Monday News: “US to hit 200K dead; Trump sees no need for regret”; “From Trump, No Respect for Ruth Bader Ginsburg, or the Rules”; “Justice Ginsburg is gone, but democracy must survive”; Facebook’s climate of denial”; “Kirk Cox seemed done. Now he’s building a 2021 campaign.”

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Monday, September 21.

• Coronavirus Deaths Near 1 Million Globally and 200,000 in the U.S. (“The daily count of new U.S. cases is climbing again, fueling worries of a resurgence as universities and schools reopen and colder weather approaches. Around the world, at least 73 countries are seeing surges in newly detected cases. The Taj Mahal has reopened even though more than 90,000 new cases are being detected daily in India. Here’s the latest.”)
• Climate Week: Prince Charles calls for ‘swift’ action on climate change
• U.S. and European Oil Giants Go Different Ways on Climate Change (“While BP and other European companies invest billions in renewable energy, Exxon and Chevron are committed to fossil fuels and betting on moonshots.”)
• Exclusive: Shell launches major cost-cutting drive to prepare for energy transition
• China Mulls Stronger Clean Energy Goals For Next Five Years (“Nation may bring forward goal of 20% from non-fossil fuels; Coal’s share of China’s energy mix could shrink again”)
• Boris Johnson Stumbles Into Yet Another Crisis (“The U.K. prime minister must manage a rise in infections and a shrinking economy at a time when political support is dwindling. “)
• Secret documents show how North Korea launders money through U.S. banks
• Deadly Terror Networks And Drug Cartels Use Huge Banks To Finance Their Crimes. These Secret Documents Show How The Banks Profit.
• Global banks defy U.S. crackdowns by serving oligarchs, criminals and terrorists
• ‘There’s No There There’: What the TikTok Deal Achieved
• Analysis: US to hit 200K dead; Trump sees no need for regret
• Dow futures sink 500 points, adding to the market’s 3-week losing streak
• Updated CDC guidance says Covid-19 can spread through the air (Haven’t we known this forever?)
• Potential Trump Supreme Court pick Barrett known for conservative religious views
• H.R. McMaster on America’s enemies and what he saw in the White House
• The Democrats’ response to RBG’s death should terrify Trump (“All told in the 28 hours after RBG’s death, ActBlue reported receiving $100 million in donations for Democrats.”)
• From Trump, No Respect for Ruth Bader Ginsburg, or the Rules
• As Trump rushes to fill a Court seat, conservative groups fear missteps (“What seemed like a pre-election gift — Republicans replacing a die-hard liberal on the Supreme Court — has led some conservative groups to worry about not going far enough to the right.”)
• Your Handy Guide to Trump Scandals and Corruption
• Mitch McConnell’s dark Supreme Court gamble: He thinks he can win — no matter what happens (“Why Mitch believes he can’t lose: Either he gets another right-wing justice, or he fires up the Republican base”)
• Majority of Americans, including many Republicans, say wait for election to replace Ginsburg – Reuters poll
• Republicans prepare to move quickly on Supreme Court opening
• Fight over Ginsburg succession poses stark question: Can majority rule survive in US? (We’ve had two Republican presidents elected with a minority of the vote since 2000, and we also have a US Senate elected with a minority of the vote, AND we also have a Supreme Court selected by those minority presidents and Supreme Courts. See The Senate’s Rural Skew Makes It Very Hard For Democrats To Win The Supreme Court)
• Biden warns that a quick replacement of Ginsburg would “plunge us deeper into the abyss”
• ‘Constitutional abuse’: Biden challenges Senate Republicans in blistering Supreme Court speech (“Biden said he was targeting Republicans ‘who know deep down what is right for the country and consistent with the Constitution.'”)
• Supreme Court fight adds stunning new twist to a crisis election (“The US is barreling into the ultimate political stress test, a Supreme Court battle and an election, occurring in the middle of an again-worsening pandemic”)
• Why The Price of a New Justice May Be More Than the GOP Can Afford (“A vote before the election puts McConnell’s majority—and Trump’s presidency—at risk. So does a vote after a Biden win. This fight is winnable.”)
