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Frances McDormand (winner of Best Actress, Nomadland) and Yuh-Jung Youn (winner of best supporting actress, Minari)post at the 93rd Annual Academy Awards at Union Station on April 25, 2021 in Los Angeles, California.
Frances McDormand (winner of Best Actress, "Nomadland") and Yuh-Jung Youn (winner of best supporting actress, "Minari") pose at the 93rd Annual Academy Awards on April 25, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. Matt Petit/A.M.P.A.S. via Getty Images


Good morning, Portland! It's April showers season: This week will be particularly drizzly and warm, with Wednesday reaching a cloudy high of 80 degrees. I don't know what to do with this information. In the meantime, here are this morning's headlines:

- The Oscars got the award-show-during-COVID-19 treatment Sunday evening, which I'd argue could have been weirder. Instead of forcing attendees into hermetically sealed bubbles or encouraging everyone to wear Academy-branded PPP, the Oscars made history as "Nomadland"'s Chloé Zhao became the first woman of color to win the "best director" award and Yuh-Jung Youn became the first Korean actress to win an Oscar for her supporting role in “Minari.” Two other historic moments: An abrupt, slightly confusing ending and Glen Close giving us a history (and dance) lesson in DC's 1980s Go-Go scene:

- India, the world's top producer of vaccines, is witnessing record-breaking daily COVID case numbers and deaths. On Sunday, the Biden Administration agreed to send India needed medical supplies to help the struggling country.

- A 40-year-old man was arrested in Spain for allegedly infecting 22 people with COVID-19, including young children. The man allegedly spread the virus by going to work and the gym despite having clear symptoms of COVID. According to police, the man walked around his office with his mask lowered, coughing, and saying, "I'm going to infect you all with the coronavirus." He was arrested on suspicion of assault.

- At least 82 people died in a fiery explosion at a Baghdad hospital Saturday, most of the victims COVID patients and their relatives. The destructive fire was caused by an exploding oxygen cylinder in low-income hospital that had no smoke detectors or fire hoses.

- On Sunday, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit in Connecticut that sought to prevent transgender athletes from competing in girls' high school sports in the state. The case was dismissed because the two transgender teens named in the initial lawsuit had since graduated high school, no longer posing the athletic threat detailed in the initial lawsuit.

- Headline of the day: George W. Bush Can’t Paint His Way Out of Hell

- COVID hospitalizations in Oregon are reaching a tipping point: Over the weekend, the number of people hospitalized for COVID in Oregon crept toward a 300-person-threshold Gov. Kate Brown has set to measure the virus' strain on state hospitals. According to OPB, "If hospitalizations reach that threshold, it could trigger an indoor dining ban and other restrictions on businesses, entertainment venues, and places of worship." The number of hospitalizations rose to 295 Saturday before dropping to 291 Sunday.

- President Joe Biden has picked an Oregon State University professor to lead the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),the government agency that monitors weather, climate and ocean science. OSU's Rick Spinrad previously served as NOAA's chief scientist under President Barack Obama.

- The family of Robert Delgado, the 46-year-old man fatally shot by a Portland police officer on April 16, is calling on Oregon's top prosecutors to appoint a special investigator to Delgado's case. On Friday evening, relatives, friends, and neighbors gathered in Lents Park—where Delgado was killed by PPB officer Zachary DeLong—to hold a candlelight vigil.