The Mercury provides news and fun every day, but your help is essential. If you think Portland has smart local media and arts coverage, consider making a small monthly contribution, because without you there is no us. Thanks for your help!

BRANDON BELL / GETTY IMAGES

Hello, Portland! Look, I’m sorry about this, but we’re going to have to open today’s post with a disturbing anti-vaccine tweet from my Nicki Minaj – a tweet that completely overshadowed the looks at last night’s Met Gala –not because I approve of this message, but because I think it will be studied by sociologists in the years to come:

My cousin in Trinidad will not receive the vaccine because his friend received it and has become helpless. His testicles became swollen. Her friend was a few weeks away from getting married, now the girl has called off the wedding. So pray over it and make sure you are comfortable with your decision, not intimidated

– Nicki Minaj (@NICKIMINAJ) September 13, 2021

OK, now that it’s settled, here are the headlines.

• Portland Police have identified the two officers involved in a Sunday morning shooting in which one person was injured, shedding light on a largely opaque incident. According to the Portland Police Bureau (PPB), officers Ivan Alvarez and Jonah Gellman both fired their guns at Andreas Boinay early Sunday morning after learning that Boinay allegedly stole a truck. Our own Alex Zielinski has more details here.

• In case you missed this excellent report from Isabella Garcia last week, be sure to check it out: “How imperfect demographics cover up the reality of COVID for Pacific Islanders of Oregon.”

• A data scientist from Oregon Health and Sciences University predicts that, based on current data, hospitals in Oregon will be full of COVID-19 patients until mid-November, by KGW. Here is some related data on the usefulness of vaccines in preventing people from going to the hospital:

Running # COVID-19[FEMALE[FEMININE hospitalizations at OHSU and OHSU Santé @HillsboroMedCtr until September 13, 2021. pic.twitter.com/4m14IrLuhv

– OHSU News (@OHSUNews) September 13, 2021

• Do you support the recall effort against Mayor Ted Wheeler? If so, you’ll want to read this article on local art and culture venues that are also supporting the recall and using their weight as businesses to help move it forward. As one person said at Mercury, “It’s not without precedent that companies are involved in politics, they are usually involved alongside people like Ted Wheeler. “

• Today is the day for our neighbors to the south: it is the recall elections in California against Gov. Gavin Newsom, and the stakes are damn high. If Newsom loses and is recalled, his likely replacement is a Trump-style Republican. If Californians who haven’t voted yet are reading this: VOTE NO! Sure, Newsom is an image-obsessed elitist jerk, but this election is not your solution to that particular problem.

• Okay, we need to talk about the Met Gala. Specifically, the dress of Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who said “TAX THE RICH” in big red letters on the back. Look, AOC is my favorite American politician (which is kind of like having a favorite button on my back), but I’m going to have to agree with Gawker on this one:

AOC means well, objectively cringe https://t.co/clN2BP8Zjx

– Gawker (@Gawker) September 14, 2021

• Prepare yourself, as another abortion rights case appears to be on the way to the Supreme Court. This time, it’s a 15 week abortion ban in Mississippi– and if the Court allows it to come into force, it will effectively cut the last thread of Roe vs. Wade.

• Democrats in Congress introduced a new draft law on the right to vote loaded with compromise. But while he’s less progressive than John Lewis’s failed Voting Rights Act, he’ll likely be always in the face of Republican obstruction in the Senate. Our voting rights may be eroding before our eyes, but I’m just happy that we continue to protect the most sacred and iconic of American rights: filibuster!

• And finally, today we will end with a shameless plug for the that of Mercury own guide to the fall arts! You’ll want to check this one out, I promise.

Portland’s art scene has never shied away from politics. But in a year at the intersection of a pandemic, mass extinction event, and political incompetence, the arts of Portland are taking a dramatic turn.
Presentation of the Mercury’s Fall Arts Guide.https://t.co/GRtzsu5sKA

– Portland Mercury (@portlandmercury) September 13, 2021