Tuesday News: “Biden Pushes Mask Mandate as C.D.C. Director Warns of ‘Impending Doom’”; “No jury should accept that Derek Chauvin was doing what he was trained to do”; “Democrats governing in Virginia is a thing to behold”; Va. Beach “Oceanfront shooting demands answers”

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Tuesday, March 30.

“Democrats governing in Virginia is a thing to behold.” pic.twitter.com/XwAbKI6ixz

— Andrew Whitley (@AndrewWhitleyVA) March 30, 2021

• How mRNA Technology Could Change the World (“mRNA’s story likely will not end with COVID-19: Its potential stretches far beyond this pandemic.”)
• Global leaders call for a pandemic treaty — but U.S. and China remain silent
• Japan’s Kyoto cherry blossoms peak on earliest date in 1,200 years, a sign of climate change
• The Suez Canal Crisis Has Ended. Time to Add Up the Damages (“The battle over damages from the waterway’s longest closure in almost half a century is just beginning.”)
• US ratchets up pressure on Myanmar’s military after its bloodiest weekend since the coup
• New massacres by Myanmar’s military demand a tougher U.S. response
• New Covid vaccines needed globally within a year, say scientist (“Survey of experts in relevant fields concludes that new variants could arise in countries with low vaccine coverage”)
• The Taliban Think They Have Already Won, Peace Deal or Not
• Father Of Navalny Associate Held On Criminal Charge
• Cautiously, Britain Begins Relaxing Strict Lockdown Rules
• WHO Report: Wildlife Farms, Not Market, Likely Source Of Coronavirus Pandemic (Wildlife markets are a disgrace on every level.)
• LGBTQ+ people face ‘starkly’ higher Covid risk: ‘Needs aren’t being met’
• CDC Director Explains Her Dire COVID-19 Warning
• Biden Pushes Mask Mandate as C.D.C. Director Warns of ‘Impending Doom’ (“The administration is stepping up the pace of vaccinations and expanding access to shots, but it remains in a race against a virus on the upswing.”)
• New U.S. coronavirus cases rise by 12 percent as nation braces for a fourth pandemic wave
• As Covid-19 Vaccinations Ramp Up, Hesitancy Wanes (“Survey shows shrinking share of people expressing reluctance to get vaccinated, driven by increasing willingness in Southern states and more broadly among Black Americans”)
• Doctors Rage at Signs of New, ‘Preventable’ COVID Surge (“Vaccines are everywhere. So is the deadly virus Americans just can’t seem to shake.”)
• CDC chief says latest Covid numbers scare her
• The Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines are very effective in real-world conditions at preventing infections, the C.D.C. reported.
• ‘Fiasco Waiting To Happen’: Millions At Risk Of Losing Power Over Unpaid Bills
• America’s Immigration Amnesia (“Despite recurrent claims of crisis at the border, the United States still does not have a coherent immigration policy.”)
• Biden plans to dramatically increase offshore wind energy development
• White House moves toward approving huge windfarm off east coast (“Biden administration’s effort to increase offshore wind energy is part of plan to generate power for more than 10m homes by 2030”)
• Joe Biden is stretching Obamacare as far as it can go
• Democrats are making Obamacare work. But Republicans still block access for 2 million Americans.
• Republicans Have an Ambitious Agenda for the Supreme Court (“Why the G.O.P. doesn’t need to try to pass mostly unpopular policies through the elected branches.”)
• Behind the dark-money web that put Barrett (and Kavanaugh and Gorsuch) on the Supreme Court (“Neil and Ann Corkery have a mission: Load up the judicial branch with right-wing Catholics. It’s definitely working”)
• The Republican Party Is Driving the Nation’s Democratic Decline (“This is what it looks like when a political party turns against democracy itself.”)
• Biden’s next big move could blow up one of the silliest myths in D.C. (“It’s the idea that the GOP is moving left on economics in some fundamental way, largely due to former president Donald Trump’s influence”)
• Congress looks to rein in Biden’s war powers
• Biden task force to probe science manipulation under Trump
• Poll: Biden approval remains steady amid struggles with immigration, foreign affairs
• Democrats, don’t fear what Republicans say about the infrastructure bill (“Republicans will cry, ‘They want to raise your taxes!’ Don’t assume the public will believe them.”)
• Democrats Look to Smooth the Way for Biden’s Infrastructure Plan
• Democrats wrestle over tax hikes for infrastructure
• Analysis: Corporations, wealthy pay in Biden infrastructure plan, not drivers and riders
• Biden Seeks to Reverse Decades of Disparity in Next Economy Move
• Biden wants $4T infrastructure package approved over summer
• Infrastructure should be a no-brainer (“Opposing it will only hurt Republicans.”)
• Biden’s first slate of judicial nominees aims to quickly boost diversity in federal courts
• Corporations, Vocal About Racial Justice, Go Quiet on Voting Rights (Pathetic.)
• Inside the Koch-Backed Effort to Block the Largest Election-Reform Bill in Half a Century (“On a leaked conference call, leaders of dark-money groups and an aide to Mitch McConnell expressed frustration with the popularity of the legislation—even among Republican voters.” These people have always been, and continue to be, evil.)
• A Very Early Look At The 2022 Governor Races
• Biden outfoxes the GOP in first 60 days (“Biden’s focus pays off”)
• Republicans want you to call their policies ‘racist.’ It’s part of their plan. (“Playing the racial victim is the core of the strategy.”)
• Nearly half of Americans changed sports viewing habits because of social justice
• Mitch McConnell: ‘I would encourage all Republican men’ to get vaccinated
• Buttigieg says no gas or mileage tax in Biden’s infrastructure plan
• Supreme Court rebuffs bid for Hillary Clinton deposition about emails
• Amazon union vote enters final stretch in watershed moment for U.S. labor (“The votes on whether to form a union at Amazon.com Inc’s sprawling Alabama fulfillment center are set to be reviewed starting on Tuesday, with momentum for future labor organizing at America’s second-largest private employer hanging in the balance.”)
• Fired, interrogated, disciplined: Amazon warehouse organizers allege year of retaliation (“The number of charges filed with the National Labor Relations Board accusing Amazon of interfering with workers’ right to organize more than tripled during the pandemic.”)
• Capitol riot suspect wore ‘I Was There’ shirt when arrested
• Fox News drops any pretense, hires Lara Trump(“The hiring is the type of ethical mess that’s become par for the course at the network”)
• Dominion Builds Legal Behemoth to Drain Trumpland of Billions (“Dominion Voting Systems is adding a new team of lawyers as they prepare for their current lawsuits—and another potential round”)
• Dr. Birx’s CNN Interview Was Enraging
• Florida Republicans considering new election bill that would effectively ban giving voters water (Horrible, horrible people.)
• Arkansas and South Dakota pass bans targeting transgender minors (“Measures are among dozens of anti-trans legislation across the US and conservatives have filed more proposals this year than ever before”)
• Trump targets Fauci, Birx in lengthy diatribe (Trump is completely unhinged.)
• No jury should accept that Derek Chauvin was doing what he was trained to do
• 911 dispatcher testifies officers pinned down George Floyd for so long she thought her video feed had frozen
• Prosecutors accuse Derek Chauvin of killing George Floyd as trial starts (“Jerry Blackwell told jury that ex-officer used excessive and unreasonable force ‘without regard for Floyd’s life’”)
• The world saw George Floyd’s final minutes. Now it will see whether he gets justice.
• Ghislaine Maxwell Charged With Sex Trafficking of 14-Year-Old Girl (Scum.)
• New accounts detail how New York health officials were told to prioritize coronavirus testing of people connected to Andrew Cuomo
• Washington Post reverses prohibition on reporter from writing about sexual assault
• With an Eye on 2024, a Rarely Bashful Pompeo Grows More Combative (Authoritarian goon.)
• Scoop: Substack is raising $65 million amid newsletter boom
• Kentucky lawmakers override veto of McConnell-backed Senate vacancy plan
• Two weeks after shooting spree, Georgia Senate backs bill to loosen gun restrictions (In sum, they want to make voting harder and buying a gun easier. Republican priorities…)
• Republicans’ blunder on voting rights (“They have made themselves look like something worse than enemies of democracy.”)
• Here’s another GOP voting law that’s almost comically suspect (“Shockingly, Republicans appear to think voter suppression is in their party’s interests.”)
• Trooper who arrested Ga. lawmaker says he was wary of a Jan. 6-type of attack (Wuuuut?)
• One-on-One with Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine (Part 2)
• Loudoun Women Business Owners Discuss COVID’s Impact With Senator (“U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine met with women business leaders in Loudoun County to learn about the top issues facing them during the pandemic.”)
• Don Beyer column: Washington, D.C., should be a state
• Swing Left Announces Campaign to Protect Democratic “Trifecta” In Virginia in 2021 (Virginia “will be the first test of campaign strategy and grassroots energy from Trump-resistance organizations working to maintain electoral momentum in the Biden era”)
• [UPDATED] After Being Told She Couldn’t Carry Firearms and Not Asked To Speak at “mega church in Leesburg” on Palm Sunday, Amanda Chase Says “it was all I could do to choke back the tears”
• Extreme GOP Candidates In Virginia Mean Voting Rights Are On the Ballot (“Every single Republican candidate for governor is recklessly advancing Donald Trump’s dangerous, deranged election conspiracy theories”)
• DLCC Announces Initial Virginia Spotlight Candidates; Meet 15 Incumbents In Critical Races To Keep Virginia Blue
• Battle of Two Rich Guys Who Would Be Governor (“Youngkin and Snyder are two really rich men, running for Governor in a crowded field, focused on each other. And they are campaigning like we are all too ignorant to see through the bullshit. The mud they are slinging at each other is just that, and they should both be above it. Besides, there is enough honest dirt on the faux-self-righteous-windbag … Chase, to keep them both very, very busy … but that’s a different story that I’ll tell before it’s over.”)
• Supporters Say McClellan is ‘Voice That Virginia Needs to Hear’
• Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Lee Carter pushes back at rumors he made an error on ballot-petition signatures
• Democrats say they are proud, not afraid of their long list of lieutenant governor candidates
• Governor Northam Signs Legislation Creating Tuition-Free Community College Program for Low- and Middle-Income Students (“‘Get Skilled, Get a Job, Give Back’ initiative will enable an estimated 36,000 Virginians to earn degrees in high-demand fields”)
• Students successfully lobby for new state law excusing them from school to protest (“Virginia students will have one day to ‘engage in a civic or political event.'”)
• Virginia lawmakers ban police use of facial recognition
• Virginia’s new big-tech backed data privacy law is the nation’s second. Critics say it doesn’t go far enough.
• What Virginia’s school outbreak dashboard can — and can’t — say about the risks of reopening
• Monday (3/29) Virginia Data on COVID-19 Finds +1,143 Confirmed/Probable Cases (to 616,509), +37 Hospitalizations (to 26,280), +21 Deaths (to 10,219)
• Virginia Schools Face Enrollment Declines During COVID-19
• No Sign of New Surge in New River Valley But Fredericksburg-area Cases Going Up
• Stream crossings for Mountain Valley Pipeline become more complicated (“The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality says it could take a year to complete its part of the application process.” Just kill this crazy project.)
• Virginia says it can’t issue stream crossing permit for Mountain Valley Pipeline before winter
• ‘Long-term skin in the game’ – state ups ante for minority investment in casinos
• William & Mary active student COVID cases spike to 111 as of Monday evening
• Virginia Parole Chair Files Libel Suit Over Coverage of Prisoner Release Scandal (“The head of Virginia’s Parole Board has filed a $7 million defamation suit against a local TV station and journalist, claiming the outlet misrepresented details of a report related to an ongoing scandal involving the early release of an inmate. The complaint, filed Monday in Richmond City Circuit Court, alleges local CBS affiliate WTVR-TV and reporter Jonathan Burkett defamed the character of Tonya Chapman, the chair of the state’s parole board who has come under fire in recent months following the hastened release of an inmate during the early days of the coronavirus outbreak.”)
• George Mason University Must Rename Buchanan Hall to Begin Process of UnKoch-ing Entire Campus (“Buchanan is the intellectual linchpin of the Koch-funded attack on democratic institutions”)
• Varina School Board rep asks Board chairwoman to step down after offensive Dr. Seuss post (“Alicia Atkins, the first Black woman elected to the Henrico County School Board, has asked a white colleague to step down as board chairwoman over a pattern of behavior Atkins said is harmful and perpetuates systemic racism.”)
• Pharrell says his cousin was man shot and killed by Virginia Beach Police on Friday
• Editorial: Oceanfront shooting demands answers (“Numerous questions remain about the weekend shootings at the Oceanfront, and city officials will have to answer them.”)
• Black man fatally shot by Virginia Beach police was brandishing gun, department says (“The Virginia attorney general called for an independent agency to investigate the incident.”)
• 1 of 3 men charged in Oceanfront shootings admits to having gun and firing into crowd, court document says
• CASEY: Grieving dad still endures online videos of his daughter’s murder (“Andy Parker of Collinsville is waging a three-pronged attack against online videos depicting the 2015 killing of his daughter, Alison, a former reporter and anchor for WDBJ-7. But he says the station’s corporate owners are hindering that effort.”)
• Democrat Wolf to challenge Avoli for 20th District House seat
• Hyde gets party nod to challenge Freitas in the 30th
• Newport News Shipbuilding-Electric Boat team wins $2.42 billion contract for an additional Virginia class sub
• Additional Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine doses arrive in Richmond/Henrico
• ‘Her name means ‘light’: Henrico students continue to mourn Lucia Bremer; 14-year-old boy arraigned
• D.C.-area forecast: Welcome warmth and sunshine today before rain returns tomorrow (“Today is easily the nicest day of the next several. Midweek rain then ushers in a late-season freeze potential late in the week.”)