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Good morning, Northwest.

A trial in federal court over President Trump’s order to deploy the National Guard to quell Portland protests became a crucial test of presidential power.

This morning, OPB presents the third and final episode of “The Crackdown,” a deep dive into the immigration enforcement surge and fallout in the Pacific Northwest. It begins today’s newsletter.

In other news, three people died yesterday in a helicopter crash near McMinnville.

Here’s your First Look at Friday’s news.

— Bradley W. Parks

Top story

When the narratives of Portland’s ICE protests went to court

A year ago, the Trump administration said the city of Portland was being ravaged by protests. So much so, U.S. Department of Justice attorneys argued they needed to deploy the National Guard.

The city and state quickly sued. What followed was an unprecedented trial that tested the power of the presidency.

The third episode of OPB’s documentary series “The Crackdown” explores how the dueling narratives around Portland’s anti-deportation protests played out in federal courts. (Troy Brynelson, Conrad Wilson and Brooke Herbert)

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3 things to know

• Three people, including a student pilot were killed following a midair collision between two helicopters yesterday afternoon near McMinnville. (OPB staff)
• Amid an affordability crisis and backlash over data center expansion in Oregon’s Silicon Forest, moderates Pam Treece and Steve Callaway face more left-leaning opponents in Nafisa Fai and Kipperlyn Sinclair in races to lead Oregon’s most diverse county. (Holly Bartholomew)
• Gov. Tina Kotek and Sen. Christine Drazan have different approaches to improve education in Oregon. Here’s where the candidates stand on five top challenges for public schools. (Elizabeth Miller)

A handful of elections could determine Oregon Democrats’ supermajority

It’s virtually certain that Democrats will maintain their majority in the Oregon Legislature this year, but the margin is less clear. On this week’s episode of “OPB Politics Now,” reporters discuss what’s at stake with less than a week to go before Election Day. (Dirk VanderHart and Bryce Dole)

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Northwest headlines

• Oregon’s natural gas rates to climb starting tomorrow (Monica Samayoa)
• Multnomah County’s largest public union declares ‘no confidence’ in top officials (Alex Zielinski)
• Critics question mass timber partnership with the Port of Portland (April Ehrlich)
• Outside spending against Democrats running to flip Southwest Washington state House districts nears $2M (Elena Neale-Sacks)
• Pacific Northwest author creates cozy, feral fantasy with new book ‘Goblin Market’ (Jess Hazel)
• Morant leaves in fourth quarter of Blazers’ 124-103 loss to Grizzlies (Erik Garcia Gunderson, AP)

Listen in on OPB’s daily conversation

“Think Out Loud” airs at noon and 8 p.m. weekdays on OPB Radio, opb.org and the OPB News app. Today’s planned topics (subject to change):

• Northwest election directors on security of system as Election Day nears
• PNW scientists are working to extract minerals from seawater

One more look

Superabundant recipe: Garlic bread skulls with saucy, molten chorizo-cheese brains

Eating bread or cake to commemorate the dead is a tradition nearly as old as humanity itself.

The practice dates back to ancient Egypt. Long before Catholic colonizers showed up in Mexico, there were funerary tamales and papalotlaxcalli made from amaranth or corn to honor the deceased.

The vikings also had a funeral bread which evolved into Minnesota funeral bread, an open-faced sandwich of sliced cinnamon bread smeared with Cheez Whiz and decorated with green olives.

This recipe takes its own approach, filling garlicky bread skulls with hot, cheesy brains. (If you don’t have a skull pan, a muffin tin will do.) (Heather Arndt Anderson)

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News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2026/10/30/trump-national-guard-court-first-look/