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by Lowell
Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Thursday, February 25. And *definitely* check out Del. Cia Price’s superb speech! Here’s an excerpt:
“Last month isn’t just some distant past, just because folks are trying to distance themselves from abject failures of the last administration…we have not had an acknowledgement of what has fully transpired. It took a whole domestic terrorist act of an attempted coup for some members to even remember that they had Twitter accounts, because prior to January 6, it was crickets on matters of life and death like the global pandemic. It is infuriating that the other side completely undermined public safety by making mass and social distancing political and by consistently demonizing science – the same science that their morning speeches today clung to for dear life…”
- Biden-Trudeau Climate Plan May Target Polluting Trade Rivals
- Australia passes new law requiring Facebook and Google to pay for news
- New public report to blame Saudi crown prince for 2018 killing of Jamal Khashoggi
- ‘Top Secret’ Saudi documents show Khashoggi assassins used company seized by Saudi crown prince
- Facebook bans Myanmar’s military accounts after deadly coup (That should have happened immediately.)
- Will Anything Stop Putin’s Pet Project? (“Nord Stream 2, a direct pipeline from Russia to Germany, isn’t going away. Neither is the clamor to cancel it.”)
- Israel Gives Vaccine to Far-Off Allies, as Palestinians Wait
- Pfizer Covid vaccine 94% effective, study of 1.2m people finds
- Covid variants could ‘undermine all of our efforts’ if virus spreads globally, CDC director says
- Exclusive: Hundreds of kids held in Border Patrol stations
- Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to mark 50m Covid vaccine doses given in US – live
- Johnson & Johnson’s one-shot Covid vaccine effective, FDA review says (“Advisory panel will meet on Friday to decide whether to recommend the vaccine be authorized”)
- More vaccines are coming. We need a national campaign to persuade those hesitant to take them.
- The Good, the Bad, and the Embarrassing in America’s COVID-19 Response (“Were Americans too unruly, or did elected officials expect too little of them?”)
- Nursing Homes, Once Hotspots, Far Outpace U.S. in Covid-19 Declines (“New cases among nursing home residents have dropped more than 80 percent since vaccines became available. Deaths have declined by more than 65 percent. The turnaround is an encouraging sign for vaccine effectiveness and offers an early glimpse at what may be in store for the rest of the country.”)
- Republicans’ appalling confirmation record is symptomatic of their entire approach to politics (“Biden nominees surpass virtually every Trump nominee in experience and character.”)
- Many of Biden’s nominees of color run into turbulence in the Senate (And that’s due almost 100% to Republicans.)
- Biden Revokes Trump Orders on Financial Regulation, Immigration
- Biden just partially lifted Trump’s pandemic-related restrictions on legal immigration
- Biden Revokes Trump’s Pause on Green Cards
- Congressional Republicans risk backlash as they unite against Biden’s Covid relief plan
- Biden Targeting Key States in Appeal to Lock Up Giant Aid Bill
- Republicans Scramble for a Strategy to Oppose the COVID Relief Bill (“How do you say no to something most people want?”)
- Biden Nominates 3 To Postal Service Board Of Governors, Putting Pressure On Postmaster General (“The move could alter the course of an agency grappling with delivery delays and rumored cuts under its Republican leader.”)
- Live updates: USPS head Louis DeJoy tells House panel his strategic plan may include slowing first-class mail
- Senate committee chairs should crack down on Republicans (“It’s time for decorum and truth.”)
- McConnell throws cold water on Dems’ proposed 1/6 Commission (Unacceptable.)
- Architect Of The Capitol Outlines $30 Million In Damages From Pro-Trump Riot
- The Senate asked all the wrong questions about the pro-Trump attack on the Capitol (“What is it that keeps law enforcement professionals from seeing what’s right in front of them?”)
- How Merrick Garland should decide whether to prosecute Trump (“The incoming attorney general should follow Justice Department guidelines.”)
- Joe Biden Revokes Donald Trump’s Order Designating Democratic Cities ‘Anarchist’
- Putting the GOP “Civil War” in Perspective
- We Still Have to Worry About the Supreme Court and Elections (“The justices are about to consider whether the Voting Rights Act applies to policies that restrict the vote.”)
- Pompeo plots 2024 power play (Pompeo is horrible.)
- A former CPAC organizer’s broadside shows conservatism’s ongoing descent
- Steve Bannon investigation gains steam as Manhattan prosecutors subpoena financial records
- Democratic fury with GOP explodes in House (And for good reason.)
- What terrible things did Neera Tanden tweet? The truth.
- Team Biden taps Asian American groups to help save Tanden
- It’s All About Trump: CPAC Seems Poised To Ignore Republican Identity Crisis
- Republican leaders want a show of unity. Will Trump allow it?
- Senate GOP works to avoid having ’22 war with Trump
- Want Trump’s Endorsement? Get Ready to Push the Big Lie (“An admission that President Joe Biden did, in fact, win fair and square might get a GOP candidate banned from Trump’s good graces.”)
- Trump Thinks He’s Found a New Defense (“I’ve already been investigated, and I was found innocent.” Except that’s definitely not true.)
- The Legal Fallout Trump Still Faces From the Capitol Riots
- The GOP’s choice in 2024: Trump Ultra, Trump Lite or Trump Zero
- Congress Might Actually Expand the Courts (“But will Republicans let Joe Biden fill the new seats?”)
