by Lowell
Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Saturday, February 6.
- Climate change “may have played a key role” in coronavirus pandemic, study says
- Israel outpaced the world in vaccinations. Now it’s seeing the results. (“There’s still a long way to go, but also a reason for hope.”)
- Myanmar military shuts down internet as thousands of people protest coup
- ‘Putin is turning his main threat into a martyr’: Will attack on Navalny, journalists and 5,700 detained Russians backfire?
- We’re still missing the origin story of this pandemic. China is sitting on the answers.
- The record of Chinese atrocities in Xinjiang just got a lot worse
- Iran U.N. Inspectors Find Radioactive Traces, Raising Fresh Concerns
- Blinken to revoke Pompeo’s terror label on Yemen’s Houthis
- Joe Biden puts Saudi Arabia on notice
- Strengthening our democracy at home helps us internationally
- UN names Mike Bloomberg special envoy for climate change (“The appointment comes ahead of the COP 26 climate summit set to take place in Scotland later this year.”)
- Vaccine Nationalism Is Here to Stay (“The EU’s vaccine rollout is a mess—and that’s bad news for everyone else, too.”)
- Why The Pandemic Is 10 Times Worse Than You Think
- U.S. military personnel to help at FEMA-run mass vaccination sites
- Mutated virus may reinfect those who have had covid-19, sparking debate
- Experts worry Super Bowl parties could trigger coronavirus explosion
- States are redistributing hundreds of thousands of vaccine doses unused by nursing homes
- Should Schools Reopen If Teachers Aren’t Yet Vaccinated? CDC Will Soon Weigh In
- Long-term unemployment is close to a Great Recession record
- Weak Pace of Job Gains Points to a Slow U.S. Recovery
- Democrats clear path for approval of Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID package
- Biden urges Congress to pass Covid relief quickly amid ‘enormous pain’
- Biden harnesses Defense Production Act to speed vaccinations and production of protective equipment
- Biden Backs Off $15 Wage as Virus-Aid Plan Takes Shape
- The Memo: Bad jobs report boosts Biden stimulus case
- GameStop Wraps Up Worst Week Ever, Leaving $18 Billion Hole
- GameStop mania may not have been the retail trader rebellion it was perceived to be, data shows
- Biden says Trump should no longer receive classified intelligence briefings
- Biden says Trump should not receive intelligence briefings, citing Trump’s ‘erratic behavior’ (More like consistently treasonous behavior.)
- Seditionaries: FBI net closes on Maga mob that stormed the Capitol (“A huge investigation has so far arrested 235 people, including far-right militants, members of the military – and otherwise unremarkable Trump fans”)
- Supreme Court lifts California worship bans prompted by coronavirus (This court sucks.)
- I denied my combat trauma for years. Survivors of the Capitol attack must not do the same.
- A Black woman will be the world’s top trade official for the first time
- Lawyers Call Trump’s First Amendment Defense ‘Legally Frivolous’
- An invisible, odorless gas is pitting Texas against the Biden administration (The fact that methane is “invisible” and “odorless” isn’t why it’s a problem; stupid headline.)
- 199 House Republicans have embraced anti-Semitism and violence
- McCarthy survives tumultuous week and emerges with a tight grip on House Republicans
- Republicans can run from accountability, but they can’t hide (“No wonder they’re in a snit about process.”)
- QAnon is Not a ‘Conspiracy Theory’ (“Q is not a conspiracy theory. It’s a fascistic political movement which predicts and advocates mass violence against liberals (and everyone else outside its definition of true Americans) in an imminent apocalyptic political reckoning. What we call the ‘conspiracy theories’ are simply the storylines and claims that justify that outcome. They could easily be replaced by others which serve the same purpose.”)
- QAnon Believers Are Obsessed With Hillary Clinton. She Has Thoughts. (“The mass execution cult has roots in three decades of demonization.”)
- An Appalled Republican Considers the Future of the G.O.P.
- Sasse’s message to Nebraska GOP as he faces censure: ‘Politics isn’t about the weird worship of one dude’
- Analysis: A race war evident long before the Capitol siege
- The Impeachment Managers’ Case Against Trump (“The Democrats managing the case were firsthand witnesses to the havoc wreaked by Donald Trump—and will bring their experience to bear.”)
- The White House Doesn’t Want To Hear From Larry Summers (Does anybody at this point?)
- Our Terrorists Are an Arm of the GOP. Will Biden Say It?
- Video surfaces showing Trump ally Roger Stone flanked by Oath Keepers on morning of Jan. 6
- Woman charged in US Capitol riot can take trip to Mexico, federal judge says (WTF???)
- Microsoft ends donations to lawmakers who refused to certify election (Every corporation should do this, ASAP.)
