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by Lowell
Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Monday, May 18.
Chairman of the Federal Reserve Jerome Powell said in an interview with CBS News that preventing another surge in virus infections is key to growth https://t.co/2fZob4yYJn pic.twitter.com/4R2601sNzG
— Reuters (@Reuters) May 18, 2020
- Italy begins reopening bars and cafes as Spain also eases restrictions (“Southern European countries ease lockdowns; South Africa reports highest daily increase; global infections pass 4.7 million”)
- U.S.-China Tensions Threaten to Dominate W.H.O. Meeting
- Unpriceable Climate Change Stalks $31 Trillion Debt Market
- Climate change is fueling extreme weather that lowers cancer survival rate and threatens prevention
- The Twilight of the Iranian Revolution (“For decades, Ayatollah Khamenei has professed enmity with America. Now his regime is threatened from within the country.” Let’s hope.)
- A Shaky Coalition Government Takes Office In Israel
- U.S. Coronavirus Cases Near 1.5 Million as States Ease Restrictions (“Number of cases exceeds 4.7 million world-wide”)
- Busted: Pentagon Contractors’ Report on ‘Wuhan Lab’ Origins of Virus Is Bogus
- Fired inspector general was examining whether Pompeo had a staffer walk his dog, handle dry cleaning, official says
- Inspector General’s Firing Puts Pompeo’s Use of Taxpayer Funds Under Scrutiny
- Ousted State Department inspector general was investigating if Pompeo made staffer walk his dog and run other personal errands
- Trump officials deflect blame for US death toll, escalate reopening push (In short, the “buck” does NOT stop there.)
- Failing the Test — The Tragic Data Gap Undermining the U.S. Pandemic Response
- The government whistleblower who says the Trump administration’s coronavirus response has cost lives
- Trump tears into ’60 Minutes’ after segment with whistleblower Bright (This is so tedious.)
- Trump Wants Fight With Obama — ‘Careful What You Wish For’?
- Obama Lives in Trump’s Head (“The president feels the need to shower lies and blame upon his predecessor.”)
- ‘Grossly incompetent’: Trump dismisses Obama over coronavirus criticism (In fact, the Obama administration was almost astoundingly COMPETENT.)
- The only culprit in the Flynn ‘unmasking’ scandal is the Trump administration
- HHS Secretary Alex Azar suggests health problems in communities of color explain coronavirus death numbers
- Fed Chair Says Coronavirus-Stricken Economy Might Not Recover Until End Of 2021 (“You really can’t put into words the pain people are feeling”)
- Full Transcript: Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s 60 Minutes interview on economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic
- Trump’s failure of leadership makes a feeble economy and resurgent virus more likely
- Trump is gambling the health of the nation for his reelection
- What did eight weeks and $3 trillion buy the U.S. in the fight against coronavirus? (“Yet two months into the United States’ fight against the most severe pandemic to arise in the age of globalization, neither the health nor the economic war has been won. Many analysts fear the country has at best fought back worst-case outcomes.”)f
- Biden’s VP search puts spotlight on how long he’ll serve
- Seeking: Big Democratic Ideas That Make Everything Better
- Coronavirus Vaccine Front-Runners Emerge, Rollouts Weighed (“Of more than 100 vaccines in development globally, at least eight have started testing in humans, including candidates from Moderna Inc. and Pfizer Inc. At the same time, pharmaceutical giants like Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca PLC and Sanofi SA are building capacity to make hundreds of millions of doses of their own or their partners’ vaccines.”)
- Biden plans to pick a female running mate. Would it make a difference if she’s black? (“In 2016, when Democrats fielded an all-white ticket of Hillary Clinton and Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, the turnout rate among black voters was 59 percent. That was down significantly from 2012 (66 percent) and 2008 (65 percent), elections in which Barack Obama generated enormous energy among black voters.”)
- Former top Clinton adviser says electoral map has realigned for the first time since 1992
- State polls suggest Biden has a clear national lead
- Are Older Voters Turning Away From Trump? (“So he holds a small lead, but nevertheless, it’s still a sign that Trump is currently underwater with older voters. Going forward, we’ll keep a careful eye on things to see if this shift in voter sentiment holds. Because if it does, it could have a major impact on the outcome in November.”)
- Democrats feel tide turning their way in battle to flip US Senate (“The electoral map does not favor Republicans and the pandemic has helped put them on defense in states they once thought safe”)
- There is a huge difference between Christine Blasey Ford and Tara Reade (“In the case of Ford, she had never changed her account of an assault at a party, which Kavanaugh denies. She testified under oath, credibly recounting the episode. There was also another alleged incident of sexual misconduct from Kavanaugh’s time at Yale, which a credible third party reported having witnessed (which Kavanaugh has also denied). Although we will never know for certain, Kavanaugh’s denial of heavy drinking and his implausible explanations about his calendar undercut his testimony. In the case of Reade, the overwhelming weight of evidence suggests no sexual assault occurred. To conclude she is telling the truth, you would have to believe that, for the first and only time in his career, Biden decided to assault a woman in a fully visible spot in the Capitol.”)
