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by Lowell
Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, August 14.
The period 1July 2019 – 30June 2020 was the warmest 12 months ever recorded. Wildfires, floods, storms, droughts, melting permafrost, locust swarms, historic heatwaves. And now glaciers are literally collapsing in front of our eyes.
When will we start treating this as a crisis? https://t.co/BPcWtpeYcK— Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) August 14, 2020
- These Covid-19 vaccine candidates could change the way we make vaccines — if they work (“Why adenovirus and mRNA vaccines could start a revolution.”)
- China’s Arrest of a Free-Speech Icon Backfires in Hong Kong (“The arrest of Jimmy Lai, the most high-profile case under China’s Draconian new law, instead of demoralizing Lai’s employees and supporters, has reinvigorated defiance.”)
- Iran and Turkey denounce UAE over deal with Israel (“Tehran says deal to establish full diplomatic ties is ‘dagger in the backs of the Palestinian people’”)
- The Israel-UAE agreement is an insult to the peace Palestinians and Arabs want and need
- Dennis Ross: The Israel-UAE agreement is a key step for peace and sends a crucial message to Palestinians
- A Geopolitical Earthquake Just Hit the Mideast (“The Israel-United Arab Emirates deal will be felt throughout the region.”)
- The Winners and Losers From the Historic Israel-UAE Deal (“For Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, this is a much-needed win at a time when he’s facing large public protests over corruption allegations, the state of the economy, and his handling of the coronavirus.”)
- Officials: U.S. seizes Iranian gas heading for Venezuela
- Belarus pledges to release all protesters as evidence of beatings mounts (“EU set to discuss possible sanctions against Minsk as Russia says protests a ‘clear attempt at outside interference’”)
- Trump’s Racist, Statist Suburban Dream(“Racial inequality wasn’t an accident. It was an ugly political choice.”)
- Health advisers to the government say hospitals are ‘scrambling’ after Trump administration’s ‘abrupt’ change to Covid-19 data reporting requirements
- Coronavirus Live Updates: States Face Billions in Shortfalls, Economists Say (“With tax revenues plummeting, states could face a cumulative budget gap of at least $555 billion through the 2022 fiscal year, according to one estimate.”)
- Stimulus Talks Are Stuck in $1 Trillion Ditch Over Aid to States
- In a Move That Could be Catastrophic for the Climate, Trump’s EPA Rolls Back Methane Regulations (This is absolutely insane and will need to be reversed ASAP if/when Biden becomes president.)
- Inside Clean Energy: Biden’s Climate Plan Shows Net Zero is Now Mainstream (“Renewable energy costs have gone down so much that opponents can no longer seize upon pocketbook arguments.”)
- The recession is over for the rich, but the working class is far from recovered (“The stock market and home values are back at record levels, while jobs remain scarce for those earning less than $20 an hour”)
- McConnell adjourns Senate for summer break after millions lose COVID benefits
- McConnell sends Senate home for a month without giving Americans virus relief
- Poll: Biden Expands Lead, A Third Of Country Says It Won’t Get Vaccinated (“Democrat Joe Biden’s lead has expanded to double-digits against President Trump in the presidential election, an NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll finds. Biden now leads Trump 53% to 42%, up from an 8-point advantage at the end of June.”)
- Michael Cohen book claims Trump colluded with Russia and will ‘never leave office peacefully’
- First Thing: blocked mail and birtherism – Trump’s plan to win in 2020
- Kamala Harris, the Prosecutor Trump Fears Most
- The Memo: Trump attacks on Harris risk backfiring
- Trump opposes election aid for states and Postal Service bailout, threatening Nov. 3 vote
- Trump confesses to voter suppression (“First, every Democrat, especially in rural areas or those with a significant percentage of veterans and elderly voters, should force Republicans to explain why they are complicit in destroying the Postal Service. Second, Democrats need to make an all-out push not just for early, in-person voting but also early return of absentee ballots. In addition, most states have an option to drop off absentee ballots at an election location. If seniors or others need help doing this, volunteers must be organized to drive them to drop-off locations. Third, states and localities need to be pressured to create ballot drop boxes in multiple locations, near shopping areas and other accessible places.”)
- Fact check: Trump promotes another birther lie, this time about Kamala Harris
- Kamala Harris is the vice-presidential pick Trump and the GOP most fears
- Trump pushes anti-immigrant message even as coronavirus dominates campaign
- Biden and Harris are the perfect rebuke to ‘Make America Great Again’
- Black Like Kamala (“Republican efforts to deny Senator Harris’s identity as an African-American and turn her into a noncitizen are destined to fail.”)
- Trump gives credence to false, racist Harris theory
- Trump Encourages Racist Conspiracy Theory About Kamala Harris (“President Trump said he heard that Ms. Harris, the presumptive Democratic vice-presidential nominee born in California, was not eligible for the ticket, repeating a theory that is rampant among his followers. Constitutional scholars quickly called his words false and irresponsible.”)
- How Biden Chose Harris: A Search That Forged New Stars, Friends and Rivalries (“Joe Biden winnowed a large list of candidates to four finalists before settling on Kamala Harris, in a process shaped by questions of loyalty. He is eyeing other contenders for top administration jobs.”)
- Biden campaign says it has raised more than $34 million since Harris joined the ticket
- With early momentum, Harris to focus on connecting with minorities, activists, women in swing states
- Biden says all U.S. governors should mandate masks to slow pandemic (Yep, no brainer.)
