[ad_1]
If you’re reading this, you probably know the value of the Mercury’s news reporting, arts and culture coverage, event calendar, and the bevy of events we host throughout the year. The work we do helps our city shine, but we can’t do it without your support. 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!
Good morning, Portland! We can expect toasty temps today, with a high of 91, but rest assured, we’re done with the triple digit heat wave for now.
Let’s get into the news.
IN LOCAL NEWS:
• Yesterday, Portland Fire, the city’s new WNBA team, announced the team’s new general manager. Vanja Černivec, who previously served as vice president of basketball operations for the Golden State Valkyries, has been tapped to lead operations for the city’s new WNBA team, which is expected to start holding games in 2026. Černivec will be responsible for recruiting a Portland Fire head coach and building a team roster.
• Speaking of announcements, we’ve got our own big news to share. Noisy Creek, the parent company of the Portland Mercury and Seattle’s The Stranger, recently added the Chicago Reader to its family of weeklies. The Reader, which has been around for more than 50 years, is a well-revered institution in the Windy City. Like the Mercury and Stranger, the alt-weekly has been churning out investigative journalism, long-form reporting, and top-notch arts and culture coverage for decades. Read more about the merger here.
• Fire crews are making progress on containing the Flat Fire, a nearly 22,000-acre blaze burning northeast of Sisters. Firefighters say threats from wind and flying embers still loom, but they’ve got more than 800 personnel assigned to the blaze. To date, four houses have been destroyed by the fire, which is burning in Deschutes County and is the largest active fire in Oregon. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
• Temperatures are falling, which means it’s a great excuse to soak up the next four weeks of summer by getting out and exploring all the food, live music, summertime fairs and drag-tastic bingo events Portland has to offer. Check out a handy list of worthy things to do with your week in the latest installment of Do This; Do That.
Soft serve ice cream, smooth jazz, and weekend block parties fit snugly within the hellscape of this week’s heatwave. Find your stay-cool strategy with Do This, Do That.
— Portland Mercury (@portlandmercury.com) August 25, 2025 at 4:16 PM
If all your plans fall through, remember to at least go outside and touch grass. Really take in the flora and fauna.
@oliviabrock95 #pettingzoo #hookerfarmsbyterrykennedy #animals #tennessee #farmanimals #duck #rapping #fyp ♬ original sound – jxvuf
IN NATIONAL/WORLD NEWS:
• Remember when Trump threatened to turn the US military against Americans? After deploying National Guard troops in Washington, D.C., the Trump administration is now threatening to do the same in Chicago, in a move aimed at quelling crime and civil disturbances, despite no data to suggest crime is on the rise in any of the cities targeted for deployment. An executive order “aims to create specialized units in the National Guard” ABC7 Chicago notes, but the outlet also notes that Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker say they haven’t received any communication from the White House.
“Mr. President, do not come to Chicago. You are neither wanted here, nor needed here.” Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker responds to President Trump’s threats to send National Guard troops to Chicago.
— MSNBC (@msnbc.com) August 25, 2025 at 1:51 PM
• An air strike on a hospital in Gaza killed 20 people, including five journalists. Among those killed, Mariam Dagga, a 33-year-old Palestinian freelance photographer who contracted with the Associated Press on several occasions to capture starvation and suffering brought on by the war on Gaza. Dagga’s images helped bring the ongoing war’s impact into focus across the globe, even amid denial of the severe malnutrition of children by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. As the AP notes, nearly 190 Palestinian journalists have been killed by Israeli fire while covering the deadly conflict.
• ICYMI: The US government bought a 10 percent ownership stake in Intel. The tech company, which has implemented heavy layoffs at its Hillsboro facilities in the past few months, agreed to issue up to 433 million shares of stock to the government. But as some tech industry watchdogs have noted, the money used to buy part of the company will come from money set aside in the CHIPS Act, which the government was already slated to dole out to Intel. Now, it seems that instead of expanding its facilities and adding thousands of jobs as it agreed to do in exchange for CHIPS Act funds, Intel is instead just giving a share of the company to the US government.
That’s all for today. If you need us, we’ll be self-medicating.
@joepain711 #bellabea #dogsoftiktok #old #tired #lazy ♬ original sound – Cody Winklederp
[ad_2]
Courtney Vaughn
Source link