by Lowell
Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Monday, December 7 (Pearl Harbor Day).
- Last month was the hottest November ever as Europe had its warmest fall on record (That’s really, really bad.)
- Great Barrier Reef has deteriorated to ‘critical’ level due to climate change (Horrible. Get off fossil fuels ASAP. Also, time for massive reforestation.)
- Why the AstraZeneca-Oxford Covid-19 vaccine is different (“AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford say their vaccine has up to 90 percent efficacy. But there’s a lot we still don’t know.”)
- Do no harm? How Australia’s regulators fumbled the transition to wind and solar (That’s what happens when you elect conservatives.)
- Netanyahu’s reaction to Biden’s victory is appalling
- Exxon Under Pressure From New Activist Fund (“Engine No. 1 plans proxy fight for four Exxon board seats”)
- Coca-Cola, Pepsi and Nestlé named top plastic polluters for third year in a row (“Companies accused of “zero progress” on reducing plastic waste, with Coca-Cola ranked No 1 for most littered products” Disgusting.)
- U.K. Says Talks Could Collapse in Next Few Hours: Brexit Update
- Brexit crunch time: stand-off puts EU-UK trade deal on a knife edge
- Saudi Prince Blasts Israel at Bahrain Summit, Says Normalization Must Help Palestinians
- Venezuela: Maduro and allies win National Assembly poll – partial results
- Exclusive: U.S. preparing new sanctions on Chinese officials over Hong Kong crackdown – sources
- Long a Holdout From Covid-19 Restrictions, Sweden Ends Its Pandemic Experiment
- A miserable end to a miserable presidency (“Trump leaves an economy in ruins, a runaway pandemic and a string of humiliating defeats.”)
- New CDC Data Confirms the Pandemic’s Outsize Impact on People of Color (“Black, Native, and Latinx people are several times more likely to be hospitalized than white people.”)
- Trump’s pandemic blindness and election denial darkens America’s desperate winter
- The Month the Pandemic Started to End (“The pandemic is unfolding as if on a split screen. The winter looks bleak, but Americans can now give themselves permission to hope for a speedy vaccine rollout.”)
- Winter Covid surge is the ‘worst event that this country will face,’ White House health advisor Birx says
- Experts say ‘behavior and cold weather’ are behind Covid-19 surge
- More Than 2,000 People a Day Are Dying and Trump is Still Urging States to Open Up
- Biden Picks Xavier Becerra to Lead Health and Human Services (“The selection of Mr. Becerra, the California attorney general, is a surprise. If confirmed, he will face a daunting challenge in leading the department at a critical moment in the pandemic.”)
- To rebuild CDC, Biden picks Rochelle Walensky
- Barr Is Said to Be Weighing Whether to Leave Before Trump’s Term Ends
- Giuliani has tested positive for the coronavirus, Trump says.
- Doctor: Giuliani potentially exposed hundreds to virus
- First Thing: Trump team hits turbulence as Giuliani admitted to hospital
- As Trump rants over election, his administration accelerates push to lock in policy and staffing gains
- Details of $908 Billion U.S. Pandemic Relief Plan Set for Release
- The Republican Plan for the Next Four Years Isn’t Normal (“The GOP may function primarily as a promotional tool for Trump—to the detriment of its future.”)
- After 2020 Losses, Some Democrats Question Party’s Health-Care Focus (Those “losses,” by the way, include a 7-million-vote win for president and a GAIN in the US Senate.)
- We need a national popular vote — before it’s too late
- White Evangelicals Made a Deal With the Devil. Now What?
- A federal court just reinstated DACA, and the implications go far beyond immigration (“A federal judge handed immigrants a big win — and gave President-elect Biden a potential crisis.”)
- ABC’s Stephanopoulos to GOP senator on presidential race: ‘Why can’t you accept the results?’
- Four reasons Donald Trump will likely become a spent force
- Water Futures to Start Trading Amid Growing Fears of Scarcity
- How Black People Learned Not to Trust (“Concerns about vaccination are unfortunate, but they have historical roots.”)
- Two cheers for the Never Trump conservatives
- Trump mulls dramatic flight to Florida rally on Biden’s Inauguration Day
- Chris Wallace corrects HHS secretary for not calling Biden the president-elect
- Anti-Vaccine Doctor Has Been Invited to Testify Before Senate Committee (“The selection of Dr. Jane M. Orient as federal health officials are trying to promote a vaccine to end the coronavirus pandemic prompted harsh criticism from Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York.”)
- A Powerful Reporter Got Away With Sexual Misconduct for Decades. His Paper, and His Union, Looked the Other Way. (“Michael Fuoco was a bigfoot reporter with a fiery personality and a reputation for harassing young women. No one seemed to want to rein him in.”)
- Ossoff debates empty podium as Perdue refuses to participate
- The Suburbs Helped Elect Biden. Can They Give Democrats the Senate, Too? (“Democrats need strong turnout in January, not just disaffected Republicans seeking to give Trump one final defeat.”)
- What The Polls Say About Georgia’s Senate Runoffs
- Latest Polls Of The Georgia Senate Runoffs
- 4 takeaways from the Georgia Senate debate
- At Georgia Senate debate, Warnock and Loeffler argue over coronavirus relief, police funding
- In Georgia Debate, Kelly Loeffler Won’t Say Trump Lost
- Trumpism Served Cold (“Kelly Loeffler delivers a scripted monotone attack on Raphael Warnock in their Georgia Senate debate.” Yuck.)
- Arizona Legislature shuts down after Rudy Giuliani possibly exposed lawmakers to COVID-19
- Protesters descend on Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s home after dark (Unacceptable.)
- Video: On CNN SOTU, Sen. Warner Says “American democracy came through this with flying colors, with the exception of frankly a sore loser in Donald Trump”
- Video: Sen. Tim Kaine Speaks to VA Dems About “Solidarity,” “Compliments” and “Challenges” Ahead In 2021 (Also, VA Dems vote for a new Vice Chair of Technology; and unanimously – without any controversy – to hold primaries next year.)
- Sunday (12/6) Virginia Data on COVID-19: 1-Day (3,880), 2-Day (7,673), 3-Day (10,550), 10-Day (26,153) New Cases All Hit Record Highs (Also: highest # of COVID-related hospitalizations since pandemic began)
- Kirk Cox Rips Republican Rival Amanda Chase on His FB Page; Chase Supporters Deluge Him with Comments Like, “I wouldn’t vote for you if you were running unopposed”
- Republicans respond to the decision to choose 2021 candidates by convention
- Northern Virginia not spared from state’s COVID-19 spike
- In Virginia Beach, city and environmentalists turn to planting trees to slow flooding woes
- Roanoke County stretches CARES Act funding over thin budget
- Light snow or flurries possible early today, while it stays cold through midweek
