Ryan Crouser bringing the man-bun to new heights. Credit: Matthias Hangst / getty images

The Mercury provides news and fun every single day—but your help is essential. If you believe Portland benefits from smart, local journalism and arts coverage, please consider making a small monthly contribution, because without you, there is no us. Thanks for your support!

Ryan Crouser, looking very Oregon in Tokyo.
Ryan Crouser, looking very Oregon in Tokyo. Matthias Hangst / getty images

Good morning, Portland! And a big congrats to Oregonian Ryan Crouser, who won his second gold medal in shotput at the Olympics last evening, and broke an Olympic record in the process!

And here are the rest of the headlines.

• In case you missed this yesterday: Thanks to a new mandate from Gov. Kate Brown, all Oregon healthcare workers are now required to get COVID-19 vaccines, or be subject to weekly COVID testing. I don’t know about you, but I don’t feel great about the fact that some of my healthcare providers apparently have to be forced to get vaccinated in a pandemic!

• As Oregon’s hot, smoky summer rages on, the Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has adopted new, temporary rules intended to keep workers safe from wildfire smoke and heatwaves. Employers must provide N95 masks when the air quality gets bad, and workers who live in employer-provided housing (such as migrant farmworkers) must have access to rooms that are 78 degrees or cooler.

• Read Eder’s reporting on the increasingly alarming chokehold that far-right folks have on school boards across the country, including here in Oregon:

• An over-crowded van carrying migrants in Texas tipped over on the road yesterday, and at least 10 passengers died. Twenty survivors were all injured. The van was only designed to carry 15 people total, and crashed about 80 miles from the border.

• President Joe Biden is signing an executive order today that sets a goal of making half of all new vehicles sold in the US zero-emission by 2030. Depending on who you ask, this is either a milquetoast half-measure for an already burning planet, or an extremist socialist communist act that signifies the death of American freedom.

• Today on Impeachment Watch:

• During the election, Biden promised to provide the antidote to Donald Trump’s radically anti-immigrant policies. But so far, Biden hasn’t quite lived up to his word. In fact, immigrant detention rates are currently soaring in the US. “There’s still time to turn things around, but his policies so far haven’t matched his campaign rhetoric,” said one immigrant rights advocate.

• Remember when Georgia Republicans passed a radical anti-voting-rights law earlier this year? Well, those state Republicans aren’t wasting time in using the law to disenfranchise voters; in fact, a current effort could absolutely decimate voting rights in the Democratic stronghold of Atlanta. And it’s all based on a false claim broadcast by none other than Tucker Carlson.

• And finally, here’s an adorable kitten to start your day off on the right foot:

Blair Stenvick is a former news reporter and culture writer for the Portland Mercury.