Thursday News: “Moderna CEO says its coronavirus vaccine won’t be ready until spring of next year”; “Trump backs violent white supremacists. There’s no way around it.”; “The Family Is Worried Brad Will Start Talking”; “Trump’s Climate Self-Own”

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Thursday, October 1. Just 33 days until Election Day, but remember, you can and should vote NOW.

• Global heating warming up ‘nights faster than days’ (Very, very bad.)
• The Biggest Polluters Are Hiding in Plain Sight
• EU launches legal action against UK over Brexit law
• As Kim wooed Trump with ‘love letters,’ he kept building his nuclear capability, intelligence shows
• Moderna CEO says its coronavirus vaccine won’t be ready until spring of next year
• Exclusive: FDA widens U.S. safety inquiry into AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine – sources
• America’s year of fire and tempests means climate crisis just got very real
• Even coal companies are now divesting from coal
• Investors are bullish on stocks for the 4th quarter, but fear a coronavirus spike
• Pope rejects US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo meeting
• Intelligence Officials Urged Trump Spy Chief Not to Disclose Unverified Russian Claims About Clinton
• Study Finds ‘Single Largest Driver’ of Coronavirus Misinformation: Trump
• Exclusive: Mnuchin coronavirus relief plan includes more state, local funds
• Airlines begin mass layoffs while clinging to hope for federal aid
• House delays vote on $2.2 trillion coronavirus stimulus bill to allow more time for talks
• Trump Signs Stopgap Funding Bill to Avert a Government Shutdown (Key word: “stopgap.” This is not a way to run a superpower.)
• Trump backs violent white supremacists. There’s no way around it.
• Belligerent Trump debate performance stokes fears among Republicans about November (“The president’s refusal during the debate to clearly condemn the Proud Boys extremist group prompted condemnations from Democrats and a muted response from Republicans.”)
• How Trump advisers feel about his Proud Boy comments at the debate
• Eight Things That Were Somehow Not Takeaways From the Debate Because Everything Else Was So Deranged (“Europeans live in fireproof forest cities.”; “The numbers on his own tax returns are wrong.”)
• G.O.P. Alarmed by Trump’s Comments on Extremist Group, Fearing a Drag on the Party
• ‘A huge misstep’: Trump allies see a lost opportunity in first debate
• Acrimonious debate sparks calls for new rules to rein in Trump and questions about format’s usefulness
• Republicans to Trump: Condemn white supremacy now
• Trump wasn’t just telling his people what to do, he was showing them how to do it
• Chris Wallace Calls Debate ‘a Terrible Missed Opportunity’ (What’s stunning is that Wallace was stunned that Trump would act like he did, even though almost anyone with half a brain could see that one coming a mile away.)
• Debates commission plans to cut off mics if Trump or Biden break rules
• More than 73 million people watched that crazy presidential debate
• Trump’s scorched-earth nihilism will cost him the presidency
• Trump’s latest punt on White supremacy shows a debate rebound will be tough
• Trump’s debate callout bolsters far-right Proud Boys
• Trump’s Climate Self-Own (“At last night’s debate, the president got confused about his own policy—and Joe Biden’s.”)
• The Debate Was a Disaster. But Hey, Climate Change Came Up (“The good news: The presidential debate addressed global warming. The bad news: Trump dodged it, especially when it came to wildfires.”)
• Trump Is Not the Man He Used to Be (“His belligerent debate performance revealed the president has lost the confidence he had four years ago, and it will cost him.”)
• We’ve Had 56 Statewide Elections During The Pandemic. Here’s What We Learned From Them. (“Mail voting is still way up, but more people are voting in person”)
• Trump’s refusal to condemn white supremacy fits pattern of extremist rhetoric
• Trump takes his antidemocratic campaign to the people
• A Debate That Can’t Be Ignored (“Americans need to face the man who is their president.”)
• The horrific debate shows exactly why Trump shouldn’t get a second term
• The debate was a disgrace. It showed us Trump’s assault on democracy is escalating.
• Trump Calls on Extremists to ‘Stand By’ (“Instead of condemning violent groups, the president marshals them.”)
• For the Sake of Democracy, Cancel the Trump-Biden Debates (“The president is maneuvering to steal the election. Why help him?”)
• For the sake of the country, cancel the remaining debates
• Trump’s Tax Avoidance Is a Tax on the Rest of Us
• Trump upends own messaging with Black voters
• Trump is right to panic (“Losing this election could be worse for Trump than any past president.”)
• GOP lawmakers gloomy, back on defense after debate fiasco
• There’s only one way to fix the presidential debates (“The only way to keep out-of-control debaters in line is to give the moderator the ability to turn off the candidates’ microphones — and the authority, if necessary, to eject them from the debate altogether.” Agreed; Trump should have been ejected from the first debate for repeatedly and massively violating the rules. Kinda like he should be ejected from the White House for repeatedly and massively violating the law and the constitution.)
• There Is No Debate Rule Change That Can Contain Donald Trump (“I know it. You know it. The aliens that picked up the debate and decided to contact another, more civilized people knows it.”)
• Internal document shows Trump officials were told to make comments sympathetic to Kyle Rittenhouse (“DHS talking points obtained by NBC News show officials were told to speak sympathetically about Kyle Rittenhouse, the teen charged with killing two protesters in Kenosha, Wis.” Horrifying.)
• The First Presidential Debate Was an Alarm Call for American Democracy
• A Pro-Trump Militant Group Has Recruited Thousands of Police, Soldiers, and Veterans (“An Atlantic investigation reveals who they are and what they might do on Election Day.”)
• Why Are There So Many Accused Domestic Abusers in Trumpworld? You Know Damn Well Why. (“Brad Parscale’s arrest on domestic violence charges would have been an enormous scandal for a normal politician. In Trumpland, it was just another Sunday.”)
• Biden raises record funds as aides jab ‘train wreck’ Trump after sorry debate (“Biden raises $3.8m in an hour as campaign stresses optimism; Unedifying Cleveland debate widely seen as an embarrassment”)
• Biden prepares ad onslaught to overwhelm Trump
• Parscale steps away from Trump campaign as wife denies physical abuse
• “The Family Is Worried Brad Will Start Talking”: Trumpworld Panics Over Debate Fiasco as Campaign Turmoil Mounts
• A performance of “pure fascism”: Trump didn’t just tell his people what to do — he showed them how (“Media observers were outraged — but Donald Trump’s not trying to win an election. He’s planning to steal one”)
• Trump’s Chances Are Dwindling. That Could Make Him Dangerous. (*Make Him* Dangerous? How ridiculous. In fact, Trump is already “dangerous,” and will continue to be “dangerous,” until he’s out of the White House.)
• For Voters Still Mulling, One Thing Is Clear: That Debate Didn’t Help (How on earth can anyone possibly be undecided at this point?!?)
• FBI Found Police Have White Supremacist Problem
• Trump Renews Fears of Voter Intimidation as G.O.P. Poll Watchers Mobilize (“Republicans are putting together what they call an army of Trump supporters to monitor election procedures.”)
• ‘National embarrassment’: Biden slams Trump’s debate showing as both return to campaign trail
• A reminder of how badly Trump needed to have the good debate that he didn’t
• Climate change had its presidential debate moment. What did we learn? (“Biden embraced a clean energy future as a way to create new jobs and said he would rejoin the Paris climate accord in one of his first energy actions as president.”)
• The Loss That’s Killing the West’s Wildlife (“The patchwork of burnt lands that once characterized fire-prone forests is disappearing.” Ugh.)
• Bob Woodward calls on Congress to rein in Trump: ‘We now have a constitutional problem’
• Trump’s Pick for the Supreme Court Could Deepen the Risk for Its Most Crucial Climate Change Ruling (“Amy Coney Barrett’s views on precedent could undermine Massachusetts vs. EPA, the case ruling that greenhouse gases are pollutants under the Clean Air Act.”)
