Freezing US winter storms threaten to break low-temperature records

From New Mexico to Portland, Maine, temperatures dropped and snow fell, closing campaigns, football games and roads

Icy winter weather blanketed the US on Saturday as a wave of Arctic storms threatened to break low-temperature records in the heartland, spread cold and snow from coast to coast and cast a chill over everything from football playoffs to presidential campaigns.

As the three-day Martin Luther King Jr Day holiday weekend began, the weather forecast was a quilt of color-coded advisories, from an ice storm warning in Oregon to a blizzard warning in the northern plains to high wind warnings in New Mexico.

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Rare Air Jordans made for Spike Lee fetch $50,000 for homelessness charity

The shoes – which debuted as Lee’s footwear at the 2019 Academy Awards – were found in a clothing donation bin in Portland, Oregon

A pair of rare Nike Air Jordan 3s made for Spike Lee have sold for more than $50,000 at Sotheby’s after they were discovered earlier this year in the donation chute of a homeless charity in Portland, Oregon.

On Monday, the gold shoes, one of only four to five pairs custom-made for the film director Spike Lee and his inner circle, were auctioned off at Sotheby’s for $50,800. The shoes were originally discovered in April by a participant in Portland Rescue Mission’s long-term shelter program who was sorting through several clothing and shoe donations.

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Oregon teachers reach tentative deal to end strike after three weeks of no school

Portland school district reaches agreement with teachers’ union allowing 45,000 students to resume classes

Oregon’s largest school district said late on Sunday it had reached a tentative agreement with its teachers’ union and roughly 45,000 students would be back in school on Monday after more than three weeks without classes.

The agreement must still be voted on by teachers who have been on the picket line since 1 November over issues of pay, class sizes and planning time. It must also be approved by the school board, but the union agreed that classes could resume while those votes go forward. Portland Public Schools students missed 11 days of school before the district began its weeklong Thanksgiving break.

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Man arrested over alleged mass shooting plot at Oregon climbing event

  • Samson Zebturiah Garner being held on $10m bail
  • Police say they found guns and evidence of plot in car

A man has been arrested in Oregon over an alleged plot to carry out a mass shooting at a rock climbing event.

Samson Zebturiah Garner, 39, was taken into custody in Deschutes county after local police were informed by detectives in Portland, Oregon, that the suspect was “planning a violent attack during an event” in the area. According to the Bend Bulletin, Garner had told two acquaintances he intended to harm people at a climbing event in the county, most likely the Alpine Club Craggin’ Classic which is taking place this weekend.

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‘This is psychological warfare’: Starbucks workers allege anti-union firings

The National Labor Relations Board has reinstated 28 of the more than 200 pro-union workers fired since late 2021

Alicia Flores had worked at Starbucks in Portland, Oregon, for seven years until June, when she received a voicemail from a manager – filling in for her usual boss, who was taking a leave of absence – who informed her she was being fired.

Flores is far from alone.

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Gun used by Mexican cartel to shoot down military helicopter bought in US

Investigation into the 2015 incident revealed the 0.50-caliber weapon for the Jalisco cartel was purchased in Portland, Oregon

The 0.50-caliber gun used by the Mexican Jalisco cartel to shoot down a Mexican military helicopter in 2015 came from a gun supplier in Portland, Oregon, a joint Mexico-US investigation has found.

On Wednesday, the Louisville Courier Journal reported confirmation of the connection between the incident and Portland, Oregon by federal firearm officials.

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How to Murder Your Husband writer found guilty of murdering husband

Portland jury finds Nancy Crampton Brophy guilty of killing chef Daniel Brophy in June 2018

A jury in the US city of Portland has convicted a self-published romance novelist who wrote an essay titled How to Murder Your Husband of fatally shooting her husband four years ago.

The jury of seven women and five men found Nancy Crampton Brophy, 71, guilty of second-degree murder on Wednesday after deliberating for two days over Daniel Brophy’s death, according to reports.

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Protests erupt across US over Kyle Rittenhouse verdict – video

WARNING: This video contains strong language

Demonstrators take to the streets after a jury cleared Kyle Rittenhouse on charges related to his shooting dead two people at an anti-racism protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, last year. Shouting matches flared on the courthouse steps in the town, and protest marches were held in Portland, Chicago and New York

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Gunshots fired at far-right Proud Boys rally in Portland – video

A protest on Sunday in Portland, Oregon culminated in a gunfight, when antifascist demonstrators returned fire at a man who shot at them with a handgun in a downtown street.

Portland police bureau confirmed that a man had been arrested over the shooting, which came after a day of protest descended into running clashes involving hundreds of protesters and counter-protesters

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Hundreds clash in Portland as Proud Boys rally descends into violence

Running street battle ends in gunfight after ‘Summer of love’ protest in a parking lot of a former Kmart store

A rightwing protest in Portland on Sunday has culminated in a gunfight, when antifascist demonstrators returned fire at a man who shot at them with a handgun in a downtown street.

The firefight took place in the heart of downtown Portland, soon after 6pm. As antifascists followed a man at a distance who they were trying to eject from the area, he took cover behind an electrical substation box, produced a handgun and opened fire. He fired at least two shots before an antifascist returned fire with their own handgun. At least seven shots were fired.

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‘I can’t do it’: Portland residents battle grueling heat in unprecedented summer

Streets go quiet and shops close early as temperatures pass 100F in latest Pacific north-west heatwave

“No, no, no,” Linda Longoria cried as she heard the weather forecast for Portland, Oregon on Friday: 100F (38C). “I can’t do it. Even in the shade it’s so humid.”

