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The Oregon Capitol building
Oregon legislators have more money to spend during the legislative session than previously predicted. 4nadia / Getty Images

Good morning, Portland! This dense morning fog is expected to turn into sunshine this afternoon (woohoo!). Let’s get into the headlines.

In local news:

• Oregon legislators have $800 million more to spend during the ongoing legislative session than previously predicted (cha-ching!). State economists delivered the news Wednesday after reevaluating state income and business tax revenues. The influx in cash can be attributed to businesses raising product prices amid pandemic shortages and wage increases, also prompted by the pandemic.

• The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs has lost three fluent Ichishkiin speakers since the pandemic started, threatening the language’s longevity. That’s why Madras High School near the reservation started an Ichishkiin class this year, aiming to preserve the tribe’s culture by ensuring the younger generation has an opportunity to learn the indigenous language.

• This one is confusing, so give me a minute to lay some groundwork. In late January, a Clark County sheriff’s deputy was pursuing a robbery suspect. While fleeing, the suspect stabbed an off-duty Vancouver police officer who had tried to detain the suspect. Then, the Clark County deputy arrived on the scene and fatally shot the off-duty police officer, apparently mistaking him for the suspect. Here’s the new part: The robbery suspect was charged with attempted murder, however the suspect’s lawyer is arguing that he should only be charged with first- or second-degree assault with a knife because he didn’t kill the officer. Read the whole breakdown of the case and arguments here.

• I know that news of the Portland Pickles’s mascot Dillion being stolen is so yesterday, but let’s give a round of applause for this headline: “Portland Pickles mascot, known for Twitter jokes and lewd photo, disappears in failed dill-ivery”

In national news:

• Inflation in the US increased at the highest rate in four decades over the past year, new data from the Labor Department shows. Consumer prices were 7.5 percent higher last month compared to January 2021. Those price increases can be seen across all goods and services, but are especially high when it comes to used cars, hotels, furniture, meat and eggs, and electricity.

• Actor Bob Saget died of an accidental blow to the head and internal bleeding last month, according to a statement released by his family Wednesday. Saget was found dead in a Florida hotel room after preforming a stand-up show in the area. “[Authorities] have concluded that he accidentally hit the back of his head on something, thought nothing of it and went to sleep. No drugs or alcohol were involved,” the statement said.

• Iconic lifestyle and pop culture magazines Entertainment Weekly and InStyle will stop their print publications and only be available online starting this April. The magazines’ parent company, DotDash Meredith, cited a switch in readership demand from print to digital as the reason to cut the physical magazines. Don’t worry EW and InStyle—it happens to the best of us!

• While a slew of states (including Oregon) have set timelines for removing indoor mask requirements, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that while they are “encouraged by current trends,” it is too early to take masks off while cases and hospitalization rates are still high.

• And we’ll end today with some lemurs snacking on fruit: