by Lowell
Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Wednesday, December 9.
- Shift to a Not-So-Frozen North Is Well Underway, Scientists Warn (“‘There is no reason to think that in 30 years much of anything will be as it is today,’ one of the editors of a new report on the Arctic climate said.” Fossil fuel companies have f’ed up this planet so badly…)
- Greenhouse gas emissions transforming the Arctic into ‘an entirely different climate’ (“Warmest temperatures since 1900 have all occurred within the past seven years, according to Noaa’s annual Arctic report card”)
- At this weekend’s climate summit, no one will be perfect but Australia will be awful
- Our Oceans, Our Future (Fabien Cousteau: “To conquer the dual, interrelated crises of Covid-19 and climate change we have to start small, and dream big.”)
- Biden eyeing Buttigieg for China ambassador (“Letting him deepen his foreign policy chops could boost Buttigieg’s future.”)
- Chinese Vaccine Is Said to Be 86 Percent Effective (“The U.A.E. said it reviewed an analysis by Sinopharm, a Chinese state-owned vaccine maker, of data from late-stage clinical trials.”)
- Saudi Arabia Is in No Rush to Recognize Israel (“Expectations that the Saudis would join a group hug with Israel and the other Arab nations were always hopelessly optimistic.”)
- The record turnaround for covid-19 vaccines has years of extraordinary science to thank
- What it would really take to save the economy (“Fixing the economy for all Americans would cost trillions of dollars more than what Congress is offering.”)
- QuantumScape finally unstealths — with breakthrough performance in solid state batteries (“After ten secretive years, several hundred million dollars spent, and the efforts of hundreds of scientists and engineers, QuantumScape went public on a video call today with the performance results of its solid-state battery — and its potential impact on the electric vehicle industry.”)
- Coalition Aims for 25GW of Green Hydrogen by 2026 (“Seven firms join forces for fiftyfold scale-up of global hydrogen production capacity.”)
- Pfizer and Moderna RSVP Hell Fuck No to Trump’s “Vaccine Summit”(“The drug manufacturers appear to want no part in the administration’s attempt to take credit for the COVID-19 vaccines.”)
- New Data Reveal Which Hospitals Are Dangerously Full. Is Yours?
- Intensive Care Beds Are Nearing Capacity Across the Country
- Biden details plan to combat coronavirus pandemic in first 100 days
- Biden pledges ‘100m shots in 100 days’ as he introduces health team
- First Thing: Trump says ‘we’re doing incredibly’ as Biden faces reality
- SCOTUS Is Over It
- The Supreme Court Was Handed a Reeking Dead Fish and Refused Delivery
- Trump’s false crusade rolls on despite Supreme Court rebuke (“The high court’s response showed that evidence-free conspiracy theories might thrill the President’s base and his media propagandists, but they don’t cut it in court”)
- Supreme Court denies Trump allies’ bid to overturn Pennsylvania election results
- The Resentment That Never Sleeps (“Rising anxiety over declining social status tells us a lot about how we got here and where we’re going”)
- As Trump Rails Against Loss, His Supporters Become More Threatening
- House Passes Defense Bill Overwhelmingly, Defying Trump’s Veto Threat
- White House proposes dramatically lower unemployment benefit in exchange for $600 stimulus check (“The proposal is almost certainly a nonstarter among Democrats who have insisted on additional federal help for jobless Americans”)
- Confusion grips Capitol amid flurry of stimulus plans
- The Texas Attorney General’s Shameful and Stupid Attempt to Crash the Election (” Laughable statistics, unsubstantiated facts, and weak lawyering in the service of Donald Trump. — Here we go again. Another insane lawsuit.”)
- Why Is the G.O.P. Refusing to Recognize Its Own Success? (“Republicans not named Trump fared quite well in 2020, not that you can tell from listening to them.”)
- Joe Biden: Why I Chose Lloyd Austin as Secretary of Defense
- Democrats need to defend norms. They should oppose Lloyd Austin’s nomination.
- Can a retired general restore order at the Pentagon? There’s reason for doubt.
- David Ignatius: Lloyd Austin’s qualities may have worked for him as a general, but not as defense secretary
- Max Boot: Warfare is evolving fast. We need a secretary of defense who is an agent of change.
- Trump Is the Republican Party. The Party Is Trump.
- Biden to tap Marcia Fudge to lead housing agency
- How Biden’s FCC could fix America’s internet (“The FCC can bring back net neutrality and help Americans stay connected during the pandemic — if everything goes its way now.”)
