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Far-right extremists gathered in downtown Portland this weekend.
Far-right extremists gathered in downtown Portland this weekend. NATHAN HOWARD / GETTY IMAGES

Good morning, Portland! Don't let this cool overnight weather fool you: It's going to be a hot week. The National Weather Service estimates highs to reach the 100s by Thursday, spiking from a high of 85 this afternoon. We'll be sure to share information on public resources to help avoid the heat once they become available this week. Until then, keep drinking water. Now, for the weekend's headlines:


- One out of every five COVID-19 cases reported in Oregon during the month of July were in people who were fully vaccinated, according to the Oregon Health Authority. And vaccinated people made up just one out of ten COVID-19 deaths.

- Surprise! The Oregon Department of Justice has deemed a discrimination complaint made against Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt by Patriot Prayer leader Joey Gibson to be "unfounded."

- Members of the Proud Boys battled anti-fascists in downtown Portland over the weekend, with little police interference. The clash came after an anti-LGBT pastor and COVID-19 skeptic held a religious rally in Portland, an event that attracted right-wing activists and counter-protesters alike.

- Portland saw its 56th homicide of the year Sunday, making 2021 already the deadliest year since 1994. Police are still investigating the fatal shooting, which occurred on a TriMet bus in Southeast Portland near 26th Avenue and Hawthorne.

- Bikers are again flocking to Sturgis, South Dakota for the town’s annual biker rally. Despite 649 COVID-19 cases being linked to last year’s rally, the event’s organizers have not implemented any safety precautions. In fact, they predict the rally will be the largest in the event’s history.

- The west coast of the US isn't the only part of the world threatened by wildfire season. Meanwhile, in the Mediterranean:

- Related: A report released Monday by the UN confirms that global climate change is accelerating and that human emissions of greenhouse gases are the overwhelming cause. The report argues that a surefire way to slow "catastrophic warming" in this century is to have countries stop burning fossil fuels immediately.

- The United States finished the Tokyo Olympics with the most medals won overall AND the most gold medals. I hope doing sports in a country during a deadly pandemic was worth it, guys.

- The Taliban seized two Afghanistan cities Sunday, the latest in a resurgence in the militant group’s violence across the country. This momentum comes as the US nears its end-of-August deadline to remove all troops from Afghanistan.

- I leave you with: Leslie Jones providing narration to an Olympic artistic swimming event: