by Lowell
Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Thursday, December 3.
- The beginning of the end of the coronavirus pandemic (“On Wednesday, Britain became the first country to grant emergency approval for a coronavirus vaccine. Mass immunization will begin there almost immediately, government officials said, with the initial 800,000 doses of the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine to be distributed next week.”)
- Pace of climate change shown in new report has humanity on ‘suicidal’ path, U.N. leader warns (“Report lays out how rapidly climate change is progressing, as António Guterres calls for emissions cuts”)
- Are millennials really giving up on children over climate change?
- We’re at a turning point on climate change. But most countries are still choosing fossil fuels over clean energy, report says
- Iran passes law threatening to halt nuclear inspections and boost enrichment (“Law gives European signatories to nuclear deal two months to ease sanctions imposed after US quit nuclear deal”)
- Hong Kong pro-democracy tycoon Jimmy Lai detained for fraud
- An Ominous Milestone in Hong Kong’s Democratic Descent
- U.S. Hits Record Deaths and Hospitalizations, With Worse Likely to Come
- U.S. Hits 100,000 COVID-19 Hospitalizations; More Than 3,100 Deaths
- US logs a record 3,157 coronavirus deaths in one day
- The US reports 3,100 coronavirus deaths in one day — 20% more than last record
- America’s fatal crises (“Ex-Presidents fill leadership vacuum as Trump ignores worsening pandemic”)
- U.S. tops ‘unfathomable’ milestone of 100,000 Covid hospitalizations: ‘We’re all on edge’ (“More than 100,000 people are currently in hospitals across the U.S. sick with Covid-19, as the pandemic pushes doctors, nurses and other health workers to their limits.”)
- The Darkest Stretch of the Pandemic Is Here (“America breaks 100,000 daily coronavirus hospitalizations for the first time ever.”)
- 911 emergency medical system in US ‘at a breaking point,’ ambulance group says
- What We Know About the U.S. COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Plan
- Former Presidents Obama, Bush and Clinton volunteer to get coronavirus vaccine publicly to prove it’s safe
- Congress seems ready to pass a bipartisan $908 billion stimulus — if Mitch McConnell says yes
- Democrats just moved toward Republicans on the stimulus. What’s their plan?
- Pelosi and Schumer back $900 billion coronavirus stimulus plan as basis for negotiations (“McConnell and Hoyer both signaled they could include aid provisions in a spending bill Congress needs to pass by Dec. 11.”)
- List of Republicans breaking with Trump grows longer
- Mary Trump Warns What Her Uncle Will Put ‘Considerable Energy’ Into Post-Presidency (“And it will be ‘terrible’ for the United States, warned Donald Trump’s niece.”)
- Census officials discovered data issues that could delay its completion, internal documents show
- Mike Pence Backs Away From the Trump Election ‘Fraud’ Train Wreck
- Trump’s grievances feed menacing undertow after the election (“The last throes of Donald Trump’s presidency have turned ugly — even dangerous. — Death threats are on the rise. Local and state election officials are being hounded into hiding.”)
- Election officials warn Trump’s escalating attacks on voting are putting their staffs at risk (Unacceptable and unforgiveable.)
- Trump is said to be livid at Barr, with one official suggesting termination possible
- Barr had ‘intense’ meeting with Trump after AG’s interview undercutting voter fraud claims: Sources
- My God, He’s Completely Insane (Charles Pierce doesn’t mince words.)
- A day after Justice Dept. found no evidence of widespread election fraud, Trump posts video filled with falsehoods. (Good headline by the NY Times – accurate and to the point.)
- Trump escalates baseless attacks on election with 46-minute video rant (And there’s that cowardly word “baseless,” instead of just saying FALSE. Why does the media do this?)
- In video, Trump unspools unsubstantiated voter fraud charges (In fairness to the WaPo, the AP is even worse, with the utterly absurd word “unsubstantiated,” as if there’s some way these insane, 100% false charges could ever substantiated. Of course, the AP is the organization that waited for days and days to call states for Biden, for no good reasons.)
- The most petulant 46 minutes in American history (“The essential question of the moment is how far President Trump wants to go with this.”)
- Joe Biden’s economic team: What a difference an election makes
- Biden Should Go Big, and Then Brag About It (Agreed.)
- Biden Made Sure ‘Trump Is Not Going to Be President for Four More Years’ (“Here’s what Joe Biden had to say about the future in our interview.”)
- Why Trump Might Just Fade Away
- If William Barr can admit Trump lost, why can’t other Republicans?
- Obama’s Curious Cautiousness (“He is a great politician, but he is not an activist.”)
