by Courtney Vaughn The Mercury provides news and fun every single day—but your help is essential. If you believe Portland benefits from smart, local journalism and arts coverage, please consider making a small monthly contribution, because without you, there is no us. Thanks for your support! Good morning, Portland! It may be October now, but it’s also still really freakin’ hot outside. The forecast says we’re in for a high of 79 degrees and a low of 49. Don’t care. They’ll have to pry this pumpkin spice latte out of my hot, sweaty hands.  Speaking of heat and spice… In Local News:  • If you’re planning to watch tonight’s vice presidential debate, may we suggest you yell at the TV with a face full of buffalo sauce? Choose your debate snacks from 70 local restaurants participating in the Mercury’s Wing Week! You know the drill: Pony up $8 and get yourself to a location on this list, and remember to tip!           View this post on Instagram                       A post shared by Portland Mercury (@portlandmercury) • ICYMI: As we reported Monday, the group responsible for those “Schmidt Show’ billboards downtown last year is ending its short-lived tenure. People For Portland says its antics were successful, and served to pressure local elected officials to act with more urgency on major issues. Whether that’s true or not, what we do know is that the group was also found to have violated Oregon’s election laws by trying to shield its activities from financial disclosure. Back in March, the Secretary of State’s Office told People For Portland to start disclosing the amounts spent on its political messaging campaigns as independent expenditures in the state’s campaign finance system. The state is still looking into some of the group’s other activities. People For Portland’s leaders downplayed the state investigations and said the issue is unrelated to their decision to dissolve.  People For Portland managed to catalyze a swath of Portlanders disillusioned with the state of the city. The group's aggressive tactics, including downtown billboards, sparked dialogue. They also led to state investigations into election law violations. https://t.co/TEi0dY4HqF — Portland Mercury 🗞 (@portlandmercury) September 30, 2024 • Last week, a strange odor permeated the air near Southwest Washington. The smell was detected as far away as Southeast Portland, but no one knows what caused it. There was speculation that the sulfur-like odor could be related to the Mount St. Helens volcano, but that theory has been debunked. • Looking for ways to spend your week? Check out Everout’s roundup of 40+ events happening around Portland, including First Thursday at Pacific Northwest College of Art, a Latin American Film Festival, and a Psychotronic Halloween Festival at the Clinton Street Theater (which is also showing a bevy of other classic spooky flicks). In an act of public service, I scoured the internet for the best Moo Deng content.            View this post on Instagram                       A post shared by Chill Blinton (@chillblinton)   In National/World News: • As mentioned earlier, tonight’s the night when Ohio Sen. JD Vance debates Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz at 6 pm. Both are vying to be the next vice president. CBS is hosting. According to the broadcaster, local residents should be able to watch via KOIN. Or, if you’ve got a YouTube TV subscription, stream it there.The debate is scheduled for 90 minutes, with candidates given two minutes to answer each question, and another two minutes to respond to the other candidate’s answer. As with the prior debates, CBS won’t provide Vance or Walz with questions in advance, and neither can bring pre-prepared notes. Unlike the other debates, microphones will stay on, even when it’s not a candidate’s turn to speak.  • BTW, Maya Rudolph returned in all her glory to the Saturday Night Live stage last weekend to serve up spot-on portrayals of Kamala AKA “Mamala” Harris. She was joined by a cast of veteran comedians and SNL alumni. The 13-minute cold open is worth a watch. • In the Middle East, tensions remain high. International news agency Reuters reports the US expects Iran to launch a missile attack on Israel. A White House official said an attack on Israel “will carry severe consequences for Iran." In related news, Turkey is working on evacuation plans for its citizens in Lebanon, where the political party Hezbollah has been targeted by Israel. As a refresher: Hezbollah’s longtime leader, Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, was assassinated last month by Israeli military forces. • If you’ve ever spent time in the South or East Coast during the summer, you’ve probably experienced fireflies, or as my aunt used to call them “lightnin’ bugs.” Scientists now say the insects are disappearing for a number of reasons related to climate change and coastal development. The US Fish and Wildlife Service now wants to classify the Bethany Beach firefly as a “threatened” species. The U.S. government is proposing to declare the Bethany Beach firefly as threatened, the first time officials have sought to add a firefly to the Endangered Species Act list. https://t.co/pyaYmzKPYB — The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) September 30, 2024 • In “consumer goods nobody asked for,” there is now a laptop that dispenses perfume. This isn’t really new news, but chances are most people haven’t heard of this new, ridiculous contraption that feels mildly sexist. Women don’t need their laptops to pump out a mist of perfume, or be adorned with butterfly stickers, but here we are. The computer is manufactured by Asus and comes as a bundle with a purple laptop sleeve and matching wireless mouse. The “perfuter” as some are calling it, is only available in China, for now. #Asus has a new laptop that somehow manages to cram a perfume dispenser into the lid, and it's one of the strangest designs we've ever seen. https://t.co/Bcvzhm0gJB — Digital Trends (@DigitalTrends) July 31, 2024