- Donald Trump and His Son Have an Insane New Coronavirus Conspiracy Theory
- Eric Trump claims coronavirus is Democratic hoax, will ‘magically’ vanish after 2020 election (The entire Trump family is completely FUBAR.)
- Swing-state Republicans warn Trump’s reelection is on shaky ground (“Attacking Joe Biden will only get the president so far, they said — ultimately the election will be a referendum on him.”)
- Lockdown protests may have spread virus widely, cellphone data suggests (“Devices associated with protesters travelled up to hundreds of miles after rallies where few precautions were taken”)
- Coronavirus Is Hitting Nursing Homes Hard. How We Treat the Elderly Made It Inevitable.
- America’s Killer Lawns (“Homeowners use up 10 times more pesticide per acre than farmers do. But we can change what we do in our own yards.” Replace part or all of your lawn with native plants, trees, vegetables, etc.)
- Wisconsin’s economy is reopening and it’s a hot coronavirus mess. Don’t do what we did.
- The results are in. Trump’s miracle drug is useless.
- Will Facebook’s oversight board actually hold the company accountable?
- Elizabeth Warren: My Brother’s Death Didn’t Have to Happen
- Where Chronic Health Conditions and Coronavirus Could Collide (“Large parts of the South and Appalachia are especially vulnerable, according to a health-risk index created for The New York Times by PolicyMap, a company that analyzes local health data.”)
- Surveillance videos show multiple people had trespassed at the home Ahmaud Arbery visited. He was the only one killed (Gee, what could *possibly* have been different about Ahmaud Arbery? Hmmmm…)
- California locked down early and took the coronavirus seriously. Why are its cases still rising? (“California’s experience illustrates just how vexing the coronavirus has been to deal with — and just how steep the challenge is for the country as a whole as it inches its way to a reopening that it hasn’t yet earned.”)
- A person who was Covid-19 positive attended a church service and exposed 180 people, officials say
- Rep. Denver Riggleman (R-VA05) Endorsed by the Infamous Rep. “Gym” Jordan (R), Accused of Ignoring Sexual Abuse of Ohio St. Wrestlers for Years
- Far-Right Group Gives Seal of Approval to Virginia GOP Candidates Daniel Gade, Nick Freitas, Bob Good, etc.; Labels Scott Taylor, Denver Riggleman “Somewhat Liberal”
- Rep. Abigail Spanberger: Decries partisanship, advocates for bipartisan solutions during pandemic (I just hope this…er, “stuff,” plays in her district…)
- Congresswoman Wexton holds virtual town hall to provide updates on her push for funding during pandemic
- As Virginia slowly reopens, several key public health metrics still haven’t been met
- Latino, immigrant workers, hit hardest by COVID-19, see little aid from government, leaders say
- Editorial: Progress in Virginia’s opioid fight (“Under Attorney General Mark Herring, Virginia is making strides in fighting the scourge of opioids.”)
- Gordon C. Morse: McAuliffe again gunning for Virginia’s top job
- Sunday (5/17) Virginia Data on COVID-19 Finds +705 Confirmed/Probable Cases (to 30,388), +51 Hospitalizations (to 3,775), +7 Deaths (to 1,009) From Yesterday
- Local School Districts Grapple With Grading During Distance Learning
- Arlington National Cemetery limits Memorial Day weekend visitors to family pass holders
- Conservation group plots solar potential for retired Appalachian coal mine land (“The Nature Conservancy is seeking a partner to help develop solar on up to 13,000 acres of cleared minelands.” “An estimated 13,000 acres of cleared minelands pock a diverse 253,000-acre Cumberland Forest property in Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee that the conservancy acquired last year. Some 153,000 of those acres are in the traditional coal counties of Wise, Dickenson, Russell and Buchanan in Virginia.”)
- Jennifer Lewis: Pipelines endanger health
- Before the epidemic, lack of internet access was a hassle. Now it can be an emergency (“For many in southeastern Virginia, step 1 is find a signal.”)
- A lonely death at ground zero in Chesterfield, as long-term care facilities in Virginia still await aid (“While Jane Barlow Bacon was battling to survive COVID-19 in a Chesterfield County hospital bed, her son was talking to doctors about how to treat a disease that no one fully understands.”)
- A cloudy, cool workweek, but not as rainy as once feared (“Highs struggle to escape the 60s, but showers are spotty for the next few days.”)
