Sunday News: “U.S. Covid-19 death toll surpasses 200,000”; “Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Death Clinches It: We’re Living in a Dystopia”; “Trump weighs Barrett, Lagoa for Court seat”; “I will never speak to you again”; “60% in Virginia may vote before Election Day”

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Sunday, September 20.

I’m Joe Biden and I approve this message. pic.twitter.com/TuRZXPE5xK

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) September 20, 2020

• The tipping points at the heart of the climate crisis
• How the oil industry made us doubt climate change
• U.K. at ‘Tipping Point’; India Surge Unabated: Virus Update
• U.S. Says UN Sanctions on Iran Back as Allies, Rivals Object
• The Pandemic, From the Virus’s Point of View (“The career of the coronavirus so far is, in Darwinian terms, a great success story.”)
• Trump agrees to deal in which TikTok will partner with Oracle and Walmart
• Trump’s TikTok Drama Was Just Another Empty Threat (“The unusual deal was there for the taking all along and doesn’t truly change much.”)
• Majority of Americans report no confidence in Trump to confirm vaccine safety, effectiveness: POLL (“The numbers come via an ABC News/Ipsos poll released Sunday.”)
• U.S. Covid-19 death toll surpasses 200,000
• How California Became Ground Zero for Climate Disasters
• Trump mocks MSNBC anchor Ali Velshi for getting shot with rubber bullet (Disgusting. Thug.)
• The cataclysm of 2020 just added a Supreme Court fight (“Analysis: Most current voters have never been asked to select a president with so much on the line on so many fronts.”)
• Ruth Bader Ginsburg Knew the Dark Elements in American History Never Die
• Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Death Clinches It: We’re Living in a Dystopia
• Trump says he will nominate woman to the Supreme Court next week to replace Ginsburg (“Announcement could come within week; Trump says he prefers Senate vote before election” Totally f’ed up in every way.)
• Ginsburg’s death crystallizes the choice in November as no other issue can
• Trump weighs Barrett, Lagoa for Court seat
• A Ginsburg replacement is ‘worth the White House and Senate’: Why, and how, Republicans will push through Trump’s Supreme Court nominee
• The tortured logic from right-wing media about replacing Ruth Bader Ginsburg
• McConnell Is Inventing Excuses to Grab Ginsburg’s Seat
• From Trump, No Respect for Ruth Bader Ginsburg, or the Rules (“Once a cheater, always a cheater.”)
• Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Legacy (“In the rearview mirror, the victories of a trailblazing feminist. On the road ahead, the threat of an entrenched and powerful minority.”)
• Joe Biden’s Court Vacancy Plan: More Talk of Health Care and the Pandemic
• GOP’s Supreme Court hypocrisy in their own words
• Lindsey Graham, GOP Abandon Past Views to Speed Court Pick
• The Top Contender for RBG’s Seat Has a Fundamentally Cruel Vision of the Law (“Barrett’s view of the law is fundamentally cruel. During her three years on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, Barrett has either written or joined a remarkable number of opinions that harm unpopular and powerless individuals who rely on the judiciary to safeguard their rights. Faced with two plausible readings of a law, fact, or precedent, Barrett always seems to choose the harsher, stingier interpretation.”)
• Rushing to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg, McConnell shows power trumps principle (Yep, we’ve always known that about McConnell.)
• How Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death could affect Senate races – and Trump v Biden (“Susan Collins of Maine is among vulnerable Republican senators as polls indicate voters trust Biden more on justice picks”)
• Trump’s Supreme Court Pick Shrouded In Secrecy
• For Mitch McConnell, Keeping His Senate Majority Matters More Than the Supreme Court
• The possibilities for Trump’s nominee to replace Ginsburg on the Supreme Court (“The stakes are sky-high for Republicans, with a possible 6-to-3 conservative majority on the nation’s top court.”)
• Nine implications of Ginsburg’s death – for 2020 and beyond
• Can Trump and McConnell Push Through a Successor to Ruth Bader Ginsburg?
