News in :90 – April 26, 2021

India set another record on Monday for new coronavirus infections for a fifth day in a row at more than 350,000. Some doctors have had to beg for and borrow cylinders of oxygen just to keep their most critical patients alive for one more day.

In addition to oxygen supplies running out, intensive care units are operating at full capacity and nearly all ventilators are in use.

The new infections brought India’s total to more than 17.3 million, behind only the United States.

Chloé Zhao’s “Nomadland” won best picture Sunday at the 93rd Academy Awards, where the China-born Zhao became the first woman of color to win best director.

Yet, in China, where Zhao was born, her history-making success has not been trumpeted or celebrated. State media in China remained silent as of Monday afternoon, with no mention of her win by either CCTV and Xinhua, the two main state-run outlets.

Instead, there was even censorship. A post announcing Zhao’s directing win by film magazine Watch Movies, which has over 14 million followers on the ubiquitous Weibo microblog, was censored a few hours after it appeared Monday morning. A hashtag called “Chloe Zhao wins Best Director” was also censored on the platform with users coming across an error message saying, “according to relevant laws and regulations and policies, the page is not found.”

New St. Thomas fitness club Omega Ti helps women gain muscle, exercise knowledge and build lasting friendships with a community of “strength sisters” that focus on women’s health and wellness in a male-dominated fitness world.

After noticing the low number of female lifters compared to male, Ellen Parkey set out to create Omega Ti. The club caters to female health and wellness, helping women in fitness feel comfortable and supported.

The club promotes a holistic approach to fitness that focuses on mental and physical health.

Kayla Mayer can be reached at maye8518@stthomas.edu.