The celebrated Underground Railroad conductor received posthumous recognition for her service as a spy, scout, nurse and cook during the Civil War

Bush says:

"And what galls me the most is that it's not at all believable, because Miers has no demonstrable commitment to constitutional interpretation. She's been presented to us as someone who will simply vote the right way. That's the very essence of acting like a legislator."

Abolitionist Harriet Tubman was officially made a one-star brigadier general in the Maryland National Guard on Veterans Day at a ceremony attended by Democratic Gov. Wes Moore.

by Courtney Vaughn

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Good morning, Portland! Take a deep breath. Hold for six seconds. Exhale. 

We might be treated to some fleeting morning sunshine, but for the most part, expect more rain with a high of 54 degrees and a low of 50. 

Let's catch up on what's happening in our city and around the world.

In Local News: 

• Important fox update! The young arctic white fox spotted in Portland a few weeks ago is now in the care of the Bird Alliance of Oregon. Last Friday, the Bird Alliance posted an update, noting the fox was likely illegally kept in captivity in Oregon. And while the fox sniffed out and found several mice hidden for her around her enclosure, it’s unlikely she’d survive in the wilderness. The organization reports the fox is in good health and they’re looking for a permanent home for her with a wildlife agency.

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• The body of a missing hiker was found in Mt. Hood National Forest last Friday. Police say 33-year-old James Robert MacDonald was found by search and rescue crews after his family reported he didn’t return from a hike Wednesday, Nov. 6. KATU reports MacDonald had four children, including 1-year-old twins, and was finishing a radiology residency at OHSU.

This is the second major search conducted for a missing hiker in Mt. Hood National Forest in less than two weeks. Last Tuesday, the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office found a missing mushroom hunter in densely forested terrain as he exited the Eagle Creek Trail. He was found “cold and wet” but otherwise in good health.

• Dozens of Portlanders and local organizations have signed on to a letter urging the Portland City Council to postpone a vote on a contract that would funnel more money into the Portland Metro Chamber. This Wednesday, City Council is likely to approve the expansion of one of the city’s Enhanced Service Districts, Downtown Clean & Safe. The expansion also accompanies a $58 million contract renewal for Clean & Safe. Enhanced Service Districts are special districts where property owners pay a tax to fund extra security services and cleanups around the district. If it were any other organization or even any other ESD, few would bat an eye at the contract renewal, but Downtown Clean & Safe is essentially operated by the Portland Metro Chamber (formerly the Portland Business Alliance). The city funnels millions of district tax dollars into this no-bid contract, to give ESD ratepayers–most of which are downtown businesses–an added layer of private security, as well as trash and graffiti removal. While plenty of folks are supportive of the extra services, quite a few Portlanders, including condo owners in the district, say the contract arrangement is barely ethical, and serves primarily to funnel taxpayer money into the Metro Chamber, which is one of the most powerful lobbying groups in the city. There are few, if any, checks and balances on the contract. Aside from ethical concerns, condo owners in the Downtown Clean & Safe ESD say they are being charged for services they already pay for through their Homeowners Associations and city taxes. 

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• Oregon has repeatedly failed to protect or keep data about the kids in its foster care system who wind up being sex trafficked. If you have an Oregonian subscription, this heartbreaking story is worth a read. The series shines a light on a disjointed foster care system in Oregon that failed to protect more than two dozen foster care children from being sold for sex or "anything of value," including one woman, who's now 21 but ran away with men multiple times and was forced to perform sex acts when she was 16. Multiple teens in foster care are at risk of being sold into prostitution, but for years, the state has been slow to respond and/or failed to identify those at risk, despite federal requirements to keep data on the high-risk teens in state custody.

• It’s World Vegan Month, and Veganizer is partnering with local restaurants to offer fun menu items with a portion of the proceeds from those items going toward local nonprofits. Pssst…going vegan is a great excuse to skip Thanksgiving dinner with any family members you don’t like, or those you’re just not ready to stomach after the election.

