Multnomah County has been trying for decades to build a brand new courthouse. And now that it looks like there might finally be some money to do that, officials have been quietly looking for a place to put it. Turns out, they like a plot of land they own on the west end of the Hawthorne Bridge, which every news outlet learned yesterday, when the owner of Veritable Quandary loudly complained the move would put him out of business.
Vastly different woes for some of Portland's varied car services: Uber, locked in a legal battle with the city, has been fined nearly $68,000 in less than two weeks of operation. And now people have started stealing the wheels off of Car2Go's fleet.
An unspeakably awful scene in Pakistan, where Taliban gunmen stormed a military school and murdered scores of children before security forces were able to stop the massacre. The Taliban says it was revenge for the deaths of militants. At least 145 people are dead.
Let's start with a simple premise—that the price of oil is dropping very, very quickly—and see what comes of it:
•Well, for starters the Russian economy is in terrible peril, with the nation's currency at all time lows despite desperate attempts of its central bank. Russia, you see, is heavily reliant on oil sales.
•And suddenly that Keystone XL pipeline everyone's been fighting over doesn't look so fight-worthy, after all. Building shortsighted pipes is no fun when the promise of huge profits isn't there.
•One thing that refuses to be budged by cheap gas? Your cost of flying back to Cheboygan next week. Airlines don't give a damn. Don't have to.
It's not just the US. Private UK security guards killed an Angolan man they were deporting in 2010, in disturbing circumstances very similar to Eric Garner's death. They, at least, were charged. But acquitted.
What hot new reports are out today, you ask? Well, a group of physicians says medical professionals who helped with the CIA's torture effort are guilty of war crimes. And an investigation of American nuns—led by an American nun—finds American nuns are pretty all right. Just, you know, disappearing and rapidly aging.
New York magazine reports 16-year-old Mo Islam made millions on the stock market. Mo Islam says he didn't, but only after going to decently impressive lengths to convince a New York reporter that he did.
You all ready to vote a third Bush into the Oval Office? Thought so.
Big manhunt on in Pennsylvania for a man believed to have killed his ex-wife and five of her family members. It is an ugly thing.
Today's sunset: 4:28 pm, which is one minute later than it was on Saturday. We're gonna get through this! Also, my weather widget thinks it's Monday.
Best For Last: As mentioned in the headline, Madison is flat out killing it.
