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GOOD AFTERNOON, PORTLAND! Expect another partly cloudy day tomorrow with a high of 75—BUT! The heat will return this weekend with highs reaching 86 by Sunday. Now let’s heat up with some NEWS.

IN LOCAL NEWS:

• According to statewide test scores, Oregon students’ skills in areas of math, reading, and writing have plummeted due to the constant disruptions of the pandemic—though state educators are determined to get the kids caught up.

Portland Street Response, the city’s unarmed team of emergency responders who are trained to assist in mental health crises, is now traveling around the city in vans filled with useful supplies. https://t.co/LDfWqEL9Uj

— KOIN News (@KOINNews) September 21, 2022

• ICYMI: The Portland business community’s sweetheart council candidate Rene Gonzalez has been slapped with a huge $77,000 fine for accepting and failing to report an enormous rent discount he was receiving from local money-bags Jordan Schnitzer. Normally the space would’ve gone for nearly $7,000 per month, while Rene was only paying… [checks notes] $250 a month?? (Looking to rent space downtown? Apparently Schnitzer’s giving it away for a song!)  Our Isabella Garcia has more!

Looking for a new place. Preferably around 3,000 square feet, centrally located downtown Portland, parking included. My budget is $250 a month. Any tips?

— Matt McNally (@mattmcnallypdx) September 22, 2022

• OPB asked the Oregon candidates for governor what they thought about the death penalty, and while Democrat Tina Kotek said she’d continue the moratorium on capital punishment, both Republican Christine Drazan and “Shadow Republican” Betsy Johnson indicate they’d like to revoke it. (And somehow Johnson comes off even more Republican than Drazan??)

• Hey brainy pants! 🤓 Let’s see how you score on this week’s sassy-ass POP QUIZ PDX, featuring loudmouth frat boys, idiot TV hosts, and local rich dudes using their money for EEEEVIL!  😡 (Oh, and you can also win free pizza. 😀)

This week in Portland music news: Dame D.O.L.L.A. jumps on a track to talk Fatherhood. @JenniferKayMo has her eye on indie folk shows, back patio hip hop dance parties, and a very Harry Styles Harryween Hear in Portland.https://t.co/AXGQasvMx5

— Portland Mercury 🗞 (@portlandmercury) September 22, 2022

IN NATIONAL/WORLD NEWS:

• “Special Master” Raymond Dearie is making the Trump team rue the day they suggested him for the job, because he’s once again insisting that the former president better provide proof of his accusations that the FBI planted evidence, or… you know… shut the fuck up.

New: The Jan. 6 committee’s Twitter whistleblower has come forward. Anika Collier Navaroli said Twitter went easy on Trump because it enjoyed the power: “I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t believe the truth matters.” Our exclusive interview: https://t.co/fe8oUexa7U

— Drew Harwell (@drewharwell) September 22, 2022

• Following Putin’s order to send more soldiers into Ukraine to save his flailing war, Russian men are trying to escape the country in various ways to avoid the draft, while even Putin’s own military is reportedly divided over whether they should continue.

Jared Kushner never said this about kids in cages. https://t.co/oqfXVpD1cD

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) September 22, 2022

• That one asshole Nazi sympathizer—you know, the one with the Hitler mustache—has been sentenced to four years in prison for his role in the January 6 domestic terrorist attack on the nation’s capitol.

In the first-of-its kind experiment, NASA is about to clobber a small, harmless asteroid millions of miles away to change its path slightly.

If successful, the test will show that if a killer asteroid ever heads for Earth, there’d be a fighting chance. pic.twitter.com/9ZZU6HhTCU

— The Associated Press (@AP) September 22, 2022

• Right on brand: “Republicans block bill requiring dark money groups to reveal donors.”

• And finally… 

That was quick pic.twitter.com/UGDWt6mKxy

— Wu-Tang Is For The Children (@WUTangKids) September 22, 2022