving in the right direction.

• Looking for great food to-go? Check out Suzette Smith's "Takeout Club"—a weekly roundup of terrific takeout that may be news to you!

IN NATIONAL NEWS

• On day three of Supreme Court wannabe Amy Coney Barrett's confirmation hearings, the nominee continued dodging questions from Democrats about the ACA, voting rights, and abortion (which she obviously despises), while also tiptoeing around any subject that might offend her future boss, Donald Trump. Oh and in case you missed it, Trump turd Sen. Lindsay Graham opened the day by complimenting Barrett on being "unashamedly" anti-abortion.

• After originally saying he tested negative, Melania Trump claimed that son Barron did test positive for COVID-19 and was asymptomatic, but has since tested negative again. Yeaaaaah, I don't believe anything they say either.

• In other COVID-catcher news: Alabama football coach Nick Saban caught the COVID, as well as Republican congressman Bill Huizenga.

• Trump toady Bill Barr has embarrassingly FAILED in his corrupt attempt to investigate Obama-era officials in an "unmasking probe" after his own federal prosecutor returned with a finding of no substantial wrongdoing.

• NBC News announced they will be holding a ratings grab town hall on Thursday night starring Trump at the same time as Biden's town hall on ABC.

• Today in "Are you fucking kidding me?": "Sweet 16 'super-spreader' party in New York leads to 37 coronavirus cases, $12,000 fine."

• The white "Karen" who called 911 on a Black birdwatcher in NYC also called the police a second time to falsely claim the man had tried to assault her.

• In these terrifying times, don't you need a good, wholesome scare? Get your tickets now for SLAY—the short, eight-minute-or-less HORROR film festival from the makers of HUMP! Debuting Oct 15-31! (Ooh, and enter here to possibly win a free pass to SLAY and a free pizza, too!)

• The WEATHER REPORT: The sun returns tomorrow with a high of 60!

• And finally, OKAY FINE, YOU GOT ME. I BELIEVE IN LOVE AGAIN.