The Mercury provides news and fun every single day—but your help is essential. If you believe Portland benefits from smart, local journalism and arts coverage, please consider making a small monthly contribution, because without you, there is no us. Thanks for your support!

GettyImages-1386897055.jpg
Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images

Good morning, Portland. This weekend marked the beginning of spring and the end of both Daddy Yankee and Maury Povich’s careers. Every rose has a thorn, my friends! To emphasize this point, it will rain all day long today.

- An underground fire (!!!) shut down the Warm Springs Indian Reservation’s water treatment plant, severely limiting residents’ access to clean water. This is just the latest problem with the reservation’s aging water system. The tribe is asking for water donations to tide residents over until the plant is fixed.

- Oregonian tenants! Today is the last day to apply for emergency rent assistance through the state before they close their funding portal.

- The leading Democratic candidates for Oregon governor met on the debate stage Friday, where they spoke about labor issues to a largely pro-union crowd. Per the Oregonian’s reporting on the event, neither candidate stood out from each other on the issues. Fingers crossed for a spicier debate soon.

- Friday’s late breaking news from our Suzette Smith: Someone abandoned a Lexus in a bioswale. Now what? Smith has the scoop.

Here’s One Nice Thing:

- Senate confirmation hearings for nominated US Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson begin Monday. The process is expected to last four days before lawmakers hold a vote. Here’s a breakdown from NPR on what to expect.

- Perhaps in an attempt to steal the spotlight, US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas jetted off to the hospital Sunday with “flu-like symptoms.” And, because we live in a dystopian society, the health of this man is of utmost importance to the future of our democracy.

- In other dystopian news, the Biden administration has formally concluded that the violence committed against the Rohingya minority by Myanmar's military can be defined as genocide. This move may help other nations hold the military junta running Myanmar accountable for these horrific atrocities.

- Speaking of atrocities, Russia told Ukraine that it would stop mass murdering residents of Mariupol with bombs if Ukrainians surrendered the city to Russia. Ukraine officials have rejected the offer, which came hours after Russians bombed an art school sheltering some 400 Ukrainians.

Here’s a strand of hope among the rubble: