What A Week (5/10)
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/crime/2022/05/police-arrest-34-year-old-portland-man-accused-of-vandalizing-synagogues-setting-fire-to-mosque.html
- Last Friday, Portland Police arrested Michael Edgar Bivins, a 34-year-old Portland man suspected of intentionally setting a fire at a Muslim community center, as well as breaking windows at two Jewish congregations and leaving graffiti on one of them. Bivins was booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center around 4 a.m. this past Saturday on five charges of arson and criminal mischief. Four of the charges are felonies.
- Bivins was a freelance journalist who frequently covered protests in Portland over the past decade. Bivins had written or co-written about 20 stories for Willamette Week between 2016 and 2019, according to the newspaper’s website. Willamette Week said on Saturday that it was conducting a review of his work.
In-state news:
- https://www.kptv.com/2022/05/07/first-case-new-bird-flu-outbreak-detected-oregon/
- https://katu.com/news/local/bird-flu-found-in-oregon-for-the-first-time-since-2015
- For the first time since 2015, the highly pathogenic avian (AVEEan) influenza (HPAI), also known as the bird flu, was found in a non-commercial backyard flock in Oregon. Officials say the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) confirmed that the bird flu was found in a non-commercial, backyard flock (non-poultry) in Linn County.
- H5N1 is a highly contagious virus that transmits easily among wild and domestic bird species. However, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the recent bird flu detection does not present an immediate public health concern. The avian flu, or bird flu, is spread by migrating birds. The outbreak started in the Midwest and has been spreading across the country. It has impacted both private flocks and commercial farms. Wildlife officials said they were expecting the highly contagious virus in the Pacific Northwest after an infected bald eagle was found in British Columbia this past March.
- So far, the bird flu has not been found in commercial poultry in Oregon. The outbreak has led to the culling of 37 million chickens and turkeys in the U.S. since February. It’s also caused an increase in egg and poultry prices.
In National News:
- https://www.buzzfeed.com/victoriavouloumanos/effects-of-roe-v-wade-overturned
- https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-61302740
- Last week, political journalism company Politico published a leaked draft Supreme Court opinion overturning Roe v. Wade. Its publication last Monday night sparked an immediate outcry from Democrats, as well as protests by both pro-choice and anti-abortion campaigners nationwide. The document suggests that the 1973 landmark decision that recognized the constitutional right to abortion could be overruled within the next two months. Though this would not ban abortion in the US, the right to abortion would be left for each state to independently decide. As of May 2022, 28 states are set to ban or restrict abortion if it is not federally protected. Thirteen states have already passed so-called trigger laws that will automatically ban abortion if Roe is overruled this summer. Some 36 million women could then lose abortion access, according to research from Planned Parenthood, a healthcare organization that provides access to safe abortions.
- It is still unclear whether this leaked supreme court document represents a final opinion, as justices have previously changed their views during the drafting process. The Supreme Court's justices are expected to issue a ruling in late June or early July. President Joe Biden said in a statement last Tuesday quote, "If the court does overturn Roe, it will fall on our nation's elected officials at all levels of government to protect a woman's right to choose," end quote.
In International News:
https://www.npr.org/2022/05/08/1097457937/dozens-feared-dead-after-russian-bomb-levels-ukraine-school- https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-61369229
- https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-politics-business-kharkiv-moscow-65f9cf07670ad6021b9dbe35220f3bde
- This past Sunday it was reported that an estimated 60 people were killed after a bomb hit a school in east Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky said. Authorities said about 90 people were sheltering in the basement. Emergency crews found two bodies and rescued 30 people, but quote “most likely all 60 people who remain under the rubble are now dead,” according to the governor of the Luhansk province.
- U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was quote "appalled" by the reported school bombing Saturday in the eastern village of Bilohorivka and called it another reminder that quote "it is civilians that pay the highest price" in war.
- https://www.npr.org/2022/05/08/1097460153/ukraine-jill-biden-visit-mothers-day
- In more updates on the Russian-Ukraine war, First lady Jill Biden made a surprise visit to Ukraine this past Sunday and met with the country's first lady, Olena Zelenska. It was the first time a U.S. first lady has traveled solo to a combat zone since 2015 when Michelle Obama visited Qatar's al-Udeid Air Base. Zelenska, the wife of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has been in hiding along with their children since the beginning of the war. This was the first time since the war began that Zelenska had emerged in public. Biden said to the traveling press quote, "I wanted to come on Mother's Day. We thought it was important to show the Ukrainian people that this war has to stop, and this war has been brutal. And the people of the U.S. stand with the people of Ukraine,” end quote.
Lastly here is the wildcard news for the week:
https://www.npr.org/2022/05/08/1097485283/nepali-climber-climbed-everest-for-the-26th-time-world-record- Last Saturday, Nepali mountaineer Kami Rita Sherpa made history after summiting Mount Everest for the 26th time. Kami Rita was already a world record holder, having broken the record for summiting Everest five times in four years. On Saturday, the 52-year-old mountain guide broke the previous world record of 25 ascents of the world's tallest mountain, which he set last May. Kami Rita has set and broken the world record for Everest ascents almost every spring for the past four years. With more than 35 years of mountaineering experience, Kami Rita is a world-renowned climber. He first set the record for Everest summits at 22 in May 2018, after having shared the 21-summit record with two other climbers.
Closing: Well that wraps up What a Week! Stay safe and see you guys next week.
What is What A Week?
Vanguard's What A Week is the news you need to know this week, provided in under five minutes. Each week, we'll be taking a look at Portland, national and international news, and boiling it down to the key things you need to know. New episodes every Tuesday with host Nick Gatlin.