Saturday News: “Earth barreling toward ‘Hothouse’ state”; “The future has arrived. These explosive fires are our climate change wakeup call”; “Biden makes plans to combat pandemic if he wins”; “Prosecutor Quits Trump’s Law Enforcement Commission, Saying The Fix Is In”

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Saturday, September 12.

• Earth barreling toward ‘Hothouse’ state not seen in 50 million years, epic new climate record shows
• The strongest evidence yet of Trump’s (ongoing) collusion with Russia
• Remember Brexit? (“The drama continues to unfold.”)
• Afghanistan and Taliban Begin First-Ever Direct Peace Talks
• How China Brought Nearly 200 Million Students Back to School (“China says the reopening of classrooms proves that its top-down system is superior. To overwhelmed teachers and students stuck on campuses, its restrictions can feel like overkill.”)
• Canada Reports Zero Covid Deaths for First Time in Six Months
• Mike Pompeo Plans to Push His Anti-LGBTQ Commission at the UN
• Israel and the Kingdom of Bahrain to establish ‘full diplomatic relations,’ Trump says
• China has quietly vaccinated more than 100,000 people for Covid-19 before completing safety trials (“Public health experts warn that the wide-reaching emergency use program poses risks.”)
• China announces new restrictions on U.S. diplomats’ activities
• Australian Teens Bring Class Action Climate Lawsuit to Stop Coal Mine Expansion (Good!)
• No, a vaccine won’t be ready by Election Day
• ‘Unprecedented’: the US west’s wildfire catastrophe explained (“The climate crisis and fire suppression underlie the disaster. Addressing it means altering society’s relationship to the land”)
• Trump isn’t talking about the wildfires in Oregon, California and Washington
• “Unprecedented”: What’s behind the California, Oregon, and Washington wildfires (“The size, speed, and timing of the wildfires, coupled with the Covid-19 pandemic, have created a unique disaster.”)
• The West Coast Currently Has the World’s Worst Air Quality
• California Can’t Afford to Wait for Climate Action (None of us can!)
• The future has arrived. These explosive fires are our climate change wakeup call
• Most wildfire coverage on American TV news fails to mention link to climate crisis (That’s malpractice and should result in people being fired.)
• In Oregon, a New Climate Menace: Fires Raging Where They Don’t Usually Burn
• Dozens missing as firefighters battle two large Oregon fires
• 911 dispatchers slammed with calls about QAnon-backed false claims about wildfires(WTF?!?)
• In Oregon, a Year of Political Tumult Extends to Devastating Wildfires
• U.S. coronavirus data is ‘disturbing,’ Dr. Fauci says, disputing Trump’s claim that U.S. is ‘rounding the corner’
• Trump officials interfered with CDC reports on Covid-19
• US marks 9/11 anniversary at tributes shadowed by virus
• Trump and Biden avoid each other as they commemorate 9/11
• Top Aide in Review of Russia Inquiry Resigns From Justice Dept.
• Prosecutor Quits Trump’s Law Enforcement Commission, Saying The Fix Is In
• Nora Dannehy, top aide to John Durham’s Trump-Russia investigation, quietly resigns amid concern about pressure from Attorney General William Barr
• At risk of losing their home, health, and internet: 12 million Americans still waiting for unemployment benefits
• Trump’s $300 unemployment funding is already running out, leaving millions in crisis again
• You Have to Wonder If the Republicans Could Even Compete in an Election They Didn’t Ratf*ck
• Trump will be in big trouble when he can’t run off stage at the debates (“The president won’t be able to defend his lies.”)
• The President* Continues His Annual Tradition of Profaning the Legacy of 9/11 (“While his administration* holds up money for the FDNY medical fund”)
• Biden makes plans to combat pandemic if he wins (“The Democratic presidential nominee has created a war cabinet-in-waiting on the coronavirus, with public health experts from the Obama, Clinton and George H.W. Bush administrations devising plans for a coordinated and muscular federal response.”)
• George Conway Breaks Down Trump’s Deep ‘Mental Disorder’
• Trump’s Supreme Court list includes Tom Cotton and Ted Cruz. In 2020, this may backfire. (“Trump has blown Republicans’ political cover by yet again saying the quiet part out loud.”)
• “They Had a Humongous Blowup”: As Election Approaches, Trump Fears Fox News Is Going Rogue (“Despite Fox’s pro-Trump fixtures, the president fumed to Rupert Murdoch about unflattering coverage and polling—and faces moderator Chris Wallace at this month’s debate. ‘He’s no joke,’ says a former West Wing official.”)
• The Challenges Of Holding An Election During A Pandemic
• Conservative Judicial Decisions Keep Boosting GOP Voter Suppression
• Federal Court Reinstates “Pay-to-Vote” Scheme for Formerly Incarcerated People in Florida (“The ruling also serves as firsthand evidence to the impact of President Donald Trump’s aggressive effort to fill the federal courts with right-wing picks. Five of the 10 circuit court judges on the case were Trump appointees, and all five voted to overturn the lower court and block the would-be voters.”)
• Roger Stone calls for Trump to seize total power if he loses the election (“Stone also said federal authorities should seize all Nevada ballots, federal agents and GOP state officials should ‘physically’ block voting, that Trump should nationalize police forces, and that Trump should order widespread arrests”)
• There is no vaccine for our deeper national sickness
• Ex-Felons in Florida Must Pay Fines Before Voting, Appeals Court Rules (“In a reversal, a court said Floridians who had completed sentences for felonies must pay fines and fees before voting. The State Constitution was amended in 2018 to restore their rights.” That’s an absolutely appalling ruling.)
