Thursday News: “The World Is Never Going Back to Normal”; Trump Sulks, Rants, “settles scores” as “US passes 250,000 deaths from coronavirus”; With Vaccines, “The End of the Pandemic Is Now in Sight”; “Biden approaches 80 million votes in historic victory”

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Thursday, November 19.

• Australia’s climate effort slammed as ‘simply embarrassing’, among worst in the G20
• Why Seagrass Could Be the Ocean’s Secret Weapon Against Climate Change (“A vast, mostly invisible ecosystem crucial to our life on Earth is in trouble, but efforts to save the ‘prairies of the sea’ are finally coming into focus.”)
• The ‘market’ won’t save us from climate disaster. We must rethink our system
• The World Is Never Going Back to Normal (“Other countries are learning to live without America. Biden can’t restore the pre-Trump status quo.”)
• ‘If you make China the enemy, China will be the enemy’: Beijing’s fresh threat to Australia
• Oxford Study Confirms Astra Covid Shot’s Response in Elderly
• The Pandemic, the Clean Power Plan, and the Paris Agreement (“The drop in greenhouse gases from energy generation will be key to keeping the U.S. on track to meet multiple climate goals.”)
• The End of the Pandemic Is Now in Sight (“A year of scientific uncertainty is over. Two vaccines look like they will work, and more should follow.”)
• A Quarter of a Million Americans Have Died From Covid-19
• Seven governors: Americans need to stay home this Thanksgiving
• The pandemic is triggering another disaster: Untreated diseases
• States That Imposed Few Restrictions Now Have the Worst Outbreaks (Yep, it’s that oxymoron known as “Republican governance” again.)
• While Trump sulks, Americans get sick and die
• At UVA, Fauci urges public to ‘double down’ on health precautions with new vaccines pending
• US passes 250,000 deaths from coronavirus
• People die, but little changes (“Many Americans stick to their original notions about the coronavirus, no matter what sorrows they’ve seen, no matter where they live.” The human brain is fundamentally, even fatally, flawed in several ways – cognitive dissonance resolution, rationalization, denial, etc.)
• Biden approaches 80 million votes in historic victory
• As defeats pile up, Trump tries to delay vote count in last-ditch attempt to cast doubt on Biden victory (“Rudolph W. Giuliani, the president’s personal lawyer, has told associates his ambition is to stall the vote certification in an effort to have GOP lawmakers pick electors, an outcome that appears unattainable.”)
• Threats and Tensions Rise as Trump and Allies Attack Elections Process (So, so bad.)
• When Michigan Republicans Refused to Certify Votes, It Wasn’t Normal
• State legislatures do not have the power to veto the people’s choice in an election
• We came much closer to an election catastrophe than many realize
• GOP state leaders brush off idea to hand Trump election by replacing electors
• Current and former Trump officials quietly reach out to Biden team
• GOP increasingly accepts Trump’s defeat — but not in public
• ‘Traitors to the president’: Conservatives fear public preparation for Biden term
• ‘It’s complicated’: Biden team weighs whether to retain Deborah Birx
• Trump’s team prepares for election fight to end in December (“The legal challenges are continuing, but those close to the president, and frankly the president, understand they’re futile”)
• Trump’s coup might not work. But he may pave the way for the next failed candidate.
• ‘Bunker mentality’ sets in at the White House (“The first family has canceled plans for Thanksgiving in Florida to instead stay in the White House that Trump will have to leave in just more than two months”)
• Trump is testing democracy. Nine out of 10 senior elected Republicans are failing.
• Why the GOP is sticking with Trump’s election deceit
• The Cabinet Appointments That Really Matter In The Incoming Biden Administration (“And which media rumors you should probably ignore.”)
• Trump seeks to settle scores in final days
• Time to call out the GOP’s new Jim Crow tactics
• Republicans need to decide whether they believe in democracy (“Their cynicism and indifference to truth should disqualify them from holding power.”)
• Shelton Fed Bid Likely Doomed With Senate’s Holiday Departure (Good. She’d be a disaster on the Fed and has no business being there.)
• Climate risks are accelerating. Here’s what Duke, PG&E and 16 other utilities expect to pay.
• Trump appoints speechwriter fired for attending conference with white nationalists to commission that preserves Holocaust memorials
• SEIA has a solar industry wish list for the incoming Biden administration (“A change is coming in 2021 U.S. clean energy policy — SEIA has a wish list for the new administration ranging from tariffs to public lands to the investment tax credit.”)
• Another big steel producer turns to solar power (“Nucor Corporation has signed the industry’s largest virtual PPA with EDF Renewables North America for 250 MW of new solar energy, set to be constructed in Texas.”)
• Trump campaign revises Pennsylvania suit, again
• Trump Campaign Attorneys Admit ‘There Is No Evidence’ of ‘Any Fraud’ in Connection with Challenged Ballots in Bucks County, Pa.
• New York City to Close Public Schools Again as Virus Cases Rise
• The Memo: Democrats see warning signs beyond 2020
• Tyson Foods Accused Of Betting Money On How Many Workers Would Contract COVID-19 (I mean, think about what kind of people would want to go into an industry that kills animals?)
• Virus threat reaches into halls of Congress, clouding Senate agenda
• A Simple Theory of Why Trump Did Well (“Elections are complicated, but the money the government sent to more than 150 million Americans didn’t hurt.”)
• Justice Dept. Plans 3 Executions Before Biden’s Inauguration (“The Trump administration is continuing to carry out capital punishment for federal crimes even though President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. has signaled he will reverse the policy.”)
• “Defund the Police” Is a Self-Destructive Slogan (“Especially if you want to reform law enforcement.”)
• How Twitter and Facebook plan to handle Trump’s accounts when he leaves office. (They should have blocked him a LONG time ago.)
• A new #Resistance hero emerges amid the Trump endgame: The dutiful civil servant (“We hadn’t heard of Brad Raffensperger or Chris Krebs a week ago. Now they’re heroes standing tall for democracy”)
• 40 Years of Republican Politics Come to a Head
• Wayne County Republicans ask to ‘rescind’ their votes certifying election results
• Been injured in an election? Call Rudy Giuliani now! (LOL)
• Why Were The Polls Off? Pollsters Have Some Early Theories
• Emily Murphy Needs to Do Her Damn Job, Just Like Brad Raffensperger Has
• Barack Obama memoir off to record-setting start in sales
• Pandemic? The Republican Senate Confirmed a Judge.
• Right-wing media dismiss efforts to save thousands of lives as a “War on Thanksgiving” (Appalling.)
• Fox News Is No Longer Insane Enough for Fox Viewers
• Fox’s desperate push to preserve viewers exposes the hollowness of its “news” side
• Fox News has cast doubt on or pushed conspiracy theories about the election results nearly 600 times
• Options dwindling, Trump faces likely setback in Georgia recount (“The U.S. presidential election battleground state of Georgia is expected on Thursday to affirm Joe Biden’s victory over President Donald Trump after a painstaking recount, which would deal another setback to Trump’s efforts to cling on to power.”)
• Kristi Noem rigidly follows Trump strategy of denial as Covid ravages South Dakota (Noem is Amanda Chase-level crazy.)
• Sen. Perdue Helped Defense Contractor—and Sold Off Its Stock
• Coronavirus cases in Texas are soaring again. But this time Gov. Greg Abbott says no lockdown is coming.
• Ahead of recount results, Georgia officials say Biden likely to remain the winner
• Georgia elections chief: ‘Emotional abuse’ to mislead voters about fraud
• Arizona GOP pressures counties to delay vote certification (These people are anti-democracy and unAmerican.)
• The Racist Campaign Against Raphael Warnock
• With Senate Control Hanging in Balance, ‘Crazytown’ Cash Floods Georgia
• Sen. Kaine expresses concerns about the GOP not holding Trump accountable
• Video: Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA11) on Trump Endangering American National Security by “Playing Games” and Not Cooperating with the Transition
• Chaz Nuttycombe Analyzes What Happened in VA07: Richmond Suburbs Swung “Blue,” While Rural Areas Went “Red” (Also: VA07 Republicans screwed up by nominating Nick Freitas instead of Tina Ramirez.)
• Virginia AG: No, you don’t have the ‘freedom’ to discriminate against gay couples
• Wednesday (11/18) Virginia Data on COVID-19 Finds +2,071 Confirmed/Probable Cases (to 208,833), +99 Hospitalizations (to 13,707), +25 Deaths (to 3,860)
• As COVID-19 Hits Record Highs in the State and the Country, Virginia Republicans Like LG Candidate Tim Hugo and Former Gov. Bob McDonnell Are Like….Eh, F*** It!
• Video/Live Blog: Gov. Northam Provides Updates on Virginia’s Response to COVID-19 Pandemic
• Map Shows Which Virginia Counties, Cities Have Had Fastest Increases, Decreases in COVID-19 Cases the Past Two Weeks
• New Report Finds Virginia Deep in the “S.W.A.M.P” – One of Worst States in the Country When It Comes to Ethics, Transparency in Government
• As coronavirus cases in Virginia hit new records, Northam asks people to ‘do the right thing’ for Thanksgiving
• Northam says new restrictions aimed at avoiding an even worse outcome amid rising hospital admissions
• Virginia gun show organizer files suit against Northam’s tightened coronavirus rules
• AG Mark Herring Files Lawsuit Against Allowing “massive potential superspreader indoor gun show to be held in NOVA this weekend”
• Editorial: How long should General Assembly sessions be? (This editorial is fine to ask the question, but doesn’t really answer it by seriously considering whether/how Virginia should professionalize its legislature.)
• As Virginia routes more students with disabilities to private schools, costs are soaring
• With Northam’s signature, new eviction and utility cut-off protections take effect
• U.S. Court of Appeals Denies “Stay” of Fish & Wildlife Service’s Approvals for Mountain Valley Pipeline
• Appeals court declines latest request to stop work on the Mountain Valley Pipeline
• Schapiro: Despite down market, GOP berth for Virginia’s next governor has value (This column by Jeff Schapiro was actually interesting – check it out.)
• State Board of Elections unanimously certifies Virginia’s election results
• Perryman: Virginia Democrats can win big on bold ideas
• Prince William County Votes 5- 3 to Pass Climate Resolution Committing the County to a 100% Renewable Energy Grid by 2035
• Editorial: COVID-19 pandemic should push Amazon HQ2 to answer a higher calling for Virginia
• Governor’s office clarifies initial order, allowing UVA to stage a football game this Saturday
• D.C.-area forecast: Cool sunshine today, but it turns milder Friday and Saturday