Tuesday News: “Senate Power-Sharing Deal Moves Ahead”; “Biden sets sights on 1.5 million vaccinations a day”; “Schumer calls for Biden to declare climate emergency”; “Businessman Pete Snyder joins race for Virginia governor”

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Tuesday, January 26.

No sooner has the portion of Rachel Maddow’s interview with Senator Majority Leader Chuck Schumer aired than Mitch McConnell has put out a statement that he is folding, ending the stand-off. pic.twitter.com/9qR1jpKXkf

— Maddow Blog (@MaddowBlog) January 26, 2021

• Earth Has Lost More Than 28 Trillion Tons of Ice Since 1994 (“New study finds melting on par with scientists’ worst-case scenarios.” Disastrous.)
• Wind and solar lead charge as renewables overtake fossil fuels in Europe
• BlackRock’s Larry Fink Sets a Bolder Climate Goal in Annual Letter
• Democracy could have been damaged forever in the last 4 years, EU chief says (“The images of riots at the U.S. Capitol, the heart of the U.S.′ policymaking body, in early January shocked European leaders. They also revived discussions over the role of social media in the spread of disinformation and potential political unrest.”)
• Putin’s Unchanging, Unthinking Response to Alexey Navalny
• Russians just revealed Vladimir Putin’s weakness
• Unequal access to vaccines could cost trillions in global losses, report warns
• Indian Farmers March Set for Republic Day
• Lawmakers say North Korean diplomat defected to South Korea
• Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte to resign, leaving nation without a stable government to guide pandemic response
• A Kenyan Ecologist’s Crusade to Save Her Country’s Wildlife (“To get her fellow-citizens to care about threatened animals, Paula Kahumbu became a TV star.”)
• U.K. Coronavirus Variant Probed for Increased Risk to Younger People
• Biden ushers in historical turn on clean energy and climate change
• Biden sets sights on 1.5 million vaccinations a day
• Please, Biden, Try for 2 Million Shots a Day
• Executives from Jeff Bezos to Ford Motor Co.’s Bill Ford tell Joe Biden: Fighting climate change means job creation
• Schumer calls for Biden to declare climate emergency
• Senators to be sworn in for historic Trump impeachment trial (“The trial will begin the week of Feb. 8, which gives Democrats more time to confirm Biden’s Cabinet while Trump’s defense team will have more time to prepare”)
• Trump Has Left Congress No Choice (“The Capitol riot was a tragic farce, but the type of political violence it represents poses an existential threat to democracy”)
• Sen. Patrick Leahy To Preside Over Trump’s Senate Impeachment Trial
• John Roberts ducks the spotlight by skipping the second Trump impeachment trial
• Biden tells CNN Trump’s impeachment trial ‘has to happen’
• Senate to Begin Trump Trial Then Pause for Biden Confirmations
• Schumer promises quick but fair trial as Trump impeachment heads to Senate
• House delivers article of impeachment against Trump to Senate
• Trump sends a message to Senate Republicans ahead of his trial
• It’s not just Trump on trial. It’s the whole Republican Party.
• Senate Power-Sharing Deal Moves Ahead (“McConnell says comments from Democratic senators assuaged his concerns about the filibuster being potentially eliminated”)
• Why Mitch McConnell relented on his demands about preserving the filibuster (“McConnell didn’t get all he’d hoped, but got some Democrats to reaffirm their commitment to the filibuster.”)
• McConnell drops demands for filibuster guarantee, paving way for Senate power-sharing pact
• Can Democrats exercise a mini-nuclear option against McConnell?
• McConnell allows Senate power-sharing deal to advance after fight with Democrats over filibuster
• Manchin emphatic he ‘will not vote’ to kill the filibuster
• Biden is betting on Senate compromise. So far, it’s paying off.
• As filibuster clash paralyzes Senate, Democratic frustration grows
• Democrats Should Act Like They Won the Election
• Democrats won power. Now, they need to use it.
• Yellen Takes Charge at Treasury With Economic Rebound Weakening
• McConnell Agrees to Power Sharing Pact, Backs Off on Filibuster (“GOP leader cites assurances on filibuster from two Democrats; Both sides claim win, but McConnell’s position was risky”)
• Fauci says he worried Trump’s disinfectant comment would make people ‘start doing dangerous and foolish things’
  
