by Lowell
Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, October 2.
- A second Trump term would be ‘game over’ for the climate, says top scientist
- Shock, sympathy, mockery: World reacts to Trump infection (Why would anyone be “shocked” that someone who has repeatedly held “super-spreader” events, refused to social distance and/or wear masks, would get this disease?)
- McMaster, Mostly Silent Until Now, Says Trump Is ‘Aiding and Abetting Putin’s Efforts’
- Trump Virtually Cuts Off Refugees as He Unleashes a Tirade on Immigrants
- Trump’s refugee ceiling is bad for everyone but bigots
- How Trump’s debt could be a national security threat
- Vote for Biden and get Trump out of your head
- 1,600 former Justice Department lawyers accuse Barr of using DOJ to help Trump in election
- How Trump and Barr are Benefitting from the Catholic Right’s Consolidation of Power
- Slower U.S. job gains anticipated; permanent unemployment in focus
- U.S. Stimulus Talks in Limbo After Vote on Democrat-Only Plan (“House Democrats Pass $2.2 Trillion Stimulus Republicans Reject”)
- How confirming a conservative SCOTUS nominee will reshape American life (All for the worse.)
- Trump May ‘Denounce’ White Supremacists, But He Is Never Angry (“Trump recognizes white supremacists as a species of his ally. They are controversial allies, to be sure, too hot to be brought onstage or embraced openly. But they are on Trump’s side, attacking the people he wishes to attack.”)
- Trump: ‘I condemn all white supremacists’ (Uh huh.)
- If Trump wants us to believe he paid millions in taxes, all he has to do is show us one page
- Trump’s positive Covid-19 test throws country into fresh upheaval
- Trump says he and Melania have the virus he claimed ‘affects virtually nobody’
- Trump Just Delivered the Ultimate October Surprise (“If the polls haven’t yet scared the stock market, this certainly will.”)
- Carl Bernstein Warns That Trump’s COVID-19 Diagnosis Creates National Security Threat
- Donald Trump’s age and weight may cause Covid complications, doctors say (“The US president is 74-years-old and overweight, which are considered risk factors for anyone with Covid-19”)
- ‘This was avoidable’: Trump falls victim to his own false messaging on coronavirus (“In recent weeks, Trump has put himself and others at risk by holding mass gatherings, some indoors, and shunning mask use while claiming the end of the virus was just around the corner.”)
- The Memo: Trump COVID bombshell upends 2020 race
- Where Trump Has Been Over This Past Week Ahead Of Testing Positive For COVID-19
- Trump has the coronavirus — here’s what happens next (“The development, which comes late in the run-up to the Nov. 3 presidential election, has raised the possibility that others at the highest levels of U.S. government could have been exposed to the virus in recent days and may need to quarantine as well.”)
- Trump’s positive Covid test was a surprise that many saw coming (“The president has been cavalier throughout the coronavirus pandemic. Now, a month before the election, this changes everything…’This did not have to happen if they were practising the proper procedures and not going to these rallies and having these chaotic events where, of course, airborne exposure was going to happen, even if it was an outdoor setting. No masking, no distancing, what did they expect was going to happen?'”)
- Now What? (“The president’s reported illness also raises a chain-reaction question: When, exactly, was the president infected? And how many other people in the White House—or across the federal government—might be sick?”)
- Trump, first lady test positive for coronavirus (Amazing it took this long, given how wildly irresponsible he’s been.)
- ‘The virus spares no one:’ Governments around the world wish Trump a speedy recovery, despite objections to his handling of the pandemic
- At His Core, Trump Is an Immoralist (“Will we let this man and his felons drag us to moral chaos?”)
- Trump blames low-income people, minorities for ‘ruining’ suburbia
- ‘INFECTED’: How the media scrambled to cover Trump and the first lady’s positive tests
- Hope Hicks, one of Trump’s closest advisers, tests positive for coronavirus, president to quarantine
- Let’s tell the truth about the pandemic: Donald Trump is guilty of mass murder (“Trump’s lies, failures and denials during a public health crisis meet the legal standard for second-degree murder”)
- As debate commission considers rule changes, Trump signals he’ll reject them
- The Very Strong Case for Bidenomics (“The former vice president’s tax and spending claims are credible; Trump’s aren’t.”)
- As Trump Sows Doubts on Mail, Democrats Push More In-Person Voting
- Here’s the difference between a Democratic squeaker and a blowout (“Republicans are on the cusp of political disaster.”)
- Chris Wallace: Trump ‘bears the primary responsibility for what happened’ at the debate
- Kayleigh McEnany’s first post-debate briefing goes off the rails
- Facing Grim Polls, Trump Leans Into Playing the Victim (That’s what he loves doing, more than anything.)
- Biden breaks the $365 million fund-raising record that he set in August. (“Mr. Biden broke his own record again in September, according to three people familiar with the matter, who said the campaign and its joint operations with the Democratic National Committee had raised more than the August haul but less than $400 million.”)
- Biden is still leading in the polls, and voters say he won his first debate against Trump
- New polls feed GOP fears of Biden rout over Trump
- Democrats Gear Up to Watch Polls as Trump Mobilizes Supporters
- Texas governor’s limit on drop-off sites for mail-in ballots criticized as voter suppression (This is an example of a wimpy media headline that could be a lot stronger AND more accurate. In fact, the issue isn’t that the limit was “criticized AS voter suppression,” the issue is that it objectively IS voter suppression – and very extreme, blatant voter suppression at that. Why can’t the headline just say that?)