- Biden selects Marcia L. Fudge as HUD secretary and Tom Vilsack to lead Agriculture department
- Will Biden Pick a USDA Secretary Who Sees Our Food Crises Clearly? (“The notion that Tom Vilsack and Heidi Heitkamp represent rural America is reductive and outdated”)
- Biden’s Choice for Pentagon Faces Questions on Ties to Contractors
- Gen. Lloyd Austin, defense secretary nominee, brings deep combat experience and a connection with Biden
- Exclusive-Former U.S. homeland chief Johnson says he will not join Biden administration
- Why So Many Men Stuck With Trump In 2020 (Pathetic.)
- Biden’s West Wing to start with small staff to curb COVID-19
- ‘Corruption In Real Time’: Rep. Katie Porter Shreds McConnell For Stymying Stimulus Bill
- All of Donald Trump’s Remaining Lawyers (Two Lawyers) Have the Coronavirus
- Scoop: West Wing fears COVID spread after Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis attends WH party
- Harrison seen as front-runner to take over DNC at crucial moment
- He Pretended to Be Trump’s Family. Then Trump Fell for It.
- Voice of America interim director pushed out by Trump-appointed overseer in final flurry of actions to assert control
- Republican Sen. Pat Toomey calls Trump’s campaign to overturn Pennsylvania election ‘completely unacceptable’
- Arizona Supreme Court upholds Biden win in Arizona
- Courts jettison more Georgia election challenges
- In Georgia, pundits are repeating the same mistakes they made in November
- Georgia Republicans Are Going All-In On Voter Suppression (“With Georgia’s crucial runoff election less than a month away, Republicans seem to be targeting Black and brown voters as part of the plan to secure wins for Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue.”)
- After Trump’s Loss in Arizona, State Republicans Hurl Insults at One Another
- Rep. Swalwell says Trump criticism behind spy story
- Yang calling NYC elected officials to gauge mayoral run
- Protesters spent nearly an hour outside my home chanting about conspiracy theories. Here’s what I learned
- Newsmax TV scores a ratings win over Fox News for the first time ever (Very disturbing.)
- Sen. Kelly Loeffler’s Husband Bought Stock In Sectors Set To Benefit From Then-Secret Bill
- New Los Angeles DA announces end to cash bail, the death penalty and trying children as adults
- Giuliani witness whose testimony went viral says she isn’t self-quarantining despite his covid-19 diagnosis
- How Oath Keepers Are Quietly Infiltrating Local Government (“In a small county in Texas, the far-right group is racking up wins at the ballot box. Is a constitutional showdown coming?”)
- Warner pushes for $908 billion in COVID-19 relief, hears concerns of not enough tests while cases soar in SW Va.
- VA GOP’s 2020 10th CD Nominee: “No matter who you support in 2021, threatening another, specifically anyone on the SCC, is NEVER OK. STOP. IT! “
- Terry McAuliffe to seek a second term as Virginia governor (“The Democrat would be only the second governor in modern times to make a comeback in Virginia.”)
- Former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe set to announce bid to get his old job back
- Polls: Who Do You Support in the Virginia Gov, AG Dem 2021 Primaries?
- McAuliffe to announce bid for second term as Virginia governor
- “Electrify Your Ride” The Push for More EVs in VA
- Video: Del. Jennifer Carroll Foy Announces She’s Stepping Down from House of Delegates, Is “All In” For Virginia Governor
- Tuesday (12/8) Virginia Data on COVID-19: 3-Day (11,557), 10-Day (29,113) New Cases All Hit Record Highs
- As Virginia Prepares For COVID-19 Vaccinations, Community Conversations Start Up Today
- Rail advocates hope Virginia’s new authority will take ‘politics out of our rail policy’
- Criminal record expungement: When will Virginia be ready?
- Editorial: To reach economic recovery, Virginia can improve its position on the world stage
- Editorial: Stress takes costly toll in Va. workplaces
- Virginia Lawmaker Sues State Officials, Demands Offices Reopen (Yep, it’s extremist nutter Bill DeSteph again…)
- Governor Northam Sets 1/5/21 as Date of Special Election for Second House of Delegates District
- Fairfax Dems Pass Resolution Affirming Support for School Board “as they make evidence-based decisions about school reopening plans”
- Fairfax Education Association wants FCPS students returned to full virtual learning curriculum
- Community Leader Candi King Will Seek Nomination for the 2nd District House of Delegates Seat
- Falls Church school board votes unanimously to change names of 2 schools (“The Falls Church School Board in Virginia voted 7-0 to change the names of Thomas Jefferson Elementary and George Mason High Tuesday night.”)
- The pandemic’s invisible toll: Experts see surge of mental health need for Black and Latino kids in Richmond
- D.C.-area forecast: Seasonably cold today with a few flakes possible, then a warmer stretch into the weekend
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