by Lowell
Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Saturday, January 2.
- How Israel Became a World Leader in Vaccinating Against Covid-19 (“Badly hit by the coronavirus, Israel has distributed the first of two vaccine doses to more than 10 percent of its population. Prime Minister Netanyahu is leading the charge, bolstering his own battered image along the way.” That would be like the U.S. having already vaccinated 30 million people. We’re not even close, thanks in large part to Trump.)
- In Abrupt Reversal of Iran Strategy, Pentagon Orders Aircraft Carrier Home
- Highly Contagious Virus Variant Now Found in 33 Countries
- As Understanding of Russian Hacking Grows, So Does Alarm (“The hacking exposed the vulnerability of government networks and raised questions about how and why the nation’s cyberdefenses failed so spectacularly. American officials are still trying to understand whether what the Russians pulled off was simply an espionage operation or something more sinister. Legal prohibitions on the National Security Agency prohibit it from surveilling networks inside the United States.”)
- Iran to enrich uranium to up to 20% purity, UN nuclear watchdog says (“Latest move was flagged in law passed last month after the assassination of country’s top nuclear scientist”)
- China drives a wedge between Europe and the United States
- Britain Has Lost Itself (“My grandparents, who fled Nazi Germany for Britain, would be heartbroken to see the country today.”)
- First lorries cross into France as Britain and Europe wake to new Brexit reality
- The legacy of 2020: Riches for the wealthy and White, financial pain for others
- Is America Still the ‘Shining City on a Hill’? (“If the eyes of all people are upon America now, they are not witnessing an edifying spectacle.”)
- US surpasses 20 million Covid-19 cases as experts warn it’ll take months for vaccines to turn the tide
- Coughing, sneezing, vomiting: Visibly ill people aren’t being kept off planes
- Covid-19 Vaccine’s Slow Rollout Could Portend More Problems
- Hundreds of thousands more US Covid deaths possible amid vaccine chaos (“Scant funding and scattered logistics have slowed distribution process as coronavirus case numbers rise, painting a dire picture for the future”)
- Pelosi announces proposed rules package for incoming Congress
- Congress overrides a Trump veto for the first time with Senate vote on defense bill
- Senate Overrides Trump’s Veto of Defense Bill, Dealing a Legislative Blow
- Five flashpoints to watch for in 2021 economy
- Landmark Bill Ending Anonymous U.S. Companies Is Enacted
- Biden set to supercharge clean energy push with $40B stash
- As Some Deficit Hawks Turn Dove, the New Politics of Debt Are on Display (“Some Republicans who once scolded about fiscal austerity are now embracing government spending, underlining that the public supports more generous relief.”)
- Trump and Hawley set off Republican meltdown (“The President and Missouri senator are stoking division in GOP ranks with the Georgia special election that will determine control of the Senate days away”)
- Trump attacks No. 2 Senate Republican as the President turns on allies in his final days in office
- McConnell swats back at Trump amid Republican power struggle
- ‘Exercise in futility’: Republicans lambaste Hawley’s push to challenge election
- Legal Experts Destroy Louie Gohmert Lawsuit’s ‘Breathtaking’ and ‘Preposterous’ Response to DOJ and VP Pence
- Judge Rejects Last-Minute Claim That Pence Can Ignore States’ Presidential Electors
- Judge dismisses Gohmert lawsuit seeking to stymie Biden electoral college count
- Judge Throws Out Lawsuit That Rep. Louie Gohmert and Fake Pro-Trump Electors Brought Against Vice President Mike Pence
- Why we can’t just “move on”: We need accountability for Donald Trump’s misdeeds (“We can’t repeat President Obama’s mistakes: There’s no way to move forward without addressing the damage done”)
- Trump Plans to Fight the Election Even After the Rallies End (“The president has told advisers he isn’t deterred by the setbacks in the courts and won’t be deterred by Congress certifying Joe Biden’s win.”)
- ‘It’s Just Unprecedented’: Senate Hinges on Georgia Runoff Chaos
- Can Democrats Win Georgia—and the Senate? (“In order to do so, the candidates will need high voter turnout in a state where it tends to drop during runoffs, especially among the Party’s own supporters.”)
- The Democrats’ Most Effective Election Ads Did Not Feature Trump
- A Closer Look at the Four Candidates in Georgia’s Senate Runoffs
- Trump Calls Georgia Senate Races ‘Illegal and Invalid’
- Trump’s attacks on Senate Republicans complicate his Georgia message
- Raphael Warnock: What’s at Stake in Georgia
- Before Embracing America-First Agenda, David Perdue Was an Outsourcing Expert
- Former Arlington Dems Chair Kip Malinosky Has Made 2,801 Calls Into Georgia, Ranking Him #1 on the “Election Day Volunteer Leaderboard”; Want to Join Him?
- A record three million early votes cast in Georgia’s U.S. Senate runoff races
- Without Trump, or Masks, Mar-a-Lago Partied On
- With Trump a no-show, Mar-a-Lago guests left to party maskless with Rudy Giuliani and Vanilla Ice (Totally f’ed up.)
- Josh Hawley Wants to Be America’s Most Dangerous Republican (“Keep an eye on this guy. He’s Trump without the stupidity or incompetence or personal obnoxiousness or open racism.”)
- Fourteen days that will test our democracy (“Trump isn’t calling his followers to Washington for sport. Or to make lawmakers nervous. Or to dominate the news cycle. Trump wants to overturn the 2020 election and take the presidential oath on Jan. 20. This is our current state. How will democracy look on Inauguration Day?”)
- Nancy Pelosi’s home vandalized with graffiti, fake blood on New Year’s Day (Appalling.)
- Appeals court vacates order delaying woman’s execution
- Mark Warner column: Honoring Barbara Johns
- Senators Tim Kaine, Mark Warner on 81-13 Vote to Override Trump Veto of National Defense Bill
- Gov. Northam should release some state prisoners
- Friday (1/1/21) Virginia Data on COVID-19: Highest 2-Day, 3-Day, 10-Day Total New Cases; New Record High in Hospitalizations
- Bielawski and Frost: Time to end Virginia’s death penalty
- BREAKING: Del. Lee Carter Officially Announces for Virginia Governor 2021
- Lee Carter Joins the Race to be Virginia’s Governor
- Del. Lee Carter announces run for governor; he’s fifth to seek the Democratic nomination
- Democratic Lt. Governor Candidate Sean Perryman Announces $204k Raised Since He Officially Entered the Race in October
- Where’s the Nurse? Bill Would Change How Virginia Schools Provide Healthcare
- Governor Northam Statement on the Passing of Senator A. Benton Chafin, Jr. (R-SD38), Who Died From “Complications From COVID-19”
- State Sen. Ben Chafin, who represented part of New River Valley, dies from COVID-19 complications
- Virginia state senator dies of covid-19 (“State Sen. A. Benton Chafin, Jr. had been hospitalized for about two weeks.”)
- Virginia State Senator Ben Chafin has passed away from COVID-19 complications
- Kerr: The unnecessary 2nd District election (“The vast majority of voters in the 2nd District will probably never even know there was a special election. So much for the democratic process.” Agreed; this election – in such a short time span during the holidays – is utterly absurd and undemocratic.)
- Richmond sculptor Edward Valentine created many of the statues that defined Lost Cause mythology. Now his family’s museum is confronting the legacy.
- Prince William police shot and killed a 79-year-old man. Was it a preventable tragedy?
- Mild with sunshine today, before more rain Sunday
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