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Good morning, Portland! Hopefully you’re safe in a bunker and have appropriate rations to get by. Your trusted Mercury team will be providing regular dispatches from the battlefield, where the temperature will reach 66 degrees and we may get rained on this evening.
IN LOCAL NEWS:
• Portland Police Chief Bob Day told reporters Monday that police will continue to patrol and monitor protest activity at the local ICE facility. The extent of Portland Police Bureau’s focus on the ICE protests could have significant budget implications, as the Bureau often relies on officers working overtime to achieve its protest policing.
In light of larger protest crowds at Portland’s ICE facility and the anticipated arrival of National Guard troops, Portland Police Chief Bob Day says local police will continue to monitor the area. Earlier this year, City Council directed PPB to limit the use of overtime hrs on policing protests.
— Courtney Vaughn (@courtneyvaughn.bsky.social)September 29, 2025 at 2:37 PM
• Another thing that came out of City Hall Monday: Mayor Keith Wilson, with more than a dozen other Oregon mayors, issued a letter denouncing the White House’s deployment of National Guard troops in Oregon, and unveiling “coordinated regional action to protect civil rights, public safety, and community trust.”
The coalition of mayors is following in the footsteps of the mayor of Chicago, who signed an executive order protecting his city’s residents from threats of federal military action against them. The Oregon coalition “pledges to pursue legal, legislative, and administrative options to prevent militarized federal actions that could infringe on constitutional rights.” What that means exactly is still somewhat murky.
• ICYMI: Oregon is suing the president and his lackey, Mr. Pete women shouldn’t vote Hegseth, along with Kristi I shot my dog Noem (AKA TEMU Lara Croft) over their deployment of the state’s National Guard troops to help secure the ICE facility in Portland. Attorneys for Oregon say not only is it wholly unnecessary, but the president doesn’t have authority to activate the Oregon National Guard to perform military duties against civilians. The lawsuit, and an accompanying request for a temporary restraining order, is an attempt to halt the deployment. The first court hearing in that case will be heard by US District Court Judge Michael Simon this Friday. The deployment of troops is part of a broad authoritarian effort to suppress protesters’ first amendment rights and likely a move to distract from a looming government shutdown, a dismal unemployment rate, and Trump’s involvement with Jeffrey Epstein.
“Secretary of War” Pete Hegseth has federalized 200 Oregon National Guard members to come to Portland and support ICE agents “effective immediately.” Oregon’s attorney general has already filed a lawsuit to stop the action, calling it “patently unlawful.”
— Portland Mercury (@portlandmercury.com) September 28, 2025 at 5:44 PM
• A new Live Nation venue has received a permit to start construction in the Central Eastside. Once completed, the two-story 62,000-square-foot building will sit at 1211 SE Water. The permit was issued despite an appeal to try to stop construction of the venue over what appellants cited as concerns over pedestrian safety and a lack of infrastructure in the area to support a 3,500-person venue.
• Amid the chaos encapsulating “war ravaged” Portland, it happens to be the Mercury’s Wing Week. You know the drill: Check out the map and pick from a list of over 80(!) locations, then grab yourself a six-piece order of wings for just $10.
IN NATIONAL/WORLD NEWS:
• After President Trump claimed last week that acetaminophen can cause autism in children whose mothers take the pain reliever during pregnancy, more people are trying to sue the maker of Tylenol. The president’s claims were made without evidence, and without any solid research or backing from scientists. NPR notes that Tylenol manufacturer Kenvue is already facing legal complaints over the alleged harm to fetal development, though a judge threw out testimony given by “experts” in one case, saying the data being presented was cherry-picked from studies that don’t actually show causation between the drug and neurological conditions like autism and ADHD. The attempt to dismiss the case was appealed and the appeal is ongoing. Following Trump’s claims last week, even the FDA put out a more realistic explanation, noting that while some studies suggest a correlation between acetaminophen and autism, there is no evidence to suggest the pain reliever actually causes autism.
• The United States is approaching a government shutdown tonight unless Congress can pass a spending bill to get us through the next few months. A shutdown would cause some federal agencies to close temporarily, and leave some federal workers furloughed without pay. The primary point of contention is health care benefits. Democrats want to extend Affordable Care Act tax credits that have subsidized the cost of health insurance coverage for millions of middle and low-income people.
• After labeling Antifa a “domestic terrorist” organization last week, the White House has issued a new, sweeping national security directive straight out of a fascist playbook. National Security Presidential Memorandum (NSPM-7) cites recent political violence as justification for a crackdown on political or other organizing rooted in anti-fascist values. NSPM-7 says organizers are using everything from social media and anonymous chat forums, and “even educational institutions” to dox and harass their targets, including federal agents. “There are common recurrent motivations and indicia uniting this pattern of violent and terroristic activities under the umbrella of self-described ‘anti-fascism,’ the memo states. “These movements portray foundational American principles (e.g., support for law enforcement and border control) as ‘fascist’ to justify and encourage acts of violent revolution.” The directive claims “anti-fascism” has “become the organizing rallying cry used by domestic terrorists” to attack democratic institutions, constitutional rights, and fundamental American liberties. Perhaps the most frightening language in the memo is a suggestion that anti-Americanism, anti-capitalism, and anti-Christianity are common threads fueling domestic terrorists. The National Joint Terrorism Task Force is now being ordered to investigate and “disrupt” entities (including nonprofit orgs) that promote anti-fascism.
FBI’s domestic terror watchlist expected to DOUBLE in size as a result of NSPM-7, the new presidential directive targeting “anti-Christian,” “anti-capitalism” and “anti-American” speech: www.kenklippenstein.com/p/trumps-nsp…
— Ken Klippenstein (@kenklippenstein.bsky.social) September 29, 2025 at 12:13 PM
Finally, a Tok for all the working class heroes.
@ayeeedriisypinjuice but banana bread at work? brighter days are ahead
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Courtney Vaughn
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