Friday News: “The Wind and Solar Boom Is Here”; “Biden wants to rewrite America’s social contract. He’s right to try.”; “Number of children held in Border Patrol facilities drops 84% since peak last month”; “Gaetz Paid for Sex With Minor, Wingman Says”

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, April 30.

• After a Year of Loss, South America Suffers Worst Death Tolls Yet
• India reports record Covid cases again — with over 386,000 new infections
• Mass Vaccination, India’s Covid-19 Escape Route, Poses a Giant Challenge
• In India’s devastating coronavirus surge, anger at prime minister grows
• Europe’s Economy Shrinks, Sliding Back Into Recession
• Biden’s world: how key countries have reacted to the president’s first 100 days
• ‘We no longer fear the tweet’: Biden brings US back to world stage in first 100 days (“The president has personally moved to repair partnerships, presenting himself as the anti-Trump, but some fear compromises have felt like business as usual”)
• Al Qaeda promises ‘war on all fronts’ against America as Biden pulls out of Afghanistan
• What Happens To The Afghan Army Once American Forces Leave?
• At Least 44 Killed at Overcrowded Lag Ba’Omer Event in Northern Israel
• Nigel Farage: Brexiteer, scourge of the woke – and eco-warrior? (“Fresh from leaving politics, the most high-profile face of the campaign to leave the European Union has joined the advisory board of a Dutch carbon offset company aiming to plant three trillion trees by 2030. It may seem an unlikely career choice for a man who has been scathing about wind power, criticised some environmental campaigners for what he called climate alarmism and declared war on the ‘woke agenda’.”)
• The Wind and Solar Boom Is Here
• Carbon Taxes Cut Emissions, Not Jobs or Economic Growth
• Number of children held in Border Patrol facilities drops 84% since peak last month
• Post-Vaccination Inertia Is Real (“Readjusting our ideas about what’s safe is going to take time”)
• What Covid-19 Vaccine Skeptics Have in Common
• AstraZeneca to Seek U.S. Vaccine Clearance
• The CDC Is on Top of the Science, but Muddying the Message (“Keep it simple”)
• U.S. Recovery Gains Steam as Spending Fuels 6.4% GDP Growth
• Joe Biden’s National Address Raises The Question: How Many Times Can A Nation Be Saved? (“The president spoke as an elder statesman looking backward—to the Democratic Party that brought America back from the brink with the New Deal. Whether that’s even possible now is the question that hangs in the air.”)
• Biden faces pressure to drive gasoline and diesel cars out of the US
• Joe Biden Won the First 100 Days. The True Test Will Be the Next 100.
• No wonder Biden had a bounce in his step
• Biden catches the wave of economic growth
• Biden’s Speech Offers an Alternative Vision for Democrats to Love, After Four Years of Trumpian Fantasy (“The President, channelling his inner Elizabeth Warren, pitches an American utopia after a dystopian plague year.”)
• Biden’s Betting On Public Support To Push His Agenda. Polls Show His Big Spending Packages Have It.
• Biden’s economic push tests the power of pocketbook issues to sway America’s polarized electorate
• Can Democrats Avoid a Wipeout in 2022? (“Biden’s plan: Go big or go home.”)
• ‘You changed America’: Biden marks first 100 days in Georgia – a state key to his victory
• Biden wants to rewrite America’s social contract. He’s right to try.
• From Democrats, a credible ideology. From Republicans, a dangerous mess.
• Harris, senators work behind scenes on jobs package
• Democrats push to add drug pricing, Medicare measures to Biden plan
• Joe Biden is proving progressives wrong. And they’re loving it.
• Conservatism Is Empty Slogans and Culture Wars
• Joe Biden Isn’t Going Back (“But can he get Congress to follow him?”)
• Biden isn’t trying to cut meat consumption. But he should. (High levels of meat consumption is a disaster, not doubt.)
• Biden upends the Republican ‘unity’ test
• Sorry, President Biden: The GOP’s zombie economic ideas will never die (“The next time Republicans have power, trickle-down economics will be back with a vengeance.”)
• Republicans are raising self-sabotage to an art form (“They apparently are fine hurting themselves, so long as their opponents are hurt as well.”)
• Tim Scott’s weak rebuttal shows a GOP badly on the defensive (“It would be nice if the GOP portrayed in the response to Biden actually existed.”)
• Do we even want the truth? The Capitol riot is fading into the memory hole (“Republicans have distorted the narrative, and a true accounting may never happen. Does America just want to forget?” We’d better not!)
• Firing of U.S. Ambassador Is at Center of Giuliani Investigation
• FBI warned Giuliani, key Trump ally in Senate of Russian disinformation campaign targeting Biden
• Rudy Accuses Federal Prosecutors Of ‘Spying’ In New Tucker Carlson Meltdown Interview
• Long Before Raiding Rudy Giuliani’s Home, Investigators Sought ‘Everything’ From His Associates
• Fox News knows Rudy Giuliani isn’t credible. That’s why he’ll be on tonight.
• Tucker Carlson’s conspiracy-obsessed Giuliani interview: not for the faint hearted (“Fox News chat leaves vague impression that FBI raid on ex-mayor’s apartment was somehow Hunter Biden’s fault” Completely unhinged; why is he on TV? Oh yeah, it’s Fox!)
