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Good morning, Northwest.
Immigration agents arrested Maria Trinidad Loya Medina in Albany earlier this year, and she’s been detained in Tacoma ever since.
That’s forced her two teenage children to care for their father, who is recovering from a stroke and heart surgery, alone. OPB and Report for America’s Holly Bartholomew starts today’s newsletter with the family’s story.
In other news, teachers at a Southwest Washington high school walked out of a meeting this week over an anonymous social media account posting altered and AI-generated images of them online.
Here’s your First Look at Friday’s news.
—Bradley W. Parks
The Herrera family (from left to right) Cristian, Maria Trinidad Loya Medina, Valeria and Serapio Herrera pose for a family photo.
Courtesy of the Herrera family / Courtesy photo: Herrera family
‘It’s all different without her’: Albany teens grapple with mom’s immigration detention
When 16-year-old Cristian Herrera couldn’t find his soccer socks for a game later that day, his mother told him she would buy some so he could focus on his upcoming match. Maria Trinidad Loya Medina drove to a sporting goods store in Albany, just a few miles from their home, but she never made it back.
Six agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement surrounded Medina’s car in the store parking lot on Jan. 10, broke the car’s window and arrested her. She’s been detained in Tacoma ever since.
Medina is among more than 1,000 Oregonians detained in recent months amid the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
Her detention has devastated her family: She’s been the primary caretaker of her husband, who suffered a stroke in December and recently had heart surgery. And she’s the mother of two teenage children, who are now trying simultaneously to care for their father, go to school and deal with their mom’s immigration case. (Holly Bartholomew)
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Munira, left, and her family pose for a photo during an OPB Class of 2025 event in 2014.
Michael Clapp / OPB
3 things to know this morning
- A member of OPB’s Class of 2025 project, Munira left Portland for Kenya after sixth grade. She eventually came back to Oregon and says she’s learned that “100 bad days equals 100 good stories.” (Elizabeth Miller)
- A trio of bills passed both chambers in Oregon Legislature last night:
- One will strengthen protections for abortion and gender-affirming care. (Amelia Templeton)
- Another addresses an array of rules relating to the state’s campaign finance system. (Bryce Dole)
- The last will require federal immigration officers to clearly display ID information and prohibit them from wearing masks. (Lauren Dake)
- Teachers at Fort Vancouver High School walked out of a staff meeting this week over safety concerns related to an anonymous Instagram account sharing altered photos and some AI-generated videos of teachers that included political and sexual references. (Erik Neumann)
Oregon education report card: Grading the 2026 session
As the sun sets on this year’s legislative session in Salem, it appears there are going to be few wins for schools. On the latest episode of “OPB Politics Now,” we explore how the session panned out for Oregon educators and students. (Elizabeth Miller, Alex Zielinski and Tiffany Camhi)
FILE - The Portland Police Bureau at 1111 Southwest 2nd Ave. in July 2023.
Caden Perry / OPB
Headlines from around the Northwest
- A ballot proposal to divert Portland climate funds to hire more police gets second push (Monica Samayoa)
- Oregon Employment Department will implement some AI tools as it works to improve service (Kyra Buckley)
- Oregon Democrats quietly narrow business tax break they touted (Dirk VanderHart)
- Coastal Oregon Republican announces run for US Senate (Shaanth Nanguneri)
- Deer are getting bolder in Ashland. Officials want residents to help (Roman Battaglia)
- Benton County commissioners deny Coffin Butte landfill expansion in major reversal (Nathan Wilk)
- Etute, Fiso lead second-half rally as Oregon women beat No. 14 Maryland 73-68 in Big 10 Tournament (Associated Press)
- Ballisager Webb leads Portland’s 77-68 victory over Pepperdine in West Coast Conference Tournament (Associated Press)
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):
- Michael Pollan meditates on consciousness
This cinnamon-brown sugar butter is the best thing since sliced bread (but even better on toast)
Heather Arndt Anderson / OPB
Superabundant recipe: Cinnamon-brown sugar butter is good on everything
It wasn’t until July 1926 that home cooks were finally free from the tenterhooks of watching and turning bread as it slowly got brown and crunchy.
That’s when the world got its first electric automatic pop-up toaster, browning both sides simultaneously and ejecting the toast when it’s precisely how you want it. It even had adjustable darkness settings. The humiliation of scraping burnt crumbs into the sink was finally over.
It may be that no one really needs a recipe for toast in these modern, electric times, but it’s always nice to have something sweet and buttery to smear across a warm, crusty slab.
This recipe — adapted from The Oregonian’s domestic scientist Lillian Tingle 100 years ago — offers just that. (Heather Arndt Anderson)
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