Monday News: “US may be turning a corner on Covid-19.”; “Russian criminal suspected in Colonial pipeline ransomware attack”; “Jim Acosta Calls Out Right-Wing Trump ‘Cult’ For Cancel Culture Hypocrisy”; “Even in moderate Northern Virginia, GOP activists buy the ‘big lie’ about Biden’s election”

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Monday, May 10.

• India COVID cases hold close to record highs as calls widen for national lockdown
• Humans already have the tools to combat climate change but we lack leadership (“In this extract, top atmospheric scientist Dave Lowe explains why despite political inaction he believes we can build a sustainable future”)
• Investing in coal power would be an expensive mistake (“The UK has enormous capacity to increase its energy supply from offshore wind. Australia too has vast potential for wind and solar power” Yep, ditch coal and other fossil fuels ASAP!)
• COVID-19 Lays Bare the Price of Populism (“A raging outbreak in Brazil threatens gains against the virus.”)
• EU leaders raise doubts over U.S. plan to waive Covid vaccine patents
• Afghanistan Bomb Attack on Girls Highlights Threat to Women’s Education
• Israeli police storm al-Aqsa mosque ahead of Jerusalem Day march (“About 180 people reported injured overnight as hardline Israelis prepare for parade through Old City”)
• Putin tells Red Square parade that Nazi ideas persist
• US Navy seizes weapons in Arabian Sea likely bound for Yemen
• At least 1m people facing starvation as Madagascar’s drought worsens (“People eating termites and clay as UN says acute malnutrition has almost doubled this year in south”)
• U.S., Europe to Drive Global Growth in the Second Quarter
• AEMO says Australia “well ahead” of 90 per cent renewables scenario for 2040 (“The Australian Energy Market Operator says the rate of wind and solar additions on the country’s main grid, and the huge and growing pipeline, means it is ‘well ahead’ of its most optimistic renewable transition scenario of 90 per cent renewable energy penetration by 2040…a further 300 generation and storage projects, totalling 55,000MW, were currently proposed across the NEM, nearly double its current total installed capacity.”)
• Ethereum, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency, soars above $4,000 for the first time
• The U.S. Is Playing Catch-Up at Vaccine Diplomacy
• Tory lessons for Republicans
• US may be turning a corner on Covid-19. Here’s when we could see cases and deaths plummet, expert says (“Once the country climbs above that 60% mark of American adults with at least one dose, Reiner says it’s likely we’ll begin to see Covid-19 numbers plummet.”)
• Fauci: ‘There’s No Doubt’ COVID-19 Deaths Have Been Undercounted In U.S.
• Fauci says face masks could become seasonal after Covid pandemic
• Why politicians won’t reach the vaccine hesitant
• ‘We May Not Have a Full Two Years’: Democrats’ Plans Hinge on Good Health (“In a narrowly divided Congress, an illness or a death could upend the balance of power and threaten an ambitious agenda.”)
• Biden Plans an Order to Strengthen Cyberdefenses. Will It Be Enough? (“A hack of a major pipeline, the latest evidence of the nation’s vulnerabilities to cyberattacks, prompted questions about whether the administration should go further.”)
• Hack Knocks Out Pipeline for Third Day With Traders on Edge
• Russian criminal suspected in Colonial pipeline ransomware attack
• Gasoline futures jump as much of vital pipeline remains shutdown following cyberattack (“Shut down” should be two words.)
• Biden understands the pace of governance, the media not so much (“Normalcy means halting progress.”)
• The big myth about Cheney, Trump and the GOP (“There’s no ‘battle’ for the party’s soul; there are only the party leaders who will keep swimming in this foul stream leaving behind those that don’t. For the rest of the country, including the media, reckoning with that fact means being honest about it — the sooner, the better.”)
• Republicans aren’t just making it harder to vote. They’re going after election officials, too. (“Local election officials are the lifeblood of our voting system. They deserve better.”)
• Liz Cheney is no defender of democracy: She and her party created a monster (“Don’t get suckered by the friendly fascist: Liz Cheney and the GOP have been building Trumpism for decades”)
• In demoting Cheney, GOP holds on to Trump at risk of further alienating others (“That does not strike me as the best way to get back the suburban voters who’ve left the party in the last few years”)
• McCarthy confirms he’s backing Stefanik for No. 3 House Republican post (The new “McCarthyism”)
• GOP braces for wild week with momentous vote
• Trump’s grip over Republicans hardens as party cleaves to election ‘big lie’
• Kinzinger compares Republican Party to the Titanic
• Jim Acosta Calls Out Right-Wing Trump ‘Cult’ For Cancel Culture Hypocrisy (“The CNN host said Fox News and other Trump supporters are putting the ‘cult’ into ‘cancel culture.'”)
