Friday News: “This Congress must go big on climate change”; “Colbert Shows How Trump’s Racist Lies Led To Mass Shooting In Damning Supercut”; “Kaine says he has long-haul COVID-19 symptoms a year later”; “Amanda Chase’s Facebook page will not be reinstated”

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, March 19.

• Europe has missed its chance to stop the third wave. The US could be next
• Putin challenges Biden to debate after president calls him a ‘killer’ (What a joke.)
• Russia’s disinformation campaign will keep rolling, as long as Republicans are gullible enough
• Two intel reports upend GOP propaganda (“Republicans are in denial about two enemies facing the United States.”)
• ‘Things are desperate’: Brazil’s Covid intensive care units are almost all at capacity (“The country’s sceptic president and his allies continue to downplay the coronavirus outbreak that has killed more than 287,000”)
• Tanzania’s first female leader urges unity after Covid sceptic Magufuli dies (“Samia Suluhu Hassan faces task of healing east African country polarised during predecessor’s presidency”)
• Myanmar security forces kill eight anti-coup protesters, say local media reports (“Deaths would bring the total to 220 since 1 February coup that ousted Aung San Suu Kyi”)
• Nearly a dozen countries resume AstraZeneca shots after EU, UK regulators say benefits outweigh risks
• After gambling France could dodge new COVID lockdown, Macron forced to back down
• Vaccines: A Very European Disaster (“When policymakers are averse to the wrong risks.”)
• Beijing’s crackdown in Xinjiang has separated thousands of children from their parents, new report claims. CNN found two of them
• U.S. tells China it does not seek conflict; but will stand up for principles, friends
• Blinken warns China of need to respect global order or face a ‘more violent world’ at first meeting
• In First Talks, Dueling Accusations Set Testy Tone for U.S.-China Diplomacy
• U.S. to Send Millions of Vaccine Doses to Mexico and Canada
• U.S. to push more ‘aggressive’ messaging effort to deter migrants
• Britain’s Boris Johnson to receive first dose of AstraZeneca vaccine, urges others to do the same
• Boris Johnson’s Vaccine Miracle (“Brexit has been a predictable disaster, but the Prime Minister’s other big bet is paying off.”)
• Germany Gripped by ‘Third Virus Wave’ as Lockdown Decision Nears
• The US vaccine effect: rapid rollout starts to bear fruit
• The Clearest Sign the Pandemic Could Get Worse (“COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations have reversed their decline in Michigan, according to federal data.”)
• Joe Manchin will decide whether Biden succeeds on climate change (“A clean energy standard rests in his hands.”)
• This Congress must go big on climate change
• Powell Determined to Fuel Growth Despite Inflation Fear
• Economy Revs Up as Americans Spend on Flights, Dining Out
• Trump’s chief of staff could face scrutiny in Georgia criminal probe
• Here’s the best use of Never Trumpers’ energies
• A New Report Adds Evidence That Trump Was a Russian Asset
• Intel revelations raise difficult questions for several Republicans
• McCarthy tries to rewrite history by claiming that he didn’t back Trump’s efforts to overturn the election
• ‘This Is Jim Crow in New Clothes’ (“Senator Raphael Warnock’s first speech on the Senate floor brought the past into the present.”)
• Raphael Warnock shows just how important one election can be (“The Georgia senator issues a stirring call to reclaim democracy.”)
• It’s time for Justice Breyer and Senator Feinstein to retire (“Breyer hasn’t said anything publicly about his plans. But let’s think about it this way: Why wouldn’t he retire now?”)
• Joe Biden’s tax plan, explained (“The president’s proposed tax plan matches much of what he campaigned on: rolling back tax cuts for the rich.”)
• Can Biden’s COVID-19 Relief Bill Help Democrats Avoid A Midterm Defeat? (“So far, what’s working in Biden’s favor is that poll after poll finds he’s relatively popular among the American public: His approval rating regarding his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic has remained steady in the low 60s, which is a vast improvement over Trump’s, which was stuck in the high 30s.”)
• Joe Biden’s quietly revolutionary first 100 days
• House passes bills providing citizenship path for Dreamers, farmworkers
• As House approves ‘dreamers’ bill, Biden pushes for support amid GOP resistance in Senate
• Republicans are laying a ‘Trojan horse’ trap on infrastructure
• When Domestic-Violence Prevention Collides With the Religion of Guns (“The lapsed Violence Against Women Act no longer enjoys broad GOP support.”)
• Less electricity was generated by coal than nuclear in the United States in 2020
• The Memo: America faces long war with extremism
• Yes, Capitol Rioters Were Armed. Here Are The Weapons Prosecutors Say They Used
• With Biden Endorsement, Push to Weaken Filibuster Gains Traction
• An intriguing reason that Republicans want to keep the filibuster
• A Supreme Court case could devastate unions’ ability to organize. And that’s just the start.
• Supreme Court conservatives want to topple abortion rights — but can’t seem to agree how
• A Private Jet of Rich Trumpers Wanted to “Stop the Steal”—But They Don’t Want You to Read This
• 73 House Democrats Push To Expel Marjorie Taylor Greene From Congress
• ‘Enough Is Enough’: Atlanta-Area Spa Shootings Spur Debate Over Hate Crime Label
• What a hurting community says it needs from its Asian American vice president
• Anger over anti-Asian violence, rhetoric rips through Capitol
• Biden to meet with Stacey Abrams on trip to Georgia
• Biden reaches out to Asian Americans after killings — but many remain frustrated by lack of representation
• How Racism and Sexism Intertwine to Torment Asian-American Women
• Are the Atlanta Killings a Hate Crime? The Suspect Doesn’t Get to Decide.