- Close ally of Marjorie Taylor Greene among those in Capitol mob (Is Greene being investigated for possible involvement in the insurrection? If not, why not?)
- New record as estimated 18m Americans identify as LGBTQ, poll finds (“Gallup finds increase of 60% between 2012 and 2020 of adults who identify as LGBTQ, in reflection of ‘the way society is changing’”)
- Pentagon report reveals disturbing details about White supremacists in the ranks
- Exclusive: Google pledges changes to research oversight after internal revolt
- Democrats Introduce Slew of Bills to Strengthen Protections for Federal Workforce
- Republicans’ war on democracy is ramping up
- Republicans Are Taking Their Voter Suppression Efforts to New Extremes
- Republicans are aggressively stepping up their voter suppression campaigns ahead of the 2022 midterms: report (And Virginia’s former AG, the extremist/bigot Ken Cuccinelli, is at the center of it.)
- All The Ways Georgia Could Make It Harder To Vote
- Post-Cancúngate, Did Ted Cruz Break the Law Too? (“It sure sounds like the senator funneled political donations into his own pocket.”)
- Ted Cruz’s Approval Rating Among Republicans Drops More Than 20 Percent After Cancun Fiasco
- South Dakota AG pushed by critics to resign over new evidence in fatal car incident: ‘He knew what he hit and he lied’ (Horrible.)
- Tucker Carlson’s insurrection alternate reality
- Some journalists are debating when it’s okay to use the n-word. But this one should be easy.
- Mark Herring Joins 20 Other State AGs In Urging Congress to Pass HR1, the “For the People Act of 2021” (“The Act is a comprehensive package of reforms to address voter suppression, foreign interference in elections, and raise ethical standards of federal officials”)
- Video: Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA11) Goes Off On the Odious Rep. “Gym” Jordan During USPS Oversight Hearing (“I didn’t vote to overturn an election. And I will not be lectured by people who did about partisanship.”)
- At postal hearing, Rep. Connolly says he ‘will not be lectured’ by election deniers
- Connolly to GOP: I won’t be lectured by those who voted to overturn the election
- The political transformation of Virginia (Virginia didn’t really move “left,” but to the center, given that majority of Virginians support almost every single policy position of the Democrats.)
- Spanberger urges CDC to improve vaccine data-sharing, communication
- Wednesday (2/24) Virginia Data on COVID-19 Finds +1,907 Confirmed/Probable Cases (to 568,946), +100 Hospitalizations (to 23,798), +149 Deaths (to 7,807)
- Gov. Northam Increases Capacity Limits for Outdoor Sports and Entertainment Venues as COVID-19 Hospitalizations and Infection Rates Continue to Fall, Vaccinations Rise
- Video: Gov. Northam Updates Virginia On the COVID-19 Situation
- Editorial: The way forward to end this pandemic
- Virginia will relax pandemic restrictions for the first time in months amid declining cases, hospitalizations
- VA House passes bill with in-person learning mandate
- Liberty University surprised by Virginia GOP plans for drive-in convention on campus
- Amanda Chase Says Drive-In Convention at Liberty U Is Illegal, VA GOP Now Heading Towards 72 People Choosing Nominees (Chase: “IF and ONLY IF this happens I will declare the Republican Party is dead and start the Patriot Party”)
- After Months of Bitter Infighting and Disarray, Virginia Republicans *FINALLY* Choose Method of Nomination for 2021 Candidates – a “Drive-Up” Convention at *Liberty University*! LOL (What next, is Jerry Falwell going to host the after-party?)
- After months of fighting, Virginia Republicans opt to choose nominees at a drive up convention
- Kenney: A ‘Convention’ In the Parking Lot? (“…for a state party that once celebrated itself in the refined conditions of The Homestead at The Advance every year (because Republicans never retreat), to be relegated to an auxiliary parking lot in Lynchburg makes this thing start to feel more like an epic rout.”)
- State Sen. Jennifer McClellan’s Pipeline Accountability Bill Passes Senate
- Controlling Gun Violence (“After stumble on assault weapons, lawmakers limit guns at polling places and government buildings.”)
- Virginia General Assembly approves ban on foam food containers
- In the aftermath of a devastating winter storm, can we take lessons from Texas?
- More revelations on Va. Parole Board wrongdoing prompt call for new investigation (“Two Virginia senators are asking for a “clear and transparent” General Assembly investigation into alleged wrongdoing by the Virginia Parole Board, which is under scrutiny for failing to follow state law and its own procedures by releasing violent offenders without properly notifying victims’ families or the prosecutors who represent the communities where the crimes were committed.”)
- Listen: The Activists Who Pushed Lawmakers To End The Death Penalty in Virginia (Actually, they only interview one activist, not multiple activists.)
- Asian & Latino Solidarity Alliance: Defeated “Governor’s Schools” Bill “was met with unjust resistance, and upheld by privilege and superiority”
- Editorial: Region should make stronger pitch for Black tourism (“Hampton Roads could better market itself to attract Black tourists, further boosting tourism revenue and benefiting the region.”)
- Embattled Chesterfield judge loses bid for reappointment, despite certification earlier in week (“Pamela O’Berry, Chesterfield County’s longest-serving Black judge, has lost her bid for a third, six-year term after two of the county’s three state senators declined to nominate her Tuesday in a process that would have added her name to a block of certified judges the Senate voted to elect.”)
- Cool sunshine the next two days before periods of rain this weekend