- Leaked Recording of Melania Trump: ‘Who Gives a F**k About Christmas Stuff?’ (“In a leaked tape, the First Lady also shares her frustration with critics who wanted her to stop migrant family separation: ‘Give me a f***ing break'”)
- Secretly recorded tapes show Melania Trump’s frustration at criticism for family separation policy and her bashing of Christmas decorations (Just imagine if Michelle Obama had said something like that.)
- Following rocky debate, Biden takes lead over Trump in latest exclusive Channel 2 poll (That’s in Georgia, which Trump won easily in 2016.)
- Biden puts Ohio in play (“The once-perennial bellwether state looked out of reach for Democrats this year. But buoyed by polls and GOP divisions, Biden is making a run at it.”)
- The Secret History of Kimberly Guilfoyle’s Departure from Fox
- Democratic Party leaders are “banging their head against the wall” after private meetings with Facebook on election misinformation (“After months of talks, Democrats say Facebook isn’t ready for the election.”)
- AG Nessel Files Felony Charges Against Jack Burkman, Jacob Wohl in Voter-Suppression Robocalls Investigation
- Conservative hoaxers face charges over false voter robocalls
- Wisconsin Is Frazzled by Surging Virus Cases and Growing Campaign Frenzy
- How Cindy McCain could help Biden clinch Arizona (“‘The Cindy McCain endorsement can have real impact,’ said one prominent Republican in the state.”)
- Trump Is Running Out of Friends In Pennsylvania
- White House Calls Amy Coney Barrett a “Rhodes Scholar” Because She Went to a Place Called Rhodes College (Too stupid for words.)
- The pandemic is forcing Democrats to ask: How important is door-knocking, anyway? (“Political scientists say contacting voters by phone might be just as good as going door to door.”)
- Sen. Mark Warner Calls on Acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf to Release Report on Trump’s Attempts to Undermine Election Being Consistent with Foreign Disinformation Campaign
- Video, Photos: Doug Emhoff Campaigns in Henrico County with VA House Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn, Former Gov. Terry McAuliffe, VA Sen. Jennifer McClellan, etc. [UPDATED]
- Great News: UVA’s “Crystal Ball” Joins Cook Political Report in Moving VA05 From “Lean R” to “Toss-up!” (“Republicans are concerned that Good is going to kick away the seat against Cameron Webb (D).”)
- Another Day, Another Freitas F’up…Last Time His Candidacy Filing Paperwork; This Time His Financial Disclosure Forms (Let’s face it, this guy’s just a hot mess.)
- Dueling disclosures: Virginia candidate Freitas tells state one salary, Congress another (“One form says less than $50,000, another $130,900”)
- Luria among 18 Democrats to vote against new COVID-19 relief bill
- Former VA House Speaker Kirk Cox (R) Files Paperwork to Run for Governor; Amanda Chase Immediately Attacks Him (Chase says Cox is a “pay to play” candidate who worked with Gov. Northam to pass Medicaid expansion and who lost GOP control of the House of Delegates…)
- Former speaker Cox takes another step toward a 2021 bid for Virginia governor
- Virginia Launches New Open Data Portal to Enhance COVID-19 Response and Recovery
- With early voting already underway, Virginia AG Herring promises to use law to crack down voter intimidation
- Thursday (10/1) Virginia Data on COVID-19 Finds +450 Confirmed/Probable Cases (to 148,721), +51 Hospitalizations (to 11,092), +20 Deaths (to 3,228) From Yesterday
- VA House Legislative Black Caucus Members Rip RTD Columnist For “Race-Based Schtick”; “Privileged, Reductive…Insulting” Comments About Redistricting Amendment (Del. Cia Price also accuses 1VA2021 for having “sold out the mission for a win & left Black ppl behind”)
- SCC won’t extend moratorium on utility disconnections; lawmakers split on plans for relief
- Editorial: Transforming energy requires shared costs (“Making electricity cleaner, greener and more reliable will be costly, and that burden should be shared equitably.”)
- Virginia regulatory staff project $800 annual customer bill increase for Dominion to meet clean energy law (This makes very little sense, given the plunging costs of wind and solar, not to mention the fact that energy efficiency is the cheapest “form” of energy. If anything, customers will probably end up *saving* money over time by being more efficient and by a switch to clean energy.)
- Want a facial in Virginia? A mask is still required — and estheticians are on the front lines of fighting the policy.
- Virginia regulators accused of slow-walking new turbidity standard
- The number of COVID cases at Virginia college campuses has surpassed 5,000
- Cat Anthony column: Let’s build on the success of the Virginia Capital Trail
- Fairfax County extends time for some teachers to decide whether to return to classrooms (“Previously, Fairfax County Public Schools gave a specific group of teachers and classroom instructional support staff until Friday to decide and let the school system know about their intention to return in support of in-person instruction. They now have until 4:30 p.m. Tuesday to respond.”)
- Virginia Tech reaches goal of 30,000 undergraduates three years early
- Animal rights activists question Virginia Tech’s dog purchases
- Loudoun School Board Seeks Option for Staggered Terms
- Presidents of UMW, Germanna spell out higher-ed needs for Sen. Warner (“Virginia Sen. Mark Warner held a roundtable discussion at UMW’s Stafford Campus with UMW President Troy Paino and Germanna President Janet Gullickson to discuss local needs in higher education and how they might be addressed in a new COVID-19 relief package or in future legislation.”)
- City schools commit to more inclusive curricula after gender identity lesson briefly removed
- D.C.-area forecast: Brightening skies today with a refreshing breeze as fall weather settles into the region
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