Monday News: “After Damaging Delay,” Trump Caves, Signs COVID Relief Package; Dems Push For Higher Relief Checks; Murdoch’s NY Post “Rips Trump’s ‘Shameful’ Attack On Fair Vote As ‘Undemocratic Coup’”; Nashville Bomber’s “remains were found in the wreckage”

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Monday, December 28.

• Weather disasters cost $150bn in 2020, revealing impact of climate change – report
• Journalism got more dangerous in 2020 — including in the United States
• A Year of Watching Earthly Beauty Burn (“From orbit, satellites send tragic evidence of climate change’s destructive power. This film covers 10 days, Sept. 7-16, 2020, a period of intense fires activity in North and South America.”)
• China jails citizen-journalist for four years over Wuhan virus reporting (“Zhang Zhan, 37, the first such person known to have been tried, was among a handful of people whose firsthand accounts from crowded hospitals and empty streets painted a more dire picture of the pandemic epicentre than the official narrative.” She sounds like a hero, not someone who should be going to jail!)
• EU-U.K. Trade Deal Gets Nod From Bloc’s Top Envoys in Brussels
• It’s Not Over: Major Issues the Brexit Deal Leaves Unresolved
• What to Make of the U.K.-E.U. Brexit Trade Deal
• Israel said planning to advance settlement building before Biden enters office
• Covid poses ‘greatest threat to mental health since second world war’ (“UK’s leading psychiatrist predicts impact will be felt for years after pandemic ends”)
• What 2020 might teach us
• 1 of every 17 people in the U.S. has been infected, and 1 in 1,000 has died. Yet the worst may lie ahead.
• Top U.S. Health Officials Warn of Post-Holiday Coronavirus Surge
• Distinguished pols: Three Democrats make the most of a Christmas gift (“They made clear who is on the side of struggling families — and the military.”)
• Is Trump’s Coup a ‘Dress Rehearsal?’ (We absolutely need to strengthen our democracy and address the root causes of this problem, including social media platforms like Facebook.)
• After Trump backs down on stimulus bill, Democrats aim for higher relief checks
• Trump signs massive bill only after aid lapses (“The delay on Covid relief and government funding is the latest example of erratic behavior in the final weeks of the President’s term”)
• Trump Yields on Virus Package, Signing It After Damaging Delay
• Trump signs stimulus and government spending bill into law, averting shutdown (“Trump unexpectedly capitulated Sunday night and signed the stimulus bill into law”)
• Trump Signs Pandemic Relief Bill After Unemployment Aid Lapses
• Pelosi Statement on Trump Signing Bipartisan Coronavirus Relief and Omnibus Funding Bill
• Trump backs down, signs stimulus package
• Trump reverses on coronavirus stimulus deal, signs package he called a ‘disgrace’
• Trump Signs COVID-19 Relief Deal After His Criticism Threatened To Derail It
• ‘The most significant climate legislation ever’: How stimulus bill tackles warming planet
• Waiting for Joe Biden: How to make it through the final, awful days of Donald Trump
• It takes a team to fix the Justice Department
• Trump’s legacy: An enduring contempt for truth?
• Republicans Propping Up the Fossil Fuel Industry Is Borderline Socialist (It’s “crony capitalism,” aka taxpayer-funded corporate welfare.)
• Murdoch’s New York Post urges Trump to accept defeat: ‘You’re cheering for an undemocratic coup’
• The New York Post Rips Trump’s ‘Shameful’ Attack On Fair Vote As ‘Undemocratic Coup’ (“‘Mr. President, it’s time to end this dark charade,’ the editorial began in the tabloid, owned by Trump’s right-wing backer Rupert Murdoch.”)
• The Post says: Give it up, Mr. President — for your sake and the nation’s (That’s coming from the right-wing, pro-Trump NY Post.)
• Mike Pence Was Enjoying a Ski Vacation While Millions Lost Unemployment Benefits
• Authorities identify Anthony Warner as Nashville bomber, say his remains were found in the wreckage
• Five GOP senators to watch in next month’s Electoral College fight
• Juan Williams: The GOP’s problem with women of color
• This D.C. hotel is historic, affordable and, lately, the Proud Boys’ unofficial headquarters (“The repeated and growing presence of the militant far-right group at the Hotel Harrington and its bar, Harry’s, has unnerved some guests and workers, many of whom are Black and Hispanic and were intimidated by their presence.”)
• Dan Snyder promised transparency about his team’s work culture. Why are there still so many secrets?
• Sunday (12/27) Virginia Data on COVID-19 Finds +3,999 Confirmed/Probable Cases (to 333,576), +84 Hospitalizations (to 17,548), +14 Deaths (to 4,854)
• Mountain Valley Pipeline faces political, regulatory changes in 2021 (“The company says it doesn’t expect the Biden administration to have a major impact on the project. Opponents hope otherwise.”)
• 2021 Dem LG Candidate Sean Perryman Writes WaPo Op-Ed Calling for Repeal of So-Called “Right-to-Work” Laws; Is Immediately Attacked at the Anti-Union “National Review”
• W. Brian McCann column: Va. legislature can give the gift of time to students with disabilities
• George Barker and Myechia Minter-Jordan column: Virginia just took a major step to end health care inequities. Did you notice?
• Virginia May Have to Foot the Bill for Commonwealth Center’s Mistake (“A mistake by the Commonwealth Center for Children and Adolescents (CCCA) could cost Virginia more than $11 million. CCCA is a 48-bed mental health facility located in Staunton. “)
• Fairfax County firefighters, medics begin receiving COVID-19 vaccines
• Editorial: COVID-19 and the Richmond region’s economy: A Q&A with Jennifer Wakefield
• Northern Virginia gets a taste of gaming with ‘horse slots’ (Yuck.)
• Mild today, cold midweek, and then a big warm-up to ring in 2021