North Portland's "Red House." Credit: Nathan Howard / Getty Images

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North Portlands Red House.
North Portland’s “Red House.” Nathan Howard / Getty Images

– The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) received a green light from its top advisers yesterday to seek an emergency authorization of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine. This decision, which takes place as the US death toll from COVID-19 nears 300,000, means the vaccine could be administered in the US as soon as next week.

– Texas’ Republican attorney general is leading the GOP’s final (fingers crossed) hail-Mary attack on the country’s democratic voting process in a lawsuit claiming massive voter fraud without any examples of fraud. The pitch, essentially: “It’s impossible that so many late votes tallied in swing states didn’t go to Donald Trump.” The reasoning: “Because I said so.”

– The Trump Administration carried out its ninth federal execution of the year yesterday, killing Brandon Bernard, a 40-year-old man who was convicted for assisting in the kidnapping and murder of an Iowan couple when he was 18 years old. It’s the first time the US has seen federal executions take place during lame-duck presidential period in 130 years.

– Make time for this read:

– The City of Minneapolis approved a budget that reshuffled funds away from the city’s police department and into violence prevention programs—and reversed an earlier plan to cut more than one hundred officer positions. In many ways, this decision mirrors Portland’s recent budget vote, during which commissioners stopped short of making more substantive cuts to the police bureau to keep officer staffing numbers intact. Not a particularly bold move for the city whose police force killed George Floyd—sparking global protests—earlier this year.

– You may have forgotten, but COVID-19 is a thing of the past in several smaller countries. (As someone whose best friend currently lives in New Zealand, I have been reminded of this painfully often). Here’s what life looks like in those corners of the world right now. It’s practically pornographic.

– The Mercury‘s Blair Stenvick spoke with a TriMet driver about what it’s been like working through the COVID-19 pandemic. The conversation touches on lost pay due to cuts in bus service, TriMet’s ongoing tense union contract negotiations, and inconsistent mask wearing on public transit.

– You’ve seen the headlines and calls for action, but do you really know what’s going on at the Red House eviction standoff on N Mississippi? OPB offers a straightforward FAQ on what inspired the North Portland blockade, and how the city and community is responding. Meanwhile, the Oregonian reports that the Red House’s current owner—a house-flipper—is interested in selling the house back to the recently evicted tenants.

– The story of Keanon Lowe, the Parkrose High School staffer and coach who disarmed a student who brought a gun to school in 2019, is going to turn into a Disney movie.

– Lastly, a PSA:

Alex Zielinski is a former News Editor for the Portland Mercury. She's here to tell stories about economic inequities, cops, civil rights, and weird city politics that you should probably be paying attention...