Intro: 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/city-to-remove-homeless-encampments-more-aggressively-following-covid-19-pause/283-4bd805d1-3af4-476f-9238-0bdd3be1c825
Last Wednesday, the city of Portland announced that it will get more aggressive in removing what it deems the most problematic homeless encampments in the city. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the city has scaled back how many camps officials can remove, and how quickly the removal process happens. The scale-back was an effort to limit COVID-19 transmission among people living on the streets and was in line with recommendations from the CDC. The city stopped all camp removals between March and July of 2020, and since then has removed fewer camps than typical and given campers more time to move after an eviction notice was posted. Under the new guidance effective as of Monday, May 24, city officials can prioritize removing campsites that meet certain criteria.
In-state news:
https://www.npr.org/2021/05/20/998660102/oregone-7-oregon-counties-vote-to-back-seceding-so-citizens-can-vote-gop-in-idah
https://www.forbes.com/sites/palashghosh/2021/05/21/heres-why-5-oregon-counties-that-voted-to-move-to-idaho-probably-cant/?sh=26218e0f6c9d
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/05/20/oregon-liberal-greater-idaho-conservative-vote/
Last week, five conservative rural counties in eastern Oregon passed ballot initiatives to ask county commissioners to consider changing borders to allow them to join Idaho—though the odds are heavily against that ever happening. This is just the latest illustration of a persistent deep blue-red divide in many parts of the United States. Mike McCarter, president of the advocacy group Citizens for Greater Idaho stated, "This election proves that rural Oregon wants out of Oregon...If we're allowed to vote for which government officials we want, we should be allowed to vote for which government we want as well." All seven counties voted heavily for former President Donald Trump — whose name appears 17 times in the advocacy group's
41-page proposal to shift the borders. In the movement led by McCarter, conservative voters want to reshuffle counties in eastern and southern Oregon, making them part of Idaho. The plan's backers want to get ballot initiatives placed on the ballot in more of Oregon's 36 counties. Despite seven counties now backing it, the push to secede is not likely to succeed. As
Oregon Public Broadcasting notes, "the Oregon and Idaho legislatures and the U.S. Congress would need to sign off" on the plan.
In National News:
New coronavirus cases across the United States have tumbled to rates not seen in more than 11 months, sparking optimism that vaccination campaigns are effectively controlling both severe COVID-19 cases and the spread of the virus. As cases, hospitalizations and deaths steadily dropped last week, pre-pandemic life in America has largely resumed. As the seven-day average for new cases dropped below 30,000 per day last week, Rochelle Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, pointed out cases have not been this low since June 18, 2020. The average number of deaths over the last seven days also dropped to 552—a rate not seen since July last year. Despite the good news, health experts still caution that not enough Americans have been vaccinated to completely extinguish the virus, leaving the potential for new variants that could extend the pandemic.
In International News:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-57195537
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/22/un-security-council-calls-for-full-adherence-to-gaza-cease-fire.html
This past Saturday, the U.N. Security Council called for a “full adherence” to the cease-fire in Gaza and urged immediate humanitarian aid for Palestinian civilians in its first statement on the
11-day war between Israel and Hamas. The cease-fire, which took effect last Friday, has held so far despite
clashes in Jerusalem outside Al Aqsa mosque between Israeli police and Palestinians just hours after the truce officially began. Al Aqsa mosque is one of the most sacred places in Islam and sits in a site known in Judaism as the Temple Mount, the religion’s holiest site. Clashes at the complex were one of the factors that sparked the war. The security council urged a “restoration of calm in full” and emphasized “achieving a comprehensive peace based on the vision of a region where two democratic States, Israel and Palestine, live side by side in peace with secure and recognized borders."
Lastly here is the wildcard news for the week:
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/national-international/worlds-largest-iceberg-just-broke-off-an-antarctic-ice-shelf/3069724/
Last week, it was reported that an enormous chunk of ice bigger than Rhode Island broke off an Antarctic ice shelf, according to the
European Space Agency. The floating mass covers more than 1,600 square miles, making it the largest iceberg in the world, agency officials said. The iceberg, named A-76, calved off the Ronne Ice Shelf into the Weddell Sea. The European Space Agency's twin Copernicus Sentinel-1 satellites spotted the giant slab of ice breaking away on May 13. The U.S. National Ice Center—which is operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Navy and the Coast Guard—confirmed the calving event the following day and recorded the position of A-76 in the Weddell Sea.
Closing: Well that wraps up What a Week! Stay safe and see you guys next week.
