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Good morning, Portland! We’re in for sunshine and a high of 55 degrees today. It’s a good day to go outside and touch some grass. Give yourself a lil mental health break.
Open up the dirty window. Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find. Reaching for something in the distance; so close you can almost taste it…
We’ve done all the doom scrolling so you don’t have to. Here’s a roundup of current events, brought to you with a pinch of snark and a dash of sass.
IN LOCAL NEWS:
• Portland Police Bureau identified the man they shot and killed last week as Erik Sherrer, 57. Sherrer was fatally shot by officers during the early morning hours of Thursday February 10, when police arrived at his apartment in Northwest Portland to arrest him for allegedly trying to shoot two security guards at a grocery store the week prior. They say the handgun never fired, and Sherrer fled the scene, leaving a loaded shotgun behind. PPB said the shotgun shells contained “threatening messages” that named Donald Trump. If this whole story sounds like an ad-lib grab bag of bizarre elements to you, you’re not alone. Court records indicate Sherrer had no prior criminal record in Oregon, which raises questions about what may have fueled the initial incident with the security guards late last month.
• Leach Botanical Garden in Southeast Portland is in danger of shuttering as soon as March if it can’t find a steady funding stream. OPB reports the park is owned by the city, but it’s managed by a nonprofit. The city has historically provided the bulk of the garden’s funding, but that changed in 2025, leaving the 17-acre park’s future uncertain.
• For Human Use, the debut novel by Sarah G. Pierce, is both about and not about a dating app for dead bodies. It’s gory satire and wry speculation on dating and the tech industry with a side of societal collapse. The story itself follows the rollout of a new “swiping app” (dubbed Liv) that allows users to scroll through profiles of corpses, which they can then have delivered. -SUZETTE SMITH
• We regret to inform you of yet another small business closure. It’s tough out there, guys.
Southeast Division’s cherished western watering hole (and Mercury staff favorite) the Landmark Saloon has announced they will be closing their doors for the final time Friday, February 13.
— Portland Mercury (@portlandmercury.com) February 10, 2026 at 8:55 PM
IN NATIONAL/WORLD NEWS:
• A few months back, a group of Democratic lawmakers released a video reminding members of the US military that they don’t have to comply with unlawful orders. In other words: don’t bend to the will of an authoritarian leader who’s eager to turn the US military against its own citizens. The DOJ tried to indict six members of Congress–all veterans–who released the video, but a grand jury declined to indict them. Worth noting: it’s rare for grand juries not to indict, partly because they are civilians without legal backgrounds being presented evidence by a prosecutor. The lack of indictment in this case makes it somewhat remarkable.
The outright embarrassment of Trump’s DOJ attempting to prosecute war heroes-for telling our troops to follow the law, no less Is only surpassed by the sheer incompetence of Jeanine Pirro’s inability to secure an indictment
— Adam Cohen (My Personal Views Only) (@axidentaliberal.bsky.social) February 10, 2026 at 7:58 PM
• ICYMI: The Pride flag has been removed from the Stonewall National Monument in New York City, ya know, the place where riots occurred, birthing the gay rights movement and the country’s first Pride Parade. Federal officials at the site of the Stonewall Inn, which is a national landmark, removed a Pride flag from the site after Trump ordered a limit on which types of flags could be displayed at nationally funded sites. Politico reports that New York officials are already working to re-raise the flag.
Protesters gathered at the Stonewall National Monument in New York City after President Trump’s administration removed a large rainbow Pride flag.
— Reuters (@reuters.com) February 10, 2026 at 8:39 PM
@westmeister_farm Does franklynn have the best moves ever or what?!🕺💃#westmeisterfarm #bestdayever #dance #ostrich #funny ♬ nhạc nền – French Bulldog Family
• In a super sick burn to the White House, independent journalist Don Lemon has hired a former federal prosecutor to be his legal counsel after he was arrested while covering a protest at a Minneapolis church last month. Lemon, who previously worked as an anchor at CNN until he was fired in 2023 after making misogynist and ageist on-air remarks about women, hired Joseph Thompson, who was among a group of US attorneys who recently quit their jobs over ethical concerns about the way the Department of Justice handled the investigation into the fatal shooting of Reneé Good by ICE agents in Minnesota. Lemon is charged with violating the religious freedom of churchgoers during the protest by interfering with the service.
• A shooting at a high school in British Columbia left eight people dead, including a woman who Canadian authorities believe was the shooter. Two more people were found dead at a home nearby. The mass shooting happened in the tiny community of Tumbler Ridge at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School. More than 25 people were injured in the attack. Authorities are still trying to piece together a motive in what Canadian media describes as one of the deadliest school shootings in the country’s history.
• Did you treat your lover poorly and are you now looking for a way to repent before Valentine’s Day? Consider telling the world about it on live television. You might not get your partner back, but maybe you’ll at least get a gold medal for sincerity.
Norwegian biathlete Sturla Holm Lægreid made a bold decision: if he was going to own up to a mistake, he wanted to do it openly — even as an Olympic medalist at the 2026 Winter Games. 💔bit.ly/4qncEbr
— USA TODAY (@usatoday.com) February 10, 2026 at 1:30 PM
When government surveillance is on steroids:
@motherlaurken Salt Mouth Marsha #goats #hey #goat #farmtok ♬ original sound
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Courtney Vaughn
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