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People watch a live broadcast of President Bidens State of the Union on Capitol Hill.
People watch a live broadcast of President Biden's State of the Union on Capitol Hill. Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Green New Deal Network

Good Morning, Portland! And good morning to you, fourth day in a row of rain. HERE'S THE NEWS.

LOCAL NEWS!

• Mayor Ted Wheeler fired Portland Police Officer Brian Hunzeker yesterday—WELL actually on Monday, but press got the letter yesterday. News Editor Alex Zielinski has the breakdown and the whole PDF of the letter for you never-can-get-enough-memorandum wonks.

• According to data collected by the Portland Police Bureau, the number of verified shootings in Southeast Portland's Mt. Scott-Arleta neighborhood dropped by 64 percent from October through December. That might be thanks to PLASTIC TRAFFIC BARRELS?

• Mikki Gillette’s first staged play, The Queers, is significant, not only for her skill and vision, but because it’s one of the only trans-written plays in Oregon that was also produced with an ensemble cast of transgender actors.

NATIONAL / INTERNATIONAL NEWS:

• President Biden delivered his first State of the Union Address last night. He touched on topics like inflation, ways his administration plans to stay on A COVID SWIVEL, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and his plan to spend more funding on the nation's police—not less. Creating a parody of "Who Let the Dogs Out" with Biden saying "Who brought the watchdogs back?" is not a good idea, but it CERTAINLY IS AN IDEA.

• The World Health Organization says that COVID cases dropped globally by 16% last week. It also noted AGAIN that it's too soon to declare the pandemic over.

• Before you donate to a cause you've never heard of, please give this Taylor Lorenz piece for Input Mag a glance. Since Russia invaded Ukraine, multiple accounts have sprung up, sharing "shocking battleground footage and videos depicting violence." But the two Lorentz profiles in this piece are not journalists. They're meme admins.

• One journalist currently on the ground in Ukraine is Portland's own Justin Yau. If you're a fan of war and conflict podcast Popular Front and Yau's work, surely this brand new episode will be of interest. Full disclosure that Yau and I have co-bylined several times, frequently for this very publication.

• It’s back for 2022! America’s sexiest, funnest dirty movie fest, HUMP! This weekend, Dan Savage hosts at Revolution Hall—GET YOUR TICKETS NOW!

• Now get out there and be the fully realized Elmo and Cookie Monster avatars you want to see in the world.