Tuesday News: Trump Throws “Tantrum”; “Trump has little power to restart U.S. economy”; “List of false claims from Trump’s bitter coronavirus briefing”; “Karofsky Winning Wisconsin’s SC Race Should ‘Terrify’ Trump”

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise (e.g., COVID-19), for Tuesday, April 14.

• Coronavirus live news: cases worldwide near 2 million as Trump repeats WHO funding threat (“UK daily deaths likely to rise this week; France to ease lockdown starting 11 May; Russia told to prepare for ‘extraordinary’ crisis.”)
• The projected timing of abrupt ecological disruption from climate change (“These results highlight the impending risk of sudden and severe biodiversity losses from climate change and provide a framework for predicting both when and where these events may occur.” We need to treat the climate crisis with at *least* the same degree of urgency as we’re treating the COVID-19 crisis.)
• Goldman Sees Advanced Economies Shrinking 35% Amid Pandemic
• Spain Cases at Three-Week Low; Austria Eases Curbs: Virus Update
• Can Putin Survive His Bungling of Coronavirus? (“A month ago, the Kremlin was gloating about Russia’s handling of the pandemic. No longer. And the disaster now threatens Putin’s autocratic ambitions.”)
• The Global Coronavirus Crisis Is Poised to Get Much, Much Worse (“What happens when the pandemic strikes nations of millions of people that have only a half-dozen ventilators?”)
• The case for ending the Covid-19 pandemic with mass testing (“By one estimate, America may need 35 million Covid-19 tests per day for people to return to work.”)
• Economic Pain Will Persist Long After Lockdowns End (“President Trump has predicted an economic boom once stay-at-home and other restrictions are lifted. But economic activity is likely to remain subdued until the threat of the coronavirus recedes.”)
• Nancy Pelosi Nails What’s ‘Really Dangerous’ About Donald Trump’s Coronavirus Misinformation (“The House speaker called on scientists to ‘speak up’ against the president’s falsehoods in an interview with ‘The Late Late Show’ host James Corden.”)
• Please, Mr. President, can we stop winning so much? (Yes, SO much “winning!” LOL)
• States largely have authority over when to shut down, reopen
• States Move to Coordinate on Reopening Plans
• Explainer: Trump has little power to restart U.S. economy
• Fact check: Trump claims it’s his call on when to ‘reopen’ the country. He’s wrong. (“Only the states can give shutdown orders, and only the states can lift them, legal scholars say. Many governors agree.”)
• Look to the governors, not Trump, before venturing out
• California, Oregon & Washington Announce Western States Pact
• Governors on East and West coasts form pacts to decide when to reopen economies
• An unchained presidential tantrum (“Trump rages at reporters during coronavirus briefing over critical coverage of his response to pandemic” He’s completely unhinged. How does anyone support him???)
• The horrendous reality at the heart of Trump’s pandemic response
• An Actual Administration Would Have Been Ready
• Fact check: A list of false claims from Trump’s bitter coronavirus briefing
• Trump Responds to Reports About His Incompetence by Flying Into a Self-Pitying Rage at Press (“He even brought his own hastily made propaganda reel.”)
• Wounded by media scrutiny, Trump turned a briefing into a presidential tantrum
• Narcissistic Authoritarian Statist Claims ‘Total’ Authority (“When authority is total, so too is the madness of the man who declares it.”)
• Who Will Advise Trump On Reopening The U.S.? White House Set To Unveil Pandemic Council
• Trump on the defensive: A White House coronavirus briefing becomes a campaign rally
• Coronavirus Updates: Trump Insists He Has ‘Total’ Authority to Supersede Governors (Nope. Also, can you imagine if Obama or Clinton had said something like that? The right wingers would have been *screaming* about dictatorship, treason, impeachment, etc.)
• No, Trump Can’t Force States to Reopen (“The Constitution reserves police powers for the states. The president will have to make do with persuasion.”)
• Democrats Signal Funding Fight For Expanded Vote-By-Mail Elections
• More than 2,100 U.S. cities brace for budget shortfalls, with many planning cuts and layoffs
• Aides expect Schumer, Mnuchin to reach deal on coronavirus relief
• The Memo: Speculation grows about Fauci’s future
• Big Banks Pull Financing, Prepare To Seize Assets From Collapsing Oil and Gas Industry
• Trump campaign sues over ad accurately depicting his failures on virus
• Trump’s New Press Secretary Is an Apologist for Explicit Racism (“She defended his attacks on Judge Gonzalo Curiel”)
• This Is How It Looks When You’re Not Afraid (“Anthony Fauci is the rare senior government official who seems more devoted to truth than to Trump.” Wow, what a concept, having integrity, unlike almost everyone else in Trump’s orbit.)
• Trump’s Ambition to Reopen U.S. Hinges on Elusive Testing Surge
• Conservative groups mobilize and push White House to try and reopen economy despite coronavirus pandemic
• What Went Down In The Wisconsin Primary (“Mail voting was up, turnout was down, and liberals won a key Supreme Court seat.”)
• DNC Chair Says Karofsky Winning Wisconsin’s SC Race Should ‘Terrify’ Trump
• Upset Victory in Wisconsin Supreme Court Race Gives Democrats a Lift (“A liberal challenger’s surprise triumph over a Trump-backed incumbent demonstrated strong turnout and vote-by-mail efforts for the Democrats in a key general election state.”)
• It’s time to talk more seriously about the food supply (“It is a cascading series of events here that is disrupting the entire food chain”)
• Trump’s New Auto Rollback Is an Economic Disaster (“According to the administration’s own math, the pollution rules could eliminate jobs, discourage driving, and inflict billions in damage.”)
• What went wrong with the media’s coronavirus coverage? (“And can we do better?”)
• Independent Rep. Justin Amash says he’s looking ‘closely’ at White House run (“Rep. Justin Amash (I-Mich.) said Monday that he’s considering a White House run against President Trump, a move that could pose a challenge to the president’s campaign for a second term.”)
• Trump says he will ask for a delay to the 2020 census
• Anti-malarial drug touted by Trump was subject of CIA warning to employees
• South Dakota’s governor resisted ordering people to stay home. Now it has one of the nation’s largest coronavirus hot spots.
• DeSantis deems pro wrestling ‘essential business’ amid statewide stay-at-home order (That’s just about the *least* essential business ever.)
• Video: Democratic Unity – Sen. Bernie Sanders Strongly Endorses Former VP Joe Biden for President (“We need you in the White House; I will do all that I can to see that that happens, Joe”)
• Bernie Endorses Biden: It’s About Trump Now
• Ex-Republican on Trump coronavirus failures: Our lives depend on electing Joe Biden.
• Trump poll numbers look good for Biden. But Republicans can still win in 2020 — if they cheat.
• How Joe Biden won over Bernie Sanders — and the Democratic Party
• The Times Took 19 Days to Report an Accusation Against Biden. Here’s Why. (Because they needed to investigate it, and when they did, they found…not much.)
• The industry says we have enough food. Here’s why some store shelves are empty anyway. (“The biggest reason, experts say, is that while about half of American expenditures for food used to be at restaurants and other such establishments, now almost all meals are being made in the home kitchen.”)
• CNN chyrons offer persuasive rationale for why CNN should stop airing Trump’s coronavirus grievance sessions
• CNN cuts away from ‘propaganda’ briefing as Trump plays video hitting press
• Virginia Delegate Danica Roem Endorses Joe Biden (Roem: “We need [Biden’s] empathetic leadership more now than ever to unite and create a more equitable, compassionate, just, equal and inclusive country”)
• In Midst of COVID-19 Crisis, Sen. Mark Warner Donates $10k to Each of Virginia’s Seven Regional Food Banks
• Senators Warner, Kaine Join Colleagues in Pushing for More Information, Transparency on Coronavirus Testing
• Bishop who said ‘God is larger than this dreaded virus’ dies of Covid-19 (Hmmm…)
• Bob Good vs. Denver Riggleman in VA-05 GOP Nominating Contest: Lawsuit, Accusation of Intimidation, etc.
• Gov. Ralph Northam: “New Circumstances Now Require Us to Revisit” Budget (Proposes “83 amendments to specifically ‘unallot’ new, discretionary spending across all agencies”; “freeze[s] spending of approximately $874.6 million in fiscal year 2021 and $1.4 billion in fiscal year 2022”)
• Slides From New UVA COVID-19 Model Show Why Those Urging Rapid Lifting of Restrictions Are So, So Wrong
• Restrictions have helped Virginia, but COVID-19 rates will spike if they’re relaxed too soon, researchers say
• ICYMI: Virginia Democrats Expand Voting Rights
• Live Video, Highlights: Gov. Ralph Northam’s Monday (4/13) Virginia COVID-19 Briefing
• Does Governor Northam’s Push to Delay Enactment of Labor Reforms Make Sense?
• ewly Blue Virginia Leaves Workers Behind
• Virginia passes 100% clean power mandate (“Gov. Ralph Northam has signed the Virginia Clean Economy Act, which requires the state’s utilities to switch to 100% clean energy by 2050, while also adding 16 GW of solar and onshore wind, 3 GW of energy storage and the closing of all the state’s coal power plants by 2024.”)
• Governor Northam Announces Expansion of “Virtual Virginia” to Support Distance Learning During School Closures
• Sen. Dave Marsden: Let’s Not Hit the Panic Button and Start a Disorganized and Frenetic Protocol for Releasing the Incarcerated During the COVID-19 Pandemic
• Northam protects nearly $65 million boost in state funds for personal care to elderly and disabled
• Virginia reports 473 new COVID-19 cases; UVA researchers project mid-August peak
• U.Va.’s coronavirus model projects Virginia will have enough hospital capacity in next few months (“However, what policies and measures need to be taken to prevent eventually overwhelming the state’s hospitals have yet to be determined.”)
• Editorial: Extraordinary actions deserve legal scrutiny (“It is perfectly legitimate — appropriate, even — for individuals and groups across the commonwealth to question the decisions by Gov. Ralph Northam and local officials made during the coronavirus crisis.”)
• Editorial: Northam’s school funding move is a game-changer — for 2025 (“With one unexpected stroke of the pen on Saturday night, Northam has changed the calculus. He has sent back to the legislature the bill authorizing casinos in five localities with an amendment — which specifies that the state’s share of the casino tax revenues go to school construction. This is, to employ an over-used but quite apt phrase, a game-changer — for 2025.”)
• Levar M. Stoney Column: Universal voting by mail is the vaccine to COVID-19’s impact on Virginia’s elections
• Majority of Virginia’s coronavirus outbreaks are in long-term care facilities
• Rainstorm leads to power outages, several rescues across the region (“A driver in Craig County had to be rescued from high water Monday and a small sinkhole opened up in Roanoke after heavy rains hit the region overnight.”)
• Cooler today with rain returning tonight and early Wednesday