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Good morning, Portland! Did you know you can now watch SPLIFF 2020 anytime for as little as 10 bucks? Consider your evening plans made (or daytimeāI don't judge!).
Here are the headlines.
⢠The City of Portland began giving away $250 gift cards to low-income Portlanders struggling because of coronavirus impacts yesterday. The gift cards ran out after 17 minutes due to high demand.
⢠Yesterday, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Oregon jumped to 2,354, and 92 Oregonians have died from the virus. Nationally, the death rate is at 54,874.
How in the hell does Carnival, a cruise ship company that pays virtually no federal income taxes, receive a bailout, but the Postal Service, the most popular government agency in America, does not?
ā Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) April 27, 2020
The Post Office is essential. Cruise ships are not. https://t.co/cb9k0E291u
⢠The key to returning to semi-normal life will be an increased testing capacity, and Donald Trump is now selling the idea that this benchmark is within close reach. But there's still a lack of reliable data about the pandemic, and it's not clear when more reliable tests will become available.
⢠A top New York City emergency room doctor died by suicide on Sunday. Her father believes her death was caused by the trauma she experienced treating coronavirus patients.
⢠Several East Asian countries have been successful in avoiding the worst of COVID-19. Experts believe that is because they were quick to centrally isolate people who tested positive or showed symptoms of the coronavirusāsomething countries in the West have been hesitant to do.
NEW: Gov. Kempās aggressive plan to lift Georgia out of COVID-19 lockdown may cost many thousands of lives, according to models prepared by epidemiologists and computer scientists at Harvard and the MIT in partnership with @thedailybeast.https://t.co/4A8v8V1gaa
ā Olivia Messer š§¬š§¼ (@OliviaMesser) April 28, 2020
⢠How are Oregonians struggling with or recovering from drug addiction fairing right now? Some experts are concerned that the pandemic can set off addiction issues, while others say the lack of drugs available on the street right now gives people a chance to get clean. Read more in OPB's fascinating report.
⢠In case you needed something else to fuel your anxiety: Oregon lawmakers are preparing for another brutal wildfire season.
The Western States S̵u̵c̵c̵e̵s̵s̵i̵o̵n̵āor, um šššš”ājust grew by two members.https://t.co/iV427sirWB
ā Portland Mercury š (@portlandmercury) April 27, 2020
⢠If you're one of the lucky onesāthat is, you're among those of us who have the luxury of staying home during a pandemic and are therefor bored out of our mindsāthen you might be looking for new podcasts to dive into. If so, I recommend Rabbit Hole, the New York Times' exploration of how the internet radicalizes its users.