Credit: Chip Somodevilla / Getty

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I only removed the parts of the Ukraine transcript that were damning for me. WHY IS THIS A PROBLEM.
“I only removed the parts of the Ukraine transcript that were damning for me. WHY IS THIS A PROBLEM.” Chip Somodevilla / Staff / Getty

GOOD MORNING, PORTLAND! I’ve got two tickets to Iron Maiden, baby. Come with me Friday, don’t say maybe. LET’S GO TO PRESS.

More trouble for Trump: White House Ukraine expert Alexander Vindman, who was listening in on that call where the president tried to shake down the Ukrainian president and was VERY alarmed, told impeachment investigators yesterday that certain damning aspects of the call were selectively edited out of the transcript by the administration. (Is that the sound of a guillotine crashing down?)

Vindman’s testimony was particularly troubling for the GOP who have been desperately scrambling to counteract the impeachment investigation, and their attempts to besmirch the good name of this highly decorated military vet is backfiring in a big way.

Impeachment investigators are looking particularly hard at two crazy Trump meetings in July (attended by John Bolton and others) that heated up to a boil when officials learned of the president’s secret agenda to coerce the Ukraine president into cooperating with his sham Biden investigation.

In more impeachment/corruption news: Another government official is set to testify that a former GOP congressman turned lobbyist pushed for the ouster of Marie Yovanovitch, the American ambassador to the Ukraine, allegedly because she was a fan of Obama. Wonder who ordered him to do that?

Because Trump is facing a tsunami of damning facts, he’s instructing his sniveling toadies in the GOP to attack the impeachment inquiry on “substance”—which is going to work out just as well as his other failed attempts.

And yet more corruption: An aide to garbage human/Trump minion/GOP Rep. Devin Nunes is reportedly leaking information (and misinformation) to conservative media outlets about the anonymous whistleblower.

RELATED:

Former Trump crony Jeff Sessions is thinking about running for his old Senate seat in Alabama, but some are (rightly) warning him that Trump would tear him apart for not doing more to stifle the Mueller investigation.

Strong winds are causing a new blaze in California, as PGE cuts electricity once again to 1.5 million in an effort to stop any new fires caused by toppling power lines.

New York City council is on the verge of banning foie gras, due to the cruel practices inflicted on ducks and geese.

Headline of the day (so far): “Bill Murray applied for a job at P.F. Chang’s in the Atlanta airport.”

Actor John Witherspoon, who you remember as the dad in Friday, has died at the age of 77.

IN LOCAL NEWS: Mayor Ted Wheeler reportedly asked for help from the National Guard during an August protest and was DENIED—but apparently nobody told the mayor. OPB’s (and former Mercurian) Dirk Vanderhart has this super interesting story.

PBOT has announced they are designating a lane on SW Main downtown as a red bus-only lane. Our Blair Stenvick has more on what that means to you.

One of the Mercury‘s fave local comedians, Alex Falcone, is leaving Portland to make his fortune in Los Angeles. WAAAAAHHH! We’ll miss you, Alex!

Hey! Who wants to watch some great DIY porn seated next to strangers? YOU DO. Tickets for HUMP! 2019 are right here. Trust me, you won’t regret it.

Now let’s gaze up, up, up at the WEATHER: Another chilly, sunny day (though not as windy) and a high of 52.

And finally, this is how I react to windy days:

Bang bang, choo-choo train, let me see you shake that thang. Wm. Steven Humphrey is the editor-in-chief of the Portland Mercury and has held the job since 2000. (So don’t get any funny ideas.)