April 27, 2021

Intro: (Cue intro music) 

Hey everyone, welcome back to What a week!, I’m your host, Olivia Lee, here to deliver your weekly dose of the news. Let’s get started!

In Local News:
https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/2021/04/dozens-gather-in-downtown-portland-after-derek-chauvin-guilty-of-murder.html

Last Tuesday, Portland police declared an unlawful assembly and arrested at least two people amid a demonstration held after jurors convicted former Minneapolis Officer Derek Chauvin in the murder of George Floyd. A crowd initially gathered near the Mark O. Hatfield Federal Courthouse and Multnomah County Justice Center on Tuesday evening, and some began spray-painting the latter building at about 9 p.m. A group of roughly 60 people began marching at around 9:45 p.m., while about 25 other people remained near the courthouse and Justice Center. Some demonstrators broke a number of downtown windows, according to police, who declared an unlawful assembly at roughly 10 p.m. Last Tuesday’s events came after Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler declared a 24-hour state of emergency, allowing him to impose a curfew, close city streets and take other extreme measures should widespread political unrest erupt. The mayor also said the city would have the state police and National Guard on standby, while Portland police received assistance from the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office and other law enforcement agencies in the metro area.

In-state news:
https://www.opb.org/article/2021/04/23/covid-19-oregon-high-risk-variants-kate-brown/

The state of Oregon has seen the biggest percentage increase in COVID-19 cases of any state in the country over the last previous two weeks. Cases have jumped 58% in that time period, putting Oregon just ahead of Kansas and behind territories Guam and Puerto Rico. Oregon governor Kate Brown said in a press conference last Friday quote, “A few weeks ago, I came before you to say that we were concerned we would have a fourth surge of COVID-19 in Oregon… Unfortunately, today, that surge is here.” Not enough people have been vaccinated and adherence to public health guidelines has waned, giving rise to virus transmission rates rivaling the worst days of the pandemic this winter, according to state health officials. The Oregon Health Authority reported 1,020 confirmed and presumptive coronavirus cases last Thursday, the first time the state has cracked a thousand daily cases since mid-January. The state has reported close to 800 cases a day over the past week.

In National News:

https://www.voanews.com/usa/derek-chauvin-convicted-all-charges-death-george-floyd

Last Tuesday, former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty of all charges in the death of George Floyd nearly a year ago. Chauvin had been charged with second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. After hearing closing arguments last Monday, the 12-member jury spent about 10 hours over two days discussing information from the three-week trial before coming to a decision.

https://www.npr.org/2021/04/22/989773400/in-rare-moment-of-bipartisan-unity-senate-approves-asian-american-hate-crimes-bi

After nearly two weeks of talks between Democrats and Republicans, the Senate approved legislation last Thursday to ramp up law enforcement efforts to better protect the Asian American and Pacific Islander community from hate crimes. The move marks a rare moment of bipartisan unity needed to approve the Senate legislation despite a new political era marked by increasingly bitter party divisions. The bill, which needed 60 votes for passage in the evenly divided Senate, was approved by a 94-1 vote. Only one Republican, Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri voted no. The passed legislation comes after the March 16th shooting at three Atlanta spas and a wave of violence following the spread of the Coronavirus from China last year.

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/stephaniemlee/johnson-covid-vaccine-restart

Federal regulators said last Friday that distribution of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine would begin again in the United States, following a vote from a CDC advisory panel. The advisory panel’s 10–4 vote paved the way for the FDA and the CDC to lift a week-and-a-half-long pause on the single-shot vaccine after it became linked to a handful of highly unusual and severe blood clots.The manufacturer and the FDA said that an updated warning about the risk of clots would be distributed to clinics and patients via factsheets.

In International News:
https://www.vox.com/2021/4/24/22400986/india-coronavirus-surge-hospitals-deaths

Last week, India set a pandemic record with almost 347,000 new cases in a day. The surge in coronavirus cases in India continued last Saturday, with new cases re-breaking the single-day world record as the country’s health care system struggled to keep up. Deaths also climbed, to a record 2,624 in a single day, and the rolling seven-day average of daily new cases in India is quickly approaching 300,000. As a result, hospitals are starting to run out of beds and oxygen alike. 

Lastly here is the wildcard news for the week:
https://www.indiewire.com/2021/04/chloe-zhao-wins-oscar-best-director-nomadland-1234631342/
https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2021-04-25/oscars-2021-minari-yuh-jung-youn-history

This past Sunday was the 93rd annual Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This Oscars was unlike any other with new social distancing orders in place, virtual viewings, and historic wins. Director of Nomadland, Chloe Zhao took home one of the biggest awards of the night, becoming the first woman, the first chinese woman, and the second woman ever to win the Academy Awards for directing. Zhao’s film, Nomadland, also won the most coveted award of the night for Best picture, making it only the second film directe...