Saturday News: “Big Setbacks Propel Oil Giants Toward a ‘Tipping Point’”; “Biden’s budget goes big on spending in bid to lift middle class”; “Democracy Defeated, 35–54”; GOP “beyond shame or dignity”; “Manchin’s political worldview was put to the test (and it lost)”

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Saturday, May 29.

• UN Chief Calls for End to Coal Investment, Seeks Climate Pledges
• Vietnam detects highly contagious new coronavirus variant as infections surge
• Big Setbacks Propel Oil Giants Toward a ‘Tipping Point’ (“A surprising mix of environmentalists, pension fund managers and big money investors have scored startling victories against oil and coal, opening new battle fronts in the climate fight.”)
• A Big Climate Problem With Few Easy Solutions: Planes (“The airline industry might not be able to reduce greenhouse gas emissions for decades because most solutions are not yet viable.”)
• The Climate Crisis Is Taking a Serious Toll on Our Mental Health
• Belarus: US draws up sanctions for ‘ongoing abuses’ after plane incident (“White House says the US, the EU and other allies will target key members of President Lukashenko’s government”)
• Remains of 215 children found at former indigenous school site in Canada
• How the amazing monarch butterfly migrants became refugees — from us
• Racing for Hydrogen: How Gas Giants Are Vying to Stay Relevant
• Mali’s top court declares coup leader Goita as interim president
• Eager Teens Give Needed Boost to U.S. Vaccination Campaign (“More than 2.5 million tweens and teens have gotten their first shot, making up about a quarter of all new vaccinations in recent weeks.”)
• It might not look like it, but Biden is winning (“The president is happy to take quiet victories.”)
• The U.S. Has Reached ‘Peak Recovery’ and Markets Have Taken Notice
• The GOP Now Stands for Nothing (“A party that doesn’t believe in anything ends up believing only in its right to rule”)
• Democracy Defeated, 35–54 (“Eleven senators didn’t even bother to cast a vote on a commission to investigate a violent attack on their own workplace”)
• McConnell to Trump: What’s a Little Insurrection Between Friends? Even a commission is now too radical a step for Republicans.
• Mitch McConnell hits a new low, again. Yet Joe Manchin remains unmoved. (“McConnell wants a favor. America wants the truth.”)
• The Senate vote on the bipartisan Jan. 6 commission showed Trump’s power and a government under duress
• Manchin’s political worldview was put to the test (and it lost)
• Joe Manchin “very disappointed” after Republicans use filibuster to kill Capitol riot commission (“At least Manchin was there — fellow filibuster fan Kyrsten Sinema didn’t even bother to show up for 1/6 vote”)
• GOP senators are ‘all talk and no action,’ mother and partner of fallen officer Brian Sicknick say after Jan. 6 commission is blocked
• Senate Republicans kill the Jan. 6 commission by a negative-19 vote margin
• Senate Republicans’ fatal blow must not be the end of the Jan. 6 investigation
• Republicans are trying to rewrite the history of the Capitol attack. Don’t let them (“By blocking a congressional investigation into what happened, the Republican party has proven itself beyond shame or dignity”)
• Here Are The Big Questions A Capitol Riot Commission Could Answer (“Senate Republicans blocked a plan for a bipartisan commission to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. What could it have uncovered?”)
• McConnell returns as Senate ‘grim reaper’ (Pure evil.)
• A GOP senator’s angry shaming of Mitch McConnell demands more from Democrats (“Lisa Murkowski told the brutal truth about the GOP. Democrats are the ones who must act on it.”)
• Sen. Murkowski delivers pointed criticism of fellow Republicans, including McConnell, who oppose Jan. 6 commission
• Democrats grapple with the enemy within: What to do about the filibuster rule that could kill their agenda
• Schumer to force vote on sweeping election overhaul next month
• The Republican Party is building a political bomb
• The really scary reason Republicans don’t want to face the truth about Jan. 6 (“An astonishing number of Americans apparently think violent uprising is the way to save the country.”)
