by Suzette Smith The Mercury provides its readers with interesting and useful news & culture reporting every single day. If you appreciate that, consider making a small monthly contribution to support our editorial team. If you read something you like, something you don't like but are glad to know about, and/or something you can't find anywhere else consider a one-time tip. It all goes in the same pot and it all goes to the editorial team. Thanks for your support! Good Morning, Portland! Today's intro comes courtesy of a devoted reader and Michigan transplant, who reached out yesterday to let me know: "Ranked choice voting is essentially Euchre; you either try and collaborate with your team to get all the points, or go it alone and shoot the moon." Throw. the. whole. fucking Mercury Election Guide away, guys. We're starting over with the holiest of winter card games as our north star! I'm completely serious, but until then—THE NEWS. IN LOCAL NEWS:• Professors at Portland State are pissed and protesting about it. On Thursday at noon, over 100 members of a union that represents faculty, staff, and researchers at PSU (PSU AAUP) marched to the office of the university's president, Ann Cudd, with demands. The profs were responding to layoff notices the school sent out to what PSU AAUP described as 7.5 percent of the 1,200 workers it represents, or approximately 90 people. As this is also happening in the midst of ongoing bargaining between the union and the school for a new contract, some faculty gave bargaining testimony remotely from outside the president's office, after they were denied admission. The union said that Cudd emerged from her office later that day and said she had no power to help settle the contract or stop the cuts.     Reached for comment, a PSU representative stressed that the layoffs haven't happened yet, and notice of potential layoffs is required by the bargaining agreement in place, and that "final notices of termination, which would be effective at the end of the current academic year, would be sent on or before December 15." Kevin Foster contributed to this reporting.  • If you watched the mayoral debate earlier this week, you won't be surprised that three of Portland's City Commissioners are asking for an ordinance to cancel the recently-renewed Homelessness Response Action Plan agreement with Multnomah County. Mingus Mapps, and Rene Gonzalez said as much on stage, and Dan Ryan is their longstanding BFF (Best Friends ruining the city Forever). Mercury news editor Courtney Vaughn breaks down what was supposed to be a routine meeting between City Council and the county's Board of Commissioners. • Did you read a delightful little story in the Oregonian about "a big cat" taking "a long nap" on a pier in the coastal town of Newport yesterday? Well, it looks like the Lincoln County Sheriff’s deputies and wildlife rangers who shot a cougar with a tranquilizer dart did not actually manage to save the wild cougar they were trying to capture. He fell off the pier and drowned. 😾 • Now for the time of the morning where we listen to "Poncho and Lefty" and look out a window. Outta kindness, I suppose. • A headline about Oregon Department of Forestry officials meeting in a room "with nude women on display" had me like❗but it was just art, so I'm not particularly bothered by it—OR SHOULD I BE? SHOW ME THE PAINTINGS, YOU COWARDS. • Wishing a very fine morning to this apt observation: If Keith wins, he’ll be our 4th identical mayor in a row https://t.co/vQOJOzPunX pic.twitter.com/T2G406B7Ko — c a i t l i n (@hello__caitlin) October 16, 2024 IN NATIONAL / INTERNATIONAL NEWS:• A Hamas leader who played a central role in plotting the organization's October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel has died—Hamas officials confirmed Friday morning. The Israeli military announced Thursday that a unit of its trainee squad commanders killed Yahya Sinwar, in southern Gaza on Wednesday. Following confirmation of Sinwar's death, Associated Press reports that Hamas said they won't release the hostages they've held for over a year, until Israeli troops withdraw and commence a cease-fire. Israeli forces are similarly locked in. So nothing has changed, other than people caught in the crossfire of the powerful will suffer today. • Meanwhile in Florida: The administration of Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida must stop threatening TV stations with criminal prosecution for airing a political ad in favor of enshrining abortion rights in the state’s Constitution, a federal judge ordered on Thursday. https://t.co/6hiTgXTntO — The New York Times (@nytimes) October 18, 2024 • Twitter revealed changes to its "block" button this week. Bluesky accounts have surged. Bluesky surges into the top 5 as X changes blocks, permits AI training on its data https://t.co/KHWFaYcmcW — TechCrunch (@TechCrunch) October 18, 2024 • FROM MY INBOX THIS WEEK: A recycling box claims that it can recycle your candy wrappers but will unfortunately be jailed for this horrible subject head: “Americans Don’t Want to be Haunted by Candy Wrappers as Halloween Creeps Closer.” STRAIGHT TO JAIL. • Finally someone is telling you the truth about grocery store parking lots.           View this post on Instagram                       A post shared by Max Goodrich (@maxgoodrich)