by Lowell
Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, January 15.
- The Covid-19 Death Toll Is Even Worse Than It Looks (“More than 2.8 million people have lost their lives due to the pandemic, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of data from 59 countries and jurisdictions. This tally offers the most comprehensive view yet of the pandemic’s global impact. Deaths in these places last year surged more than 12% above average levels. Less than two-thirds of that surge has been attributed directly to Covid-19.”)
- 2020 rivals hottest year on record, pushing Earth closer to a critical climate threshold (Slash greenhouse gas emissions big time, starting immediately. Also, massively reforest.)
- UN urges nations to scale up climate change adaptation to avoid major economic loss
- Analysis | A Massive Syria Strike, and an Israeli Message to Biden
- Trump Orders U.S. Military Reorganization Favored by Pro-Israel Groups
- Analysis: Investors resigned to Trump’s China ban, with Biden seen changing little
- Biden’s stimulus plan could drive out funds from Asia to the U.S., JPMorgan says
- 400,000 More U.S. Deaths Than Normal Since Covid-19 Struck
- Experts warn of vaccine stumbles ‘out of the gate’ because Trump officials refused to consult with Biden team
- Survey Finds Majority of Voters Support Initiatives to Fight Climate Change (“A survey carried out after the November election found that 66 percent of respondents said that developing sources of clean energy should be a high or very high priority.”)
- Analysis: Biden’s federal boost to vaccine rollout is critical to speeding inoculations
- Jobless Americans are still suffering. America must not look away.
- A brutal government report reveals new depths to Trump’s cruelty and inhumanity
- The Republicans are out of time to repudiate Trump’s election lies
- Secretary of State Pompeo Leaves No Bridges Unburned (“On the way out the door, the Trump administration is trying its utmost to make things difficult for Joe Biden.”)
- Eyes on Pelosi as Trump impeachment trial timing up in the air
- Four Rules That Should Guide Bidenomics (“Basically, damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead”)
- Biden wrests control of Trump’s spotlight and makes first big bet of presidency
- Economists See Much to Like in Biden Stimulus, Even If Imperfect
- Biden Urges Swift Action on Giant Aid Plan With Republicans Wary
- Trump’s post-presidential impeachment punishment may end up before the Supreme Court
- FACT SHEET: President-elect Biden Announces American Rescue Plan
- Biden announces vaccination plan, economic rescue package in evening address
- Democrats looking to speed through Senate impeachment trial
- Exclusive: Large bitcoin payments to right-wing activists a month before Capitol riot linked to foreign account
- GOP in bind over Trump as corporate donations freeze
- Corporate America takes away Trump’s toys (“America’s elites got what they wanted from Donald Trump. Now they’re walking away.”)
- Lawmakers who conspired with Capitol attackers in legal peril
- U.S. says Capitol rioters meant to ‘capture and assassinate’ officials-filing
- Questions everyone in the ‘Sedition Caucus’ must answer
- Bullied into voting against impeachment? Tell the cops and then resign.
- Trump’s future looks rotten (“Impeached for a second time, the president’s ordeal becomes the Republicans’ lasting shame.”)
- Arrested Capitol rioters had guns and bombs, everyday careers and Olympic medals
- Among the Insurrectionists (“The Capitol was breached by Trump supporters who had been declaring, at rally after rally, that they would go to violent lengths to keep the President in power. A chronicle of an attack foretold.”)
- Some Democrats in Congress are worried their colleagues might kill them
- One big mystery remains unsolved: Why was the Capitol left unguarded? (“The Capitol Police have more than 2,000 officers and a $500 million budget. Who prevented them from stopping this?”)
- Trumpism’s Inevitable End (“Finally the world agrees that Trump is exactly the man his fiercest critics said he was. But has the reckoning come too late?”)
- Trump explodes at Nixon comparisons as he prepares to leave office (Actually, those comparisons are very unfair…to Nixon!)
