Tuesday News: “Why Texas froze (and California fried): This disaster was 90 years in the making”; Somber Biden Marks 500,000 U.S. Deaths From COVID-19; “Garland lets domestic terrorists know there’s a new sheriff in town”; “CPAC Mocked For Canceling ‘Reprehensible’ Guest From Anti-Cancel Culture Event”

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Tuesday, February 23.

• China did ‘little’ to hunt for Covid origins in early months, says WHO document
• Facebook Strikes Deal to Restore News Sharing in Australia
• China Is the Myanmar Coup’s ‘Biggest Loser’
• Myanmar’s pro-democracy protest movement is strengthening (“On Monday, the country saw one of the largest uprisings yet against the February 1 military coup.”)
• Biden readies his first major penalties on Russia
• Biden Welcomes Canada’s Trudeau (Virtually) To White House For 1st Meeting
• Why Texas froze (and California fried): This disaster was 90 years in the making (“It took decades of misguided policy — and the climate crisis — to create last week’s Lone Star catastrophe”)
• Deadly Texas blackout shows our vulnerability to coming climate extremes
• Biden’s Climate Czar on the Texas Electricity Mess, Green Energy
• Republicans fearmonger about regulation, but deregulation is what left Texas in the dark
• Solar leaders urge Biden to revoke Trump tariff proclamation
• Yes, the Vaccines Will Stop the Spread
• ‘We’ve done worse than most any other country,’ Fauci says as US marks grim Covid-19 death toll
• Death Toll Hits 500,000 in U.S. as Vaccinations Race Virus (“About 657,000 people in the U.S. died during pandemic of 1918”)
• We’ve lost 500,000 Americans to covid-19. We can prevent the loss of 500,000 more.
• Pfizer to ship 13 million COVID-19 vaccine doses per week to U.S. by mid-March, says executive
• Vaccine makers Pfizer and Moderna pledge massive boost to U.S. supply after sluggish rollout
• Fauci says U.S. political divisions contributed to 500,000 dead from COVID-19 (“Divisions?” Alrighty.)
• The Most Likely Timeline for Life to Return to Normal (“An uncertain spring, an amazing summer, a cautious fall and winter, and then, finally, relief.”)
• The One Area Where the U.S. COVID-19 Strategy Seems to Be Working (“By spending lots of money and not worrying about liability, America is beating Europe in the vaccine race.”)
• Biden Gets High Marks for COVID-19 Response
• Biden on reaching 500,000 US Covid deaths: ‘We must not become numb to the sorrow’ (“In a somber address, the president urged Americans to overcome their political divides and follow health guidelines”)
• Covid: Biden calls 500,000 death toll a heartbreaking milestone
• For Black Americans, Covid-19 is a reminder of the racism of US healthcare
• The Memo: Trump faces deepening legal troubles
• Trump Is Now at the Mercy of a New York D.A. (I’ll believe it when I see it.)
• Trump’s Tax Returns Aren’t the Only Crucial Records Prosecutors Will Get (“For all that they reveal, tax returns have limitations. Other records from the former president’s accountants may help give a fuller picture of his finances.”)
• Donald Trump Is Extremely Mad Prosecutors Will See His Tax Returns
• One Question for Manhattan D.A. Candidates: Will You Prosecute Trump?
• Supreme Court Denies Trump’s Final Bid to Block Release of Tax Returns
• What the Supreme Court ruling means for Manhattan DA’s Trump criminal investigation
• Clarence Thomas Promotes Trump’s Voter Fraud Lies in Alarming Dissent (Thomas has been and continues to be an utter disgrace.)
• Clarence Thomas’s Dissent Is a Conservative Con
• Trump’s taxes tell a tale of debt and desperation
• At stake in today’s Capitol riot hearing: The story of the attack, and who is responsible (“Four law enforcement officials — three of whom resigned their posts and some of whom have never before spoken publicly about the attack — face senators determined to uncover what led to the violence and prevent future unrest.”)
• Merrick Garland lets domestic terrorists know there’s a new sheriff in town
• Garland, at Confirmation Hearing, Vows to Fight Domestic Extremism (“President Biden’s nominee for attorney general told the Senate Judiciary Committee that investigating the Capitol riot would be his first priority.”)
• Garland seeks to draw sharp contrast with Trump-era DOJ
• Merrick Garland shows why he was the right pick to be attorney general
• Is today’s violent right-wing-extremist threat more dangerous than in the 1990s?
• Texas’ Freeze Was One Part of a Long Disaster We’re Still Living Through (“How can you recover if the crises never stop?”)
• Congress finally gets first chance for answers about the Jan. 6 insurrection
• Mounting confirmation battle sends warning sign to Biden
• ‘She became an easy target’: GOP opposition to Haaland rankles Native Americans
• So what is the Neera Tanden standard? (There’s MASSIVE gender bias.)
• Biden faces first potential Cabinet defeat as opposition grows to budget pick
• Now Republicans are offended by mean tweets? (After ignoring the thousands of offensive tweets by Trump over the years, Republicans have ZERO credibility on this.)
• ‘A double standard going on’: Democrats accuse GOP and Manchin of bias on Biden nominations (It’s massive and glaring.)
• Et Tu, Ted? Why Deregulation Failed (“Even Senator Cruz realizes kilowatt-hours aren’t like avocados.”)
• The 5 Trump Amendments to the Constitution (“The 45th president profoundly altered our system of government.”)
• No amount of disaster can shake the GOP loose from Trump
• Trump taunts don’t shake McConnell’s hold on Senate GOP
• If you served Trump, you have no standing to criticize Biden
• Sane Republicans need to leave the GOP (“The MAGA cult isn’t going to leave the GOP.”)
• Trump may soon have to answer rape allegations under oath
• Why Was The National Polling Environment So Off In 2020? (“A look at how congressional polls, just like those for president, missed in 2020.”)
• Former leader of anti-Muslim hate group to be featured at CPAC
• CPAC Mocked For Canceling ‘Reprehensible’ Guest From Anti-Cancel Culture Event (“The conservative organization has already canceled a guest from its ‘America Uncanceled’ conference.”)
• CPAC disinvites speaker over ‘reprehensible views’
• Featured CPAC speaker said Judaism is a “complete lie” and referred to Jewish people as “thieving fake Jews”
• Graham, Trump huddle to talk GOP’s 2022 strategy (Disgusting.)
• Blue states tackle criminal justice reform by legalizing marijuana and ending cash bail
• Malcolm X’s family reveals letter they say shows NYPD, FBI assassination involvement
• ABC News, Rep. Steve Scalise and the Big Lie (ABC News utterly disgraced itself.)
• Oath Keeper now says she didn’t meet with Secret Service around the January 6 rally
• Texans Will Pay for Decades as Crisis Tacks Billions Onto Bills (“Power sales totaled $50.6 billion vs. $4.2 billion week prior. Utilities will look to pass costs onto consumers, taxpayers.”)
• AG Ken Paxton and wife Sen. Angela Paxton went to Utah during Texas freeze (Paxton is the worst.)
• Trump reported making more than $1.6 billion while president (That entire presidency was a massively corrupt “grift”)
• Why is Rudy Giuliani still on YouTube? (“The platform is enabling Trump’s former attorney to continue spreading election lies and racist conspiracy theories”)
• Slate Suspends Podcast Host After Debate Over Racial Slur
• DeSantis crushes Rubio, Scott in Florida GOP poll (All three are horrendous.)
• Donald Trump Jr. Succeeds His Father As Biggest Asshole on Twitter (Don Jr. is pure evil.)
• Virginia joins federal lawsuit against company accused of preying on immigrants
• VA GOP Chair Launches Dog-Whistle-Style Attacks Against Prince William County Board Member Kenny Boddye, Vows To “send him packing to Los Angeles” (Among other things, Anderson says Boddye “owns no real estate” (OMG!), “only been married a short while” and “has not raised kids” (WTF, are we back in 1950?))
• Wason Center Poll: Biden Approval at 57%-36%; By 55%-39% Margin, Virginians Approve of Gov. Northam’s COVID Response
• Video: VA GOP Gubernatorial Candidate Pete Snyder Rants About “Cancel Culture,” the “1619 Project,” George Soros, Crime, “Identity Politics,” etc. (Snyder: “if I don’t get a single endorsement or a single vote from the Indian community, that’s fine…We are going to… protect [TJ] from the lunacy of the left”)
• Virginia’s General Assembly moves closer to mandating in-person instruction by this summer
• House and Senate reach deal on in-person learning mandates
• Virginia House Democrats move closer to mandating that schools reopen
• A bipartisan bill to require in-person learning full-time advances in the House of Delegates
• Push to extend minimum wage increase to farmworkers voted down by Virginia Senate (Lame.)
• How blue is Trump’s shadow in Virginia? This year’s governor’s race is already shaping up as a key barometer. (Classic “both sides” article by the WaPo, also not particularly interesting.)
• Herring Takes Action to Protect Immigrants From Predatory Lending
• Virginia legislature sends death penalty repeal to Northam
• The Interests of African American Students Will NOT Be Passed By (“Enough is enough. Now is the time for action.”)
• Virginia General Assembly Passes Legislation Abolishing the Death Penalty
• Death Penalty Abolished by Virginia Legislature
• Bill To Make Virginia AG’s Office of Civil Rights Permanent Headed to Governor’s Desk
• Monday (2/22) Virginia Data on COVID-19 Finds +1,155 Confirmed/Probable Cases (to 565,270), +49 Hospitalizations (to 23,530), +134 Deaths (to 7,486)
• Walgreens to begin COVID vaccinations in Va. on Thursday, promises equitable access to high-risk communities
• Gov. Northam directs Virginia flags flown at half-staff to honor 500K lives lost to COVID
• Effort to Add Paid Sick Days Has Been Narrowed, More Debate Potentially on the Horizon
• Fairfax NAACP President Requests Meeting with Senators Dick Saslaw and Chap Petersen on Their Votes to Kill the “Governor’s School” Bill
• MVP Protesters: Day 900 & One
• General Assembly passes bills on adopting lab animals, NRV passenger rail station
• Editorial: Why Fairfax County Del. Mark Sickles’ comment about Lee County is so offensive (Apparently, the Roanoke Times editorial board has decided to absurdly attack Democrats 24/7.)
• Opinion: Allowing nurses to care for patients will improve public health
• Casino sweepstakes in Richmond, with at least four new resort proposals on the table
• Senate committee votes to certify Black Chesterfield judge for reappointment after tense debate
• Slow clearing and breezy as big thaw approaches