Friday News: “U.S.’ coronavirus recovery is way behind Europe'”; “An Ugly Day for the Justice Department”; “Great Depression-like U.S. job losses, unemployment rate expected in April”; “Next General Assembly Session May Happen Online”

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, May 8.

• Sea levels could rise more than a metre by 2100, experts say (“Oceans rising faster than previously thought, according to survey of 100 specialists” That would be disastrous.)
• The U.S.’ coronavirus recovery is way behind Europe’s (“Other countries — even some hit hard by the coronavirus — are beating back their outbreaks more successfully than the U.S…The U.S. didn’t lock down as tightly as some of those countries, in addition to a host of mistakes early in the response.”)
• The real scandal isn’t what China did to us. It’s what we did to ourselves.
• Coronavirus Came From Bats, Can Infect Cats, Ferrets, WHO Says
• China, U.S. Teams Agree to Work to Implement Trade Deal
• Trump Says He Discussed Russia ‘Hoax’ With Putin in Phone Call (Treasonous.)
• Pompeo changes tune on Chinese lab’s role in virus outbreak, as intel officials cast doubt
• April Jobs Report to Show Record Unemployment From Coronavirus (“The jobless rate could approach the peak of 25% that economists estimate was hit during the Great Depression”)
• Great Depression-like U.S. job losses, unemployment rate expected in April
• U.S. Jobs Report to Offer Clearest Data Yet on Economic Toll (“Even by the standards of the pandemic, today’s report on employment in the U.S. will be staggering. Economists expect the unemployment rate to reach 16 percent, the worst since the Great Depression. The numbers will break down job loss by race and gender. They’ll also show who kept working but had hours cut.”)
• White House Decides CDC Coronavirus Guidelines ‘Would Never See the Light of Day’
• ‘Never Seen Anything Like This’: Experts Question Dropping of Flynn Prosecution
• William Barr’s DOJ Is Now Covering Up Crimes for Trump in Broad Daylight
• If Michael Flynn did nothing wrong, why didn’t he tell the truth?
• AP Exclusive: Justice Dept dropping Flynn’s criminal case
• Team Trump Wants Flynn Back for 2020, Sees Him as Its ‘Nelson Mandela’
• Michael Flynn Lied. He’s Still Trump’s ‘Innocent Man.’ (“It doesn’t matter that the former national security adviser pleaded guilty. Twice.”)
• An Ugly Day for the Justice Department
• Attorney General Barr says what Michael Flynn did “was not a crime” (Barr is a vicious enemy of one of the most important things in America – the rule of law.)
• McCabe slams decision to drop Flynn charges as “pure politics”
• This Michael Flynn Business Stinks Like a Mackerel in the Sun
• Skeptical Judge Could Hold Up Trump Administration’s Bid To Clear Flynn, Legal Experts Say
• Governors disregarding White House guidelines on reopening
• Trump valet tests positive for coronavirus, sparking fear of West Wing spread
• White House Rattled by a Military Aide’s Positive Coronavirus Test
• Will Congress Get Its Act Together On Another Round Of Coronavirus Stimulus Checks?a
• It took 4 months for a virus to do this to the US
• Scoop: Trump officials’ dysfunction harms delivery of coronavirus drug
• Trump’s Bid to Stand Above the Law (“Next week, the Supreme Court will hear lawyers argue the president’s claim that he has absolute immunity while in office.”)
• Schumer, Pelosi set to unveil ‘Rooseveltian’ relief package
• Pelosi and her members are in the driver’s seat (“She has her finger on the pulse of Americans.”)
• Frank Rich: MAGA vs. COVID (“Coronavirus is hitting Trump country hard. The president doesn’t care.”)
• Republicans not sold on new round of relief checks
• Trump intensifies war with Democrats over voting laws
• Democrats need to use Republicans’ playbook to make sure Trump loses (“Democrats, learn from your former Republican foes: Pull heartstrings, wave the flag and go straight for the jugular.”)
• Tensions and backlash as US coronavirus reopenings bring changes
• Democrats fume over having to clean up Bloomberg’s mess(“The billionaire cut loose scores of staffers who’d been promised paychecks through the election — and state parties are getting pressured to hire them.”)
• An Epidemic of Hardship and Hunger (“Why won’t Republicans help Americans losing their jobs?”)
• Melinda Gates gives Trump administration ‘D-minus’ for coronavirus response (That’s generous, actually.)
• As Hospitals Lose Revenue, Thousands Of Health Care Workers Face Furloughs, Layoffs
• This Is Asymmetric Warfare, and Trump is Crushing His Foes (“With a virus death toll 35 times as high as South Korea’s, Trump proceeds undeterred, having compromised, if not defeated, the usual checks on presidential power.”)
