Thursday News: “Biden says U.S. will still ‘hold Taliban accountable’ after troops leave Afghanistan”; “The mRNA Vaccines Are Looking Better and Better”; “Sanders says he disagrees with Tlaib’s call for ‘no more policing’”; “Offshore wind represent prime opportunity for Virginia”

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Thursday, April 15.

• Advances mean all new US vehicles can be electric by 2035, study finds (“Cost of batteries to fall and recharge points to increase; Rapid electrification could save drivers $2.7tn by 2050”)
• Western Warnings Tarnish Covid Vaccines the World Badly Needs
• Johnson & Johnson ‘Pause’ Shakes Vaccination Campaigns Worldwide
• India reports record 200,000 new covid-19 cases as outbreak spreads
• Biden to Hit Putin With New Russia Sanctions After Summit Offer
• Opinion: Putin Has His Eye on Ukraine. Biden Must Stare Him Down.
• Just 3% of world’s ecosystems remain intact, study suggests (“Pristine areas in the Amazon and Siberia may expand with animal reintroductions, scientists say”)
• Biden Administration to Impose Tough Sanctions on Russia
• U.S. to Sanction Russia, Expel Diplomats Over Alleged Election Interference, Hacking
• The mRNA Vaccines Are Looking Better and Better
• U.S. Is Expected to Approve Some Arms Sales to U.A.E. and Saudis
• Indigenous and Environmental Groups Warn Biden Not to Trust Bolsonaro (Agreed, he’s evil incarnate.)
• China ‘must shut 600 coal-fired plants’ to hit climate target (“Move towards renewables to hit net zero by 2060 would also pay off with saving of $1.6tn, analysis finds”)
• The J&J Vaccine Is Not a Tainted Cantaloupe
• Variants Fuel Covid-19 Surge, but Scientists Voice Optimism for Vaccines (“As coronavirus strains spread, experts say public-health measures remain critical to curbing infections”)
• Big business seeks unified, market-based approaches ahead of climate summit (“The request reflects the business world’s growing acceptance that the world needs to sharply reduce global greenhouse gas emissions, as well as its fear that doing so too quickly coud lead governments to set heavy-handed or fragmented rules that choke international trade and hurt profits.The United States is hoping to reclaim its leadership in combating climate change when it hosts the April 22-23 Leaders Summit on Climate.”)
• JPMorgan Embarks on $2.5 Trillion Climate, Sustainability Effort
• JPMorgan pledges $2.5 trillion over the next decade toward climate change (“$1 trillion from the initiative is earmarked for green projects, including renewable energy and clean technologies.”)
• Two decades in Afghanistan: Vows to win, but no vision for victory
• Biden’s Afghanistan withdrawal is a moment of truth — and a potentially humbling one — for GOP hawks
• For Afghanistan veterans, old feelings of frustration and loss surface as the U.S. prepares to end its longest war
• Afghanistan requires more humility — from everyone (Agreed.)
• How Biden’s team overrode the brass on Afghanistan
• What Will It Take to Pandemic-Proof America? (“When the next virus strikes, we’ll look back on this moment as an opportunity that we either seized or squandered.”)
• Biden starts to execute on policies Trump abandoned by crossing off another campaign promise (“With his vow to get troops out of Afghanistan and proposals that elevate the working class, Biden is eying achievements Trump talked up but failed to accomplish”)
• Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 Vaccine In Limbo As Officials Seek Evidence (“Health advisers declared Wednesday that they need more evidence to decide if a handful of unusual blood clots were linked to the shot.”)
• CDC Recommends 7 to 10 Day Pause on Johnson & Johnson Vaccine
• Tax policy helped power-sector emissions fall 40 percent, can do more
• Rare bipartisan Senate vote advances measure to address anti-Asian hate crimes
• McConnell turned corporations into people — and then they grew up
• In the climate change fight, the Interior Department becomes a battlefield
• Democrats Were Lukewarm on Campaign Biden. They Love President Biden.
• Schumer lays groundwork for future filibuster reform
• Republicans’ infrastructure talking points are crumbling
• Far-Right Extremism Has Become One of the Intelligence Community’s Rising Threats
• Sanders says he disagrees with Tlaib’s call for ‘no more policing’ (Do any other Democrats agree with Tlaib?)
• What Tom Friedman misses about our current immigration challenges
• Shades of 2016: Republicans Stay Silent on Trump, Hoping He Fades Away
• Few Americans Who Identify As Independent Are Actually Independent. That’s Really Bad For Politics. (“Roughly 3 in 4 independents still lean toward one of the two major political parties, and studies show that these voters aren’t all that different from the voters in the party they lean toward.”)
• A democracy-based national security agenda must start at home
• Armed ‘quick reaction force’ was waiting for order to storm Capitol, Justice Dept. says (“As the Capitol was overrun on Jan. 6, armed supporters of President Donald Trump were waiting across the Potomac in Virginia for orders to bring guns into the fray, a prosecutor said Wednesday in federal court.”)
• The C.E.O.s Who Didn’t Sign a Big Defense of Voting Rights
• Department of Justice Closes Investigation into the Death of Ashli Babbitt (The real question is why more of the insurrectionists weren’t shot on 1/6.)
• Republicans want to be a working class party. But not that much.
• How Texas’s zombie oil wells are creating an environmental disaster zone
• House panel approves bill to create commission on slavery reparations
• Mitt Romney And Kyrsten Sinema Team Up On Bipartisan Proposal To Increase Minimum Wage
• Democrats to introduce bill to expand Supreme Court from 9 to 13 justices
• A new bill would add 4 seats to the Supreme Court
• ‘Frankly, I Think Everyone Is Baffled’: Searching For Clues In SCOTUS’ Abortion Silence
• White Nationalists Sure Don’t Think Tucker Carlson’s “Replacement” Segment Is About Voting Rights
• Tucker Carlson’s toxic ‘replacement’ rhetoric gets picked up in the House
• Tucker Carlson’s Expanding Definition of Who Shouldn’t Get to Vote (“It’s not just immigrants.”)
• Republicans Disdain the Civil Rights Division
• GOP Senators Still Think They Can Claim the Mantle of Law and Order (“At Kristen Clarke’s DOJ confirmation hearing, senators who were recently lawless attacked an institutionalist for being against the law.”)
• Matt Gaetz’s Wingman Paid Dozens of Young Women—and a 17-Year-Old
• Rep. Matt Gaetz announces ad buy to ‘fight back’ against CNN, allegations (Pathetic.)
• The Most Popular J&J Vaccine Story On Facebook? A Conspiracy Theorist Posted It (Facebook continues to suck big time.)
• Derek Chauvin defense expert blames heart disease and drug use for George Floyd’s death (Disgraceful.)
• Officer arrested, charged with second-degree manslaughter in killing of Daunte Wright (Sure, but this shouldn’t have happened at all.)
• Black Buffalo police officer fired for trying to stop chokehold wins ruling, to get pension (She’s a hero.)
• ‘Death is too good for him’: Bernie Madoff’s death reopens wounds for victims
• Bernie Madoff Was Felled By Greed-Is-Good
• Could Virginia’s latest gun control laws be heading to the federal level?
• Senator Tim Kaine to introduce new bills to Congress
• Senator Kaine to introduce new bills on gun measures, workforce training
• Not so Good for Virginia (Yep, Bob Good is an absolute disgrace.)
• Audio: 2020 VA GOP U.S. Senate Nominee Daniel Gade Recounts How Pete Snyder Hung Up on Him Because Gade Didn’t Know Who Snyder Was
• Video: As House Committee Considers DC Statehood, Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA11) Says That for Republicans, “DC is simply too brown and too Democratic to be worthy of representation”
• Terry McAuliffe Raises $4.1 Million in Q1 2021, Has $8.5 Million Cash on Hand (McAuliffe “Has Raised $10.3 Million To Date – More Than Any Gubernatorial Candidate At This Point in The Cycle in VA History”)
• AG Mark Herring Calls On Congress To Pass the “Jabara-Heyer No Hate Act” To Combat Hate Crimes
• Saxman: Is Denver Riggleman Running for Governor or Not?
• Mystery groups spend thousands trashing GOP candidates for governor (“The GOP nominating contest is the latest example of how lax campaign finance rules allow outside groups to try to influence Virginia elections without leaving much of a trail showing who’s doing it.” Our state’s campaign finance laws are a pathetic joke. CHANGE THEM!)
• Attack ads from shadow PACs lead to finger-pointing in GOP governor’s race
• Editorial: Offshore wind represent prime opportunity for Virginia
• Schapiro: Less who you are, more where you’re from (Pretty funny – Schapiro calls Xavier Warren “Warren Xavier.” Really following the Dems’ LG race closely, eh? LOL)
• Virginia hospitals saw fewer births and more substance abuse-related stays in 2020
• As Virginia’s COVID cases and hospitalizations rise, some health officials fear another surge
• VA Dem Lt. Gov. Candidate Del. Hala Ayala Releases Plan to Protect Black Mothers and to End Racial Disparities in Healthcare Outcomes
• Virginia State Police seeking witnesses to Windsor police officers’ traffic stop of Army lieutenant
• Video: Windsor Mayor, Police Chief Respond to Questions on “viral video stop involving pepper spray of Lt. Caron Nazario”
• Windsor police chief says backlash from viral video of pepper-spray incident caused him to fire officer
• Windsor Police Chief Says Officer Should Have Deescalated Situation With Nazario
• Windsor Police chief discusses controversial traffic stop, says officers “missed opportunities to de-escalate the situation”
• Virginia expands Medicaid access for legal immigrants
• “A Very Disturbing Trend” — Ballad Health Warns Of Another COVID-19 Surge
• Denied an Extension By State Board of Elections, HD-69 Democratic Candidate Michael Jones Ends Campaign
• Fairfax Co. to move into Phase 2 as Northern Virginia expects to open up availability soon
• CASEY: Coming soon — roll-on and -off bike service on Amtrak in Virginia
• The Richmond School Board wants control of school construction, but the city and superintendent are opposed
• Group begins recall campaign against Fairfax County prosecutor (Haha, good luck with *that*! LOL)
• Richmond Electoral Board Selects New General Registrar
• Teacher unions on the Peninsula found new energy during the pandemic. Now they want collective bargaining.
• D.C.-area forecast: Drying and clearing today, then a mild weekend with a minor shower risk on Sunday