July 20th, 2021

What A Week   (7/12- 7/18)

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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.kgw.com/article/news/local/here-are-the-sites-being-considered-for-portlands-city-run-homeless-villages/283-5ae50725-66c0-47b8-bf5a-4e1688fd52c1Portland city officials approved a plan last month to build "safe rest villages" throughout the city in an attempt to address Portland’s growing homelessness crisis.  These villages will contain outdoor shelters to provide people with a place to sleep, basic hygiene, access to case management and behavioral health services and, "most importantly, dignity and stability that will lead to permanent housing," a news release from the city of Portland said. Last Friday, Commissioner Dan Ryan shared on the city's website a list of about 70 city-owned sites being considered for safe rest villages. The goal is to have six villages open throughout the city by the end of the year. According to Ryan, they will be covered by $20 million in federal COVID-19 relief money. 

In-state news:

https://www.oregonlive.com/wildfires/2021/07/southern-oregons-bootleg-fire-grows-to-nearly-300000-acres.htmlhttps://www.cbsnews.com/news/bootleg-fire-smoke-length-of-oregon/Last Saturday, critical fire conditions pushed the Bootleg fire in southern Oregon east and north, burning nearly 300,000 acres as of this past Sunday. The wildfire was 22% contained as of Sunday, rising from 7% containment since last Friday. The fire is currently growing to the east according to reports. Fire crews established a fire line with bulldozers, as well as burnout. The fire started July 6 northeast of Klamath Falls and threatened more than 5,000 structures, fire officials said.

In National News:

https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2021-07-16/federal-judge-rules-daca-unlawful-orders-government-to-block-new-applicantsA federal judge in Texas ruled last Friday that the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program was illegally created, and he ordered the government to stop approving new applications for the program, which grants children brought to the U.S. illegally work permits and protection from deportation. 

 

U.S. District Judge Andrew S. Hanen, however, stayed his order for those already in the program, known as DACA, stopping short of shutting the program down entirely and seizing protections from the more than 600,000 young immigrants who are part of it. The government may continue to process DACA renewals, the judge said, as it tries to "remedy the legal defects" of the program. 

 

The Biden administration is expected to immediately appeal Friday's decision. The ruling comes as President Joe Biden and Democrats in Congress press for a legislative solution for so-called Dreamers in the DACA program, including pathways to permanent residency and citizenship. DACA was created by the Department of Homeland Security in 2012. DACA recipients must meet strict qualifications, and they are in turn granted protections to live and work in the U.S. without threat of deportation.

 

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/nicolefallert/la-county-reinstates-mask-mandateOfficials announced last Thursday that Los Angeles County will once again require people to wear masks indoors as the number of new COVID cases continues to rise at an alarming rate. Dr. Muntu Davis, the county's health officer, said at a news conference that the move was largely driven by unvaccinated people and that universal masking makes it easier to implement the mandate while offering additional protection to all residents, no matter their vaccine status. Davis warned that more strict enforcement measures may be put in place if COVID numbers don't decrease. The more contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus has driven the county's concern and has been the most commonly reported variant of the virus identified by health experts since June, prompting warnings from officials at the time to voluntarily wear masks in public indoor spaces. 

In International News: 

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/germany-hardest-hit-by-worst-flooding-in-europes-history/#xLast week, Germany was one of the hardest hit countries by the worst flooding in Europe's history due to record amounts of rainfall.  Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands have also seen devastation. Germany's government has hit back at criticism over its warning systems after the worst flooding in decades left at least 160 people dead. The severe floods caught many off guard, sweeping away houses and leaving residents trapped in rising waters. More than 170 people are still missing. Flood warning systems sent out alerts a few days before the heavy rain. However, they failed to reach many residents or officials in time.

Lastly here is the wildcard news for the week:

https://www.npr.org/2021/07/18/1017606827/two-athletes-have-tested-positive-for-covid-19-inside-the-olympic-villagehttps://www.npr.org/2021/07/18/1017661844/u-s-tennis-star-coco-gauff-tests-positive-for-coronavirus-will-miss-tokyo-olympiOver the past few weeks, there have been lots of disapproval and lack of support for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics due to the fact that we’re all still in a global pandemic. There has been a rising tally of covid-19 infections surrounding this year’s Tokyo games with less than a week before the opening ceremonies begin.  At least two players on the South African soccer team have tested positive for COVID-19 inside the Olympic Village. The two players are the first athletes to test positive for the coronavirus at the site of the Olympic Village in the Japanese capital. A video analyst for the team...