• Solar Power = 60% of New US Power Capacity in June (“100% of New Power Capacity in USA Came from Renewables in June”)
• Trump campaign bets big on digital ads to counter Biden
• Trump: Vote for Biden and You’ll Have to Sell Your House, Leave Town, and Assume a New Identity (“No town, city, or suburb will be safe.” 100% unhinged.)
• “I’ll Never Question 1938 in Germany Again”: An Ex-Republican Strategist Surveys the Wreckage of Trump’s GOP (“Republicans ‘all know that Trump is an idiot,’ says Stuart Stevens, but ‘they convinced themselves that he was a necessity.’ Now they’re facing the consequences, as Stevens—and others—jumps ship.”)
• Prosecutors say Derek Chauvin used neck restraint in other cases
• New Yahoo News/YouGov poll: Trump falls 10 points behind Biden amid reports he misled Americans about COVID-19 and disparaged U.S. soldiers
• Five myths about antifa (“[“[A]ntifa is not an organization. Rather, it is a politics of revolutionary opposition to the far right…The vast majority of antifa militants are radical anti-capitalists who oppose the Democratic Party.”)
• Democratic insiders set up a ‘war room’ to quickly kill the filibuster
• “He Had a Twisted Umbilical Cord to Trump”: Michael Cohen’s Daughter Reflects On His Time With the President, and Becoming Trumpworld “Collateral Damage”
• Peter Thiel Met With The Racist Fringe As He Went All In On Trump
• Pence hits campaign trail with anti-abortion extremist to try to rally the base
• Masks work. Fox keeps hosting Alex Berenson to claim they don’t.
• Is South Dakota’s Kristi Noem, a Trump superfan, the nation’s worst COVID governor? (“This governor of a remote, rural state is a rising GOP star — but she may have mismanaged the crisis worst of all”)
• Collins won’t say in debate who she’ll vote for in November
• Challenger to QAnon supporter bows out of race in Georgia
• ‘New York Times’ writer Paul Krugman’s bad 9/11 tweets have united the country—against him (“The economist and op-ed columnist shared his interpretation of what happened in America after 9/11. A lot of people aggressively disagreed.”)
• After Social Media Post Raises Questions, GOP State Senator Defends QAnon Conspiracy Theory
• Susan Collins is once again mildly disappointed by Trump’s outrageous lies
• Nunes lawsuit broadens conspiracy allegations following judge’s order (Nunes is bull-sh** crazy!)
• Senators Warner, Kaine “Horrified by the Administration’s Actions” re: Farmville ICE Facility; VA State Sen. Boysko Has a Bill She Argues “will hold this facility accountable”
• Rep. Abigail Spanberger Leads Condemnation Of Executive Order That Would Gut Social Security Cashflow
• In a historically GOP stronghold, Democrat Abigail Spanberger looks to hang on
• Some Federal Workers And Lawmakers Are Pushing Back On Trump’s Forced Payroll Tax Deferral
• Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Virginia Democratic Elected Officials, Candidates Remember the 19th Anniversary of the 9/11/01 Attacks
• ICE flew detainees to Virginia so the planes could transport agents to D.C. protests. A huge coronavirus outbreak followed. (“One current and one former official said the transfers were arranged to skirt rules about who can travel on ‘ICE Air’ flights. That’s appalling.)
• Friday (9/11) Virginia Data on COVID-19 Finds +1,115 Confirmed/Probable Cases (to 131,640), +70 Hospitalizations (to 10,155), +3 Deaths (to 2,711) From Yesterday
• Fairfax to kick off gubernatorial campaign with weekend speeches (“Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, the second African American elected to statewide office in Virginia, and who last year faced two allegations of sexual assault, is formally launching his campaign for governor this weekend.”)
• Schapiro: A delusional march to redemption (“After his victory three years ago, it was expected Fairfax would seek the top job. It wasn’t expected Fairfax would do so under lethal circumstances: allegations by two women he sexually attacked them — one at Duke University in 2000, where he was an undergraduate; the other in a hotel room during the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston.”)
• Virginia Supreme Court Rejects Petition Challenging Ballot Language of Redistricting Amendment; Now, We’ll Just Have to Defeat It at the Polls
• Virginia Supreme Court dismisses challenge to wording of redistricting amendment
• After Windows Smashed at Its HQ, VA GOP Falsely Claims “violent wave of crime…has infect Richmond for months”; Rants About “THUGS” and “Your family will be in constant danger”
• Justin Fairfax Will Formally Announce Gubernatorial Run
• John F. Preis column: Qualified immunity and government accountability
• PTA in Northern Virginia clashes with education secretary on admissions changes (“Parents at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology are fighting efforts from Virginia Secretary of Education Atif Qarni, who organized a task force to evaluate diversity issues at TJ and 18 other magnet schools in Virginia designated as ‘Governor’s Schools.'”)
• An unfair push for racial equality at Thomas Jefferson (There definitely have to be changes to “TJ” admissions, the only question really is the exact details.)
• Portsmouth NAACP members rejected in bid to file criminal charges against 2 council members (“Bill Moody and Elizabeth Psimas are accused of violating the city charter by telling the police chief to charge people in the Confederate monument case.”)
• Virginia is For Second Chances: Landmark Expungement Reform Moves Forward
• A bill that would have ended police immunity failed this week, but Virginia Beach leaders are still fighting it
• Fairfax County School Board Members Rip WaPo For “disappointing article…based on an unverified email”
• Charlottesville City Manager Richardson resigns after 16-month tenure, Blair appointed interim
• King William County Commissioner of the Revenue refuses to cooperate with audit, emails show
• Virginia ABC is reporting record profits, but Richmond restaurant owners are still paying full fees – even when based on seating capacity
• Computer hackers attack Fairfax County school system (“The school district says ransomware was placed on its computer systems.”)
• UVA board of visitors endorses changes to promote racial equity in the university community
• D.C.-area forecast: More pleasant than not in the days to come