• For Asian-Americans, Atlanta Spa Shootings Heighten Worries
• ‘Not racially motivated’?: The Atlanta spa shootings show why the media should be wary of initial police statements
• Son of Atlanta Shooting Victim Calls ‘Bullshit’ on Sex Addiction Claim
• Editorial: Speak up to stop hatred of Asian Americans (“An uptick of violence and threats against Asian Americans demands our full-throated condemnation and solidarity in support of their safety.”)
• Business owner, Army veteran, woman on a date: The victims of the deadly rampage through 3 spas in Georgia
• Colbert Shows How Trump’s Racist Lies Led To Mass Shooting In Damning Supercut (“The ‘Late Show’ host called the former president ‘a hateful man who left a stain’ on the nation.”)
• Cuomo’s First Accuser Raises New Claims of Harassment and Retaliation
• Battered by Scandal, Cuomo Leans on Black Leaders to Build His Defense
• Facebook Is Building An Instagram For Kids Under The Age Of 13 (What could possibly go wrong, eh?)
• Teen Vogue Editor Resigns After Fury Over Racist Tweets
• Fox News spent virtually no time on Trump’s call for his supporters to get vaccinated (“Only six and a half minutes of coverage in the 36 hours following his coronavirus vaccine endorsement”)
• The way Fox News hosts discuss vaccines is a public health nightmare
• Poll: Most Texans support extra week of early voting, cool to GOP proposals to restrict voting
• Kaine says he has long-haul COVID-19 symptoms a year later (“About five times a day it will feel like somebody put a heating pad on a part of my body,” he said. “And then it will go away, and in 15 minutes it will be somewhere else.”)
• Kaine says he’s still feeling effects of covid-19 (“The senator from Virginia said symptoms are not debilitating, but are a reminder that the virus is serious.”)
• Virginia Democrat: Capitol Police officers ‘saved democracy’
• Video: Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA07) Praises President Biden For Standing Up For American Democracy After Four Years of Trump Not Doing So (Also says Trump’s anti-China rhetoric has led to “increases of anti-Asian hate”)
• Rep. Bob Good Votes Against Honoring Police Officers Who Protected The Capitol From Rioters (“It’s no surprise that Bob Good is once again taking the side of far-right extremists — one of the people at the January 6 riots literally works for his Congressional office”)
• Republican AG Candidate, Del. Jason Miyares, Fearmongers on Right-Wing Talk Radio; Wants to Enshrine Unpopular, Counterproductive No-Parole Policy Into Constitution
• ‘Fraud’ accusations roil Virginia GOP governor race (“One Republican is accusing Glenn Youngkin’s campaign of employing canvassers who allegedly misrepresented themselves in interactions with voters.”)
• Terry ‘The Macher’ McAuliffe attempts a return to Richmond (“In a historically diverse field, former Gov. Terry McAuliffe thinks his throwback campaign is the way for Democrats to maintain power”)
• Thursday (3/18) Virginia Data on COVID-19 Finds +2,082 Confirmed/Probable Cases (to 600,550), +94 Hospitalizations (to 25,611), +28 Deaths (to 10,182)
• One-third of Virginia’s long-term care workers declined COVID-19 vaccinations, as homes reopen to visitors
• Virginia inks contract for state coastal flooding plan, expected to be done before Northam leaves office
• New Report: Pete Snyder Hid Key Information from the IRS (“Pete Snyder has some explaining to do…about why he lied to the IRS about his organization’s finances.”)
• A Quirk of 2021: The Same Candidates in Two Primaries (“Democrats who vote in the June primary might end up doing a double take on their ballot, where some will see the same name in the House primary and in a statewide race.”)
• Seeing Double (“Alexandria delegate is one of four House members whose name will be on the ballot twice”)
• SKIRTING THE ISSUE: Virginia May Be Turning More Blue, But Where’s the Pink?
• $20M announced to strengthen broadband infrastructure in some Virginia areas
• Editorial: A missed opportunity for both parties in Tuesday’s special election (The brain-dead and ridiculous “both sidesism” – and also massive, laughable false equivalence – is off the charts in this one, but there IS some good stuff on how Republican Travis Hackworth “ought to be telling voters in coalfields to stop clinging to the past and start figuring out how to build a new economy”…but he isn’t. At all.)
• Amanda Chase’s Facebook page will not be reinstated
• Del. Dan Helmer Launches PAC to Register Virginia Voters (“We’ve shown that when Virginians vote, Democrats win,” BUT “we can’t take any of it for granted”)
• Hampton Roads Regional Jail is in crisis. But you wouldn’t know it from this week’s board meeting.
• First mass vaccination clinic in South Richmond opens next week near Black, Latino neighborhoods
• Fairfax County is first in Virginia to end voluntary cooperation with ICE: It shouldn’t be the last
• Fairfax Co. school calendar recognizes religious holidays but kids won’t have off
• Alexandria City schools to offer five days a week of classroom instruction in the fall
• New judgeship to be filled on Western Virginia’s all-white federal bench
• Portsmouth appoints Angel Jones as city manager, but chaotic hiring saga isn’t over yet
• Virginia volleyball staff relieved of their duties effective immediately
• Gale-force winds, coastal flooding — even snow — possible Friday as second storm system moves through Hampton Roads
• D.C.-area forecast: Final showers exit quick this morning, then another sunny stretch gets underway