• Biden’s Initial Approval Rating Is Higher Than Trump’s Ever Was
• Majority Support Trump Impeachment
• How Democrats Can Keep Their Policies Safe From This Supreme Court (“A little-used but entirely legal strategy could protect Congress from Trump’s appointees getting the last word.”)
• Deaths Of Despair: How The Pandemic May Be Fueling Lethal Drug Overdoses
• Biden Sets in Motion Plan to Ban New Oil and Gas Drilling on Federal Land
• Biden’s bipartisan push hits wall on COVID-19 relief bill
• Here are the executive orders Biden has signed so far
• The rich got richer during the pandemic. We need to claw back their gains.
• Woman Accused of Stealing Laptop from Nancy Pelosi’s Office May Lose Internet Access as Feds Allege Deepening Cover-Up
• The Trump era’s depredations are still emerging
• Biden to tap nurse as acting surgeon general
• Dominion Voting Systems sues Giuliani for $1.3bn over baseless election claims (Good – bankrupt the evil mother@#$#@!)
• A message to retiring Republicans: You can rescue your party
• As Trump Seeks to Remain a Political Force, New Targets Emerge
• Rob Portman Opens Up an Ohio Senate Seat in 2022 (“And possibly also the gates of hell.”)
• Scoop: Google won’t donate to members of Congress who voted against election results
• Former Voice of America overseer hired two law firms to $4 million no-bid contracts.
• 50 things that are better already
• What Biden is going to do about racial inequity (“The federal government can do a lot — if the president wants.”)
• Nobody Who Entered the Capitol Can Get Off Scot-Free. Charge Them All, Try Them All.
• Apollo C.E.O. to Step Down After Firm Finds More Payments to Jeffrey Epstein
• Portman’s exit underscores Republican identity crisis
• QAnon Thinks Trump Will Become President Again on March 4
• Twitter Bans My Pillow CEO Who Insisted Trump Won the Election (It’s about f’ing time!)
• Pro-Trump lawyer Lin Wood fired by teen who faced off with Native American in viral video
• Josh Hawley Believes Disliking Josh Hawley Is an Act of Censorship (Beyond parody.)
• Rupert Murdoch, Accepting Award, Condemns ‘Awful Woke Orthodoxy’ (Murdoch is a horrible, twisted person.)
• Tucker Carlson defends QAnon (This guy is completely unhinged.)
• Missouri senator pushes ethics probe of Democrats, including Kaine, who filed complaint against him (What a pathetic joke.)
• Virginia confirms first case of U.K. coronavirus variant: Health officials say they’re monitoring it closely
• Editorial: A more approachable, accessible system to get vaccinated
• Number of vaccinated Virginians nearly catches up to tally of those infected
• Monday (1/25) Virginia Data on COVID-19 Finds +6,172 Confirmed/Probable Cases (to 478,619), +52 Hospitalizations (to 20,764), +3 Deaths (to 6,081)
• First case of highly contagious UK COVID variant found in Virginia
• Gerron Scott and Ash Taylor-Beierl column: Legalized marijuana would generate money for HBCUs
• New Poll of Virginians: 83% Want To Be Able to Choose Clean Electricity, 77% Want to Choose Their Electricity Provider; 66%-3% Want More CLEAN Energy vs. More Fossil Fuels
• Bill Ditching Signature Requirement for Absentee Ballots Passes State Senate
• Law aiming to help schools and local governments access solar sails through House
  
• Regional rail vision aims to stitch Virginia, Maryland and D.C. closer together
• New Sierra Club Report Gives Dominion Energy a Pathetic “D” Grade on Becoming “Carbon Neutral”
• Petition Filed in DC Circuit Court of Appeals Challenging Recent FERC Approval on Mountain Valley Pipeline Construction Near National Forest Lands
• Terry McAuliffe Releases “Plan of Action for a Fairer Commonwealth” to Build on Historic Progress & Reform Virginia’s Criminal Justice System
• Businessman Pete Snyder joins race for Virginia governor (“Snyder is the fourth Republican to formally join the race, with a fifth waiting in the wings.”)
• Suicides at gun ranges lead to Virginia legislation to require background checks for gun rentals
• Democrat Paul Siker Announces Campaign in HD33 Against Far-Right Extremist, Seditionist Del. Dave LaRock (R)
• Republicans are moving forward with organizing a convention – but the Chairman warns action must be taken
• Signature requirement to qualify for statewide primary reduced under settlement
• Editorial: Chesapeake Bay cleanup still a work in progress
• State installs fence around Lee Monument to prepare for statue’s future removal; appeal filed in suit
• Residents ask high court to block removal of Richmond’s Robert E. Lee statue as Virginia prepares to act (“Metal fencing went up around the traffic circle where protesters have been a constant presence since summer.”)
• Richmond City Council approves tax amnesty program, delays vote on participatory budgeting plan
• Southwest Virginia’s largest solar farm project approved in Pulaski County
• Virginia Beach: At current projected rate, COVID-19 vaccinations would take 2 years
• Loudoun considers new fees for developers to meet strong demand during pandemic
• Lingering and freezing drizzle, then slowly drying out