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Good morning, Northwest.

Last fall, President Trump ordered the National Guard to Portland to protect an Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in what he called a “war ravaged” city.

Today, OPB premieres a new documentary series examining how nightly demonstrations outside the building escalated into a test of presidential power. Today’s newsletter starts with the first episode.

In other news, parents in a Southwest Washington school district are criticizing their school board over its handling of sexual assault allegations against two students.

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

—Bradley W. Parks

How Portland’s ICE protests took the national stage

President Donald Trump declared his immigration enforcement policies have led to the “strongest border in American history by far” during Tuesday’s State of the Union speech.

In the past year, the Trump administration has expanded deportations and bolstered the U.S. Department of Homeland Security — two of the president’s signature promises on the campaign trail.

Immigration enforcement operations have grown increasingly aggressive and visible. Those tactics have also led to violence, widespread demonstrations and major civil rights concerns.

OPB’s documentary series “The Crackdown” follows how those policies are playing out across the Pacific Northwest. (Brooke Herbert, Troy Brynelson, Conrad Wilson, Michelle Wiley and MacGregor Campbell)

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3 things to know this morning

• Oregon lawmakers fretting over the Trail Blazers’ future in Portland have slapped a price tag on their effort to ensure the team stays put: $365 million. (Dirk VanderHart)
• Parents in Longview are lashing out at the local school board over its handling of allegations that two Mark Morris High School teens sexually assaulted fellow students. (Erik Neumann)
• As the federal government’s crackdown on immigration rattles Pacific Northwest communities, Portland leaders are looking to help cover the cost of legal services for people navigating the country’s immigration system. (Alex Zielinski)

Headlines from around the Northwest

• Visitors to Oregon City emergency room may have been exposed to measles, officials warn (OPB staff)
• NBA’s Kevin Love donates to former Trail Blazer Chris Dudley’s gubernatorial bid (Bryce Dole)
• Oregon and other Democratic AGs sue the CDC over change in childhood vaccine recommendation (Ian Karbal)
• Oregon will partially disconnect state tax code from new federal code to curb revenue loss (Alex Baumhardt)
• Oregon passes bill providing free cervical cancer screenings (Amelia Templeton)
• Joining a growing national trend, MAGA critics don their own red hats in Eugene (Brian Bull)
• Portland author SenLinYu finds viral success with debut dark fantasy novel (Jess Hazel)
• Grant’s 27 points lift Trail Blazers past Bulls 121-112 (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):

• 4 breweries and 1 cidery in Central Oregon form Oregon Beverage Collective
• OSU professor explains pitfalls and uncertainties of deep-sea mining amid Trump administration’s push for critical minerals
• Portland’s housing authority plagued by high vacancies, long turnover time

Superabundant recipe: Gingery red lentil soup with caramelized parsnips

Like other legumes, lentils fall in the pea family. They’re also a staple in many diets around the globe, including India and the Middle East’s so-called Fertile Crescent where they were first domestically grown.

They even play a part in the biblical tale of Esau, offering a lesson on the perils of impulsivity.

Easy to cook, lentils also are cheap, nutritious and versatile, serving as a side or main dish. In this recipe, red lentils come as a classic masoor dal with a twist courtesy of caramelized parsnips — grown on a 100-year-old Canby farm — that bring out the earthy sweetness in the delicate legume. (Heather Arndt Anderson)

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News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2026/02/27/trump-national-guard-crackdown-documentary-first-look/