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Rep. Diego Hernandez
Rep. Diego Hernandez Multnomah County

Good morning, Portland! It's going to be a wet, drizzly week. Keep your head up and phone a friend. Or maybe donate to Texans in need. Let's get up to speed on the shit you missed over the weekend:

- Nearly 500,000 Americans have died from COVID-19, a toll that surpasses the population of Miami. It's more than the number of Americans who died in World War I, World War II, and the Vietnam War combined. a hard number to completely wrap your head around. These graphs help.

- The death of 19-year-old protester Mya Thwet Thwet Khine by Myanmar troops spurred massive protests this weekend, adding momentum to the countrywide movement against the recent military coup. "If the Myanmar military hoped their show of strength would quell dissent," NPR writes, "Mya Thwet Thwet Khine's death could very well lead to the opposite."

- The fortunate Texans who didn't lose their power during the recent winter storm are now receiving February electricity bills for more than $15,000, forcing panicked Texas lawmakers to hold an emergency meeting Sunday to find a solution.

- Related:

- Malcom X's family has released a letter sent to them by an ex-NYPD officer describing how his supervisors instructed him to encourage two of Malcom X's security guards to commit a crime—in order to have them in jail and not protecting the civil rights leader at the event where Malcom was murdered. The letter adds to a growing stack of evidence suggesting that the NYPD and FBI conspired to kill him.

- Kimye is no more.

- Same with Daft Punk:

- Dr. Anthony Fauci says Americans might need to continue wearing masks in 2022, which is honestly great news for my new pastime of singing quietly to myself in public.

- Merrick Garland, that guy who Obama unsuccessfully tried to get into the US Supreme Court before leaving office, will appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee today for his confirmation hearing as President Joe Biden's pick for attorney general. Garland's expected to attract bipartisan support.

- Oregon state Representative Diego Hernandez is resigning before the state legislature expels him. Hernandez, a third term Portland Democrat, has faced numerous accusations of workplace harassment and emotional abuse from female colleagues over the past year. With state lawmakers poised to vote on his expulsion—and his legal attempts to stop the action denied—Hernandez announced his departure from public office Sunday.

- In other state political news, the Oregon GOP has selected new leadership, comprised of some of the legislator's right-wing-iest and fringe-iest lawmakers. In a Saturday meeting, Republicans picked state Sen. Dallas Heard to lead their cause.

- On Friday, Portland police unveiled a replacement for the controversial Gun Violence Reduction Team, which was defunded during last year's protests for racial justice. The new team (with a new acronym to remember: ECST for the "Enhanced Community Safety Team"), will investigate and response to gun-related crimes, which have skyrocketed over the past year.

- Mayor Ted Wheeler and City Commissioner Dan Ryan are expected to release some kind of statement about the future of tiny home village Hazelnut Grove this week, after awkwardly contradicting each other last week. Hazelnut Grove residents, meanwhile, are waiting for answers.