- Inside Trump’s final days: Aides struggle to contain an angry, isolated president (Such a f’ed-up person…seek help!)
- A Former Marine Stormed the Capitol as Part of a Far-Right Militia
- Trump won’t say the one thing that could really calm down his followers (“The president refuses to distance himself from the election lies that motivated the Capitol riot.”)
- Four years ago, I set out in an RV to understand Trump’s appeal. Here’s what I found. (“Trump’s election wasn’t an aberration at all — more like a festering wound, infected with racism.”)
- Far-right groups make plans for protests and assaults before and after Inauguration Day
- Trump Reconciles With Ex-Strategist Steve Bannon in Talks on Election (The worst of the worst.)
- Big Tech Has Failed Us. But There’s Hope. (“The chaos of the last two weeks offers an opportunity to rethink the role of technology in our lives.”)
- They’ve Been Calling for Bloodshed the Whole Time (“Some on the right have supported violence for years now; the party has built its power on them.”)
- A Calmer America Starts at the Top (“Things will start to shift once we have a new commander in chief.”)
- Since The Capitol Attack, Trump’s Approval Rating Has Plummeted At A Record Rate (“On Jan. 6, the day of the Capitol attack, Trump’s net approval rating stood at -10.3 points, which means his net approval rating has fallen 6.5 points in just eight days.”)
- This Entire Country Is Out of Its Freaking Mind (“Here is what you get from all that vainglorious poison spoon-fed to the unwary and the angry by the media ecosystem of the lunatic right.”)
- Trump Plans to Live at Mar-a-Lago, Employ Some Current Aides
- Dozens of people on FBI terrorist watch list came to D.C. the day of Capitol riot
- Online extremists are ignoring Trump’s call for calm
- Why Are There So Few Courageous Senators? (“Here’s what we need to do if we want more Mitt Romneys and fewer Josh Hawleys.”)
- ‘He Won’t Last Until the Primary’: Republicans Who Voted to Impeach Getting Death Threats
- With Impeachment Trial And Relief Plan On Deck, Harris Stresses Need To ‘Multitask’
- Biden inauguration rehearsal is postponed due to security threats
- Biden Team Starts @PresElectBiden While Clashing With Twitter
- What to expect on Twitter on US Inauguration Day 2021
- Biden Picks Former F.D.A. Chief to Lead Federal Vaccine Efforts (“Dr. David Kessler, who helped speed the development of AIDS drugs, will become President-elect Joe Biden’s top science official at Operation Warp Speed.”)
- After 2 Impeachments, Giuliani Vows to Continue His Fervor for Trump (Giuliani is completely insane and evil.)
- Whistleblowers Demand VOA Director Resign Over Pompeo Speech, Staff Moves
- The $3,000-a-month toilet for the Ivanka Trump/Jared Kushner Secret Service detail (Jared and Ivanka should be ostracized the rest of their pathetic, miserable lives.)
- ‘Kill him with his own gun’: Police describe facing the mob at the Capitol
- Charges Leveled at Men Accused of Assaulting Police With Flag, Fire Extinguisher in Capitol Riot
- MAGA-land’s Favorite Newspaper (“How The Epoch Times became a pro-Trump propaganda machine in an age of plague and insurrection ” Amanda Chase shares articles from this all the time.)
- In 2 weeks after it called the election, Fox News cast doubt on the results nearly 800 times (“Fox News built the lie that fueled Trump’s insurrectionist mob”)
- Politico brought Ben Shapiro on as a ‘Playbook’ guest author to bring balance. It brought a backlash instead. (Absolutely disgraceful. Maybe time to stop linking to/reading Politico.)
- Seth Rich conspiracy theorists retract and apologize for false statements as they settle lawsuit
- Sen. James Lankford apologizes to Black Tulsans for questioning presidential election results
- An FBI Agent Went Undercover to Study White Supremacists. He’s Now Speaking Out About Racist Police. (“Michael German says the FBI needs to do much more to root out biased cops.”)
