by Lowell
Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Wednesday, August 5.
- Global coronavirus deaths exceed 700,000, one person dies every 15 seconds on average
- BP built its business on oil and gas. Now climate change is taking it apart. (Plus the plummeting cost of clean energy.)
- Big Oil Knew Climate Change Could Be ‘Catastrophic.’ Study Shows Heat Could Become Deadlier Than Infectious Diseases
- BP Pledges to Cut Oil and Gas Production 40 Percent by 2030, but Some Questions Remain (“The London-based oil giant’s plan is the most detailed of the climate change-related actions leading oil companies have offered up over the last year.”)
- Investors launch climate plan to get to net zero emissions by 2050
- Massive Beirut blast kills more than 70, injures thousands
- Search for Beirut Blast Survivors Intensifies as Toll Mounts
- Crisis upon crisis: blast rocks a Lebanon already on its knees (“Deadly explosion at Beirut’s port comes amid coronavirus pandemic and economic meltdown”)
- ‘We’re cursed’: shock and despair in Beirut as explosion devastates city
- At least 100 dead as Beirut scrambles to treat the wounded (“Ammonium nitrate stored in a warehouse is linked to the catastrophic blast that injured thousands”)
- US defense officials contradict Trump: No indication yet of attack in Beirut
- Saudi Arabia, With China’s Help, Expands Its Nuclear Program
- The Coronavirus Is Never Going Away (“No matter what happens now, the virus will continue to circulate around the world.”)
- How TikTok went from lip-sync videos to geopolitics (“Analysis: The app has become the international poster child for a rivalry between China and the U.S. that is increasingly playing out through technology.”)
- German ambassador pick disparaged immigrants and refugees, called for martial law at US-Mexico border (“Trump’s nominee to become the US ambassador to Germany has a history of making xenophobic and racist comments about immigrants and refugees in both Germany and the US.” Digusting as always.)
- With bad coronavirus news at home, Trump points misleadingly to rising cases abroad
- US coronavirus mortality rate not lowest in world, despite Trump claim: FACT CHECK
- Chasm grows between Trump and government coronavirus experts
- No Relief Bill, No Vacation
- Pelosi on the coronavirus stimulus price tag she’s willing to settle for: ‘$3.4 trillion’
- White House, Democrats agree to try for coronavirus relief deal on evictions, unemployment by week’s end
- McConnell says he will likely rely on Democratic votes for coronavirus aid package
- Endangered Republicans to McConnell: Don’t leave town
- Democrats report coronavirus relief progress as McConnell says he is prepared to support a deal
- Democrats seek to exploit Trump-GOP tensions in COVID-19 talks
- “They are dying. That’s true. It is what it is.” Trump’s Axios interview was a disaster. (“Jonathan Swan just put on a clinic on how to interview Trump.”)
- Trump’s interview debacle sends a warning for the fall campaign (“Trump came across as ill-prepared, narcissistic and far from in control of the coronavirus pandemic. It was a far cry from the image of courageous leadership and energetic, unstinting commitment on behalf of Americans that his aides spend every day trying to sketch. It is hard to remember an interview in which a sitting President was more unsparingly exposed or seemed so unequal to the magnitude of a crisis that is threatening the American people and is nowhere near ending.”)
- Mainstream media: Stop admiring good interviews and reform your approach
- How to interview a serial liar and narcissist who is unfit to be president
- The 9 Wildest Answers in Trump’s Interview With Jonathan Swan
- Fox News largely ignores Trump’s disastrous Axios interview (“The president declared of a thousand Americans dying per day: ‘It is what it is'”)
- Right-wing media struggle to handle Trump’s train wreck Axios interview
- Trump’s Attempt to Obscure the Reality of the Pandemic Is Getting Comical
- Trump’s biggest problem may be closer to home (“The president, once he leaves office, has no protection from New York prosecution.”)
- The Federal Clampdown On Portland Shows Just How Fragile Our Democracy Is
- It’s time to short circuit Trump’s attack on voting by mail (“Every reporter and every Republican must do their part.”)
- Trump encourages mail voting in Florida, but sues in Nevada (WTF???)
- Trump now says voting by mail is OK — if it’s in Florida
- Biden’s VP should be prepared for an onslaught of online misogyny unlike anything seen before
- Exclusive: Kamala Harris leads Elizabeth Warren and Susan Rice in new VP poll
- Biden campaign makes $280 million in ad reservations for fall stretch
- ‘She is absolutely our No. 1 draft pick’: GOP pines for Rice as Biden VP (“Trump supporters say the former U.N. ambassador would supercharge the president’s base.” Doubtful.)
