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Good morning, Portland! We can expect a cloudy day with a high of 50 degrees and a chance of showers this afternoon. Expect similar weather the rest of the week, with highs in the low to mid-50s and overnight lows hovering just above 40 degrees. Burrrrr.
The Mercury is taking the holiday off tomorrow as well as Friday, because we all need to recover from the “cousin walks.”
IN LOCAL NEWS:
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Oregon’s attorney general, along with district attorneys from Multnomah, Clackamas, and Washington Counties, are putting the US Department of Justice on notice. On Tuesday, Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield’s office shared a letter sent to US AG Pam Bondi’s office demanding an end to excessive force used by federal officers. The letter warned of potential investigations and criminal prosecutions of federal agents who use excessive force to effectuate an arrest or respond to protesters. The letter is bold, but let’s see if any of the Metro-area DAs actually bring any prosecutions forward.
Oregon’s Attorney General and Portland area DAs just told the feds they’ll prosecute excessive force by federal agents in the state—citing evidence from the trial that shut down Trump’s National Guard plan for Portland.
— Portland Mercury (@portlandmercury.com)November 25, 2025 at 7:00 PM
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As the possibility of a new ICE detention center on the Oregon coast comes into clearer focus, the city of Newport’s mayor says a federal defense contractor is already trying to line up hotels for extended stays. OPB reports Newport Mayor Jan Kaplan confirmed that a company called Team Housing Solutions has “called multiple hotels up and down the coast …looking for as many as 200 hotel rooms for a year.” The news follows a tense city council meeting in the coastal city in which Mayor Kaplan promised to do everything in the city’s power to fight any new detention center.
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Ursula K. Le Guin might be best known for her novels, but as the Mercury’s Lindsay Costello points out, “she resisted oft-assigned labels—genius, anarchist, even sci-fi writer—believing she hadn’t earned the first two and had transcended the last.” Check out a tribute to Le Guin at North Portland’s Oregon Contemporary gallery.
The new Ursula K. Le Guin exhibition at Oregon Contemporary is a sprawling love note to Portland’s most far-out visionary. The exhibition compiles her hand-drawn maps, and features a reproduction of her NW Thurman writing room… plus doodles of cats!!
— Portland Mercury (@portlandmercury.com) November 25, 2025 at 5:47 PM
IN NATIONAL/WORLD NEWS:
- The estimated global wild tiger population has plummeted to a paltry 3,700 – 5,500, according to TRAFFIC, a wildlife trade monitoring network. The AP reports that over the past five years, authorities have seized an average of nine tigers each month as demand for taxidermy, captive breeding and private tiger ownership has increased. “Despite half a century of international protection, TRAFFIC’s findings showed that tiger trafficking is accelerating and increasingly targeting whole animals, living or dead,” according to the news outlet.
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National Park annual passes will get a lot more expensive for foreign visitors. In a new fee structure, US residents can snag an annual parks pass for $80. Non-residents will have to fork over $250 for the same pass in what’s being called an “America first” approach to generating more revenue for national parks. Non-US residents who don’t have a pass will also be subject to a $100 upcharge on 11 of the most-visited parks.
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Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, a national holiday in the US that was built on a myth of goodwill between pilgrims and indigenous tribal communities. While many now spend the holiday celebrating a fall harvest gathering with family and loved ones, its roots and erasure of indigenous history can’t be overlooked. For those who want to buck the white-washed Thanksgiving myth, there are several resources that offer history, recommendations, and ways to support and uplift your local tribal communities. Here’s one of many Oregon-specific sites with information.
Finally, remember the genius “Hostile Government Takeover” song that made the rounds and went viral shortly after Trump took office? The same creator has released an updated version that somehow manages to bring solace while reminding us of our dystopian reality.
@agiftfromtodd Hostile Government Takeover Part 2 (8 months later)
Courtney Vaughn
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