• FBI director Chris Wray barely survived the Trump era. Now he’s working with Biden’s attorney general taking on domestic terrorism and probing Trump allies.
• Watch: Facebook Oversight Board Co-Chair Rips Trump and Facebook (“He put himself in this bed and he can sleep in it.”)
• How The Politics Of White Liberals And White Conservatives Are Shaped By Whiteness
• How an obscure Tex. firm helped convince many the election was stolen
• Rep. Clyburn says qualified immunity doesn’t have to be part of policing reform bill
• Push to electrify mail trucks gains wide support, an unlikely win for both DeJoy and Biden
• Close this FEC loophole that killed the case over Trump’s payment to Stormy Daniels
• Trump 2020 Election Lawsuits Lead to Requests to Discipline Lawyers (Absolutely; that should have happened already!)
• The Memo: The Obamas unbound, on race
• The Obamas Are Freed in Their Blackness (“They’re now able to discuss racism with a candor and frankness that their time in the White House in many ways prohibited.”)
• Melinda Gates Was Meeting With Divorce Lawyers Since 2019 to End Marriage With Bill Gates (“Melinda Gates had discussions with divorce lawyers in October 2019 around when Bill Gates’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein became public”)
• In Arizona, a Troubled Voting Review Plods On as Questions Mount (The entire thing is utterly absurd.)
• Florida reports more than 10,000 COVID-19 variant cases, surge after spring break (FloriDUH!)
• The Cesspool That Gave Rise to Stephen Miller (“David Horowitz, the radical leftist turned fire-breathing Trumpist who mentored Stephen Miller, also found an admirer in anti-immigration pioneer and white supremacist John Tanton.”)
• After Times Square Shooting, Adams and Yang Stress Support for N.Y.P.D.
• Kentucky Derby Winner Medina Spirit Fails Drug Test (Horse racing is a disgrace.)
• Even in moderate Northern Virginia, GOP activists buy the ‘big lie’ about Biden’s election (“Party faithful at Loudoun, Prince William conventions mostly agree with Trump that vote was illegitimate.” Disturbing.)
• VA Dems: Republican AG Candidate Jason Miyares “barely eked out a win against…all-out conspiracy theorist and Amanda Chase supporter” Chuck Smith (This is a clear “sign that Chase’s far-right base commands enormous influence in the Virginia GOP”)
• Virginia Del. Jason Miyares wins Republican nomination for state attorney general
• Virginia Beach Del. Jason Miyares wins Republican nomination for state attorney general
• Video, Results Thread: After Voting Saturday In “Unassembled Convention,” Virginia GOP Begins Counting Ballots For Its Statewide Nominees [UPDATE: Right Winger Jason Miyares Barely Wins Over Extremist Chuck Smith]
• Del. Jason Miyares edges Chuck Smith to win GOP nomination for attorney general
• After months of negotiations, the first day of counting at the GOP convention did not disappoint (“Smith’s strong showing has some people convinced that Chase will perform strongly when they begin counting gubernatorial ballots at 9 a.m. Monday…While the story coming out of Republican circles was that Miyares should cruise to victory, Chuck Smith was out there communicating to voters using the language of today’s GOP. Clearly, his message resonated.”)
• Trump’s Former Acting ICE Director Tony Pham Appears To Be Gearing Up to Challenge State Sen. Amanda Chase, Who He Calls a “Quitter” Who’s “Not About We The People” (Pham: “While Amanda Chase was disrespecting our police and seeking fist bumps from our President, I was fighting for our conservative values, protecting the Homeland”)
• Sunday (5/9) Virginia Data on COVID-19: Lowest 10-Day New COVID Cases Since 10/7/20; Positivity Rate at 4.4%
• In Virginia, daily coronavirus vaccination rate slips as demand decreases
• Book Review: Chuck Robb’s “In The Arena: A Memoir of Love, War, and Politics”
• In Brown Grove lawsuit over Hanover Wegmans distribution center, Union Hill casts a long shadow
• Va. man arrested after alleged attempt to stab Islamic Center security guard, police say
• Refreshing temperatures and delightful sunshine for much of the workweek