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Inspired by the Dolly Parton lyrics, “Your beauty is beyond compare / with flaming locks of auburn hair,” the new baby orangutan at the Oregon Zoo will be called Jolene. Photo by Michael Durham, courtesy of the Oregon Zoo.

Good afternoon, Portland! From Bandcamp Friday to Free Comic Day, there’s a lot going on right now. So here’s some news—real quick—before you jump off, into a busy weekend!

IN LOCAL NEWS:

• The Oregon Zoo announced today that it will name a recently born Bornean orangutan baby “Jolene,” after the Dolly Parton song. While they completely ignored the Mercury‘s suggestions of “Frankie” or “Pizza Week,” we stan Dolly Parton always and support this choice.

• Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty cut a ribbon this morning and officially opened the now permanent Better Naito corridor, a protected path for people walking and biking along Governor Tom McCall Waterfront Park. If you find yourself enjoying the brilliant green way anytime soon, it might also be good to remember that the Portland Business Alliance didn’t want you to have it. And that the New York Times has been making fun of us for driving so much.

• Tomorrow is Free Comic Day, which means that you can grab free comics at any participating shops! Comics columnist Matt Baume has a list of picks that you shouldn’t overlook.

• Also in recs, this week’s Hear in Portland column, from Jenni Moore, recommends new shows to add to your calendar and new tracks to put on your playlist:

In @JenniferKayMo‘s Hear in Portland column this week: Check on a toasty hip-hop show at the newly reopened Church Bar, Eyelids’ promise of a grand “weirdo” evening, and a new instrumental beats tape from Blangblanglang that references local streets. https://t.co/au3R2917Dd
— Portland Mercury 🗞 (@portlandmercury) May 6, 2022

IN NATIONAL / INTERNATIONAL NEWS:

• In baby boy name news, Social Security Administration released hot new data, showing that the name “Liam” will spend another year as the top choice from US parents for boy baby name. “Liam” has reigned as supreme boy baby name for the past five years. In an unexpected upset “Olivia” nudged previous girl name champion “Emma” out for the top spot.

• While the US provided Ukraine with the location of the Russian missile cruiser Moskva—which Ukrainian forces sank on April 14—, US officials are now seeking to distance themselves from the high profile event, stressing that Ukrainians used their own anti-ship missiles and relied on own area intelligence. This seemingly comes amidst worries that US support of Ukraine will be seen as initiating a proxy war with Russia.

• The Associated Press reports that if Roe v. Wade is overturned, conservative legislators are interested in ridding states of caveats and exceptions like cases on incest and the health of the mother. Their arguments might surprise you because they are Twilight Zone level delusional:

Nearly two dozen states have abortion bans in the works, many of them lacking exceptions for rape or incest, or the health of the fetus and pregnant woman.

Such exceptions were once regularly included in even the most conservative anti-abortion proposals. https://t.co/Y2kWrLiLj4
— The Associated Press (@AP) May 6, 2022

• Today a federal judge in San Francisco dismissed Donald Trump’s lawsuit against Twitter, over the company’s ban of his account. The New York Times reports that the judge “was not persuaded that Twitter had infringed on Mr. Trump’s free speech rights.”

• Also in courts, a Georgia administrative judge ruled that Marjorie Taylor Greene should be able to run for re-election, as he saw no evidence that she engaged in the Jan 6 US Capitol insurrection.

• Oof, that’s a lot of news! Let’s hear from the lady upstairs about how she plans to spend her weekend:

@thezolyspirit The angels started God a YouTube channel and this is His first vid.
♬ original sound – Zoë Tyler

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