• And if you need other things to distract yourself or just need a reason to get out of the house, check the Everout weekly rundown for the best in dining, live music, film, and miscellaneous outings. Looking for a show tonight? Consider watching Salami Rose Joe Louis deliver an experimental fusion of electro-jazz rock (if that's not a thing, it is now) at the Jack London Revue.

In National/World News:

• Yesterday was Veterans Day, and perhaps the most notable event of the day was the posthumous military rank awarded to Civil War-era activist and abolitionist Harriet Tubman. Tubman escaped slavery and went on to help rescue an estimated 70 other people from slavery via the Underground Railroad. Aside from her activism and liberation of others, she's also regarded as the first woman to lead an armed combat regimen for the Union during the Civil War. In 1863, Tubman led 150 African American Union soldiers in a raid that ultimately rescued an estimated 700 slaves. For her efforts, Tubman was named a one-star brigadier general in the Maryland National Guard.

•In a move that feels like the Trump agenda is already setting in, the Intercept lays out a bill scheduled to be voted on next week with bipartisan support that would essentially allow the government to revoke tax exemption from any nonprofit organizations it deems to have a connection to terrorism or support terrorism. HR 9495, the Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act, would give the US Treasury secretary the power to notify any organization that its tax-exempt status will be revoked. The nonprofit will have 90 days to appeal. The ACLU is sounding the alarm, noting a bill of that magnitude would only serve to chill free speech and other activities of orgs that don’t align with Trump’s political allies or agenda. The fact that this bill was introduced is a likely indicator that members of Congress and US government officials already have a few nonprofits in mind. 

I want to be absolutely clear. Having reviewed the text of the law, it is, quite possibly, the most unconstitutional bill I have ever encountered during my time as a legal professional. It makes the Patriot Act look like an appropriations bill. It’s the modern equivalent of the Sedition Act of 1798.

— ????️‍⚧️ June Licinio ✡️ (@jwlicinio.bsky.social) November 11, 2024 at 2:15 PM

• With just over three months left in President Biden's term, chatter among Democratic senators suggests US Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor should step down so Biden can make a SCOTUS appointment before he leaves office. Sotomayor, 70, hasn't indicated her intention to retire from the court, but with a current Democratic majority in the Senate, some say the time is now for her to step aside and allow for another justice to be appointed by a Democrat president. At least one senator is pushing back on that suggestion. On a recent episode of Meet the Press, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont told NBC's Kristen Welker he doesn't think it's a good idea. Dems are trying to avoid a repeat of what happened in 2020, when Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg ignored calls for her to step down, then died while still serving. Trump was president, and replaced Ginsberg—often revered as a feminist icon—with conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett.

• US transportation safety officials are investigating whether certain models of Hondas and Acuras are prone to engine failure. The AP reports the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is looking into rod bearing failures that can cause the engines on several makes and models to fail. Honda last year issued a recall to fix the engine problem, but the NHTSA says nearly 175 complaints from vehicle owners who experienced the same engine failure issues, but whose vehicles weren’t included in Honda’s 2023 recall. The issue covers the Honda Pilot and Acura MDX (2016-2020 model years); the Honda Odyssey and Acura TLX (2018 through 2020), and the Honda Ridgeline (2017-2019).

@livviathepig

the gift that keeps on giving

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Harriet Hunter's award-winning, bestselling book became the first-place recipient of the coveted President's Award in nonfiction from the Florida Authors and Publishers Association. Miracles features 365 powerful daily inspirations

New essay by Lucinda MacKethan just added to Freedom's Story: Teaching African American Literature and History, TeacherServe from the National Humanities Center.

El museo de Orsay presenta la obra de la pionera pintora noruega Harriet Backer. Del...

Musée d’Orsay showcases the work of pioneering Norwegian painter Harriet Backer. From 24 September 2024...

Harriet Tubman was posthumously awarded the rank of brigadier general of the Maryland National Guard on Monday in recognition of her service.

