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Good morning, Northwest.
Students and teachers are returning to Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend today, nearly a month after a deadly school shooting there.
OPB’s Elizabeth Miller reports to start today’s newsletter on how resuming school at Silver Rail can offer an opportunity to heal.
In other news, an unusually strong El Niño sets off flood preparations in the Northwest.
Here’s your First Look at Thursday’s news.
— Bradley W. Parks
Top story
Adelynn Congleton, 7, and her mom, Tiffany Congleton, decorate a fence with hand-sewn hearts for students returning to Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Ore., on Nov. 11, 2026.
Eli Imadali / OPB
In Bend, focus on community and support as Silver Rail reopens
Students at Silver Rail Elementary School return to classrooms today, nearly a month after a shooting inside the school killed three students and a teacher. A parent fatally shot the 16-year-old assailant, a former Silver Rail student.
As the Silver Rail and broader Bend-La Pine communities recover from the violent incident, the school district, its educators and families are focusing on building strong support across the city.
The last month has brought people in Bend closer together while exposing gaps and opportunities to learn. (Elizabeth Miller)
3 things to know
FILE - A jogger runs along the waterfront in Gov. Tom McCall Waterfront Park in downtown Portland, Ore., on Tuesday, June 23, 2020.
Bryan M. Vance / OPB
- A much-anticipated “super” El Niño weather pattern is shaping up to be one of the strongest on record, but the jury’s still out on whether it’ll bring significantly more rain to Oregon as the state reels from low snowpack, drought and wildfires. (Riley Martinez)
- Portland’s holding its first international design competition in over 20 years. Three top design firms are tasked with reimagining Tom McCall Waterfront Park, all funded by a $750,000 Metro 2040 grant. (Kristian Foden-Vencil)
- An ornamental grass used in aquariums and one of the most problematic invasive species in the country has taken root in Jackson County. Some states have spent millions combating the aquatic weed known as Hydrilla verticillata. (Jireh Deng)
The life and legacy of an Oregon political legend you may not know
For decades, Republicans ran Oregon. That is until one man, Richard Neuberger, helped shift the state’s identity into what it is today. (Lauren Dake, Jacob Pander and Eden McCall)
Northwest headlines
Carter Phelps, 7, climbs out of the cockpit of an A-4 Skyhawk Trainer on display at the newly reopened Tillamook Air Museum inside Hangar B in Tillamook, Ore., on Nov. 7, 2026. Carter hopes to be a fire rescue pilot when he grows up.
Eli Imadali / OPB
- A $1 sale saved the Tillamook Air Museum. Now the restoration starts (Casey Frizzell)
- Oregon Veterans Day ceremony honors service members past and present (Dirk VanderHart)
- No newts is bad news, environmental group says after Crater Lake survey (OPB staff)
- Oregon’s two Planned Parenthood affiliates announce plan to consolidate (Amelia Templeton)
- Oregon officials warn of carbon monoxide dangers as cold weather nears (Amanda Linares)
- University of Oregon reaches tentative deal with graduate employees, averting strike for now (Nathan Wilk, KLCC)
- Opponents of I-638 sue to stop ban on transgender girls in Washington state girls’ school sports (Libby Denkmann, David Kroman and Hans Anderson, KUOW)
- Trail Blazers sweep Thunder with 118-108 win (Erik García 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):
- Hear from a couple of Oregon’s new Gen Z mayors
- Sick Hanford workers fighting DOE denials of compensation claims
- Divorce coaches provide guidance to individuals and couples to make splits less grueling
One more look
FILE - People gather around a beached whale at San Marine State Park near Yachats, Ore., on Nov. 18, 2025. In 1970, officials blew up a dead whale with dynamite in Florence, Ore. Officials have taken a vastly different approach since then, including last year, when a beached whale washed ashore in Yachats, Ore. The whale was euthanized, scientists collected samples and a local tribe gathered artifacts from the whale, which is considered sacred.
Saskia Hatvany / OPB
Landblubber lore: Portland newscaster reflects on viral ‘exploding whale’ story
When 23-year-old Paul Linnman received an assignment in 1970 to cover a dead whale that had washed up on the shore of Florence, Oregon, he initially thought it was beneath him.
Just two years earlier, the young reporter for Portland TV station KATU had made a name for himself covering a massive and high-profile prisoner uprising at the Oregon State Penitentiary.
But then when he heard that officials from the Oregon Highway Division planned to explode the whale with dynamite, he hopped on a plane to Florence.
What transpired became one of the most legendary public gaffes in Oregon history — officials blew up the 8-ton whale with boxes of dynamite. The blast sent gigantic chunks of whale blubber and entrails into the sky and across the beach, the pieces destroying vehicles as they landed and sending spectators running for their lives. (Joni Auden Land)
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