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GOOD MORNING, PORTLAND! It's going to cool down significantly today, with temperatures expected to hover around 72 degrees. That's a win in my book! Now let's win even more by finding out about today's BIG NEWS. 

IN LOCAL NEWS:

• The Hazel Ying Lee building, a new affordable housing complex, just opened in southeast Portland— and it's located where the Safari Showclub, an old strip bar, used to operate. The new housing complex is located on Powell Blvd, right between Motel 6 and Hopworks Urban Brewery, and hosts 206 units for income-qualified renters. It was built by Home Forward using about $33 million in funds from the Portland Housing Bond, which has now been fully spent on 1,860 affordable housing units around Portland. Find out more about the new complex in Courtney Vaughn's story. 

• Oregon is the first state to join the IRS Direct File software program, meaning Oregonians will be able to file their taxes for free! The program should be more expansive than other free tax filing programs that currently exist, which can be restrictive and hard to use, meaning very few people use them. The average American spends $270 to file their taxes, which sucks A LOT, so hopefully this program will be very convenient and well-advertised. Senator Ron Wyden called it a "happy day for Oregonian taxpayers who are tired of getting ripped off by the big tax software companies year after year." Sounds good to me!

• A wildfire in central Oregon, near La Pine, prompted evacuations yesterday afternoon. The wildfire is now about 2,415 acres large and 30 percent contained, and Governor Tina Kokek invoked the Emergency Conflagration Act yesterday. That allows state officials to send the "full power of the Oregon fire service to protect life and property," according to Oregon State Fire Marshal Mariana Ruiz-Temple. Even though this summer's fire season is forecast to be pretty mild, thanks to all the rain we got earlier this year, it's still important to take precautions and do everything possible to prevent wildfires. Okay, Smokey Bear diatribe over.

The Darlene 3 Fire near La Pine. deschutes county SHERIFF'S office

• Nolina, an African cape porcupine at the Oregon Zoo, turned 20 earlier this week. According to the zoo, this makes her "elderly," because porcupines don't usually live beyond the age of 15. But Nolina stays active by going on a daily morning walk around the zoo, which has led to some delightful interactions with other animals at the Oregon Zoo. Mostly I just put this story in here so I could show you guys the amazing photo of Nolina and a seal, which I believe should've earned the Oregon Zoo a Pulitzer. Happy belated birthday, Nolina, and may there be many more! 

•The Axial Seamount, a volcano located a mile deep in the Pacific Ocean 300 miles off the Oregon coast, is the most active volcano in the region. It's erupted three times in the last 25 years, and it might go off again here shortly, according to volcanologists keeping an eye on things. They predict the volcano will erupt next year or the year after, but don't worry— it's not going to cause problems for those of us who don't hang out on the ocean floor. It's kind of cool, though, because volcanologists can study this (relatively low-risk) volcano in order to make predictions about the explosive mountains here above sea level. So yay for the Axial Seamount! 

IN NATIONAL/WORLD NEWS:

• In news that really SUCKS, lefty Congressman Jamaal Bowman was ousted in a New York congressional race that was heavily influenced by AIPAC money. Centrist, pro-Israel candidate George Latimer defeated Bowman after the pro-Israel lobby spent nearly $15 million on the primary race, making it the most expensive congressional primary in American history. This is all because Bowman dared to question Israel's unrelenting attack on the people of Gaza, and it's a real bummer that AIPAC's strategy worked, because it will almost certainly mean they're going to keep spending buckets of money to rid Congress of its most progressive candidates. Maybe there's some room for a more hopeful take here— we can't let the money win! We'll fight back!— but it won't come from me. At least not right now. 

• In other congressional primary news, Lauren Boebert won her race in Colorado, securing the GOP candidacy (and likely the congressional seat) in November's general election. Boebert moved to a new, more conservative district in Colorado recently, so she's probably not going to get unseated in the fall. As a born-and-raised Coloradan, this news gets me down on a personal level. 

• Meanwhile, in "the climate crisis is fucking here and nobody's doing anything meaningful about it" news: People in the Midwest are contending with very extreme weather, including large hail, tornado warnings, and flooding. In Iowa, floodwaters breached levees, and residents were forced to evacuate. This is also happening in the midst of a scorching heat wave that is just starting to dissipate. 

• Finally, if you need a new game to play, I recommend this one. It's kinda dumb but it's also fun and I'm currently addicted to it. So that's my recommendation for you. Have a good Wednesday!