Friday News: “‘Unprecedented’ ice loss as Greenland breaks record”; “Joe Biden, America’s Un-Trump”; “With the Speech of His Life, Joe Biden Becomes the Man for This Moment”; “In moving speech, boy says Biden helped him overcome stutter”; “Trumpism Is a Racket, and Steve Bannon Knew It”

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news stories, political and otherwise, for Friday, August 21.

• A Russian dissident is fighting for his life. Where is the U.S.?
• Global Economies Show Signs of Stuttering Recovery From Lockdowns
• What Navalny’s Poisoning Really Says About the Current State of Putin’s Russia (Nothing good.)
• Alexei Navalny’s doctors refuse to let Putin critic leave Russian hospital, say he is too unwell to be moved
• Climate change: ‘Unprecedented’ ice loss as Greenland breaks record
• EU’s Chief Negotiator Says Brexit Deal Looks ‘Unlikely’ at This Stage
• The Solar Singularity: 2020 Update (Part 1)
• Yes, climate change is almost certainly fueling California’s massive fires (“Thousands of lightning strikes have sparked hundreds of fires across California, forcing thousands to evacuate.”)
• Stocks Are Soaring. So Is Misery.
• USPS email tells managers not to reconnect sorting machines
• Trump’s Desperate Attempt to Hide His Tax Returns Is Failing
• “Hannity Has Said to Me More Than Once, ‘He’s Crazy'”: Fox News Staffers Feel Trapped in the Trump Cult
• Joe Biden, America’s Un-Trump
• In His Acceptance Speech, Joe Biden Answered the Obamas’ Call
• Joe Biden accepts Democratic presidential nomination, with a call for optimism at a time of fear
• Joe Biden Hits His Stride
• Joe Biden takes on Trump-era traumas in career-defining speech
• Facing big moment, Biden forcefully delivers thematic, pointed acceptance speech
• Joe Biden’s speech wins praise from left and right – but not from Trump (“Obama campaign veterans, Hillary Clinton, and Fox News personalities hail former vice-president’s convention appearance”)
• Joe Biden Vows to Return Hope to America After ‘Darkness’ of Trump
• 4 takeaways from the final night of the Democratic National Convention
• In moving speech, boy says Biden helped him overcome stutter
• Brayden Harrington: Joe Biden and the boy with the stutter
• Andrew Yang said the smartest thing about Biden at the DNC (“The magic of Joe Biden is that everything he does becomes the new reasonable.”)
• Ordinary Americans stole the show at this year’s Democratic convention
• Fox News thinks Joe Biden’s DNC speech was “a home run” (“Trump won’t be happy with Fox News’s rave reviews of Biden’s speech.”)
• Stuttering Through It (“How a 13-year-old boy delivered the best speech of the Democratic National Convention.”)
• Joe Biden Wants You to Know He’s Not Fucking Around(“The stakes were already high—pandemic, recession, and a reckoning over race. The Democratic nominee somehow ratcheted them to the very top.”)
• Ex-rivals rally around Biden at mostly successful virtual convention: key takeaways from DNC finale (“Biden lays out how he will lead the nation through multiple crises in uplifting speech – and a boy captures viewers’ hearts”)
• Biden gives the acceptance speech he’s been waiting decades to deliver
• Biden completes a comeback for the ages with career-defining speech
• Joe Biden’s Most Unifying Message: Human Decency (“In a divided country, Democrats think the former vice president’s character is his strongest selling point.”)
• Five takeaways from the Democratic National Convention(“Biden delivered…The Obamas also starred, and scorched Trump…‘Vote, vote, vote’”)
• The nine biggest Democratic National Convention moments that got everyone talking
• Biden’s Pitch to Voters: What America Needs Now Is Empathy (“The contrast to President Trump’s bullying couldn’t be clearer.”)
• A Kid With a Stutter Just Delivered the Most Powerful Two Minutes of the Democratic National Convention
• Biden Promises ‘Light’ After Trump’s ‘Darkness’: 7 Takeaways From The DNC (“Biden may have delivered the best speech of his career…A unified Democratic Party was on display… Kamala Harris is the heir apparent”)
• ‘Members of the same club’: Teen who overcame stutter with Biden’s help honors him at DNC
• Joe Biden Finally Got the Timing Right (“More than three decades after his first presidential run, in the midst of a deadly pandemic and without his son Beau at his side, the former vice president has met his moment.”)
• Biden just made it a lot harder for Republicans to tag him ‘Slow Joe’ (“The Democratic nominee answered his doubters by delivering the biggest speech of his life without a hitch.”)