- Trump assails, misrepresents Biden on mask mandate in partisan White House briefing
- The media must decode Trump’s racism and sexism (“The media should say the quiet part out loud.”)
- Mike Bloomberg to speak at DNC as Democrats wonder whether he will spend big for Biden
- How Trump Is Trying to Ensure an Early Election Night Lead (Make sure you get your ballot in as early as possible, preferably at a drop box or in person at the registrar!)
- Sen. Elizabeth Warren demands ‘corruption’ probe after report of Amazon options purchase by Postal Service chief Louis DeJoy
- Trump’s campaign to discredit the election is deeply dishonest and dangerous
- The Post Office Is Deactivating Mail Sorting Machines Ahead of the Election (“The United States Postal Service is removing mail sorting machines from facilities around the country without any official explanation or reason given, Motherboard has learned through interviews with postal workers and union officials. In many cases, these are the same machines that would be tasked with sorting ballots, calling into question promises made by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy that the USPS has ‘ample capacity’ to handle the predicted surge in mail-in ballots.”)
- President Trump requests mail-in ballot for upcoming Florida primary, despite rhetoric
- Judge orders Trump campaign to produce evidence of voter fraud in Pennsylvania
- Exclusive: After Quitting Last Year, Senior U.S. Intelligence Official Now Talks
- Why We’re Planning For An Election Day That Could Last Months
- QAnon Booms on Facebook as Conspiracy Group Gains Mainstream Traction (Facebook is a disaster.)
- Besieged on all sides, Ron Johnson says his probe ‘would certainly’ help Trump win reelection (Ron Johnson appears to be a Russian dupe.)
- Trump’s new coronavirus “adviser” is a right-wing media talking head who is consistently wrong (“Here’s some of Scott Atlas’ false claims, bad predictions, and praise for Trump’s disastrous response that preceded his new role at the White House”)
- Kamala Harris and Marjorie Taylor Greene embody the divergent roads confronting America
- GOP-backed House candidate Marjorie Taylor Greene: The Obama administration used MS-13 to assassinate Seth Rich (“Greene’s smear echoes a QAnon conspiracy theory post — Republican House candidate and right-wing commentator Marjorie Taylor Greene, who is a QAnon supporter and a 9/11 conspiracy theorist…”)
- Major US airlines to lay off thousands of workers as Covid-19 support expires (“Employment in the industry has already fallen from around 512,000 workers in March to about 380,000 in June”)
- Ed Markey Is Closing the Massachusetts Senate Race Like F*cking Secretariat (Go Markey!)
- Rachel Bitecofer’s Question to Republicans: “Is holding onto power really worth ending democracy?” (“People will die. Perhaps a great many. Perhaps you.”)
- Sen. Mark Warner Introduces Bill to Expand Affordable Health Care Coverage
- Sen. Mark Warner stops by SNP to celebrate Great American Outdoors act
- Trump’s order on unemployment compensation would cost Va. $45 million per week (Yeah, so much for that.)
- Warner talks racial inequalities with local leaders at in-person meeting
- Rep. Abigail Spanberger Has Proven Record of Working On the Issues That Matter Most to Central Virginians
- Rep. Spanberger visits Louisa County, announces bill to support farmers
- Editorial: Should Virginia limit the governor’s emergency powers? (“The real problem here is that most emergency declarations deal with short-term emergencies — floods, blizzards, earthquakes, maybe the occasional riot. Here we have something — a virus — that might be around for years. How should government be structured to deal with that?”)
- Metro Boosting Rail Service, Increasing Hours On Sunday With Bus Improvements Next Week
- Virginia on track to meet Bay cleanup goals, report finds, but budget cuts could hamper progress
- Virginia House Democrats roll out plans for budget, criminal justice overhaul (“The General Assembly returns Tuesday for a special session.” Which could last weeks.)
- House Democrats promise bills mandating paid sick leave, transparency in nursing homes
- Governor Northam Announces Launch of Pediatric Coronavirus Serology Study
- Thursday (8/13) Virginia Data on COVID-19 Finds +1,101 Confirmed/Probable Cases (to 103,622), +60 Hospitalizations (to 8,592), +11 Deaths (to 2,363) From Yesterday
- Del. Jay Jones Announces 21 Additional Attorney General Campaign Endorsements
- Audio: Amanda Chase Doubles Down, Claims “There is an all-out attack on folks that are white”; Asks “Why is it we can talk about Black history and people don’t flinch?”
- Del. Jennifer Carroll Foy: On Black Women’s Equal Pay Day, Let’s Recommit to Lifting Up Black Women
- Failure of oversight: How dozens of officers kept their police certification despite convictions
- Spotsylvania supervisors won’t restrict guns on county government property
- Caroline supervisors reject referendum on removing Confederate memorial
- Hampton gearing up for early voting, will use historic circuit court building as a satellite site
- Virginia Tech committee backs renaming dorms for Black life campus pioneers
- Roanoke County schools remain on track for hybrid reopen
- After Flooding Saturday Night, More Rain Last Night, Staunton’s Republican Mayor Says to Consider Buying Flood Insurance
- Henrico School Board extends Superintendent Amy Cashwell’s contract to 2024
- Downpour potential remains through Sunday, with some flooding possible