• ‘Nothing is off the table’: Supreme Court fight could reshape the Senate
• The one thing Democrats can do to stop Trump from replacing Justice Ginsburg
• Trump to His Female Supporters: I Hope Your Husbands OKed You Attending My Rallies
• 4 Reasons to Doubt Mitch McConnell’s Power (“For once, he may be on the wrong side of a power dynamic.”)
• Susan Collins: No Supreme Court vote before Election Day
• Trump Rush to Fill Seat Draws Supreme Court Into Political Mire
• The Trio of Trump Front-Runners for Ginsburg Supreme Court Seat
• A Mark Kelly win in Ariz. Senate race could spoil McConnell’s plans to replace Ginsburg
• Democrats Raised More Than $46 Million Following RBG’s Death
• Democrats shatter ActBlue’s donation records after Ginsburg’s death.
• Donors Flood Democrats With Cash After Ginsburg’s Death
• Senate Democrats warn GOP of plans to retaliate if McConnell advances Trump court pick
• Death of U.S. Supreme Court’s Ginsburg raises stakes in battle for Senate control
• Why it could be a Biden blowout in November
• The left channels its fury toward McConnell
• Ricin Is Said to Have Been Sent to White House
• Democrats seek foothold in critical states for redistricting (“The party is hoping to flip state legislative chambers in North Carolina and Texas, two states where Republican-drawn maps have given the GOP huge advantages in congressional elections.”)
• Iowa Poll: Theresa Greenfield narrowly leads Joni Ernst in hyper-competitive Senate race
• The Private Georgia Immigration-Detention Facility at the Center of a Whistle-Blower’s Complaint
• Video, Photos: Vigil for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg at US Supreme Court Friday Night
• Leading Virginia Black Women Encourage Women to Vote Early and Highlight Importance of Voting this Election
• VIDEO – Fairfax County Democratic Committee Chair: “Republicans are straight-up attempting to intimidate voters…circling the parking lots with their Trump flags and horns blaring”
• Trump Supporters Disrupt Early Voting in Virginia (“A group waving Trump flags and chanting ‘four more years’ created a commotion at a polling location in Fairfax, Va. A county official said some voters and staff members felt intimidated.”)
• Video: Cameron Webb Campaign Releases Commercial Highlighting Support from Farmers & Small Businesses
• Gibson: 60% in Virginia may vote before Election Day (“Considering the choices every voter now faces, more than 60 percent of Virginians could cast ballots before November, said Bob Brink, the former Arlington delegate who chairs the State Board of Elections. In Fairfax County, the state’s Goliath voting jurisdiction, officials are expecting as many as one-third of voters to cast an early ballot in person, another one-third by absentee ballot sent in by Nov. 3 and a final third waiting to vote on Election Day at the polls, Brink said.”)
• Virginia’s ballot summary of its redistricting amendment is unfair (Yes, but it’s not changing at this point.)
• Editorial: Criminal justice reform should be rooted in how we act together (“We should have a basket of reforms with adaptable language that bring healing, not rigid bills that claim to bandage every tension without addressing unforeseen circumstances.”)
• 36 Virginians barred from possessing guns since Va.’s new ‘Red Flag’ law began July 1
• State health department confirms first child death due to COVID-19 in Virginia (“The child was described as an ‘adolescent’ and ‘teen’ from the state’s Southside Health District, but no other details were provided.”)
• Editorial: State audit poses serious questions for Southside and Southwest
• Editorial: Don’t let the presidential campaign crowd out important local decisions this fall
• Virginia Department of Forestry asks residents to send in collections of acorns and nuts
• Virginia community colleges will stay online in spring, chancellor says (“Headcount enrollment is down over 14,000 students — roughly 9.7% — from last year.”)
• Radford University students turn out for peaceful protests
• Coronavirus is in Hampton Roads schools — but which ones? Districts won’t say.
• D.C.-area forecast: Staying sunny and cool before a warm-up midweek (“With high pressure firmly entrenched overhead, we’ll see another several days of mostly sunny and dry conditions.”)