- Republicans have no excuse for opposing Biden’s nominees
- ‘Substantial Likelihood Of Wrongdoing’ By VOA Parent Agency, Government Watchdog Says
- Republicans cheer on a Trump 2024 run
- RNC invites 2024 hopefuls to January meeting in show of neutrality toward Trump
- Inhofe loudly sets Trump straight on defense bill
- Raimondo emerges as frontrunner for HHS secretary
- GOP planning to use Trump’s fraud lies to make it harder to vote — could it backfire? (“Republicans want to make voting harder despite no evidence of widespread fraud. It could blow up in their faces”)
- The Conspiracy Theory That Could Hand Joe Biden the Senate
- Pompeo invites hundreds to indoor holiday parties after subordinates are warned against hosting ‘non-mission critical events’
- McEnany’s husband attends White House press briefing without mask
- New Threat: People Who Are Mean to Trump Online (LOL)
- Here’s How Big Oil Wants The Supreme Court to Help Delay and Derail Climate Lawsuits
- Wisconsin Federal Judge Picks Apart Sidney Powell and Lin Wood’s Lawsuit in ‘Brutal’ Order
- U.S. states plan to sue Facebook next week: sources
- The US energy storage market was redefined in Q3 (“A record 476 MW/764 MWh were installed in Q3, with California’s deployment figures alone shattering all previous quarterly records.”)
- ‘Stop The Steal’ Rallies Now Feature ‘Lock Him Up!’ Chants Aimed At Georgia Guv Brian Kemp
- Trump’s Georgia rally sparks GOP anxiety (“State Republicans welcome the president’s support for Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler. But they’re worried about what he might say beyond that.”)
- Joseph diGenova resigns from Gridiron Club after saying fired cybersecurity official should be shot (When’s he being disbarred?)
- Trump’s Family Pardon Plan Might Make Him a Bigger Criminal Target
- Ivanka Trump was deposed Tuesday in DC attorney general’s inauguration lawsuit
- Pro-Trump Lawyers Say GOP Governor in Georgia Is a Chinese Agent and Blame George Soros (Completely unhinged.)
- David Perdue bought Pfizer stock — a week before company said it would develop a vaccine
- 2,596 Trades in One Term: Inside Senator Perdue’s Stock Portfolio
- After calling for a military coup, Michael Flynn is set to appear on Fox with Lou Dobbs (BREAKING: Fox continues to be evil.)
- Fox flagship “straight news” program downplays Trump’s lies about the election
- Flaccavento: Griffith should admit Biden won
- Virginia Dems Turnout Surged During the Trump Presidency, Resulting in a Massive Winning Streak. Now What? (“Will turnout fall back again? If so, will that lead to Virginia not being so ‘blue’ anymore?”)
- Video: Right-Wing Republican Jason Miyares Announces Candidacy for AG, Rants Against “Socialism,” “The Radical ‘Defund the Police’ Movement,” “Left-Wing Radicals”
- Jason Miyares’s Far-Right Record Is Dangerous For Virginia
- Editorial: 7 questions for the 2021 governor’s race (“How will McAuliffe fare with the new landscape of the Democratic Party? Just how influential is the left wing of the Democratic Party? Does Fairfax have any support? Who will emerge as McAuliffe’s main challenger? Which candidate would Carter hurt the most? Is Virginia now irretrievably Democratic or is there a chance that under the right circumstances a Republican could win? What lessons have Republicans learned from the Trump era?” Good questions.)
- Virginia FOIA Council supports looser rules for public officials governing remotely (Seems reasonable.)
- Schapiro: Here come the judges, here come the judges (“The SCC will be the first judicial agency — it also is a regulatory body — fully reoriented by Democrats since they took back the General Assembly in 2019. That’s because Democrats will have installed two of the SCC’s three members, presumably nudging it to the left of Dominion Energy.” You ain’t seen nothing yet.” Good!)
- Editorial: Virginians should apply to join new redistricting panel
- Northam Pleads for Caution as COVID-19 Vaccine Nears
- Video, Highlights: Gov. Ralph Northam COVID-19 Briefing at 2pm
- Wednesday (12/2) Virginia Data on COVID-19 Finds +2,417 Confirmed/Probable Cases (to 242,480), +158 Hospitalizations (to 14,883), +20 Deaths (to 4,113)
- Was It *Really* a Good Idea for Virginia and Arlington County to Give *This* Company $16 Million in Corporate Welfare?!?
- Southwest Virginia a ‘cautionary tale’ as COVID-19 hospitalizations rise across the state
- Federal lawsuit alleges wage theft by subcontractors on new General Assembly Building
- Ballad Health to Suspend Elective Procedures Amid Surge of COVID-19 Hospitalizations
- Ballad brings in refrigerated morgue trucks, halts surgeries to deal with rising COVID patients
- Rural Virginia county officials pass resolution rejecting ‘tyranny’ of governor’s coronavirus restrictions (So, so irresponsible and ignorant, especially given the above two stories.)
- Virginia coalfield booster wants new renewable fund to send a message
- Virginia’s 22nd Judicial Circuit — including Franklin County — receives approval to resume jury trials
- Blacksburg council set to act on public gun ban in town buildings
- D.C.-area forecast: Sunny and milder today, but a wet and windy start to the weekend
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