by Lowell
Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Tuesday, April 6.
- Global COVID-19 death toll surpasses 3 million amid new infections resurgence
- US and Iran hold indirect talks over nuclear deal
- Biden Envoy To Iran On What To Expect In Renewed Nuclear Talks
- Europe’s vaccine divide: As scientists scramble for answers to AstraZeneca blood clot puzzle, some nations opt for caution
- World’s biggest wind farm may be answer to South Korea’s net-zero dream (“The 48.5 trillion won ($42.8 billion) wind farm, to be built over the next decade off the southwest coast of the country, would generate up to 8.2 gigawatts of power, one of a catalog of grand projects the government wants to roll out with private sector backing to meet its ambition of becoming carbon neutral by 2050.”)
- New Zealand, Australia To Create ‘Travel Bubble,’ Resume Quarantine-Free Travel
- A crisis in Jordan reveals a stagnant and repressive regime
- Netanyahu Tapped to Try to Form Israel’s Government
- U.S. appoints new global coronavirus coordinator as Biden steps up efforts to combat pandemic
- As Variants Have Spread, Progress Against the Virus Has Stalled in the U.S. (“Vaccinations have topped three million per day, but cases are up again with the rise of more-contagious variants, restriction rollbacks and more travel.”)
- Why the World Awaits Biden’s Pledge on Climate Change
- Fossil-Fuel Firms Reaped Billions in COVID Tax Breaks—Then Laid Off Thousands of Workers (“A group of 77 companies took $8.2 billion, and almost all cut jobs.”)
- How Biden’s zero-carbon revolution would broaden the energy map
- Politicization of ‘vaccine passports’ could aggravate GOP hesitancy, experts warn (“Influential right-wing figures are ‘applying culture war logic to the slow process of getting back to normal from Covid,’ one conservative media expert said.”)
- Cryptocurrency market value tops $2 trillion for the first time as ethereum hits record high
- Credit Suisse Takes $4.7 Billion Hit, Replaces Risk, Investment Bank Chiefs
- Biden and Democrats Detail Plans to Raise Taxes on Multinational Firms (“Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the U.S. would support a global minimum tax, while top Democrats unveiled their own plan to raise taxes on multinational firms.”)
- Senate Democrats Pitch Their International Corporate Tax Plan (“Lawmakers offer some proposals that mirror Biden tax increases on U.S. companies, with some ideas that may be less onerous on businesses”)
- 2 Dem senators balk at Biden’s new spending plan (One is Manchin, of course; the other is…Mark Warner.)
- Bernie Sanders has “no problem with going to West Virginia” to pressure Manchin on Biden proposals (“Joe Manchin’s latest no: Now he’s against Biden’s plan to raise corporate taxes to 28% to pay for infrastructure”)
- Republicans Love Infrastructure, Unless It’s Paid For, or Not Paid For
- Senate Democrats can now officially pass more bills with 51 votes
- Senate parliamentarian to let Democrats bypass GOP filibuster on two more bills
- Biden Economic Plan Gets Boost From Senate Procedural Ruling
- The fight to define infrastructure could change America
- Why Republicans Are Pretending to Hate Corporate America Now (“The party of big business starts yelling at big business”)
- Republicans defend corporate speech — unless it supports voting rights (“They can’t have it both ways”)
- Embracing the Softer Side of Infrastructure (“Investments in the future don’t always involve concrete.”)
- Republicans resort to quibbling over the definition of infrastructure (“What helps us in a 21st-century economy?”)
- GOP claims about ‘real infrastructure’ are silly. Why are media playing along? (Because much of the political media sucks?)
- Why tearing down Fauci is essential to the MAGA myth
- Can Biden achieve an FDR-style presidency? A historian sees surprising parallels.
- Joe Biden was wrong about the Republican ‘epiphany’ (“Even with Donald Trump fading away, the cycle of radicalization between GOP politicians and their base continues to spin”)
- Clarence Thomas plays a poor devil’s advocate in floating First Amendment limits for tech companies
- Why some Democrats are quietly unhappy with the House’s big voting rights bill (“There’s a debate over whether some of the For the People Act’s provisions are misconceived.”)
- Merchant Groups Target Amazon in New Political Campaign (“National coalition of small businesses to push for more-forceful antitrust measures, saying Amazon competes unfairly”)
- Biden wants lasting impact on courts
- Republicans struggle to defend corporate tax windfall (“Defending big business is a big loser”)
- Why The Republican Party Isn’t Rebranding After 2020 (“The collective decision of conservative activists and Republican elected officials to stay on the anti-democratic, racist trajectory that the GOP had been on before Trump — but that he accelerated — is perhaps the most important story in American politics right now. At this moment, it’s unclear whether one of America’s two major political parties truly believes in democracy.”)
- Poll: Half Of Republicans Think Capitol Rioters Were Largely Peaceful Or Left-Wing Agitators (“They’re still drinking the Kool-Aid.”)
