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In local news:
• The security guard who shot and killed Freddy Nelson Jr. in a North Portland parking lot earlier this year was not licensed to carry a gun, an OPB investigation found. The incident is emblematic of a larger issue of Portland businesses turning to private security firms who can act like police officers, but with minimal oversight.
• Bold claim alert: Old is M. Night Shyamalan’s best work since The Sixth Sense.
Review from @EclecticHutch: In the case of OLD’s tragic characters, every passing minute becomes an hour, an hour becomes a year, a year becomes a decade, and a decade becomes a lifetime.
Somehow, M. Night Shyamalan makes it work.https://t.co/6ISkNM5SWF
— Portland Mercury 🗞 (@portlandmercury) July 23, 2021
• COVID cases are on the rise again—Oregon has seen a 208 percent increase in new daily cases since July 1. Oregon health officials attribute the rise in cases to the July 4th holiday, the relaxing of safety requirements amongst unvaccinated people, and the highly transmissible Delta variant.
• A shift in weather has allowed firefighters to make some more progress containing the Bootleg fire, which has already destroyed an area four times the size of Rhode Island. The fire has burned an estimated 70 homes and is 40 percent contained as of Friday morning.
• It’s Friday, which means it’s POP QUIZ TIME! Step right up and see how smart you really are!
Put on yer thinkin’ caps! It’s my weekly POP QUIZ PDX, this time featuring sassy q’s about renegade cops, weirdo Oregon fish, a *secret* Portland club for rich a-holes, and more! https://t.co/tl81KLRNZu
— Wm. Steven Humphrey (@WmSteveHumphrey) July 23, 2021
In national news:
• Rescue crews have concluded their search for bodies in the rubble of the Florida condo building that collapsed on June 24. The collapse killed 97 people. Forensic scientists are still examining debris from the 14,000 tons of broken concrete and rebar.
Falsehoods on everything from vaccinated Canadian pilots to a manipulated photo of flooding in Germany were shared across social media this week. Get the facts from @AP‘s Not Real News. https://t.co/PmFvXCd8Rr
— AP Fact Check (@APFactCheck) July 23, 2021
• Some suspects charged with participating in the January 6 insurrection are arguing their attack on the Capitol was no different than protestors’ actions in Portland during last year’s racial justice protests. Government prosecutors, however, are having none of that argument, stating the Capitol attack, unlike Portland’s protests, threatened democracy itself.
Should vaccinated people mask up with COVID-19 cases rising? It depends on your situation, but masking in public can provide another layer of protection. https://t.co/sXZBLfAFn4
— The Associated Press (@AP) July 23, 2021
• From the makers of HUMP! and SPLIFF comes a new film fest that features short documentaries made by YOU! It’s called SCOOP! and you can find out more about it here.
• It’s your last week to enjoy the Mercury’s SUMMER OF SLUSHIES! Make sure you don’t miss out on the $5 delicious, boozy frozen concoctions from your fave bars this month!
• Summer concerts are back, baby! Check out the full line up at Sauvie Island’s Topaz farms.
This summer, there’s a new concert series at a familiar farm on Sauvie Island.https://t.co/dZ6rCjPYLu
— Portland Mercury 🗞 (@portlandmercury) July 22, 2021
