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Central Oregon fires prompt more evacuation, Intel beats earnings & jumps over 10% in after hours trading, Portland’s WNBA team supports MODA renovation, Washington Rep Gluesenkamp votes to support defense bill, new round of tariffs announced, Albertsons to reorganize, Idaho wage growth third in nation.

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Oracle signs 10-year software contract with Pentagon worth up to $7 billion (CNBC)

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Wildfire surges past 26K acres, crews battle 150-foot flames in central Oregon (ORL)

“Nearly 1,000 personnel, 57 engines, nine helicopters and 21 water trucks have deployed to the blaze.

Fire officials said a pyrocumulus cloud — a massive cloud generated by intense heat from the fire — formed over the blaze Wednesday afternoon, creating its own weather system and bringing additional lightning and dangerous fire behavior to the area. Crews battled flames reaching 150 to 200 feet high throughout the evening.

The Akawa Butte fire burning outside of Sisters in central Oregon exploded in size Wednesday afternoon as near triple-digit temperatures and strong winds fueled rapid fire growth.

The fire has now burned more than 26,000 acres and prompted evacuation orders across the Sisters area Wednesday evening. But fire officials credited an unexpected evening rainstorm with helping crews establish a new perimeter around sections of the fire.”

DOT cranks up its campaign to strip bike lane references from federal websites (NPR)

“WASHINGTON — In the two weeks since Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy vowed to end support for "DEI bike lanes," a growing list of bike-related safety materials have disappeared from the Federal Highway Administration's website.

Even agency staff have been left guessing about why, said a person who works in web support for agencies at the Department of Transportation. They requested anonymity because they fear retribution for speaking publicly.

The person said FHWA staff have been asked to find, and in some cases take down, any references to bikes and bike lanes.

Federal transportation officials have pulled down or edited dozens of pages of safety resources in the past week, according to an analysis by the Internet Archive Wayback Machine and internal FHWA emails obtained by NPR.

While there has been no official explanation, the changes appear to be part of a broader push to find and remove road safety materials from the FHWA website.

Earlier this month, the FHWA quietly removed a set of recommendations — including bike lanes and speed cameras — from a list of "Proven Safety Countermeasures" that have been vetted by agency staff and shown to improve road safety.

A DOT spokesperson told NPR in an emailed statement on Wednesday that the department "continuously reviews its policies to ensure each promotes safety, efficiency, and common sense."

Earlier this month, DOT announced more than $1.7 billion in discretionary grants that did not include funding for bike lanes or pedestrian projects. The Biden administration, by contrast, had used the same program to fund hundreds of millions of dollars in bike lanes and trails nationwide, along with other road and infrastructure projects.”

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