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by Wm. Steven Humphrey

Here’s your daily roundup of all the latest local and national news. (Like our coverage? Please consider making a recurring contribution to the Mercury to keep it comin’!)

• TOP STORY: America’s least trustworthy physician, Dr. Sean Conley, gave Trump the go-ahead to be checked out of Walter Reed hospital today (after the president already tweeted that he was leaving). Trump has now returned to the White House where he will continue to infect the staff with coronavirus, such as America’s least trustworthy Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany who is the latest administration member to catch COVID-19. In Trump’s tweet where he discharged himself, he added he was feeling “really good,” and that people should not “be afraid of Covid… don’t let it dominate your life.” OKAY! I’m sure the nearly 210,000 Americans who have died from the virus will really appreciate that advice.

No need to be afraid of Covid!

As long as you have…
1 taxpayer-funded helicopter
10 dedicated hospital doctors
3 doses remdesivir
2 rounds of oxygen
multiple steroid doses
experimental antibody cocktail
chest X-rays
24/7 monitoring
— ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) October 5, 2020

OK, well if he’s back, the news can get back to focusing on @realDonaldTrump‘s tax returns, the fact that he is at least $421 million in debt & that he has been a fraud & failure pretty much his whole business career.
— *you’re (@RKJ65) October 5, 2020

• In local news: Over the weekend, a racial justice protest was crashed by a pro-Trump rally in Bend, Oregon. One pro-Trumper reportedly pointed a gun at the crowd, and according to OPB, the “Bend police confiscated the gun, and let the man go.” Soooo… police arrest people who throw water bottles, but let the guy threatening people with a gun leave with a pat on the head? GOT IT.

• A new poll shows that mayoral candidate Sarah Iannarone is currently leading Mayor Ted Wheeler by 11 points in the upcoming November 3 election.

• Know your local activist: Here’s an interesting profile of local Black organizer Demetria Hester who’s one of the co-founders of Moms United for Black Lives, and a vocal activist against police violence.

• Sad News: Local longtime watering hole for the gay community, CC Slaughters, is closing down sometime this month.

Coronavirus in Oregon: no deaths, 288 cases; daily average at highest point in nearly 2 months https://t.co/aTnf0XLpm7 pic.twitter.com/9ENzKXLRhG
— The Oregonian (@Oregonian) October 5, 2020

• Our Blair Stenvick has put together a very helpful voting guide for Oregonians, including where to register, where to drop ballots, and specific answers for voting while houseless, if you’re a felon, a wildfire victim, and more!

IN MORE NATIONAL NEWS

• In a stupid, insecure ploy to demonstrate “strength,” superspreader Trump took a motorcade joy ride on Sunday to wave to his drooling supporters and infect the Secret Service members who were also in the car.

Trump just walked out of Walter Reed with COVID and the first thing he did was touch the railing without gloves, which could potentially further spread the virus. Your president. pic.twitter.com/AF1Gb4Ak06
— Frederick Joseph (@FredTJoseph) October 5, 2020

• Trump’s snake-y, unbelievable doctor also said that the president was given a steroid called dexamethasone, which, according to experts, is never given to COVID patients with mild symptoms because of potential harmful side effects. Nothing suspicious there at all.

• As a still infectious Trump returns to the White House, what about the safety of the career employees—largely Black, Latino, and older—who work there? Just another group of people Trump doesn’t care about.

• The White House has decided not to allow any contract tracing for the superspreader Rose Garden event that infected so many Republicans last week. (Because they literally don’t care about Republicans, either.)

• RELATED: The CDC has updated their website again to warn us that smaller COVID-containing droplets can remain in the air longer than previously thought, especially inside where ventilation is poor, and can travel further than six feet.

• The Biden/Harris campaign has requested a plexiglass shield to separate Kamala Harris from Veep Mike Pence for their upcoming debate on Wednesday—which hopefully will protect her from evangelist Christian cooties as well.

• Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito came out swinging on their first day back to court since the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, loudly noting their conservative, homophobic distaste for the 2015 decision that legalized gay marriage.

• Despite the number of Republicans who are infected with COVID-19, the GOP senate is determined to vote abortion-hating Judge Amy Coney Barrett into the Supreme Court, even if it kills them… which maybe it might?

Does this also go for Black and Brown women who have long been and continue to be harassed and threatened with assault and death on this platform or nah? I think no. Because I see those same accounts still up. Still causing harm. Your *anyone* is disingenuous. https://t.co/NTFzc93ASs
— Ava DuVernay (@ava) October 3, 2020

• Regal Theaters are temporarily shutting down 536 cinemas in the US, citing there aren’t going to be any new releases for the foreseeable future, and they don’t think people will show up just for the pre-show roller coaster ad.

• The WEATHER REPORT: You can expect another sunny, pleasant day tomorrow with a high of 78.

• And finally, another so-called “Amish Trump fan”… BUSTED.

Amish for Trump?
Girl, you’re carrying a cell phone, GTFOOH. https://t.co/vcGkuPyxEL
— Holly Figueroa O’Reilly (@AynRandPaulRyan) October 5, 2020

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