• Joe Biden Leads President Trump By Two Points in Nexstar Iowa 2020 RABA Research Poll
• Fox News Tries on Every Possible Trump Defense After His Disastrous Debate
• Right-wing voices are dominating Facebook after the first presidential debate (“Conservative media outlets heavily used Facebook to connect with voters in 2016, helping propel Donald Trump to the presidency. Since then, the right’s command of the platform has only intensified.” Facebook is a disaster in so many ways.)
• Shep Smith Debuts On CNBC With Somber Opener Denouncing The First Debate (“We’ve never seen any of this. Not in America. But from this, we march toward the vote”)
• The media keeps making these cringeworthy mistakes (“It’s time to stop bailing Trump out.”)
• The Democratic Advantage in Voting By Mail Is a Mixed Blessing
• It Sure Looks Like Daniel Cameron Lied About Breonna Taylor’s Killing
• 11 Governors, Including Ralph Northam, Release Joint Statement on Threats to American Democracy
• WHAT THEY ARE SAYING: After First Presidential Debate, Virginians Agree Biden is Best Choice for President
• Virginians React to the Debate From Hell: Trump “Reprehensible,” “A New Low,” “Historically Disgraceful,” “White Supremacist,” “Scary Clown,” “Loser”
• “America’s Craziest and Dumbest Congressman,” Who Bob Good Calls a “Good Friend” and “Hero,” Just Voted Against a Peaceful Transition of Power
• Nick Freitas Is Living in an Alternative Universe (“Freitas conflated voter suppression with making voting easier”)
• In Virginia swing district, bitter rematch for Republican Scott Taylor and Democratic Rep. Elaine Luria
• Bob Good Caught Lying About His Votes to Defund The Police (Good actually cast the *deciding vote* to reduce the Campbell County Sheriff’s budget)
• Good does not report financial assets
• ACLU Demands VA Protect Prisoners from COVID
• Pretext Stops Related to the Smell of Marijuana May Soon Be a Thing of the Past
• Schapiro: A distraction Virginia Democrats don’t need (The only reason I’m including this is to say that it’s typical Jeff Schapiro – rambling, somewhat incoherent, “concern troll”-ish, etc.)
• Wednesday (9/30) Virginia Data on COVID-19 Finds +755 Confirmed/Probable Cases (to 148,271), +63 Hospitalizations (to 11,041), +21 Deaths (to 3,208) From Yesterday
• Video: Zoom Panel with Delegates Aird, Price, Simon, Levine Discuss Amendment 1 and Why Virginians Should Vote NO
• Virginia State Conference of the NAACP Announces Opposition to Amendment 1 (“Amendment 1 would undermine opportunities for Black voters to elect representatives of their choosing while consolidating the power of a handful of powerful politicians to control the redistricting process.”)
• Prosecutors Group Opposes Bill to Take Sentencing Out of Jurors Hands (Note that these prosecutors are overwhelmingly Republicans.)
• What supporters and opponents say about a plan to stop gerrymandering in Virginia (Such a bad headline; in fact, this is NOT a plan to “stop gerrymandering in Virginia,” so the headline’s not accurate.)
• Groups differ on adoption of permanent COVID-19 workplace safety rules in Virginia
• COVID-19 Bombshell, Part 2: Mountain Valley Pipeline Refuses to Release Its COVID-19 Preparedness Plan to Virginia Department of Health (“Instead MVP Says it ‘Will Walk Through It’ on a Secret Zoom Call that VDH Did Not Record”)
• Making a governor’s school more diverse isn’t ‘anti-Asian’
• Henrico yanks funding for police oversight job after prosecutor hires Black Lives Matter supporter
• COVID-19 clusters pop up at VMI, W&L
• Richmond Council Could Still Ban Tear Gas, Rubber Bullets
• Coal dust has long plagued Newport News, Norfolk. With new $500K grant, Virginia plans to study what’s in the air.
• D.C.-area forecast: Beautiful today, showers tonight and a pleasant weekend