Saturday News: “CDC says 100 million people have received at least one vaccine dose”; “Boehner goes off on Fox News for turning the GOP into a party of ‘crazies,’ ‘morons’ and ‘reckless a**holes'”; Gov. Northam Orders Flags Lowered For USCP Officer Billy Evans

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Saturday, April 3.

• The US and Iran have their first real chance to revive the nuclear deal (“Washington and Tehran will meet indirectly in Austria next week as part of a gathering to keep the Iran nuclear deal alive.”)
• Iran rejects ‘step-by-step’ lifting of sanctions – Press TV
• Suez Canal shipping backlog to end on Saturday – canal authority
• The Powerful New Argument for Fossil-Fuel Divestment (“A report by BlackRock shows that those who divested have profited not only morally but financially.”)
• U.S., Japan and South Korea Share North Korea Missile Concerns
• Myanmar protesters defy crackdown, five killed; junta hunts critics
• India braces for COVID-19 curbs as infections hit 6-month high
• Goldman Sachs has made big promises on climate policy — but where does the money go? (“Giant investment bank has loudly trumpeted its climate commitments. Its actual record tells a different story”)
• What the U.S. Can Learn From China’s Infatuation With Infrastructure
• Airlines Want Vaccine Passports but Don’t Want to Pay for Them
• In March jobs report, the economy is (finally!) cooking with gas
• One Million U.S. Jobs Heralds New Economic Era
• Jobs report blows past expectations as payrolls boom by 916,000 in March
• The Threat That COVID-19 Poses Now (“After a year of waves and surges, the pandemic is entering a ‘tornado’ phase in America.”)
• Fully vaccinated people can resume travel at ‘low risk,’ CDC says
• CDC says 100 million people have received at least one vaccine dose
• As coronavirus infections and vaccinations surge, hope collides with dread
• Republicans have boxed themselves in on infrastructure. And Democrats know it. (“The White House issues a challenge to Republicans.”)
• Republicans need help to torpedo Biden’s infrastructure bill. Will Democrats give it to them? (“Demands for progressive changes and for removing the SALT deduction cap play into the hands of Trump and the GOP.”)
• The GOP strategy for defeating Biden’s new plan actually refutes itself The GOP strategy for defeating Biden’s new plan actually refutes itself
• Biden Wants $10 Billion for a Climate Army. That Isn’t Nearly Enough. (“Civilian Climate Corps would work to prep the nation for hotter heat waves and fiercer storms.”)
• Of course infrastructure pays for itself. It leverages the greatest resource on earth.
• Big Meat and Dairy Companies Have Spent Millions Lobbying Against Climate Action, a New Study Finds (“The companies have been slow to make emissions reductions pledges, and have worked to undercut climate and environmental legislation.” Heinous.)
• Fossil Fuel Companies Took Billions in U.S. Coronavirus Relief Funds but Still Cut Nearly 60,000 Jobs (“A new analysis shows how oil and mining businesses used tax changes in the CARES Act to improve cash flow and reward shareholders rather than maintain employment.”)
• NAACP Report: Fossil Fuel Industry Uses Deception to Conceal Damage to BIPOC Communities
• State of the Electric Utility 2021: Gas doubts rise, DER focus wanes, and 5 other key takeaways (“Despite the impacts of COVID-19, the energy transition is stronger than ever, the results of Utility Dive’s 8th annual State of the Electric Utility Survey Report show.”)
• Hold on to your seats. FERC just hit the fast forward button on the clean energy transition.
• Democrats should end Iowa and New Hampshire’s political monopoly
• Jeff Bezos Is Taunting Politicians. Will They Take the Bait? (“A labor battle in Alabama is a referendum on Amazon’s strategy”)
• ‘The fuse has been lit’: union leaders hope Amazon effort will boost support across US (“Counting is currently under way for the historic union election at Amazon’s warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama, and union organizers and leaders throughout the labor movement are hoping the effort will help galvanize support for workers and unions in the south and across the US.”)
• Georgia’s Jim Crow Lite Vote Suppression Continues Trump’s War on Democracy
• MLB moving 2021 All-Star Game from Atlanta over Georgia voting law
• “We’re going to punish you” – Laura Ingraham launches threatening tirade at companies speaking out against voter suppression (Evil as always.)
• Trump calls for boycott of MLB for moving All-Star Game
• The devil went down to Georgia to suppress the vote
• Multiple Army instructors suspended over alleged sexual assault of a trainee at Fort Sill
• Capitol attack shatters sense of calm, raising fresh questions about security
• Beto O’Rourke says he’s not planning to challenge Greg Abbott for Texas governor
• O’Rourke clarifies remarks, leaves door open to gubernatorial bid
• Officer Killed, Driver Fatally Shot After Ramming Into Capitol Building Barricade
• Loss of USCP Colleague Officer William F. Evans
• Northam orders flags to be flown at half-staff in honor of victims of deadly U.S. Capitol car attack
• Suspect in Capitol attack appears to have been a follower of Louis Farrakhan.
