by Wm. Steven Humphrey If you’re reading this, you probably know the value of the Mercury’s news reporting, arts and culture coverage, event calendar, and the bevy of events we host throughout the year. The work we do helps our city shine, but we can’t do it without your support. 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!👋 Calling all lovebirds! 😻 Here's your LAST REMINDER to send in your FREE Mercury Reader Valentine for that special someone in your life by THIS WEDNESDAY, January 15! That is, if you want your lover to see their valentine IN PRINT in our upcoming Love/Sex Issue (in more than 500 spots around town)—though if you only care about the internet, we'll accept your valentines online through February 15. Will that satisfy your lovesick schmoopy-woopy, though? I guess we'll see! Now let's see some NEWS. IN LOCAL NEWS: • The local kids who participate in the daily "Bike Bus" program—the huge throng of school children and parents who bike to school each day—got a BIG thrill yesterday: Pop icon Justin Timberlake made a surprise appearance at a Bike Bus gathering (he was in town for his Moda Center show), and led 200 kids and parents on a half-mile ride through the Alameda neighborhood. The singer was asked to participate in the program a few months back, which got a huge reaction online. (I was going to make some Timberlake/bike related puns here, but the brilliant Elinor Jones already thought of all the good ones to put in this week's Trash Report... publishing in just a few minutes!)           View this post on Instagram                       A post shared by Portland Mercury (@portlandmercury) • Our Courtney Vaughn has the latest on the brand spankin' new sobering center that's opening up in Portland's Central Eastside neighborhood, which intoxicated folks under the influence of drugs or alcohol will be taken to instead of the emergency room or, worse, jail. Check out the story here. • The Providence healthcare worker strike—which includes thousands of doctors, nurses, and healthcare employees across the state—continued through the weekend, though striking workers are upset that management has resumed negotiations with smaller hospitals in Medford and Newberg, while allegedly ignoring the facilities in larger markets, such as Providence Portland and St. Vincent. Providence officials say they're closer to agreement with the smaller facilities (hence putting them first), while workers at the Portland hospitals counter that negotiators have failed to bargain in good faith.  • Multnomah County public defenders are clapping back against conservative DA Nathan Vasquez comments that Oregon's obvious public defender crisis is nothing more than "work stoppage." Carl Macpherson, executive director of Metropolitan Public Defender, called Vasquez's weird take "offensive and ignorant,” while others are putting much of the blame on the DA's office, who they say don't do enough to identify dead-end trials before the public defenders put in the work. For example, Vasquez has the antiquated notion to bring more drug cases to trial, which will necessitate the building of more jail cells (to the tune of $40-to-$50 million), while putting even more unnecessary stress on overwhelmed public defenders. Let's go, trivia lovers! It's time for another hilariously fun POP QUIZ PDX! This week: Weird football mascots, inside the new City Council, and the greatest movie of all time! (That's "Twilight," in case you didn't know.) 🧛‍♂️ See how well YOU score![image or embed] — Portland Mercury (@portlandmercury.bsky.social) January 9, 2025 at 9:57 AM IN NATIONAL/WORLD NEWS: • A new round of heavy winds in California are threatening firefighter efforts to quell the devastating wildfires in the LA area, which have already led to the deaths of at least 24 people, and has burned over 40,000 acres—an area as large as San Francisco. The Palisades fire—the largest of the blazes—was only 14 percent contained by Monday morning, 100,000 people are under evacuation orders, and Governor Gavin Newsom predicts that the wildfires will result in the one of the most deadly natural disasters in US history. • Senate hearings are kicking off for Trump's nominations for his cabinet picks, which are expected to be disastrous (ha-ha-ha) for at least some of his choices, as well as the Republicans who dare to ignore their cult leader's wishes. While Sen. Marco Rubio's bid for Secretary of State is expected to be handily approved, others—such as wildly underwhelming former Fox News host Pete Hegseth (who's vying for the Defense Secretary post)—could easily be laughed out of the room. Fifty senate votes are required to assure confirmations. Pete Hegseth, the controversial former Fox News host, has been accused of sexual assault and faces a grueling confirmation hearing on the path to becoming the next secretary of defense.[image or embed] — The Washington Post (@washingtonpost.com) January 13, 2025 at 6:13 AM • According to Hamas, the militant group and the Israeli government are "very close to agreement" on a plan for a ceasefire and exchange of hostages, and Israel's foreign minister agrees that "progress has been made." However a few sticky points remain, which include the Hamas demand for Israel to withdraw from the Philadelphi corridor, and Israel's wish for an expanded buffer zone between the two regions. • Jeff Bezo's space company, Blue Origin, has called off the scheduled launch of their massive new rocket (carrying a prototype satellite) after unspecified issues made them miss their launch window. No word yet on when the next launch date will be be. Everything about this post is just dumb as shit but I especially like that he's telling people you're safe from Tommy guns in your cybertruck[image or embed] — Wild Geerters (@steinkobbe.bsky.social) January 12, 2025 at 2:51 PM • You love to see it: Two of the most vile people in MAGA land, human turnip Steve Bannon and billionaire crybaby Elon Musk, are duking it out in the public forum. In an interview, Bannon labeled Musk as a South African "racist," while vowing he would "do anything" to keep the billionaire out of Trump's orbit in the White House. (Enjoy eating your own tails, snakes.)  • And finally... here's your Monday inspiration (and what I'm gonna tell my boss in about three seconds): @ashlee_ruth HAHAHA add a tip                             #mood #work #coworkers #hahahaha #money #comedy #relatable #foryou ♬ original sound - ashlee_ruth