Wednesday News: “House to impeach Trump as GOP support grows”; “We must end the post-truth society”; “Now Social Media Grows a Conscience?”; “Security heightened in Richmond as Virginia General Assembly session begins”

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Wednesday, January 13.

• BlackRock holds $85bn in coal despite pledge to sell fossil fuel shares
• Baby shark study reveals impacts of climate change on Great Barrier Reef species
• Brazil finds China’s Sinovac to be less effective than earlier data shows
• Exclusive: Luxembourg, EU snub Pompeo in final Europe trip, diplomats say
• Israel isn’t a democracy, it’s an ‘apartheid regime,’ rights group says (The country’s been drifting further and further to the right for decades, no doubt.)
• Trump and Mike Pompeo’s parting outrage: Falsely accusing Cuba of sponsoring terrorism (“Placing Cuba back on the list of ‘state sponsors of terror’ is pure politics — and a poison pill for Biden’s team”)
• CDC to require all air travelers to US to show negative coronavirus test
• U.S. Vaccine Shift Stirs Fresh Unease as 128 Million Join Line
• Distracted by Political Crisis, U.S. Sets Record for Virus Deaths
• READ: Military Joint Chiefs statement condemning ‘sedition and insurrection’ at US Capitol
• House to impeach Trump as GOP support grows (“The sole article of impeachment the House is expected to pass today is damning”)
• House Set for Impeachment Vote as Republicans Break From Trump
• In part due to free speech worries, FBI never issued intel bulletin about possible Capitol violence (WTF???)
• FBI report warned of ‘war’ at Capitol, contradicting claims there was no indication of looming violence (We’re going to need a version of the 9/11 commission to look into this and figure out who needs to be held accountable.)
• Pelosi Names Impeachment Managers
• Fury at the shaken Capitol over the attack, security, virus
• Pence refuses to invoke 25th Amendment as Democrats work to remove Trump (“The House on Tuesday night passed a resolution calling on Pence and the Cabinet to push Trump out of office over his role in fomenting last week’s Capitol riot; The chamber plans to impeach Trump on Wednesday.”)
• McConnell is said to be pleased about impeachment, believing it will be easier to purge Trump from the G.O.P.
• Scoop: McConnell leans toward convicting Trump
• Key takeaways from the stunning Justice Department news conference on the US Capitol breach
• Justice Department Warns It’s Coming For Those Involved In Capitol Violence
• Defiant Trump Tries to Burnish Legacy Amid Growing Riot Fury
• Pence Reached His Limit With Trump. It Wasn’t Pretty.
• Mike Pence is done with Trump’s ‘bulls—t’
• Rep. John Katko becomes first House Republican to back Trump impeachment
• GOP Rep. Upton says he will vote to impeach Trump
• Grieving Son’s Death, Maryland Lawmaker Fights to Impeach Trump
• The Bitter Fruits of Trump’s White-Power Presidency (“The events of January 6th make clear a growing unity between the Republican Party and white supremacists.”)
• Trump Is the Republican Party’s Past and Its Future (“Donald Trump is not an aberration but a blueprint”)
• Roots Of U.S. Capitol Insurrectionists Run Through American West
• How MAGA Extremism Ends (“If Trump keeps losing, the risk of future violence will abate.”)
• Republicans protest, circumvent security checkpoint at Capitol (If they won’t follow the rules, don’t let them in. Period.)
• You Can’t Have an Open-Carry Democracy (“Guns, as much as anything, are preventing a return to political normal.”)
• Tensions flare between House Republicans, Capitol Police over metal detectors
• Lawmakers Were Feet and Seconds Away From Confrontation With the Mob in the Capitol
• The President Deliberately Withheld Aid to Combat the Insurrection
• Mikie Sherrill claims Congress members gave ‘reconnaissance’ tours day before Capitol raid (If anyone did that, they need to be expelled and prosecuted.)
• Security concerns mount ahead of Biden inaugurationp
• Secret Service launches massive security operation to protect Biden inauguration
• Pentagon to Arm National Guard Troops Deploying to Capitol for Inauguration
• Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Says She Had A “Very Close Encounter” On The Day The Capitol Was Stormed And Thought She Would Die
• Four years ago, I wondered if the media could handle Trump. Now we know.
