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Proud Boys in Portland on August 22.
Proud Boys in Portland on August 22. Nathan Howard / getty images

Good morning, Portland! Do you want the red or blue news today? Choose wisely.

Anyway, here are the headlines.

• After an anti-mask Proud Boy rally in Vancouver forced three schools into lockdown last week, a Clark County judge has banned rallies and protests outside properties owned by Vancouver Public Schools, for as long as Washington's school mask mandate stays in effect. Nice to see at least one public official stand up to the Proud Boys in a meaningful way!

• Speaking of which: After initially boasting about the city's lackluster response to the Proud Boys in Portland on August 22 in a bizarre public statement, Mayor Ted Wheeler is now admitting that mistakes were made that day. “It is clear based on the public outcry, on the media outcry, on the national front, that that strategy was not the right strategy,” he said at a City Council meeting yesterday. “I take full responsibility for it.”

• On the same day, Wheeler announced that the city's COVID-19 vaccine mandate for public employees will have one special exception: Police officers won't be required to get the shot, because they are apparently exempt from such mandates under state law. Wheeler said he was disappointed by the order limiting the city's mandate. Anyway, now you have one more reason to avoid cops in Portland!

• Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty will face at least one challenger in her re-election campaign next year. Vadim Mozyrsky, a lawyer with more police-friendly views than Hardesty, has filed for the 2022 primary election.

• Portland City Council has delayed its vote to ban city dollars from benefiting Texas in response to its abortion ban. The emergency resolution, originally scheduled for a Wednesday council vote, would prohibit city departments from purchasing products or services from Texas, and bans city business trips to the state. The resolution has yet to be formally rescheduled.

• Some interesting historical context on conspiracy theories:

• Another day, another urgent and terrifying climate change report: According to a new study, the remainder of the world's untapped fossil fuel supply needs to stay in the ground to keep the planet's global temperature from rising more than 2.7 degrees.

• About 25,000 Afghan refugees are currently residing in American military bases, waiting to be given a new shot at building a life in the United States. But most of America's cities already face affordable housing shortages—making it difficult to find suitable homes for the refugees. But, you know, good thing those homeowners don't have to look at ugly condos in their neighborhoods!

• President Joe Biden will sign an executive order today ramping up the federal government's COVID vaccine requirements for public employees, as well as federal contractors. Biden is also strongly encouraging private workplaces to do the same.

• And finally: I'm really feeling this one this morning: