Thursday News: “Republicans wage ‘coordinated onslaught’ on voting rights”; “Biden should fact-check the White House press corps”; “The GOP Is the Party of No Hope—and Endless Mass Murders”; “Sen. Tim Kaine Details His Bout With Long COVID”

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Thursday, March 25.

• AstraZeneca revises Covid vaccine data with lower efficacy rate after accuracy questions
• EU and Britain try to broker a vaccine supply deal as leaders discuss blockade
• Riders Are Abandoning Buses and Trains. That’s a Problem for Climate Change.
• ‘Saddest March of our lives’: Brazilians lament Covid devastation as critics decry Bolsonaro
• Israel faces another political impasse, thanks to Netanyahu
• North Korea fires two ground-based ballistic missiles, South Korea says
• North Korea Fires Ballistic Missiles for First Time in Nearly a Year
• Elite Team Set to Tackle Massive Ship Blocking Suez Canal
• Suez Backlog Grows as Efforts Resume to Free Lodged Tanker
• Men Looking for Work Drive Surge in Illegal Crossings at the U.S. Border (“Unlike other recent spikes, this year’s migrant surge is primarily made up of individuals rather than families and children. Most of those apprehended trying to cross the border are men in search of jobs, with the pandemic easing and the economy opening up”)
• A Vaccine Passport Is the New Golden Ticket as the World Reopens
• Soaring Vaccinations Put U.S. Ahead of Europe in Virus Rankings
• Johnson Hopes Vaccine Success Can Inoculate Him Against Brexit Critics (“The British prime minister is riding high on a strong vaccine rollout, despite a bumpy departure from the European Union and earlier pandemic missteps.”)
• The border crisis is about human pain and desperation. Why can’t the media grasp this?
• Biden should fact-check the White House press corps (“The immigration hysteria is unjustified.”)
• A new analysis shows no migrant “surge” or border “crisis.” Here’s how often broadcast news has said there is one. (“ABC, CBS, and NBC morning and evening news shows used that language at least 138 times in 2021” PBS sucks too, by the way.)
• Biden charges Harris with stemming migrant numbers at US-Mexico border
• Why Kamala Harris’s new immigration assignment could be a big deal
• Hopes rise for US climate shift with Deb Haaland at interior helm (“Experts say new interior secretary will renew focus on climate emergency and public lands after years of cuts under Trump”)
• Mass Shootings and Our Depraved Political Stagnation (“I want more gun regulation, the kind that scares the gun cult.”)
• Post-Trump, the GOP Continues to be the Party of (White) Grievance (“In 2012, the Republican Party performed an autopsy. In 2020, it is feasting on its own entrails.”)
• The GOP Is the Party of No Hope—and Endless Mass Murders (“Now out of power, congressional Republicans have transformed themselves into the Helpless Caucus: Yes, there are problems, but no, we can’t do anything about them!”)
• Senator Cruz Took a Voyage Around the Bend at the Senate Hearing on Voting Rights
• Republicans’ refusal to restore the Voting Rights Act is telling
• Democrats Begin Push for Biggest Expansion of Voting Since 1960s
• Angus King: What happens to the filibuster depends on how Republicans play their hand
• The filibuster has fewer and fewer defenders (“Even moderates are saying the time has come for change.”)
• Saving the filibuster: Bipartisan group seeks to show Senate can work
• New Poll Shows Overwhelming Support for Climate Action as Congress Weighs Big Infrastructure Bill
• Biden’s infrastructure bill has two things going for it (“Republicans once again are out to lunch.”)
• Manchin calls for ‘enormous’ infrastructure package paid for with new taxes
• Biden Isn’t Talking for a Reason (“Yes, he wants to avoid making a gaffe, but he also doesn’t want to be an in-your-face president.”)
• Biden’s News-Conference Debut Puts Border, Guns, Covid in Focus
• Democrats Say Agency Run By Trump Holdover Is Delaying Stimulus Checks
• Rachel Levine, historic transgender nominee, confirmed as assistant health secretary
• Rachel Levine Makes History As 1st Openly Trans Federal Official Confirmed By Senate
• Trumpists Still Pushing Election Fraud Claims and Conspiracy Theories
• US democracy on the brink: Republicans wage ‘coordinated onslaught’ on voting rights
• Major conservative groups unify behind state GOP efforts to restrict voting (Disgraceful.)
• Republicans Aim to Seize More Power Over How Elections Are Run
• American Democracy Is Only 55 Years Old—And Hanging by a Thread (“Black civil-rights activists—and especially Black women—delivered on the promise of the Founding. Their victories are in peril.”)
• Videos show ally of Marjorie Taylor Greene among mob inside Capitol during January 6 riot
• Why America’s Great Crime Decline Is Over (“Even before the recent mass shootings, violent crime was surging to its highest rate in 30 years. Patrick Sharkey illuminates what’s happening.”)
• Asian Grandmother Who Smacked Her Attacker With A Board Donates Nearly $1 Million
• US saw estimated 4,000 extra murders in 2020 amid surge in daily gun violence (“Lull in high-profile mass shootings during pandemic but data shows everyday violence has contributed to a likely record rise”)
• Admit it, Republicans. You don’t care how many Americans are killed by guns.
• Kamala Harris calls for Congress to act on gun control: ‘Slaughters have to stop’ (Right, but Republicans will block action.)
• Nothing Will Test Biden’s Quest for Bipartisanship like Republicans Blocking Gun Control
• Republicans’ New Excuse: Gun Control Is Racist (“Senator Mike Lee says the party refuses to restrict access to guns because it would infringe on the rights of minority communities.”)
• Scoop: Trump in talks with upstart apps about new social network
• Vigils are held for the Boulder shooting victims as the gunman’s first court appearance is expected Thursday
• Terror in a Boulder supermarket: How the King Soopers shooting unfolded
• The Amazon Union Drive and the Changing Politics of Labor (“For the moment, Marco Rubio and Stacey Abrams are on the same side.”)
• The Power of Political Disinformation in Iowa
• Amid gun control debate, federal court rules states may restrict open carry of weapons
• Georgia House set to pass sweeping bill that would restrict voting access (Completely unacceptable and unnecessary.)
• Sidney Powell’s defense in defamation suit could put her in legal jeopardy
• Sidney Powell’s ridiculous defense in big lie case
• Bret Baier reports Sidney Powell spread election lies “no reasonable person” would believe without mentioning that the lies were spread on Fox
• The Mess at Medium (“14 current and former employees explain what went wrong”)
• Top health officials told to prioritize COVID testing for Cuomo’s relatives
• Andrew Cuomo’s family members were given special access to covid testing, according to people familiar with the arrangement
• Editorial: Turn pain and loss of another gun tragedy into action (“Virginia showed that we should not resign ourselves to a future of gun violence when we have the power to affect change.”)
• ‘It’s Personal and It’s Policy’: Sen. Tim Kaine Details His Bout With Long COVID (“The Virginia Democrat has been experiencing ‘weird’ symptoms after battling COVID-19 last year, and wants to ensure others like him feel seen.”)
• Sens. Warner, Kaine announce more than $2.3 million in funding to update rural Virginia facilities
• Pandemic deaths fail to shake loose a legislative solution on nursing home staffing
• Wednesday (3/24) Virginia Data on COVID-19 Finds +1,470 Confirmed/Probable Cases (to 608,704), +89 Hospitalizations (to 26,037), +6 Deaths (to 10,143) (Lowest COVID-related hospitalizations since 10/20)
• Virginia could soon push more workers to save for retirement. Here’s how:
• AG Mark Herring Joins Coalition of 12 AGs Calling on Facebook, Twitter to Stop Spread of Anti-Vaxxer Coronavirus Disinformation
• Live Video: “Blue Commonwealth Candidate Forum,” With All Five VA Democratic Governor Candidates
• Video: Night #1 of VA Young Dems Lt. Governor Forum – Del. Hala Ayala, Del. Mark Levine, Del. Sam Rasoul, Xavier Warren
• Sorting Through the EIGHT Democratic Candidates for Lieutenant Governor of Virginia
• McClellan vies for governor seat after 15 years in legislature
• Democrats Talk Housing, Unions and Education in Candidate Forum
• After “Two Mass Shootings in a Week,” Leading VA GOP Governor Candidates Pete Snyder and Kirk Cox Up with “Defend the Second Amendment” Ads on Facebook
• Press Release: Governor Northam Signs Law Repealing Death Penalty in Virginia (“First in the South to ban capital punishment, Virginia has executed more people than any other state over its history”)
• Video: Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam Makes History, Signs Death Penalty Repeal Into Law (Gov. Northam: “It is the moral thing to do to end the death penalty in…Virginia”)
• Virginia, which has executed more people than any other state, abolishes the death penalty
• ‘It is the moral thing to do’: Virginia’s death penalty abolished in historic signing
• Top Virginia Democrats contacted inspector general before parole board investigator placed on leave
• Schapiro: Facts are casualties in parole flap
• Virginia needs an accountability plan for its share of the American Rescue Plan
• Sex trafficking survivors are treated as criminals in Virginia. That could soon change.
• Video: At “Stop the Hate” Rally in Henrico County Last Night, Speakers Urge Respect for American Diversity; Denounce Racism, White Supremacy, Xenophobia (Great job by Secretary of Education Atif Qarni, Rep. Abigail Spanberger, State Senators Ghazala Hashmi and Jennifer McClellan, etc. In contrast, Republican Del. John McGuire jarringly declared: “I heard the term ‘white supremacy over and over. And I would caution you that you cannot fight racism with racism”)
• Montgomery County tree-sit ends with removal of second pipeline protester
• In graphic poem, Charlottesville mayor compares her city to a rapist (Utterly bizarre.)
• Former Mayor Silberberg rematch as she enters democratic primary for mayor
• “Yes I Am Running,” Says Former Alexandria Mayor Allison Silberberg About Her Election Plans
• City Councilman Seifeldein quits meeting after argument with mayor
• ‘It definitely takes a village’: Hanover COVID-19 vaccinations up 40% in two weeks
• Ethicist on the Bench (“Prosecutor of bad lawyers to take a seat on the Alexandria Circuit Court”)
• Virginia Beach mass shooting report: Shooter snuck behind officers through hallway and sparked firefight
• Two Pipe Bombs Found in Home of Arlington Man Accused of Threatening Woman
• D.C.-area forecast: Cloudy today as milder air arrives, with windy warmth on Friday