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Newberg School District

Good morning, Portland! Did you hear the news about Wing Week?!

Okay, here are the headlines.

• Remember a simpler time, about a month ago, when you had no reason to care about Newberg School Board meetings? Well, we live in a post-Newberg-flag-ban reality now, and last night Newberg community members told board members how they feel about the district's unconstitutional ban on Black Lives Matter and Pride flags. All students and teachers who spoke were against the ban, while a bunch of randos spewing Fox News talking points were in favor of it. You should follow all of Ryan Clark's coverage of the school district, but I especially love this tidbit:

• More schools news: Are you wondering what kind of COVID-19 numbers it will take to get Multnomah County schools to revert to distance learning? Well, it turns out that county officials don't have a clear answer to that question.

• Feeling confused about all the drama happening at the Oregon Legislature around redistricting maps? You aren't alone! Fortunately, OPB put together this handy explainer that will get you all caught up. It's got everything: A threatened Republican walkout, a possible COVID exposure, a dramatic about-face on the House floor, and more!

• Daniel Foote, the United States Special Envoy for Haiti, has resigned from his post in protest of the US' decision to deport Haitian refugees at the Texas border. In his resignation letter, Foote wrote that he "will not be associated with the United States' inhumane, counterproductive decision to deport thousands of Haitian refugees and illegal immigrants to Haiti."

• A Florida lawmaker has introduced a new bill that is very similar to Texas' vigilante justice six-week abortion ban. Seeing as how the Supreme Court allowed the Texas law to go into effect, we can expect the same thing if this bill becomes state law.

• You gotta respect the shade in this AP News headline: "Mideast in shambles, but the world has moved on for now."

• If you're as obsessed with the current Elizabeth Holmes/Theranos trial as I am, then you'll want to check out this podcast: Bad Blood: The Final Chapter. It's hosted and produced by John Carreyrou, the journalist who first broke the story about Theranos' fraudulent practices, and author of the excellent book Bad Blood.

• Happening at City Council today—should be an interesting one!

• Washington County recently became the first Oregon county to reach an 80 percent COVID vaccination rate. The county credits vaccination clinics run by trusted community organizations for the achievement.

• And finally: Do your eyes a favor today and take a look at these gorgeous photos from the Time-Based Art Festival!