• Man who grew up in Covington blamed in D.C. attack; he and Capitol Police officer die
• U.S. Capitol attack suspect is former Christopher Newport University football player (“Noah Green, 25, was fatally shot after allegedly ramming a car into two officers and a barricade Friday. Police shot him when he emerged from the car. He later died of his injuries.”)
• Republican congresswomen revoke endorsements of Texas GOP candidate after ‘hurtful and untrue’ comments about Chinese immigrants
• John Boehner’s I-Was-Just-a-Feather-in-the-Gales-of- Crazy Act Doesn’t Work on Those of Us Who Were There
• What a scorching John Boehner book excerpt says about today’s GOP (“Their media tail now wags their political dog, and it started long before Trump.”)
• John Boehner spills the beans on “a**hole” Ted Cruz, Fox “propaganda” and the GOP’s “crazy caucus” (“Boehner goes off on Fox News for turning the GOP into a party of ‘crazies,’ ‘morons’ and ‘reckless a**holes'”)
• Fox News routinely attacks pandemic health measures while implementing them for its own staff
• Gaetz is said to have boasted of his ‘access to women’ provided by friend charged in sex-trafficking case
• Trump Isn’t Coming to Matt Gaetz’s Rescue—for Now
• Republicans quietly say Gaetz’s days in Congress are numbered
• Fox News goes silent on Matt Gaetz and his sex trafficking scandal
• Freshman lawmaker donates Gaetz campaign contributions to victims of abuse
• A spokesman for Matt Gaetz quits, as the Justice Dept. investigates whether his boss violated sex trafficking laws.
• Matt Gaetz Says He Won’t Resign as Pressure Mounts
• CNN’s Dana Bash ‘Can’t Repeat’ on TV All the Nasty Things GOP Members of Congress Are Privately Texting Her About Matt Gaetz
• Chauvin trial prosecutors are working on behalf of a traumatized community
• Detective says Chauvin knee on neck a ‘totally unnecessary’ use of deadly force (“Richard Zimmerman gives testimony and tells court ‘if your knee is on someone’s neck – that could kill them’”)
• Here’s what was revealed in the first week of the Derek Chauvin trial
• Suez canal blockage shows need for Navy focus on maritime chokepoints, Elaine Luria says
• Many veterans exposed to toxic burn pits are not getting VA benefits. Luria wants Congress to fix that.
• NY Times’ Nate Cohn Misstates/Skews Virginia’s Experience to Argue Laws Protecting Voting Rights “don’t necessarily have the existential stakes that folks on both sides of the aisle seem to assume” (In fact, Virginia turnout in 2020 was way up, with early voting massively surging, and that’s all BEFORE the Voting Rights Act of Virginia was signed into law just this week.)
• Virginia Invests Over $203.6 Million to Expand Access to Child Care, Increase Support for Providers
• J&J vaccine woes won’t affect Virginia — for now, vaccine chief says
• Friday (4/2) Virginia Data on COVID-19 Finds +1,538 Confirmed/Probable Cases (to 622,339), +73 Hospitalizations (to 26,609), +11 Deaths (to 10,279)
• Va. will not allow walk-ins at vaccine clinics anytime soon to limit out-of-towners, considers requiring proof of residency
• Several Health Districts Moving to General Population Vaccinations Monday (“The Roanoke City-Alleghany, Southside and Pittsylvania/Danville Health Districts all plan to move into Phase 2. That’s ahead of the statewide date of April 18th announced by Governor Ralph Northam earlier this week.”)
• VA GOP Week in Review: Trumpian Lies, Brutal Accusations, and More Far-Right Extremism (“Kirk Cox Shows Far-Right Commitment to Voter Suppression”; “A Terrified Pete Snyder Hides in Fear of Amanda Chase”)
• Fewer Virginia students have applied for college financial aid this year, and the drop is worse at low-income schools
• Lawyers in Richmond monuments case disagree about significance of ruling in Charlottesville case
• Who’s Eligible For Medicaid? Rule Change Allows More Virginians to Sign Up
• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Should Extend Virginia’s Review Period for MVP
• State Lawmakers to Consider Northam’s Facial Recognition Bill Amendment Next Week
• Police in Virginia can no longer keep all their reports secret forever, thanks to a new law
• In the Nomination for Attorney General, Buyer Beware (“Chuck Smith may deliver a show-stopping speech full of some good one liners that bring down the house. But when you look beyond his words to his record, you see that Chuck Smith as a candidate will lose and take the Virginia GOP ticket with him.”)
• BREAKING: Long-Time Dominion CEO Tom Farrell Dies; Retired Just Yesterday (In recent years, Farrell moved the company more towards clean energy, canceled the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, etc.)
• UPDATE: Tom Farrell dies at 66, the day after stepping down as leader of Dominion Energy
• Virginia Tech students decry club for ‘homophobic, racist’ leaked chats
• Williams: Richmond’s casino proposals have pitted neighborhood against neighborhood. We need an equitable outcome, or no casino at all
• Gov. Ralph Northam moves to allow Prince William County to adopt its own health department
• In-person graduation is on for UVa students, officials decide
• D.C.-area forecast: Still on the cool side today, but lots of nice weather is on the way (“We’re leaving the wintry chill of recent days behind. 70s are in our future.”)