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Good morning, Northwest.
More protests are expected in Portland in response to federal law enforcement actions after U.S. Border Patrol shot Venezuelan nationals Luis David Nino-Moncada and Yorlenys Betzabeth Zambrano-Contreras two days ago.
We’ll begin today’s newsletter with a story on those protests, It will be updated as events unfold today, with reporting from our journalists in the field.
Yesterday evening, the small community of Echo in Eastern Oregon gathered at a local high school to remember a pilot and his three nieces, all of whom were killed in a helicopter crash in Arizona a week earlier. OPB’s Antonio Sierra was there and has the details.
Plus, Portland’s Samuel Mindra, 22, will compete today in the Men’s Championship Free Skate as the nation’s top figure skaters converge on St. Louis this week for the U.S. Figure Skating Championships. OPB’s Weekend Edition host Lillian Karabaic, an avid skater herself, has the story.
This is your First Look at Saturday’s news.
— Winston Szeto
A few hundred people protest outside of Portland City Hall, Jan. 8, 2026, in response to the shooting of two people by a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent in East Portland earlier in the day.
Saskia Hatvany / OPB
More protests to be held this weekend in Portland after Border Patrol agents shoot 2 people
Oregonians are taking to the streets once again this weekend to take part in multiple anti-immigration enforcement protests across Portland.
It comes after a man and a woman were shot and injured Thursday by Border Patrol in Portland’s Hazelwood neighborhood. The people who were shot were later identified by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security as Venezuelan nationals Luis David Nico-Moncada and Yorlenys Betzabeth Zambrano-Contreras.
It follows another shooting this week by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer that killed a 37-year-old woman, Renee Good, in Minneapolis.
The shootings have already sparked protests in Portland this week with hundreds of people rallying against ICE. (OPB staff)
Related: Defense attorney disputes police narrative in Portland Border Patrol shooting (Conrad Wilson, Dirk VanderHart, Holly Bartholomew and Alex Zielinski)
Faith McCarty smiles out from a portrait next to her Echo basketball jersey at a vigil on Jan. 9, 2026, in the Echo High School gym to remember Faith, sister Rachel McCarty, cousin Katelyn Heideman, 22, and uncle David McCarty.
Kathy Aney for OPB
3 things to know this morning
- Last night, a large share of Echo, a small town in Eastern Oregon, gathered at the gym in Echo High School to remember the lives of 59-year-old David McCarty and his three nieces, Rachel McCarty, 23, Faith McCarty, 21, and Katelyn Heideman, 21, who all died after a helicopter David was piloting in Arizona collided with a slackline and crashed a week earlier. (Antonio Sierra)
- Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek extends Oregon’s homelessness emergency for a third time, three years after she declared it in the state, as the number of Oregonians without a place to live continues to rise in many places. (Dirk VanderHart)
- Ridgefield, Washington, is a step closer to achieving Mayor Matt Cole’s vision of a “complete community” that’s more than just a suburb of Portland or Vancouver. That vision was on display Thursday when Clark College’s new Advanced Manufacturing Center at Boschma Farms was officially unveiled. (Erik Neumann)
Gladis Vasquez puts up food ahead of opening Centro Mercado, a Washington County Latino community organization with a 50-plus-year history in Cornelius.
Mia Estrada / OPB
Headlines from around the Northwest
- ‘At Work With’: What if your groceries were free? At this Cornelius mercado, they can be (Jenn Chávez and Mia Estrada)
- Shooting by federal officers puts Portland council president vote on hold (Alex Zielinski)
- Judge blocks Trump’s elections order in lawsuit by vote-by-mail states Oregon and Washington (Gene Johnson)
- Oregon Head Start calls on Gov. Kotek to reallocate nearly $10M in lost funding (Shaanth Nanguneri)
- Washington state pumps more tax dollars toward green jet fuel (Tom Banse)
- Grants Pass tightens rules on flammable materials in public, park exclusions (Jane Vaughan)
- Oregon Ducks self-destruct in 56-22 Peach Bowl loss to No. 1 Indiana (Paul Newberry)
- Trail Blazers beat Rockets 111-105 to extend winning streak to 5 (Anne M. Peterson)
Samuel Mindra competes in the men’s short program during the 2026 U.S. Figure Skating Championships at the Enterprise Center on Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in St. Louis’ Downtown West neighborhood.
Brian Munoz / Brian Munoz
5 Pacific Northwest skaters take the ice at US Figure Skating Championships as 2026 Olympic race heats up
While the championships are the final Olympic team qualifier, the event is also a showcase of the depth of U.S. figure skating — and a chance for Pacific Northwest athletes to be seen alongside the sport’s biggest names, including world champion and Olympic gold favorite Ilia Malinin.
Portland’s Samuel Mindra, 22, will perform in the Men’s Championship Free Skate today. This is his fourth national championship at the senior level, where he has quietly built a reputation as one of the most compelling performers.
Mindra was born in Beaverton and coaches at Lloyd Center Ice Rink in Portland. (Lillian Karabaic)
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