• Republican obstructionism has gone far enough. It’s time to do away with the filibuster
• Biden budget includes his big-ticket spending plans, would boost health, education funding
• Budget plan removes decades-old ban on federal funds for abortions
• Biden’s big budget comes with a modest growth outlook for an aging country
• Biden’s budget goes big on spending in bid to lift middle class
• Biden Banks on $3.6 Trillion Tax Hike on the Rich and Corporations
• Joe Biden seeks Republican buy-in but how long before patience snaps?
• Republicans Filibustered the January 6th Commission Because They Can (“The ends aren’t just anti-democratic, the means are too.”)
• The “Steady Drumbeat” of Trump’s Big Lie May Stir More Attacks, a Federal Judge Says
• Statement by President Joe Biden on the Rise of Anti-Semitic Attacks
• The Republican Party, Racial Hypocrisy, and the 1619 Project (“As the G.O.P. seeks to deny Americans knowledge of their own history, Nikole Hannah-Jones is denied tenure.”)
• The GOP’s war on ‘critical race theory’ is all about winning elections
• Andy Schmookler: ‘Investment’ is about caring for the future
• USPS raises stamp price to 58 cents as part of DeJoy’s 10-year plan (“The postmaster general’s plan calls for additional price increases on package products and slower mail service”)
• “Dear Trolls”: A form letter media can use to tell right-wing mobs where to shove it (“Journalists need to stop being defensive about ‘appearances’ and push back against bad-faith attacks. Here’s how”)
• Trump nukes Paul Ryan’s Reaganesque vision for GOP (“The Ronald Reagan Library’s speaker series about the future of the party gets off to an explosive start.”)
• Trump Slams Paul Ryan For Calling End To His Presidency ‘Disgraceful’ (“The ex-president claimed the former House speaker is ‘a curse to the Republican Party.'”)
• What’s Happening In Arizona Is Not Really An Audit Or A Recount. It’s A Partisan Inquisition.
• Dianne Morales and the Implosion of the Left in NYC’s Mayoral Race
• Virginia man wore helmet donning his business to Capitol riots, court docs say
• FBI arrests suspected Capitol insurrectionist in Norfolk, flexes investigative muscle
• Video: Former Rep. Riggleman (R-VA05) Says “Conservative cannot equal crazy, and right now it seems to with so many” (Riggleman rips “the ridiculous and hyperbolic bullshit I saw from Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene yesterday”)
• Virginia lawmakers react to blockage of probe into January 6 riot at Capitol
• Senate unanimously approves resolution honoring John Warner (They vote unanimously for that, but a bunch of Republicans block a 1/6 Commission? Got it.)
• Senators Kaine, Warner; Reps. Wexton, Beyer; etc. Responds to Senate Republicans Voting Against 1/6 Commission
• President Biden joins Gov. Northam to celebrate Virginia fully reopening (“All restrictions on capacity, social distancing ended Friday”)
• Biden and first lady visit Langley Air Force Base, honor service members and their families
• President Biden, Gov. Northam Update On Vaccinations
• Qasim Rashid column: No place for faith-based attacks in campaigns
• As Temperatures Begin to Rise, AG Mark Herring Reminds Virginians to Ensure Health and Safety of Children and Animals (“Leaving a child or pet exposed to extreme heat, whether in a car or outside without adequate shelter, can lead to criminal charges”)
• As Va. lifts restrictions ahead of Memorial Day weekend, epidemiologists warn the pandemic isn’t over
• Friday (5/28) Virginia Data on COVID-19: Hospitalizations, 10-Day New COVID Cases Near Lowest Points Since Early in Pandemic
• Virginia will return to 100% capacity for sporting events
• Hampton’s top prosecutor begins review of Windsor traffic stop after State Police complete criminal investigation (“The prosecutor who will decide whether to pursue criminal charges in the controversial traffic stop in Windsor said he has received the results of the State Police’s investigation into the case.”)
• Sheriff Irving Says RVA Approach to Violence Must Include City Jail
• Teacher placed on leave following remarks about draft policy on gender pronouns, asserted names
• The NFL needs to release the results of an investigation into the Washington Football Team
• Roanoke region’s employers grapple with setting policies around vaccination
• ‘They wouldn’t be able to do anything’: Henrico supervisor pulls back on police oversight efforts after colleagues stonewall
• D.C.-area forecast: Unusually chilly with occasional rain through Sunday, then nicer for Memorial Day