by Lowell
Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Sunday, December 27.
- ‘The beginning of the end’: Europe rolls out vaccines to see off pandemic
- Global COVID-19 cases surpass 80 million
- Effort Begins to Vaccinate 450 Million Across Europe
- Brexit offers Britain chance to do financial services differently -minister
- Putin Rumors Run Wild as He Shrouds Himself in Secrecy (“Putin’s secrecy has helped fuel Russia’s black market in information which is thriving online and undermining the president’s authority.”)
- Possibility of one-dose vaccine raises hopes for faster rollout
- PV trends of 2020: Part 2 (“Despite much of the world being on lockdown for a big chunk of 2020, there are few who could say it has been an uneventful year. And while the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic will be what defines 2020 for many, in the solar industry there’s plenty more to shout about, from the rapid rollout of high-powered modules to a drastic increase in carbon-neutral pledges from companies and governments around the world. Across five installments, pv magazine takes a look back at the year in solar. First up were the U.S. election and carbon neutral pledges. Today, we’re talking about auctions and green bonds.”)
- December is the deadliest month in the US since the coronavirus pandemic began — and projections for January are ‘nightmarish,’ expert says
- Early Vaccine Doubters Now Show a Willingness to Roll Up Their Sleeves
- The U.S. was supposed to be equipped to handle a pandemic. So what went wrong? (“President Trump’s disastrous pandemic response made a terrible year so much worse.”)
- Volatility Market Braced for ‘Too Close to Call’ Georgia Runoffs
- What We Get Wrong About America’s Crisis of Democracy (“The only way to stave off another Trump is to recognize that it always happens. The temptation of anti-democratic cult politics is forever with us, and so is the work of fending it off. The rule of law, the protection of rights, and the procedures of civil governance are not fixed foundations, shaken by events, but practices and habits, constantly threatened, frequently renewable.”)
- Can public transportation survive the pandemic? Experts warn of ‘death spiral’ (“If we get this wrong, then it’s very hard to bring public transport services back once they’ve disappeared”)
- Trump’s Fraud Claims Died in Court, but the Myth of Stolen Elections Lives On (“For years, Republicans have used the specter of cheating as a reason to impose barriers to ballot access. A definitive debunking of claims of wrongdoing in 2020 has not changed that message.”)
- Trump takes no action as benefits lapse (“The President hasn’t signed Congress’ latest Covid stimulus package, leaving unemployment aid in limbo and embarrassing GOP leaders”)
- Benefits Lapse for Millions as Trump Fails to Approve Bill
- While in Florida Golfing, Trump Allows Jobless Benefits to Expire for Millions
- Biden pushes Trump to sign COVID-19 bill: ‘It needs to be signed into law now’
- U.S. jobless benefit cut-off pushes millions to financial cliff-edge
- In His Final Month in Office, Trump Works Overtime to Drag the GOP Down With Him (“The president has turned on a huge number of Republicans who aided his rise to power. And that’s just in the past week.”)
- Until Biden’s win is certified, the U.S. remains vulnerable (Even after that, Trump could do a lot of damage.)
- Trump’s Presidency Is Over. His Judges Will Be Here For Decades. (“Thanks to Mitch McConnell, Trump has put more than 230 people into lifetime federal court seats. Most are white, male, right-wing ideologues.”)
- Mnuchin’s loyalty to Trump could end with painful setback as president shreds stimulus deal
- Trump rushes to dole out plum appointments to allies on way out the door
- Biden builds team to get aggressive on regs
- Fox News Poll: Two-thirds of voters feel hopeful (“Half of Trump voters will support Biden or at least give him a chance”)
- Anti-Facebook agitators see their moment under Biden (“Joe Biden has said he’s no fan of Facebook. Now he has an opportunity to show it as he assumes landmark policy and legal battles against the company.”)
- Person of interest identified in connection to Nashville bombing
- Suicide bombing suspected in Nashville explosion as investigators search home south of the city
- As the White House changes hands, so will Fox News’ support of the presidency (“After four years of slavishly promoting the president and White House, rightwing media will turn an abrupt about-face”)
- 10 Ways 2020 Changed Sports Forever
- Trump Will Cost Millions Of Americans One Week Of Permanently-Lost Unemployment Benefits If He Fails To Act By The End Of The Day
- Opinion: Love of country begins with respect for democracy (By Delegates Josh Cole, Shelly Simonds and Nancy Guy)
- Video: Sen. Scott Surovell Reminds HD02 Democrats that Early Voting in the 1/5/21 Special Election Started *Today* at 9 am
- Saturday (12/26) Virginia Data on COVID-19 Finds +1,584 Confirmed/Probable Cases (to 329,577), +14 Hospitalizations (to 17,464), +20 Deaths (to 4,840)
- 31,500 Virginians received first part of 2-shot vaccine before Christmas
- OOpinion: Race for Virginia’s thankless No. 2 job draws a crowd (Yep, this guy’s still writing for the Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press, even after this happened.)
- Annette Hyde for VA 30 – VA 7th for Progress Offers Matching Fund Drive; Double Your Impact!
- Prince William Co. sheriff’s deputy fired after ‘disturbing’ social media posts
- Prince William County sheriff fires deputy for ‘disturbing comments’ on social media (“The comments triggered an internal investigation on Christmas morning, the county agency said. But the former deputy said that he didn’t make the comments and that his account was hacked.”)
- Virginia Sheriff’s Deputy Fired Over ‘Disturbing’ Parler Posts
- The year that was 2020: A timeline of Richmond-area news
- A non-native lizard is now making its home in Virginia. It likely hitchhiked on plants.
- Stoney convening ‘homeless advisory council’ to recommend improvements to homeless services
- Virginia’s longest-serving sheriff dies at his Hampton home, officials said (“Hampton Sheriff B.J. Roberts died peacefully while with his family, officials said. He became the city’s first Black sheriff in 1992.”)
- Longtime Hampton Sheriff B.J. Roberts dies at home (“Hampton Sheriff B.J. Roberts will be remembered as Virginia’s longest serving sheriff and as the first African American to serve as president of the National Sheriffs Association.”)
- D.C.-area forecast: Trending milder before another burst of cold midweek