• Arrests made in shooting death of black man after outcry (It shouldn’t take an “outcry” for justice to be done. And swiftly!)
• Many States Are Reporting Race Data For Only Some COVID-19 Cases And Deaths
• Trump campaign to unload on Biden with negative ad onslaught
• Prominent lawyer, Trump donor representing Biden accuser (Hmmm…)
• Kayleigh McEnany called Trump comment ‘racist,’ ‘hateful’ and ‘not the American way’ in 2015
• Biden accuser Tara Reade calls for him to drop out of presidential race (Uh huh.)
• Everything We’ve Learned From Tara Reade’s Megyn Kelly Interview (“The document does not, however, address if Biden committed the harassment; it also does not mention an allegation of sexual assault.”)
• House Republicans should be getting nervous about November
• Discredited Doctor and Sham ‘Science’ Are the Stars of Viral Coronavirus Documentary ‘Plandemic’
• The Last Two Steps of Ahmaud Arbery’s Life
• Fox covered jailed salon owner over 7 times more than slain jogger Ahmaud Arbery
• Timeline: How Trump’s Fox News fixation shaped the federal coronavirus response
• Americans remain concerned that states will lift restrictions too quickly, but partisan differences widen (“Republicans, especially conservative Republicans, have become more concerned that the state restrictions will not be lifted quickly enough, while a growing share of Democrats worry more that they will be lifted too quickly.”)
• Unemployment Benefits: What Happens after the Pandemic? (“Unemployment insurance is temporary, and it’ll eventually run out. That’s why one Virginia congressman is trying to expand it, although not everywhere all in the same way.”)
• Spanberger, colleagues call on IRS to improve flow of information
• Senator Tim Kaine says he understands pain of coronavirus protestors.
• Video: Sen. Kaine Statement on Senate’s 49-44 Vote to Override Trump Veto of His Bipartisan War Powers Resolution
• Pence weighs in as Virginia defends Northam’s restrictions in Eastern Shore church’s lawsuit (“Attorneys for Gov. Ralph Northam made their case against Lighthouse Fellowship’s lawsuit against the state’s restrictions. Meanwhile, the vice president said he agrees with the Chincoteague church and the Justice Department’s backing of its suit.”)
• AG Mark Herring Urges FERC to Halt New Fossil Fuel Infrastructure Projects During COVID-19 Crisis
• Ahead of Pence Visit, VA Democrats Slam Trump’s “Failed, Chaotic” Pandemic Response [UPDATED with Maskless Mike Pence at a Nursing Home]
• Another 3.2 Million Americans, Including 61k Virginians, File Initial Unemployment Benefit Claims
• Next General Assembly Session May Happen Online
• Va. attorney general: Legislature may hold ‘virtual’ meetings during emergencies (“House Speaker Filler-Corn had sought an opinion because of the coronavirus crisis and could call for an online session this summer.”)
• Is Virginia Testing Enough to Start Reopening Safely? Not According to This Analysis. (“Virginia currently averages 3,967 tests per day — far fewer than the estimated minimum needed by May 15.”)
• Thursday (5/7) Virginia Data on COVID-19 Finds +1,314 Confirmed/Probable Cases* (to 21,570), +182 Hospitalizations* (to 2,955), +56 Deaths* (to 769) From Yesterday
• Are business leaders in driver’s seat on reopening decision?
• Despite Clean Economy Act, Dominion forecasts a strong role for natural gas in Virginia
• Scant information is publicly available on the governor’s COVID-19 work groups.
• Virginia Department of Corrections clears 230 prisoners for early release
• Third COVID-19 outbreak—the second at a long-term care facility—reported in Rappahannock Area Health District
• Trump nominates Richmond magistrate for Hampton Roads federal judgeship (“Roderick C. Young — a magistrate since 2014 and a former prosecutor and public defender — was nominated to fill the vacancy.”)
• BREAKING: Takis Karantonis Wins Arlington Dems’ Nomination for County Board Special Election [UPDATED with “IRV” Results, Statements]
• Some Northern Va. leaders upset with feds over preempted N95 order
• Editorial: Helpers continue to shine across region (“Hampton Roads residents continue selfless service to others as coronavirus pandemic continues to exact its toll on our lives.”)
• Richmond School Board wants to consider moving schools to year-round schedule
• Two more die at Canterbury, but nursing facility now recovering from COVID-19
• Sales at Virginia ABC stores are at holiday levels; here’s what Richmonders are drinking
• Rain developing today may end with a few snowflakes tonight