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NEWSLETTER
Academy Awards

History and surprises at an Oscars with a difference

Editors
USA TODAY

Happy Monday, Daily Briefing readers! The pandemic-delayed Oscars yielded historic wins for Chloé Zhao (the first woman of color to win best director) and Yuh-Jung Youn (the first Korean actor to win an Academy Award)  – as well as shocks including the late Chadwick Boseman not getting a posthumous statuette. The best actor accolade instead went to "The Father" star Anthony Hopkins. 

It’s Jane, with Monday’s news.

But first, here’s what people are reading right now.

⚖️ The anonymous jury in the Derek Chauvin trial is part of a growing trend that has some legal experts worried.

📼  A Texas woman doesn't remember renting a VHS tape 22 years ago — let alone that she didn't return it. But it didn't stop her being charged with a felony. 

🔵 An experimental gene therapy was little Alissa's only hope. Now, instead of certain death, she faces an uncertain future. 

💉 The U.S. will send desperately-needed vaccine supplies and experts to India, overwhelmed by one of the worst coronavirus surges the world has seen, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said. Click here for the latest coronavirus updates.

🎧 On today's 5 Things podcast, listen for an Oscars recap. Plus, a look at the Supreme Court’s debate on whether nonprofits must reveal their donors. You can listen to the podcast every day on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on your smart speaker.

Here's what's happening today: 

Oscars: 'Nomadland' wins best picture, Anthony Hopkins shocks with best actor

The weirdest Oscar race ever had one more big surprise in store Sunday night. Director Chloe Zhao's acclaimed drama "Nomadland" took best picture, director and actress (Frances McDormand) at the pandemic-delayed 93rd Academy Awards. But the biggest shock happened in the best actor category, where "The Father" star Anthony Hopkins upset Chadwick Boseman's expected posthumous Oscar win for "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom." Taking place primarily at L.A.'s historic Union Station, the Oscars also honored Daniel Kaluuya ("Judas and the Black Messiah") for best supporting actor and Yuh-Jung Youn ("Minari") took home best supporting actress. 

Chloé Zhao became the first woman of color to win best director at the Academy Awards for her haunting, meditative drama "Nomadland."⁠

Sheriff says he'll ask judge to release body-cam video of shooting

A North Carolina sheriff says his office could ask a judge as soon as Monday to release body camera footage of his deputies fatally shooting a Black man last week. Pasquotank County Sheriff Tommy Wooten also said he would first check with the State Bureau of Investigation to ensure that releasing the video would not compromise their probe of the shooting. Andrew Brown Jr., 42, was fatally shot by deputies serving warrants Wednesday in Elizabeth City, where about half of the 18,000 residents are Black. Few details of the shooting have been released. Witness accounts and scanner traffic recordings indicate Brown was shot in the back while fleeing in a vehicle.

Supreme Court to debate whether nonprofits must reveal donors

The Supreme Court will hear arguments Monday on disclosure requirements that could make it easier for donors to spend anonymously. At issue is a California mandate that nonprofits disclose their top contributors to state regulators. Two conservative groups say the state's requirement violates the Constitution by subjecting the donors to threats of violence from political opponents. They point to a landmark 1958 civil rights case in which the Supreme Court struck down a request by Alabama that the NAACP reveal its membership. While the appeal has drawn support from many conservative organizations, it has also been joined by organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and the LGBTQ advocacy group Human Rights Campaign. All of them say they fear the potential for retaliation against donors if their names are disclosed. A decision in the case is expected in June. 

35 years ago, the Chernobyl nuclear disaster shocked the world

Monday marks the 35th anniversary of the worst nuclear disaster in history. At 1:23 a.m. on April 26, 1986, an explosion destroyed reactor No. 4 at Chernobyl's Vladimir Ilyich Lenin Nuclear Power Station in what is now Ukraine, then part of the Soviet Union. The resulting fire spread airborne radioactive contamination for miles until it was finally contained several days later. Officially, the eventual death toll from cancer from the accident was projected to reach 9,000, although some estimates are far greater. The accident strengthened the growing anti-nuclear movement around the world, which led to the phasing out or slowing down of nuclear energy in some countries. And in a 2006 memoir, former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev wrote that Chernobyl "was perhaps the real cause of the collapse of the Soviet Union."

Here comes the pink moon 🌙

The final week of April kicks off with a full moon, known this month as the pink moon. The moon will officially become full at 11:32 p.m. ET Monday, but will look plenty full when it rises above the eastern horizon earlier in the evening. But before you get your hopes up, the moon won't actually look pink. "The moon will be its usual golden color near the horizon and fade to a bright white as it glides overhead," the Old Farmer's Almanac said. Here's why it's called the pink moon.

ICYMI: Some of our top stories from Sunday 

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