- Republicans Are the Party of Voter Suppression
- Republican battle with MLB intensifies
- How the far-right group ‘Oath Enforcers’ plans to harass political enemies
- Derek Chauvin ‘absolutely’ violated policy, Minneapolis police chief testifies (“Once Mr. Floyd had stopped resisting, and certainly once he was in distress and trying to verbalize that, that should have stopped”)
- Chauvin’s use of force on George Floyd was ‘in no way’ policy, says police chief
- Police chief says Chauvin violated multiple policies of department
- Why aren’t we calling the Capitol attack an act of treason?
- If It’s Not Jim Crow, What Is It? (“Georgia’s new voting law has to be understood in its own peculiar historical context.”)
- This should not happen more than once (“There are several details of the Matt Gaetz story that keep sticking in my head, but the one that sticks in it most is the report that the Florida Republican used to wander around and show his colleagues nude photos of people he had slept with.”)
- Matt Gaetz Defended Me When My Nudes Were Shared Without My Consent. Now He’s Accused of Doing Just That
- Former lawmaker says Gaetz fought ‘revenge porn’ law: ‘He thought that any picture was his to use as he wanted’
- Matt Gaetz Said His ‘Travel Records’ Would Exonerate Him. They Don’t. (“Among the bevy of items currently under investigation is the Florida congressman’s campaign filings.”)
- Arkansas governor vetoes bill banning medical treatments for transgender youths
- All The Elections To Watch In 2021 (“The biggest election of 2021 is probably for governor of Virginia…Democrats start out as the favorites to win, but the race could be close if the national environment gets more favorable for Republicans. Additionally, because Virginia governors can’t run for reelection, there are competitive contests for both parties’ nominations that largely mirror the national divides in each party.”)
- Sen. Tim Kaine meets with Suffolk, Franklin business owners: “There’s a whole lot of pent-up demand”
- Nansemond Indian Nation talks about impacts of COVID, plans for the future with Sen. Tim Kaine
- Retired Marine colonel seeks nomination to challenge Rep. Rob Wittman (R-Va.) (“Democrat Stewart Navarre cites Wittman’s opposition to the covid-19 relief bill and objection to 2020 election results.”)
- Video: Former RNC/John McCain/Jeb Bush Spokesperson Rips Pete Snyder, Glenn Youngkin For Being “In On the Big Lie” and Thinking It’s All a “Game” (In fact, there’s no “reasonable, plausible way” the the Virginia 2020 election was “fraudulent” In any way…)
- Unorthodox Republican contest for Virginia governor breeds confusion, suspicion
- Terry McAuliffe’s Record On Race Gets A Second Look In Virginia Governor’s Race (“The former Virginia governor could be standing in the way of the country’s first Black woman governor. He’s counting on Black voters to help him do it.”)
- Right-Wing Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Pete Snyder Announces He Raised $6.4 Million in Two Months
- PolitiFact VA: Carroll Foy Claims FBI Investigations of Governors Show Corruption (“She’s right that McDonnell and McAuliffe were investigated by the FBI during their terms, but Carroll Foy omits that McAuliffe was never accused of wrongdoing. McDonnell, on the other hand, was convicted of corruption and sentenced to two years in prison. The Supreme Court vacated his conviction, however, and McDonnell never spent a moment behind bars. Carroll Foy’s campaign acknowledges she misspoke on this part of her claim. Overall, we rate Carroll Foy’s statement Half True.”)
- Monday (4/5) Virginia Data on COVID-19 Finds +1,023 Confirmed/Probable Cases (to 626,171), +19 Hospitalizations (to 26,706), +31 Deaths (to 10,360)
- Va. has hit 4 million vaccines administered, but majority of state remains at ‘very high risk’ of contracting COVID
- More Virginians Eligible for Child Care Subsidies
- Confusion Remains About Virginia’s Open Container Law and Marijuana
- Lawmakers to Vote on Amendment Allowing Magistrates to Carry Firearms in State Buildings
- Kristen Amundson column: 3 big questions for parents now that schools have reopened
- Editorial: Fixing Virginia’s unemployment system demands urgency
- Charlottesville mayor says graphic poem illustrates Black experience in city (“After comparing her town to a rapist, Mayor Nikuyah Walker says it is a much different place for Blacks than for Whites.”)
- Richmond City Council still considering plans for disposition of Confederate monuments
- In Virginia the pandemic gave rise to some unexpected stars: birds.
- Virginia lawmakers establish more LGBTQ protections
- An investigative outlet sets its sights on Sentara
- Should Virginia bus systems go fare free forever?
- UR board of trustees will reevaluate decision to keep building names with ties to racism
- Coronavirus vaccines at a Hampton Walgreens were ‘improperly stored.’ Some patients need to be revaccinated.
- Fairfax County vaccine rollout moves to “Phase 1c” as COVID-19 cases stay level
- Roanoke City Council consider 5 cent tax on disposable plastic bags
- Judge postpones hearing for Newport News officer charged in 2019 killing after prosecutor asks to close courtroom
- Roanoke County schools leader condemns offensive images shared in wake of Cave Spring football game
- D.C.-area forecast: Mild sunshine returns today before it turns cloudy and rainy later this week