- “No One Took Us Seriously”: Black Cops Warned About Racist Capitol Police Officers for Years
- Trump administration staffers are getting snubbed while hunting for jobs. One recruiter tried to place six of them and couldn’t land any interviews.
- Ted Cruz’s Former Staffers Are ‘Disgusted’ by His New Low for Trump (Ted Cruz is the worst of the worst, along with people like Josh Hawley, Jim Jordan, Louie Gohmert, etc.)
- The Guy Who Flew a Confederate Flag in the Capitol Has Predictably Surrendered
- Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell have disappeared from Fox airwaves
- More than 30 Members of Congress, Including Reps. Luria and Spanberger, Demand “immediate investigation into the suspicious behavior and access given to visitors to the Capitol Complex on Tuesday, January 5”
- Video: Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA07) – Leaders Must Not Let Lies Go Unchallenged or They Will “Fester and Foster These Conspiracy Theories That There Was Some ‘Steal’ That [People] Need to Rise Up To”
- Over 1K Civic Leaders, Activists Demand That Rep. Rob Wittman (R-VA01) Resign
- The crowd outside the Capitol last week included Rep. Bob Good’s district director (“Sandy Adams and her husband, a local GOP official, attended the rally but did not breach the Capitol.” Good needs to be expelled and investigated.)
- Abigail Spanberger Says ‘Violent and Extreme Ideology’ Drove Capitol Riots
- Scoop: Pelosi endorses McAuliffe for Virginia governor
- Virginia, Maryland expand vaccine eligibility as Northam encourages schools to reopen
- Northam Greenlights Vaccines for Anyone 65+ or With Preexisting Conditions
- Virginia to expand vaccine rollout to anyone 65 and older after push from White House
- Thursday (1/14) Virginia Data on COVID-19 Finds +5,294 Confirmed/Probable Cases (to 417,839), +125 Hospitalizations (to 19,595), +74 Deaths (to 5,626)
- Video: Gov. Northam Gives COVID-19 Briefing That, Hopefully, Won’t Be as Eventful as Last Wednesday’s…
- Virginia Republicans’ Disastrous Start To The Legislative Session
- Video: “Amanda Chase just spent ten minutes on the floor of the Senate…spewing…conspiracy theories…Not a single Republican stood up to say she was wrong”
- Democrats seek censure of Virginia state senator who praised Capitol rioters
- VA Senators John Bell, George Barker, Adam Ebbin, Jennifer Boysko Seek to Censure Amanda Chase (R) “for fomenting insurrection against the United States”
- Some in the Virginia GOP Go Over the Edge
- Some Virginia schools are reluctant to reopen. New state guidelines are nudging them toward it.
- Northam directs school divisions to start making plans for reopening
- Virginia issues new school reopening guidance in push to get students back to the classroom
- Democrats eye vehicles as the next target for cutting carbon emissions (Also need to address buildings’ energy efficiency.)
- Chesterfield Supervisor Leslie Haley announces run for attorney general (“Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors member Leslie Haley announced Thursday that she is seeking the GOP nomination to become Virginia’s top lawyer.”)
- Mark Herring, Jay Jones, and the Death Penalty
- Editorial: Stand up to fight extremism in Virginia
- Loudoun Supervisors and NAACP calls for Del. Dave LaRock to resign after “Colored” statements on blog
- Virginia National Guard will be on ‘standby’ for expected protests in Richmond this weekend
- Embattled Christiansburg restaurant owner takes issue with Blacksburg lawmaker (“Marie March said she’s worried that a recent comment Del. Chris Hurst, D-Blacksburg, could affect her businesses in the future. Hurst has since apologized.”)
- Many Grocery Store Workers Are Unaware They Can Sign Up For COVID-19 Vaccines, At Least In Arlington
- No, this bill isn’t trying to eliminate snow days for Virginia students
- Albemarle board allows winter sports, extracurriculars to move forward as classes switch to all-online
- Showers by late afternoon or evening, then perhaps some snow showers Saturday