• Trump Launches Scathing Attack On Rudy Giuliani House Raid: ‘It Was, Like, So Unfair’ (“Trump called his former personal attorney, who was an unregistered foreign agent, a ‘great patriot.'” Yes, this nutjob was president for four years. HOW???)
• Barrett and Gorsuch Have to Choose Between Originalism and Expanding Gun Rights
• Exclusive: Coalition calls on Biden to form disinformation task force
• We’re trapped in a doom loop of Trumpian circular logic (“The GOP claim that their voters ‘lack confidence’ in the election is a self-reinforcing phenomenon.”)
• Supreme Court sides with undocumented immigrant fighting deportation
• Why corporate America should join the fight for government health care (“It’s time for CEOs to wise up and do what’s best for their bottom line.”)
• Mike Pence reemerges. But Trumpworld is moving on.
• Pence, Christie, other top potential GOP White House contenders to speak at Texas donor event
• Pence ties himself to Trump, in first public speech since leaving office (Pathetic.)
• Asian-American groups push for socio-political clout with funding surge
• Feds plan to indict Chauvin, other three ex-officers on civil rights charges
• Gaetz, Greene plan national tour to call out RINOs
• Bombshell Letter: Gaetz Paid for Sex With Minor, Wingman Says
• Border Patrol chief is mad that he can’t use slurs to describe immigrants anymore (Yep, this guy is a Trump appointee.)
• Florida GOP Awaits Governor’s Signature On Draconian Voting Restrictions (“Florida will likely join Georgia in restricting votes-by-mail, a move that particularly targets Democratic voters after Biden’s win in 2020.”)
• Florida passes new voting law that includes restrictions on vote-by-mail and drop boxes (Disgraceful.)
• Capitol rioter Ashli Babbitt’s family to seek $10 million from USCP in lawsuit
• Donald Trump Jr. Comes For Rep. Liz Cheney After She Fist-Bumps President Biden (Don Jr. likes murdering elephants. That’s all you need to know about him, although he’s evil in every other way too.)
• Kaine, Warner and other senators introduce bill to boost support for childhood cancer
• Sen. Tim Kaine, Rep. Rob Wittman push to boost funding for shipyards
• New Report Finds Huge Benefits (Including to Virginia) of Pushing for 80% Clean Electricity by 2030. Time to Crank Up the Virginia Clean Economy Act! (In addition to economic benefits, the report finds “$1.7 trillion in health and environmental costs, including 93,000 avoided premature deaths” nationwide from 80% clean power by 2030.)
• “It’s Lord of the Flies in the Virginia GOP right now”; “Virginia Republicans stumble over their own voter ID requirement”
• ‘A lot of confusion’: Virginia Republicans stumble over their own voter ID requirement (“Nationally, the GOP continues to insist more election protections are needed. In Virginia, the fight has become internal.”)
• Audio: VA GOP Chair Explains That Although the Convention’s on Saturday, 5/8, There Might Not Be Results Until the Following Tuesday, 5/11
• Virginia Fraternal Order of Police upset with candidate’s use of logo (“The Virginia Fraternal Order of Police chastised a Republican candidate for attorney general over a mailer that says the FOP had endorsed him.”)
• Cox looks to win Republican nomination, executive mansion
• Infighting and voter exclusion: A look at the Republican nominating convention in Virginia
• Former Delegate David Ramadan discusses the Republican gubernatorial race
• DGA Launches TwoSidedSnyder.com in Virginia
• VHHA Presents Podcast Interview Series Featuring 2021 Candidates for Virginia Statewide Office (Also, find out which one book, one movie and one album each candidate would take with them to a deserted island, LOL.)
• Ten questions Dominion should answer (but probably won’t) (“Now that Bob Blue has taken over the reins of Dominion from former CEO Tom Farrell, has that changed, and can we expect Dominion to take actions consistent with a full phase-out of fossil fuels before 2045?”)
• Anti-gay messaging throws a cloud over Virginia GOP lieutenant governor’s race (As usual, the WaPo chimes in days after Blue Virginia wrote about the story…)
• Thursday (4/29) Virginia Data on COVID-19 Finds +1,187 Confirmed/Probable Cases (to 658,341), +80 Hospitalizations (to 28,351), +16 Deaths (to 10,751)
• Northam amends Virginia’s mask mandate to match CDC guidance
• Virginia’s minimum wage rises to $9.50 an hour on Saturday — the first increase in over a decade
• Northam Administration Releases Maternal Health Strategic Plan (“Recommendations will help Virginia achieve the Governor’s goal of eliminating the racial disparities in maternal health outcomes by 2025”)
• Editorial: Unexpected revenues mean difficult choices for Richmond
• Hamlar: From cradle to grave – investing in care infrastructure is critical for small businesses like mine
• Fairfax NAACP “disappointed with the process that was used to select the new leader of the Fairfax County Police Department” (The community was, once again, excluded from the process.”)
• Vaccine demand is waning in Richmond and Henrico. With access being a factor, health districts are adjusting strategies
• Settlement ends lawsuit alleging sexual harassment at Roanoke bus system
• D.C.-area forecast: High winds peak today into tonight as cooler air turns warm by Sunday