- Mitt Romney Wants Your Child to Have a $4,200 Yearly Allowance
- Did the Proud Boys Help Coordinate the Capitol Riot? Yes, U.S. Suggests
- GOP Reps. Gohmert, Clyde fined $5,000 each for bypassing House metal detectors
- What of ‘Individual-1’? Feds’ Trump campaign case is ‘dead’
- Dominion Voting Lawyer Suggests OAN May Be Next for a Mega-Lawsuit (Good, bankrupt these f***ers.)
- The MyPillow Guy’s Fever Dream
- Wife of GOP Sen. Hawley files criminal complaint over protest at their home
- The Knives Come Out for Josh Hawley (“The elite conservative world saw the Missouri senator as America’s next great statesman. Instead, he’s revealed uncomfortable truths about the movement.”)
- Trump Shifted Campaign-Donor Money Into His Private Business After Losing The Election
- Donald Trump’s Business Sought A Stake In Parler Before He Would Join
- Fox News cancels Lou Dobbs’ show and is expected to part ways with the pro-Trump host (Dobbs is really, really bad, but so are Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson, etc.)
- Fox Business suddenly cancels ‘Lou Dobbs Tonight,’ its highest-rated show
- Fox News has dropped ‘Lou Dobbs Tonight,’ promoter of Trump’s false election fraud claims
- A Lincoln Project co-founder resigns after allegations that a former colleague sent unsolicited, lurid messages to young men.
- New York Republican Wins Last Undecided House Race From November
- Scoop: Thomas Donohue to leave U.S. Chamber of Commerce
- AP sources: Alabama senator has indicated he won’t run again
- Donald McNeil and Andy Mills Leave The New York Times
- Christopher Plummer Dies: Oscar Winner & ‘Sound Of Music,’ ‘All The Money In The World’ Star A True Hollywood Legend
- Amanda Chase and Virginia Republicans Ride Shotgun As Marjorie Taylor Greene Becomes the Face of the GOP
- Sen. Warner to unveil bill reining in Section 230, seeking to help users fight back against real-world harm
- In 2018, Luria said she wouldn’t accept corporate PAC money. But she just took in more than $30,000.
- Protesters in Christiansburg demand Griffith step down (Griffith is a disgrace and SHOULD step down, but of course he won’t.)
- An interesting experiment in voting rights moves ahead in Virginia (“As the GOP radicalizes, Democrats will have to fight back — in the states.”)
- Video: Gov. Northam’s 11am Press Conference to Discuss COVID-19 Vaccines, Schools, etc.
- Northam directs all Va. schools to offer some in-person learning by March 15, also consider summer school
- Virginia reports first case of another COVID variant; Northam says ‘now is not the time to relax’
- Friday (2/5) Virginia Data on COVID-19 Finds +5,069 Confirmed/Probable Cases (to 521,467), +144 Hospitalizations (to 21,893), +82 Deaths (to 6,732)
- CVS to begin vaccinations at 36 Va. stores next week, but independent pharmacies want broader role
- Governor Northam Calls on School Divisions to Safely Return Students to Classrooms Statewide (“Sets expectation: provide in-person options by March 15 in accordance with health guidance, expand summer learning”)
- Despite Shortened Session, VA House Democrats Pass Sweeping Legislation To Improve the Lives of Virginians Now and In the Years Ahead.
- Legislation Abolishing the Death Penalty Passes the Virginia House of Delegates
- Virginia legislature votes to legalize marijuana, abolish the death penalty (“The votes make it all but certain that Virginia will become the first in the South to end the ultimate punishment and allow recreational marijuana sales.”)
- Virginia Senate Follows House’s Lead, Votes to Legalize Marijuana
- Virginia lawmakers vote to legalize marijuana, but House and Senate still have to agree on details
- Marijuana will be legal in Virginia after historic vote, with dispensaries opening in 2024
- Kirk Cox Embraces Chase-Like Anti-LGBTQ Extremism…Again
- Virginia House Rejects ‘Panic Defense’: Bill Would End Longtime Practice (Actually, it was Democrats who voted to end this horrible practice, while almost all Republicans voted to keep it!)
- Independent review criticizes Fredericksburg police use of tear gas against protesters
- Leahy: Virginia Republicans Prep a Law-and-Order Campaign (“Soft-on-crime campaigns are not meant to make fine points or offer nuanced solutions. They are rooted in fear and leavened with anger. They don’t elevate political discourse or heal divides.”)
- Bills to create passenger rail authority keeps NRV Amtrak plan on track
- Fairfax County Schools to Reopen with ‘Classroom Monitors’ as Thousands of Teachers Stay Home
- Judge faults Fairfax County prosecutors for failing to notify victim of trial
- It’s Time for APCo to Stop Throttling Solar on Schools and Governments
- Rain turning to snow late tonight, with accumulation likely by Sunday morning
********************************************************