Smithsonian magazine commissioned Drew Gardner for a project that connects Black Americans today to their lost ancestry. Read about Gardner’s project and process, as well as more details about the subjects of this incredible series here: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/descendants-black-civil-war-heroes-wear-heritage-pride-180983397/ Video produced by Sierra Theobald. Special thanks to Drew Gardner Additional credits: Emma MacBeath, WikiTree US Black Heritage project; Ottawa Goodman, research and coordinator; Sam Dole, Penumbra Foundation; Elizabeth Zuck, set design; Calvin Osbourne, props and costume; Angela Huff, hair and make up; Diego Huerta, Lexia Krebs, behind-the-scenes filming; background prints by Fujifilm USA

On September 17, over 100 volunteers planted 2,075 trees at the Blackbird State Forest for the Harriet Tubman Bicentennial Tree Planting. This initiative will provide scenic beauty, enhance wildlife habitat, fight invasive species, and improve water quality in the critical Chesapeake Bay Watershed. This tree planting was part of a broader program to commemorate the 200th birthday year of Harriet Tubman in 1822 and part of International Underground Railroad Month.

Harriet Tubman honoured as a one-star general in a Veterans Day ceremony, recognising her contributions as a military leader and abolitionist.

Oxford, England : Oxford University Press, [2015]

London : Nick Hern Books, 2019.

Christopher Meloni has listed his historic Hollywood Hills house, which was once the on- and offscreen home of Ozzie and Harriet Nelson. He is asking $6.495 million for the property.

Ms. Sepinwall has been endorsed by Marquis Who's Who as a leader in education

John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and Women in Government (WIG) Issue 2019 Award

The daughter of former NSW premier Neville Wran avoids jail after pleading guilty to carrying ice in early April, two years after she was released for her role in the murder of a Sydney drug dealer.

IBM today announced that Fast Company has named IBM’s Harriet Green one of its 100 Most Creative People in Business for 2017. The annual list honors an influential and diverse group of leading thinkers from a vast range of global industries.

Actress Millicent Sparks to portray the noted Underground Railroad conductor.

After just over five years of ownership, versatile TV and film actor Christopher Meloni (“Oz,” “Law & Order: SVU,” “The Handmaid’s Tale,” “Wet Hot American Summer,” “Happy!”) and his longtime wife Sherman Williams have punted their historic Hollywood Hills home back onto the open market, where it’s landed with a nearly $6.5 million thud. The […]

The actor has joined Phoebe Waller-Bridge's acclaimed spy thriller for its third season. She talks to Alexandra Pollard about the joy of not wearing a corset, the limitations of Shakespeare's heroines and why she thinks people should think carefully before changing their pronouns

The first images of Harriet Walter Tamsin Greig, and Ella Purnell were released by ITV on Wednesday, which saw the stars dressed in their finery for the period drama.

The 35-year-old Barbie Dreams rapper was caught on camera saying 'I am the new Harriet Tubman' just hours after tweeting about her in the run up to the awards on Monday night.

Johanna Konta met the Duchess of Cambridge at the practice courts before the match but was not aware that the tennis-loving royal was also in the stands.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Harriet Dart met one of her heroes earlier this year. It proved to be one of those encounters that validated an old phrase. After losing to Maria Sharapova, the experience was priceless.

The 43-year-old said that the backlash is a burden black performers unjustly have to deal with unlike their counterparts when playing real-life roles.

MIKE DICKSON IN BRATISLAVA: An emotional Harriet Dart had to be consoled by team-mates after failing to stop Great Britain from missing out on the bonanza of the new Fed Cup final week.

MIKE DICKSON IN MELBOURNE: It was literally at the eleventh hour that Dart saved British tennis from an Australian Open wipeout when she fought her way through to second round.

MIKE DICKSON IN MELBOURNE: The 23 year-old at least offered some defiance before she was beaten 6-2 6-4 by Wimbledon champion Simona Halep on a blustery Rod Laver Arena

MIKE DICKSON IN MELBOURNE: Harriet Dart and Heather Watson both exited on Thursday to complete a second round British wipeout in the Australian Open singles draw

Interview with UK Economic Secretary to the Treasury

Rotch Library - TX907.5.I4 B76 2019