- Cuccinelli vows federal agents ‘will not back away’ from violent protests
- Will Bill Barr Try to Help Trump Win the Election? (“Two investigations appear to be potential fodder for pre-election political machinations.”)
- Sheep, ag and sun: Agrivoltaics propel significant reductions in solar maintenance costs
- Missouri voters latest to approve Medicaid expansion
- Karen Bass eulogized Communist Party USA leader
- Republicans Aid Kanye West’s Bid to Get on the 2020 Ballot
- A Well-Connected GOP Strategist Is Helping Kanye West Get on the Ballot in Wisconsin
- Public Servants Are Risking Everything to Expose Government Corruption. Donald Trump Is Making Their Lives Hell. (“The president’s war on whistleblowers is worse than you realize.”)
- U.S. Representative Maloney declares victory in New York Democratic primary
- Progressive challenger Cori Bush beats Rep. Lacy Clay in primary
- Republicans dodge Kansas nightmare as Marshall defeats Kobach
- Marshall Defeats Trump Ally Kobach in Kansas GOP Senate Primary (“Establishment Republicans, but not President Donald Trump, had rallied around Marshall in recent weeks.”)
- Facebook allowed a pro-Trump PAC to run hundreds of ads with false information about Joe Biden (Facebook is a disaster.)
- Pro Baseball Is Courting Disaster
- Sen. Mark Warner’s Job-Creating Bill Signed Into Law
- Virginia Joins Bipartisan, Interstate Compact to Expand Rapid Antigen Testing
- Northam joins 5 other governors in interstate pact to buy rapid coronavirus tests for Virginia
- There’s no national testing strategy for coronavirus. These states banded together to make one.
- Virginia Superintendent of Public Instruction Waives Accreditation for the 2021-2022 School Year
- AG Mark Herring Urges Federal Government to Increase Access and Affordability For Remdesivir
- Tuesday (8/4) Virginia Data on COVID-19 Finds +1,145 Confirmed/Probable Cases (to 94,251), +67 Hospitalizations (to 8,085), +26 Deaths (to 2,244) From Yesterday
- Supreme Court of Virginia is silent on Northam’s request to renew eviction moratorium (“In the absence of judicial intervention, advocates continue to push Northam to use his executive authority to halt eviction proceedings, noting that Black residents face a disproportionate share of eviction filings even after accounting for income and other factors.”)
- Who Will Serve As Citizen Members on the Virginia Redistricting Commission? Ed Gillespie? How About Donald Trump?
- Virginia Conservation Network Releases 2020 Special Session Common Agenda; Calls for Dismantling Environmental Injustice, Systemic Racism
- Editorial: Tackle housing disparity to address racial inequality
- Virginia Lawmakers Have Tax Policy Options to Meet the Moment and Lay Groundwork for Stronger Recovery
- CAIR Joins Call for Resignation of Virginia Mayor Over Racist, Sexist “Aunt Jemima” as Biden VP Pick Post
- ‘Hell, no. I’m not resigning,’ says Virginia mayor after racist post regarding Biden
- U-Va., in shift, will open online for undergraduates and start in-person classes after Labor Day
- Here Are the Virginia Cities and Counties Most Damaged by Isaias
- Roanoke College to investigate concerns about sexual misconduct response
- Mountain Valley, DEQ reach agreement on environmental fines (“The latest problems with muddy runoff streaming from construction sites along the Mountain Valley Pipeline’s route through Southwest Virginia have been resolved, with the company paying $58,000 in fines.” That’s nothing.)
- Equitrans plans capacity expansion on Mountain Valley Pipeline
- Nearly 100 VCU faculty members call for virtual fall semester as UVA, other Va. colleges delay in-person classes
- 1,102 people were denied purchase of gun during first month of Va.’s new one-handgun-per-month law
- Tens of thousands still without power in Hampton Roads after Tropical Storm Isaias rips through region
- Kroger Mid-Atlantic to move division office to Richmond area
- Williams: Social justice and bullying don’t mix. Demonstrators should stop the house calls.
- COVID-19 cases decline in Roanoke, but deaths increase, including 33-year-old
- Radford bans gatherings of more than 50 as college students return
- Editorial: Keep the Confederate names off Hanover schools
- Kings Dominion not reopening this year – first time in 45 years theme park has closed for an entire season
- D.C.-area forecast: Starting a stretch of less-extreme summer weather
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