• Olympic Gold Medalist Was Part of Crowd That Invaded Capitol (“Klete Keller, who won swimming medals in three Summer Games, was captured on video inside the U.S. Capitol Rotunda during last week’s violent election protest.”)
• The Pro-Trump Riot Renews Concerns About Extremism in the Military (“The Pentagon has done little to address the growing threat.” That needs to change, ASAP.)
• As more MAGA violence looms, impeaching Trump is insufficient
• ‘It was like looking at evil’: The Capitol attack through the eyes of the Massachusetts delegation
• Video shows retired Navy SEAL boasting of ‘breaching the Capitol’
• Trump Is Blowing Apart the G.O.P. God Bless Him.
• Republicans want reconciliation. Here’s what they need to do first.
• Republicans must unambiguously admit that Trump’s lies threaten more violence
• Trump is a clear and present danger
• We must end the post-truth society (“The incentives that perpetuated the Big Lie must end.”)
• Biden, Democrats, plot ‘aggressive’ pandemic response — without the GOP
• I’m 75. I had cancer. I got covid-19 because my GOP colleagues dismiss facts. (“I feel like I have a mild cold. But even more than that, I am angry.”)
• The Capitol Riot Was an Expression of Violent Male Rage
• Poll: Support drops for a Trump run in 2024
• Trump’s Legacy Will Be Activating an Insurgency
• Ivanka Trump Apparently Thinks She’s Going to Ride This Insurrection Out and Be President One Day (Hell no.)
• There’s No ‘Unity’ With GOP Voter-Suppression
• McConnell is already sabotaging Biden’s presidency (“The Senate hasn’t held a single confirmation hearing on Biden’s nominees. That’s not normal.”)
• Republicans Tell Democrats to Catch Their Monster
• Scoop: Rubio asks Biden for $2K stimulus checks as unity appeal
• ‘How Did We Get Here?’ A Call For An Evangelical Reckoning On Trump
• YouTube is suspending President Donald Trump’s channel
• Fight Trump Like a Terrorist Leader, National Security Experts Say (“Fears emerge about law enforcement complicity and securing Joe Biden’s inauguration.”)
• Inside Joe Biden’s plan to avoid a midterm ‘shellacking’
• Fox Runs the GOP. And Fox Wants War. (Time for a modern-day “Fairness Doctrine?”)
• Meet the Mama’s Boys of Donald Trump’s Chickenshit ‘Army’ (“From the rioters who came with their moms to the chickensh*ts in Congress who riled them up to the “most masculine” president ever, these are a sad bunch of men.”)
• Republicans usually revere the free market. Now, they’re cursing it. (Actually, what Republicans revere is crony capitalism – special favors, funded by the taxpayers, for their preferred industries, such as fossil fuels.)
• ‘It Is a Trap’: Far-Right Freaks Out About Rallies It’s Organized (“’This is an infiltration and setup tactic used to incite violence and blame us,’ wrote one group, which organized a Minnesota ‘Storm the Capitol’ event on Jan 6.”)
• Parler Users Breached Deep Inside U.S. Capitol Building, GPS Data Shows
• Now Social Media Grows a Conscience? (“Facebook and Twitter are taking action. It’s too little, too late.”)
• Nuclear and coal will account for majority of U.S. generating capacity retirements in 2021
• The Only Way Forward for the GOP: Impeach and Remove Trump
• Pitts: White conservatives gave violent white radicals a pass. Now they’re about to destroy the country
• Williams: After the Capitol insurrection, we need to know whose side police officers are on.
• ‘Go there ready for war’: FBI’s Norfolk office sent warning ahead of Capitol violence, report says
• Rioters stormed the Oregon Capitol in December. Video shows a Republican lawmaker let them in. (Expel him.)
• Lisa Montgomery: US carries out first federal execution of a woman in nearly seven decadesb
• Sen. Tim Kaine joins colleagues in reintroducing bicameral bill to end federal death penalty
• Senator Tim Kaine calls out President Trump, says security plan at U.S. Capitol abysmal
• Video: Former Rep. Barbara Comstock (R-VA10) Says “Every minute [Trump]’s there, we are in danger” (“He’s a bad man, and he’s a dangerous person to be in this position.”)