Longoria, 65, and her son are homeless and stay in hotels when they can but sometimes are forced to sleep outdoors. A lifelong resident of the city, she shook her head: “A heatwave in Portland. It’s not usually like this.”

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George Floyd killing: protests flare as Americans await verdict in Chauvin trial

Outcome is expected to resonate nationwide, particularly in cities that have seen continuing demonstrations over police violence

Protests against police killings flared across the US this weekend, from Minneapolis to Chicago to Portland, as Americans wait for a verdict in the trial of the white police officer charged with murdering George Floyd last year.

Closing arguments are expected in the Derek Chauvin trial on Monday. The most serious charge the former Minneapolis officer is facing in Floyd’s death is second-degree murder, but the jury might choose to find him guilty on third-degree murder or manslaughter, or acquit him altogether.

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Protests erupt in US cities over police violence as riot declared in Portland

Thousands marched in Chicago where 13-year-old Adam Toledo was killed while about 100 arrested in Brooklyn Center

After a heated week of police violence, protests erupted in several US cities on Friday, at times turning tense.

In the wake of the killings of Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old shot by police after being pulled over, and unarmed 13-year-old Adam Toledo, thousands took to the streets to demonstrate, sometimes into the night.

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Revealed: pro-Trump activists plotted violence ahead of Portland rallies

Patriots Coalition members suggested political assassinations and said ‘laws will be broken, people will get hurt’, leaked chats show

Leaked chat logs show Portland-area pro-Trump activists planning and training for violence, sourcing arms and ammunition and even suggesting political assassinations ahead of a series of contentious rallies in the Oregon city, including one scheduled for this weekend.

The chats on the GroupMe app, shared with the Guardian by the antifascist group Eugene Antifa, show conversations between Oregon members of the Patriots Coalition growing more extreme as they discuss armed confrontations with leftwing Portland activists, and consume a steady diet of online disinformation about protests and wildfires.

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Trump escalates war of words with Biden over civil rights protests – live

Joe Biden has responded to Trump’s refusal to condemn Kyle Rittenhouse:

In a statement, he said:

Tonight, the President declined to rebuke violence. He wouldn’t even repudiate one of his supporters who is charged with murder because of his attacks on others. He is too weak, too scared of the hatred he has stirred to put an end to it.

So once again, I urge the President to join me in saying that while peaceful protest is a right — a necessity — violence is wrong, period. No matter who does it, no matter what political affiliation they have. Period.

If Donald Trump can’t say that, then he is unfit to be President, and his preference for more violence — not less — is clear.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is seeking a communications firm to “defeat despair and inspire hope,” bidding out a $250m contract, Politico reports.

Ahead of the elections, with 180,000 Americans dead from coronavirus, HHS wants a firm to help “deliver important public health and economic information the administration can defeat despair, inspire hope and achieve national recovery.”

Several weeks ago, the department sent out to a number of communications firms a “performance work statement,” which lays out what work will be expected of the winning firm. The document says that the vast majority of the money will be spent from now until January.

The document also lists the goals of the contract: “defeat despair and inspire hope, sharing best practices for businesses to operate in the new normal and instill confidence to return to work and restart the economy,” build a “coalition of spokespeople” around the country, provide important public health, therapeutic and vaccine information as the country reopens and give Americans information on the phases of reopening.

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‘Rest in peace Jay’: sympathy for the far right foretells Trump’s election strategy

The president has shown a lifelong penchant for inflaming racist hatreds and fears – expect much more of this before November

Six months into the coronavirus pandemic, Donald Trump tweeted a rare statement of condolences, as the confirmed death toll in the US climbed past 183,000.

Related: Biden to accuse Trump of stoking violence in US after Portland clashes

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Portland mayor Ted Wheeler to Trump: ‘Stay the hell out of the way’ – video

The mayor of Portland, Ted Wheeler, launched a searing attack against Donald Trump on Sunday, saying the US president is inciting violence in his city. 'It's you [Trump] who have created the hate and division,' Wheeler said. Trump responded to the comments with a series of counterattacks on Twitter

• Fatal shooting in Portland as Trump supporters confront BLM protesters


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Trump supporters drive through crowd and pepper spray protesters in Portland – video

Footage shows men in pickup trucks taking part in a pro-Trump procession driving into a crowd of protesters in Portland, Oregon. They fire paintballs and pepper spray as demonstrators throw objects at the convoy. The caravan of Trump supporters drove as a group into the centre of Portland, prompting protesters to block streets and bridges in an attempt to stop them. It was the third Saturday in a row that Trump supporters have rallied in the city.

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Fatal shooting in Portland as Trump supporters clash with BLM protesters

Police say it was not clear if shooting was linked to fights between protesters and caravan of Trump supporters

One person was shot and killed late Saturday in Portland, Oregon, as a large caravan of Donald Trump supporters came into town and were seen on video firing paintballs and pepper spray at Black Lives Matter protesters before clashes erupted in the streets.

Related: The Department of Homeland Security is a rogue agency. Democrats must take action | Trevor Timm

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Portland clashes: Trump accused of encouraging violence after shooting

Police say it was not clear if shooting was linked to fights between protesters and caravan of Trump supporters

Portland mayor Ted Wheeler on Sunday slammed Donald Trump, accusing the president of encouraging the kind of violence that erupted in the city overnight when a reported member of a rightwing group was shot dead after a group of Trump supporters confronted Black Lives Matter protesters.

“What America needs is for you to be stopped,” Wheeler said of Trump, after the president tore into Wheeler on Twitter in the hours after the death and retweeted video footage of his supporters in trucks firing paintballs and pepper spray at protesters downtown.

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