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Good morning, Portland! We’re in for a pleasant, mostly sunny day with a high of 65 degrees and a low of 46.
It’s been a doozy of a news cycle, so let’s jump right in.
IN LOCAL NEWS:
• Yesterday, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals handed down a ruling in Oregon’s case against the Trump administration over deployment of National Guard troops here. In a 2-1 ruling, the panel of three judges determined an existing temporary restraining order preventing Oregon National Guard troops from being activated and deployed should be overturned. The decision paves the way for deployment of troops. For now, troops won’t be deployed immediately, because of a different, but similar order preventing activation of out-of-state troops. That temporary order expires next week. The federal government has filed a request to have that order ended sooner.
In the court’s ruling, the dissenting judge urged her colleagues in the 9th Circuit to essentially nullify the ruling handed down earlier that day, insisting it remains illegal to allow military deployment to an American city under the current circumstances. Hours later, a judge requested the court vote on whether to rehear the case with a full panel of judges. You can get caught up on the legal roller coaster with Abe Asher’s latest story.
Since the 9th Circuit Court ruling Monday morning, judges are already weighing whether to have the case reheard by a full appeals court. Meanwhile, the US Department of Justice wants an end to the temporary restraining order currently blocking deployment of National Guard troops to Portland.
— Portland Mercury (@portlandmercury.com) October 20, 2025 at 11:07 PM
• In case you haven’t noticed, there’s an election happening on November 4. Portland residents will have just one major decision to make: whether to approve the renewal of a parks levy. Taylor Griggs has this helpful explainer on the financial position of Portland Parks & Recreation, and what the levy would pay for.
Portland’s parks and natural areas are integral to the city’s identity, but the city’s parks system faces major financial challenges. In a November special election, Portland voters will be asked to approve a new, five-year levy to stop the bleeding and keep basic parks services afloat.
— Portland Mercury (@portlandmercury.com) October 20, 2025 at 4:04 PM
• The latest installment of Do This, Do That is out, for your planning and pleasure. Check out this week’s compilation of cozy, sexy, and spooky happenings around Portland.
The days are getting shorter, but there’s still plenty to fill them with. This week’s options include a decadent-ass cinnamon roll latte, the Blazers’ season opener, and a set by eerie thereminist Via Mardot.
— Portland Mercury (@portlandmercury.com) October 20, 2025 at 3:12 PM
• If the idea of watching a revamped 17th century English drama as a theater production sounds dry, think again. Profile Theatre’s production of Witch summons its audience into the dark tale of a cunning figure (the Devil) and the power he exerts over others by promising a better life. (Sound familiar?) It’s an old tale reimagined for a modern audience. “Director (and Profile Theatre’s artistic director) Josh Hecht mines the script for every scrap of its humor and the actors eat up every scene. But [Jen] Silverman’s true skill as a writer is how they peel their characters back, layer by layer, to their vulnerable cores,” reviewer TJ Acena writes. “Anguish eats at everyone, including Scratch, and the cast walks the line between the humor and pathos in Silverman’s words, like skilled tightrope walkers.”
@wwf_australia embracing our Tasmanian devil era: 😈 Screaming to establish boundaries 😈 Eating up to 40% of our bodyweight per day 😈 Staying up late at night 😈 Only being social with others for meal times 😈 Would rather flee than fight we can relate a lot to these devils 🫶 #aussiethings #relatable #wildlife #animals #australia ♬ оригінальний звук – iamvictoriavedi
IN NATIONAL/WORLD NEWS:
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Demolition has begun at the White House to make way for Trump’s gaudy, 90,000-square-foot glass walled-ballroom. The East Wing of the White House is being torn down and replaced with a privately-funded ballroom for Trump, despite not having approval from the National Capital Planning Commission, which NPR reports is responsible for approving “construction work and major renovations to government buildings in the Washington area.” The chairman of that Commission is also the White House staff secretary. The East Wing houses the offices of the First Lady. Trump staff say those offices will be temporarily relocated but not destroyed permanently.
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Many federal employees have been working without pay, due to an extended government shutdown. House Speaker Mike Johnson has been all too cavalier about his decision not to call the House back into session as the shutdown hits the three-week mark. Johnson did say he’d bring the House back if the Senate votes for a bill that would pay federal employees and military members who are still working, as a stopgap until federal operations are fully back in swing. Johnson cautioned he thinks it’s unlikely that will happen.
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Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is teaming up with Congressional Democrats to launch “a broad investigation” into immigration raids that have resulted in arrests of US citizens, racial profiling, and sometimes violent tactics by immigration agents. The Los Angeles Times reports that California Rep. Robert Garcia, who serves on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, jointly announced the investigation Monday, vowing to hold Donald Trump and Kristi Noem “accountable for their unlawful actions against our community and the United States Constitution.”
@kate.hikes.pnw Portland, Oregon. The Waaaaaaar zone
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Courtney Vaughn
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