• Former Rep. Denver Riggleman (R-VA05)’s “Thoughts on Why Impeachment Is Necessary” (“Allowing President Trump to walk away, validates messianic conspiracy theories and disinformation. It could me more dangerous”)
• Editorial: Northam has been dizzingly transformational (Arguably, Northam’s been the most significant governor in the last few decades at least of Virginia history.)
• Editorial: As lawmakers return to work, plenty to be done (“Virginia lawmakers convene today with plenty to be done to help the commonwealth recover from the pandemic and attend to a host of other pressing needs.”)
• Gov. Northam will introduce bill to end death penalty in Virginia
• Northam’s Proposal Would Add $142 Million to Virginia’s Higher Education Budget
• Why Didn’t Virginia’s Minimum Wage Go Up? Pandemic Halts Plans (“Virginia’s minimum wage was supposed to go up at the beginning of this month.”)
• VA House Democrats Unveil 2021 Agenda to Continue “Building a Better Virginia” (Protecting Families, Keeping Virginia Healthy, Rebuilding Our Economy Stronger)
• Video: Virginia Grassroots Coalition Press Call Highlights Legislative Priorities for 2021 General Assembly (National Popular Vote; Paid Family Medical Leave; Paid Sick Leave; Local Food and Farm Infrastructure; Advanced Clean Car Standards; Campaign Finance Reform)
• Lawmakers return to Richmond — in person and online — to kick off a session in the shadow of security concerns, coronavirus and politics (“The General Assembly gets underway Tuesday at noon, with Gov. Northam set to deliver a speech at 7 p.m.”)
• Security heightened in Richmond as Virginia General Assembly session begins
• State prepares to close Capitol Square, denies permits for Lobby Day, citing possible ‘civil unrest’
• Tuesday (1/12) Virginia Data on COVID-19 Finds +4,561 Confirmed/Probable Cases (to 407,947), +144 Hospitalizations (to 19,326), +84 Deaths (to 5,477)
• Ex-Trump appointee to Pentagon seeks GOP nomination for Virginia governor (“Sergio de la Peña, a retired Army colonel, wants to make English official language and end coronavirus shutdown orders.”)
• Virginia Democrats continue push for criminal justice reform as General Assembly convenes
• Delegate Price Introduces the Voting Rights Act of Virginia to Ensure All Virginians Can Cast Their Votes
• DPVA Announces Debates Planned For Statewide Democratic Primary Elections (“The party will help organize and plan multiple debates for the candidates running for governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general.”)
• Sally Hudson column: Helping unemployed workers during COVID-19
• Alexandria Vice Mayor Elizabeth Bennett-Parker Announces Candidacy for House of Delegates District 45(The incumbent, Del. Mark Levine, is running for LG but has said he’s not resigning from the House of Delegates.)
• Northam sets a date for the special election to fill Chafin’s Senate seat
• 2 Loudoun supervisors urge LaRock to resign over Capitol riot claims
• Loudoun, Clarke, Winchester-Frederick Dems Call For “Immediate Resignation of…Delegate David LaRock” (“LaRock was outside the Capitol building among the mob and continued to promote false claims on his social media platforms during the event.”)
• Amazon to share 120 MW of solar with D.C. suburb (“The company and the county agreed through a virtual power purchase agreement to offtake generation from Dominion Energy’s upcoming 120 MW solar facility in Virginia.”)
• Video: CAIR Announces Lawsuit on Behalf of Va. Elected Official Abrar Omeish Challenging Police Brutality, Being Forced to Remove Hijab
• Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office deputy dies of covid-19 amid outbreak at jail (Rest in peace.)
• UPDATED: Richmond and Henrico moving into second phase of COVID-19 vaccinations on Monday
• In-person learning in Henrico delayed for a third time so school nurses can administer vaccines
• Virginia Tech to hold 6% of spring classes fully in-person, much like the fall
• Electric School Bus Arrives in Fairfax County Today
• Blacksburg Town Council passes gun ban in town buildings
• Warming trend continues today and tomorrow; cooler (but not cold) this weekend