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A group of protesters holding signs urging law makers to keep abortion legal
Portland City Council will vote to ban business with Texas following the state's restrictive abortion law. Sergio Flores / Getty Images

Ooof, what a week! Let’s get into the headlines so you can start your three-day weekend off right.

In local news:

• Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt dismissed 12 cases of reported police misconduct from last year’s racial justice protests, citing a lack of criminal evidence, inability to identify officers, and a lack of response from attorneys and victims. Schmidt, who ran a campaign on police accountability, is still reviewing eight cases of reported police misconduct.

• Portland City Council will vote to ban future business with, and city business travel to, the state of Texas, Mayor Ted Wheeler announced today. The ban will be in effect until Texas "withdraws its unconstitutional ban on abortion."

• Three public schools in Vancouver went under lockdown today due to anti-mask protesters on campus. A video shared online shows a group of adults disrupting the school day by chanting “USA! USA!” outside Skyview High School. After hunkering down in their classrooms for an hour during the lockdown, students passed out masks on the high school campus as a counterdemonstration.

In national news:

• At least 49 people died due to severe flooding in the Northeast following Hurricane Ida. The downpour of rain overwhelmed urban drainage systems in five states, resulting in submerged cars, flooded houses, and dozens of drownings.

• A small beacon of hope: New Orleans utility officials hope to have power restored by the middle of next week after Hurricane Ida knocked out the energy grid for more than 1 million people.

• The Biden administration is aiming to rollout COVID-19 vaccine booster shots starting September 20, but federal health agencies say that’s too early. Leaders at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) argue there is not enough data to make a blanket recommendation on booster shots and the White House should wait for further FDA and CDC approval.

Now for some fun:

• Sorry Marvel fans: Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is a lackluster flick that falls short of its great aspirations, according to Mercury film critic Chase Hutchinson.

• Hey Savage Love fans! Get your tix now to see Dan Savage live and in-person on October 2 for a reading of his newest book, Savage Love from A to Z, an illustrated collection of 26 never-before-published essays! (Plus, paid attendees get their own copy of the book!)

• Alert! We’ve combined three of our world-famous film festivals into one, big, sexy, stoney, scary, movie showcase called the Mercury Movie Mashup! It’s the best of the best from SPLIFF (our stoner film fest), SLAY (our horror film fest), and HUMP! (the little porn festival that started it all!), featuring all the blood, sex, and weed you can handle in a ONE NIGHT ONLY show at the Clinton Street Theater—go get those tix now!

• And finally, congrats on making it through the week!