• Supreme court: Joe Biden accuses Trump and Republicans of abuse of power
• Pelosi says she will not leverage government shutdown to avoid Senate vote on court seat
• Pelosi won’t rule out new impeachment to delay SCOTUS vote if Biden wins
• Second Republican senator says there should be no supreme court vote before election (“Lisa Murkowski of Alaska joined Susan Collins in opposition to Mitch McConnell but he can afford one more defection”)
• Biden implores key Republicans: ‘Follow your conscience’ on Ginsburg replacement (They don’t have consciences.)
• Juan Williams: Democrats need to bury their divisions
• Census Could Look ‘Manipulated’ If Cut Short By Trump Officials, Bureau Warned
• Biden holds sizable lead over Trump among Latino voters in NBC/WSJ/Telemundo poll
• Biden Has $466 Million in Bank, and a Huge Financial Edge on Trump
• Florida race tightens and Trump has edge over Biden in Texas — Battleground Tracker poll
• The Inside Story of Why Mueller Failed
• Trump and McConnell’s Supreme Court plan justifies anything the Democrats do in 2021 (“Packing the court, ending the filibuster and giving Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico statehood should all be on the table, if all norms are off the table.”)
• Republicans are usually more fired up over the Supreme Court. Now, polls say Democrats are.
• Ted Cruz accidentally shows Democrats the way forward
• AP sources: Woman accused of sending ricin letter arrested
• ‘It’s a big, big swing’: Trump loses ground with white voters (“The president is running well behind his 2016 pace with the demographic that sent him to the White House.”)
• The Legal Fight Awaiting Us After the Election (“The aftermath of November’s vote has the potential to make 2000 look like a mere skirmish.”)
• Amy Coney Barrett’s judicial record should alarm liberals
• Jeff Zucker Helped Create Donald Trump. That Show May Be Ending.
• Conservatives Try to Lock In Power (“They want to maintain control for generations to come.”)
• Nancy Pelosi: ‘If The Election Were Held Today, We Would Win It All’ (Except it’s not being held today…other than early voting in several states, of course.)
• With Six Weeks to the Election, Six Ways to Protect It (“Step 1: Know how and when you’re going to vote.”)
• Espy breaks single-day fundraising record as Democrats appear galvanized by RBG’s death
• Florida Republicans: Nominating Lagoa could clinch state for Trump
• Barbara Lagoa, Cuban American judge, rises on Trump’s Supreme Court list as allies emphasize Florida campaign edge
• Powerful Photos From Tribute to Ruth Bader Ginsburg at the Supreme Court Saturday Night (Superb job by photographer, Virginia progressive activist Alex Sakes)
• Justice Ginsburg is gone, but democracy must survive
• Senate Republicans are showing us why they should lose their majority
• Facebook’s climate of denial (“Climate disinformation ran wild on Facebook as the company announced it was ‘stepping up’ on climate.”)
• The Rival: Rebuilding the Bureaucracy (“If Joe Biden is elected president, he promises to reverse the ‘hollowing out’ of federal agencies and elevate the role of experts and scientists.”)
• Opinion: Congress must deliver bold action on climate change
• With Lowey and Engel departing, Elaine Luria says she’ll be stepping up (“I guess there are not many Jewish girls from Alabama who go to the Naval Academy and then end up in Congress”)
• “Virginia GOP” Is Trending On Twitter…and NOT For Any Good Reasons! LOL
• After losing the speaker’s gavel, Kirk Cox seemed done. Now he’s building a 2021 campaign.
• 3 dozen orders issued under Virginia’s new ‘red flag’ gun law
• Sen. Hanger launches redistricting PAC — and tests waters for GOP run for governor (He’s definitely not a “moderate Republican,” as the article claims, but he’s a relatively normal *conservative* Republican, unlike extremists such as Amanda Chase.)
• Amanda Pohl: “Amendment 1 specifically puts party leadership in control of the process and with MORE power than now.”
• Virginia’s largest insurance company cut reimbursement rates. Some doctors say primary care will suffer.
• New partnership aims to help Northern Virginians get back to work
• As city commits additional $1 million for emergency childcare program, Stoney asks school system to take more responsibility
• Editorial: The questions the JLARC report didn’t ask about Southside and Southwest (“What if nothing works?”)
• Interviews With Falls Church City Council Special Election Candidates
• Newport News battles laptop shortage in second round of virtual learning
• UMW student working to establish polling location on campus
• Juries in Roanoke and beyond still stalled by COVID-19
• Unbelievably nice weather for most of the week (“Temperatures rise midweek as highs approach 80.”)