• Democratic Convention: Best and Worst Moments From Joe Biden’s Big Night
• Joe Biden seizes the spotlight with a simple argument: Vote for me, I’m not a sociopath (“Joe Biden ends the convention with the speech of his life — and a vision of life on the other side of this hell”)
• 10 takeaways from the Democrats’ show (“First, this is a party powered by and devoted to the concerns of women…Second, the convention program has been a tour de force technically, with nary a glitch and with Hollywood-quality videos…Third, former president Barack Obama took on the task the nominee for vice president usually assumes — obliterating the opposition’s presidential nominee.”)
• Why Biden’s nomination is actually a bold choice
• Democrats can believe again: Biden delivers (“The Democratic Party has come a long way.”)
• It took longer than he hoped, but Joe Biden has found his time
• The DNC’s Finest Voices Chose Hope Over Fear (“At its best, the convention’s unfettered voices—Barack Obama; Michelle Obama; the calamari guy—have lifted a party steeped in despair.”)
• With the Speech of His Life, Joe Biden Becomes the Man for This Moment
• What Happens if Donald Trump Fights the Election Results?
• As Democrats Urge Fair Elections, Trump Threatens to Send Law Enforcement to the Polls (What. The. F***???)
• The GOP is a refuge for bigots and wackos (“Trump’s nuttiness is now party dogma.”)
• The downfall of Steve Bannon
• The Republican Party has become a smash-and-grab operation
• Steve Bannon’s Art of the Grift (“The big idea to build a wall on the southern border looks like a big con.”)
• Trumpism Is a Racket, and Steve Bannon Knew It (“In the MAGA movement, you’re either a predator or a mark.”)
• These right-wing outlets and personalities promoted Steve Bannon and Brian Kolfage’s allegedly fraudulent We Build the Wall (“Since We Build the Wall’s inception, numerous other right-wing outlets and commentators — including several with ties to the president — have touted the operation to their followers. Here’s a list…Corey Lewandowski…Charlie Kirk…Candace Owens…Ann Coulter…Jim Hoft…Michelle Malkin…Larry Elder…David Webb…Stacy Washington…Ed Martin…Kaya Jones…Ryan Fournier…Jenny Beth Martin…Kevin McCullough…Mike Huckabee…
• Steve Bannon Got Busted By the Postal Service Police. Well Played, Irony. (“Another lesson from all this is that the genius dealmaker in the White House is the biggest sucker in two shoes”)
• Trump’s ex-adviser Steve Bannon got his start in politics at Virginia Tech
• Susan B. Anthony Museum Rejects President Trump’s Pardon Of The Suffragist
• Rep. Elaine Luria’s Campaign Announces Debate/Forum Schedule for VA02 Congressional Race
• Freitas Truths: He Focuses More on Running for Office Than on Representing the People of the 30th District in Richmond
• Virginia seeks stopgap federal unemployment aid, but it could run out in 4-5 weeks
• Ex-Virginia Gov. McAuliffe positions himself for another run at old job
• Former Gov. Terry McAuliffe files paperwork to raise funds for gubernatorial run
• Former Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe files paperwork to form campaign committee, but has not yet decided to seek a comeback, aide says (“‘Paperwork change’ would make it easier to run, but McAuliffe expected to wait until November to make up his mind.”)
• Editorial: Why does Amanda Chase think those she disagrees with ‘are not Americans’?
• Virginia must fight Trump’s corrupt motives for restricting mail ballots
• Virginia has $1.1B in unused reserve funds. Some say the rainy day is here.
• AG Mark Herring on USPS Lawsuit: Trump Administration Saying “OK, You Caught Us, We’ll Stop Is a Start, But We’re Not Going To Take Their Word For It”
• Thursday (8/20) Virginia Data on COVID-19 Finds +863 Confirmed/Probable Cases (to 109,882), +73 Hospitalizations (to 8,998), +17 Deaths (to 2,427) From Yesterday
• Northam wants more consistent training for police — and better ways to root out bad officers
• Senate Dem Caucus Chair Mamie Locke Statement on the First Week of the Special Session
• Delegate Alfonso Lopez Introduces Legislation to End Unconstitutional Policing in Virginia
• After moving batch of bills, Senate adjourns to await resumption of work by House of Delegates
• Inspector general faults lack of diversity in conservation police agencies
• Video: At Wednesday Evening Press Conference, Speakers Decry Felony Charges Against Sen. Louise Lucas; Portsmouth City Manager Cites Police Chief’s “Conflict of Interest”
• Editorial: Louise Lucas arrest demands an explanation
• Portsmouth officer who charged state Sen. Louise Lucas and protesters sent message condemning them before investigation started
• Stafford supervisors approve satellite voting station, set stage for Downtown Stafford project
• As other universities pull the plug on in-person classes, UVa tries to reassure community
• Loudoun Board Finds Partisan Split on Police Reform
• Hampton police release crime stats as the number of homicides has already surpassed 2019′s total
• 7 Virginia Tech students suspended after off-campus gatherings
• D.C.-area forecast: Not bad today, but heat and humidity build through the weekend