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Neil Olshey at a basketball game, his mask is pulled beneath his chin
Neil Olshey was fired Friday after a Blazers investigation found evidence of workplace misconduct. Steph Chambers / Getty Images

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Now onto the headlines!

In local news:

• The Portland Trail Blazers fired Neil Olshey, the president of basketball operations, Friday after a four-week investigation revealed Olshey’s workplace misconduct. Olshey was hired in 2012 as the team’s general manager before being promoted in 2015. The Blazers said they won’t reveal the details of the investigation or who participated.

• TriMet will reduce service on 20 of its 84 bus lines starting on January 9 due to a significant driver shortage. The agency reports it is short 45 drivers, while the union representing TriMet drivers says the shortage is closer to 60 drivers and is linked with pandemic-related worker shortages, as well as the increase of assaults bus operators have been facing on the job.

• Earl is hip with the trends:

• Scientists at Oregon State University will start testing regional waste water samples for COVID-19 next week. The poop samples that test positive for the virus will then go through a sequencing process to determine which variants are the most prominent in the samples. YAY SCIENCE.

• In case you didn’t have time this week, I highly recommend reading OPB’s three-part series on a major private security firm operating without oversight in downtown Portland this weekend. It’s full of illuminating details, easy to read, and you can find part one right here.

In national news:

• While police are still investigating the shooting on the set of ‘Rust’ that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, Alec Baldwin went on national television Thursday for his first interview since the tragedy. Baldwin, who was holding the gun that killed Hutchins, said he was told the gun was empty and that he never pulled the trigger, rather the gun fired after it was cocked.

• The jury has been selected for the trial of the white Minneapolis police officer who shot and killed Daunte Wright, a Black motorist, during a traffic stop. The officer, Kim Potter, said that she mistakenly drew her handgun instead of her taser during the stop. Opening statements are scheduled for next Wednesday.

• The parents of the teen who shot and killed four students at a Michigan high school earlier this week have been charged with involuntary manslaughter. Prosecutors say the parents committed “egregious” acts by ignoring the school’s requests to get their son counseling after he was observed at school searching for ammunition online, drawing a picture of guns and a person who had been shot, and other clear warning signs.

• Federal prosecutors announced an investigation into the Mount Vernon Police Department, a suburban New York police force, Friday. The investigation was launched after public complaints and media coverage of police brutality, alleged police drug planting, and videos of strip and body cavity searches that were in violation of the department’s rules.

• Wow, that was heavy. Let’s end today by watching the Oregon Zoo’s newest otters, Lemmy and Lila, frolic about: