Wednesday News: “Pandemic shines harsh light on Trump’s failure to protect pangolins,” Environment; Trump “Turns Against WHO to Mask His Own Stark Failings on Covid-19 Crisis”; “Obama, Endorsing Biden, Says Obama Policies Aren’t Good Enough Now”

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Wednesday, April 15.

• China Blasts Trump’s Move to Pull WHO Funding, Pledges Support (Trump hurting the U.S. image and leadership around the world…and China steps in to the vacuum. Brilliant, eh?)
• ‘Crime against humanity’: Trump condemned for WHO funding freeze
• Leaders risk lives by minimizing the coronavirus. Bolsonaro is the worst. (Bolsonaro is absolute evil…on everything, basically, including the environment.)
• Trump Campaign’s Genius Plan to Blame China for the Coronavirus Has One Flaw (“Trump actually loves the Chinese government way more than Joe Biden does.”)
• Pandemic shines harsh light on Trump’s failure to protect pangolins (“Wildlife conservation efforts are essential to preventing outbreaks, scientists and advocates say”)
• China didn’t warn public of likely pandemic for 6 key days (And in the U.S., Trump was saying it wasn’t a problem, would go to zero in a few days, etc, etc.)
• Trump cuts off new funding for the World Health Organization over pandemic response
• China says U.S. should fulfill its global responsibilities through WHO
• Oil Slumps Below $20 as IEA Sees Global Storage Filling Despite Cuts (“The fall in demand will wipe out a decade of consumption growth, the agency said.”)
• Coronavirus live news: Trump suspends WHO funding as Denmark begins to reopen schools (“US to investigate World Health Organization’s response to crisis; global cases pass 1.98m with 126,000 deaths; Spain’s daily death toll falls again”)
• Trump turns against WHO to mask his own stark failings on Covid-19 crisis (“Dishonest decision to pull funding from World Health Organization will endanger public health”)
• Fact check: Trump denies saying another thing he said and makes more false claims at coronavirus briefing (Lies, lies and more lies…and don’t forget the lying lies, either.)
• FACT CHECK: Trump Doesn’t Have The Authority To Order States To ‘Reopen’
• The $1,200 stimulus checks are arriving. People are mostly spending them on food
• Fact Checker: Four Pinocchios for Trump’s claim
• Trump’s inaccurate assertion of ‘total’ authority sparks challenge from governors (“Joe Biden and prominent governors overseeing states hit hard by the pandemic skewered the president’s claim. A handful of GOP lawmakers also cited the Constitution.”)
• In unprecedented move, Treasury orders Trump’s name printed on stimulus checks (“The department’s decision could slow the checks’ delivery by a few days, senior IRS officials said.” That’s insane.)
• 80 million people to receive stimulus payments by Wednesday, Mnuchin says
• Trump’s authority isn’t ‘total.’ But his unfitness is.
• CDC, FEMA create a plan to gradually reopen the nation
• Trump wants to declare country open by May 1 — but the reality will be much slower
• Fauci: ‘We’re not there yet’ on key steps to reopen economy
• Analysis: Trump’s Claim of Total Authority in Crisis Is Widely Rejected (“President Trump’s declaration of “total” authority in the pandemic response prompted rebellion, and not just from governors. Legal scholars across the ideological spectrum rejected the notion that ultimately he, not state leaders, would decide when to reopen businesses.”)
• George Conway: Trump will never be able to accept that the presidency doesn’t belong to him
• Dear Colleague: We Must Insist and Act on the Truth in the Coronavirus Crisis (by Speaker Nancy Pelosi)
• Trump Plans to Share the Blame if Reopening the Country Fails: Report
• The science is challenging. But we should be hopeful for a covid-19 vaccine or drug.
• We need to start preparing for the November election — now
• There’s Been a Spike in People Dying at Home in Several Cities. That Suggests Coronavirus Deaths Are Higher Than Reported.
• Prominent scientists have bad news for the White House about coronavirus antibody tests
• Sidelined by Coronavirus, Congressional Leaders Face Pressure to Vote Remotely
• GOP congressman: Dying from virus is ‘lesser of two evils’ if we can save economy (You first, dude…you first!)
• Trump remark prompts Amash to reconsider run for president
• The GOP is not a pro-life party (Right, and the media, Democrats, etc. should stop using that Orwellian framing.)
• Republicans tried to suppress the vote in Wisconsin. It backfired
• Democratic voter motivation in Wisconsin has Republicans worried
• The Pandemic Is Not a Natural Disaster (“The coronavirus isn’t just a public-health crisis. It’s an ecological one.” Agreed. Humans’ treatment of nature, animals, etc. has been horrendous, and really needs to change dramatically for a whole host of reasons.)
• Trump’s new health care legacy: Big expansion of federal role (“The administration’s massive coronavirus spending features a new program experts say mirrors a single-payer system.”)
• As goal posts shift on the pandemic, right-wing pundits are consistent on one thing: Trump is doing great (These people are all completely unhinged.)
• Democrats try to force McConnell’s hand (“Congressional Democratic leaders are trying to box out Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) by negotiating a deal with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and President Trump to provide $251 billion in new funding for small businesses”)
• Trump’s darkness: White supremacy, Christian nationalism and the coronavirus (“This pandemic has brought out the worst in Trump — and in his most racist and fanatical followers”)
• Post-Pandemic, Here’s How America Rises Again (“Congress needs to invest with an eye on the nation’s future.”)
• Airlines that donated to Trump’s re-election get first dibs on $25 billion corporate bailout (Hmmm…)
• We Cannot Hold an Election Without a Functional Post Office (“Trump’s refusal to save the U.S. Postal Service is an attack on voting rights”)
• Our Pandemic Summer (“The fight against the coronavirus won’t be over when the U.S. reopens. Here’s how the nation must prepare itself.”)
• Trump’s voters will never admit they were wrong — even in the face of national catastrophe (“Trump’s fans will never admit they made a mistake — that’s the hill they’ll die on, and not just metaphorically”)
• Instead of Challenging Joe Biden, Maybe the Green Party Could Help Change Our Democracy (Yep, definitely move towards Ranked Choice Voting)
• Poll: Voters prioritize experienced VP for Biden over gender, race
• Republicans have a choice: Keep suppressing the vote — or improve their product
• What we know about Joe Biden’s possible vice presidential picks (“Kamala Harris tops many vice presidential lists, for good reason”; “In order to win the presidency, Biden needs to win the Midwest. Amy Klobuchar could help him do that”; “Gretchen Whitmer’s political star is rising, and Biden is taking notice.”)
• Obama, Endorsing Biden, Says Obama Policies Aren’t Good Enough Now
• Obama Endorsed Biden, But Also the New Democrats
• AP Interview: Sanders says opposing Biden is ‘irresponsible’
• Video, Transcript: Barack Obama Endorses Joe Biden for President, Says “our country’s future hangs on this election”
• Biden Relishes in One-Two Punch of Sanders, Obama Endorsements (Pretty sure they either mean “relishes” or “revels in,” but not “relishes in.”)
• Florida surgeon general removed from briefing after urging a year of social distancing
• N.Y. Got $12,000 Per Virus Case, by One Count. Nebraska Got $379,000.
• N.Y.C. Death Toll Soars Past 10,000 in Revised Virus Count (“The city has added more than 3,700 additional people who were presumed to have died of the coronavirus but had never tested positive.”)
• Has New York Bent The Curve?
• Susan Collins chides Trump for ‘very uneven’ performance on coronavirus (True that it’s been “uneven” – sometimes horrendously bad, sometimes just really really bad.)
• Mitch McConnell Is the Dry Rot in the Republican Party That Made Donald Trump Possible
• Republicans who don’t like Trump have no excuses: Endorse Biden
• Trump Loyalists and Allies Urge Defiance of Coronavirus Safety Measures (“There is a growing resistance on the right that threatens to add additional stress to a political system already nearing the breaking point.”)
• America has never embraced bidets. The toilet paper shortage could change that. (Great idea; toilet paper is unsanitary, environmentally destructive, etc.)
• Coronavirus Outbreak at Virginia Nursing Home Spirals Out of Control as 45 Die (“The outbreak in Richmond has become the deadliest linked so far to a U.S. long-term care facility.”)
• Reps. Spanberger, Connolly, Beyer, Porter, & Crow Call on HHS Inspector General to Open Investigation Into Strategic National Stockpile Mismanagement
• Congresswoman Elaine Luria cosponsors COVID-19 relief bill that would benefit Hampton Roads cities
• New Virginia Poll: Gov. Northam at 76%-22% Approval on COVID-19 Response; Biden Leads Trump 51%-41%
• AG Mark Herring Files Suit Against Martin Shkreli and Vyera Pharmceuticals
• Student files class-action lawsuit against Liberty University over coronavirus response
• Audio: Liberty U. President Jerry Falwell, Former Rep. Dave Brat (R) Spin Far-Right-Wing Narrative About COVID-19
• VA Governor Signs Two Bills Promoting Donor Transparency On College Campuses
• Tuesday (4/14) Virginia Data on COVID-19 Finds +424 Cases (to 6,171), +75 Hospitalizations (to 978), +5 Deaths (to 154) From Yesterday
• For Virginians left out of federal bailout, Northam proposes 60-day eviction grace period
• Some farmers markets and growers that serve them shifting to adjust to COVID-19 restrictions
• Unemployment, welfare claims soar as pandemic continues
• Gov. Northam, UVA Biocomplexity Institute, RAND Corp. Present Infectious Disease Modeling on Impact of COVID-19 Mitigations in Virginia
• Newly Blue Virginia Leaves Workers Behind (“The Democratic governor used Covid-19 as an excuse to delay pro-labor bills. But unions say the virus shows why workers need protection ASAP.”)
• A COVID-19 Test That Gets Results In Minutes Rolls Out Across D.C. Region
• Virginia lawmakers agreed to join a regional carbon market. Here’s what happens next.
• Covid-19 deaths pass 500 in Washington region after record tally of fatalities reported
• Editorial: Focus on the essentials
• Amended Virginia budget sees education cuts, transportation plan freezes
• Editorial: Mental health awareness key as crisis continues
• Roanoke County to suspend penalties on unpaid personal property taxes until August
• Hampton Roads works to clean up storm damage in the midst of a pandemic
• In Richmond, more than twice as many black people have been diagnosed with COVID-19 as white people
• Northern Virginia hospitals meeting the challenge of coronavirus, Alexandria health director says
• UPDATED: Canterbury death toll at 45, but slowing
• A loud rumble shook parts of Hampton Roads, but what caused it remains unclear
• Barely spring-like as cool air sticks around into the weekend