Wednesday News: “America’s New Climate Normal: Sweltering”; “Republicans Are Purging Liz Cheney for Opposing Trump’s Insurrection”; “Facebook’s problem goes well beyond Trump”; VA GOP Lt. Gov. Candidate “files defamation suit over anonymous anti-gay text”

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Wednesday, May 5.

• Club of rich countries to address unequal global vaccine rollout
• How India descended into Covid-19 chaos
• ‘Climate Change Is Not a Subjective Thing’ (“We asked 10 people from around the world what they thought of America’s approach to the environment. It didn’t go well.”)
• Nature is Critical to Slowing Climate Change, But It Can Only Do So If We Help It First
• Biden’s tentative steps towards North Korea’s Kim greeted with scepticism
• Yellen says U.S. pushing to end global ‘race to the bottom’ on corporate taxes
• China Is Set to Rule Electric Car Production
• US seen as bigger threat to democracy than Russia or China, global poll finds (“Belief in importance of democracy high in 53 sampled countries but inequality and big tech companies seen as biggest threats”)
• Meeting between Saudi and Syrian intelligence chiefs hints at detente
• Israeli Officials Had a Plan to Prevent Tragedy at Mt. Meron. It Was Ignored.
• Russia’s plot to control the Internet is no longer a secret
• One Of The World’s Poorest Countries Has One Of The World’s Lowest COVID Death Rates (“The pandemic may have had less of an impact in Haiti, she says, because it’s a young country. The average age is 23. COVID-19 infections tend to be less severe in younger people. It’s also possible, she says, that a significant number of people were infected by the virus last summer, showed no symptoms and built up immunity. Also houses tend to be open with plenty of ventilation – air flow can knock the pathogen out of the picture.”)
• Biden Gets U.S. Into Vaccine Diplomacy Race as Stockpiles Rise
• India’s ruling party just lost a key election. It’s worrying that they even stood a chance.
• Herd immunity in the U.S.? San Francisco offers reasons for optimism
• Pfizer Will Ask For Approval To Give COVID-19 Vaccine To Children Ages 2 to 11 (“The company said it would ask the FDA for an expanded emergency use authorization in September.”)
• The Era of Mass Vaccinations Is Ending (“To reach the remaining holdouts, America’s approach to vaccine distribution is going hyperlocal.”)
• $100 as an Incentive to Get a Shot? Experiment Suggests It Can Pay Off.
• Biden isn’t pursuing socialism. He’s just trying to catch up with other wealthy democracies.
• America’s New Climate Normal: Sweltering (“New NOAA report shows temperatures trending exactly as you’d expect.” Horrendously bad.)
• Can a new SunShot push the US toward 100% clean energy? (“The Department of Energy has a new solar price goal — but getting to carbon-free electricity will require more sweeping changes in electricity strategy, experts say.”)
• Replacing Coal Plants With Renewables Is Cheaper 80% of the Time (“A new report shows that the economics may not even support running U.S. coal plants, let alone building them.”)
• After a bobble, the White House gets it right on the refugee cap
• Supply vs Demand: Which States are Reaching their COVID-19 Vaccine Tipping Points?
• Biden’s new Covid vaccination goal is for 70% of adults to have at least one shot by July 4
• U.S. Births Drop to the Lowest Level Since the 1970s (This is good, but also a reason why we need a steady flow of immigration.)
• Yellen tries to quell inflation fears after her comments fuel unease
• The home sales boom means you might end up renting (“America’s high home prices could turn us into a nation of renters.”)
• The FDA can save 8 million lives with this one big step
• Only the ‘lucky few’ will pay higher taxes under Biden’s plan, analysis finds (“President Joe Biden is planning to raise revenue to fund his infrastructure plans through numerous tax hikes that would mostly hit the top 0.7% of Americans, a new analysis found.”)
• Can the Biden Agenda Fix Middle America’s Deepest Problem? (“One key economic goal is to create the virtuous cycles of innovation and jobs that already occur in many coastal cities.”)
• Schumer works to balance a divided caucus’s demands
• Pentagon wants to take harder line on domestic extremism. How far can it go?
• Explosives and weaponry found at US far-right protests, documents reveal
• Biden’s plan to fight domestic terror will mark shift from Trump
• Our Government Was Attacked on January 6
• Why Trump Still Has Millions of Americans in His Grip (“Many of the forces that helped bring him to power have only intensified.”)
• Republicans’ Pessimistic Views On The Economy Have Little To Do With The Economy
• McCarthy confirms living arrangements with Luntz after tip to Tucker Carlson
• The GOP’s devotion to Trump threatens to destroy American democracy
• Trump’s Big Lie Devoured the G.O.P. and Now Eyes Our Democracy
• Scoop: McCarthy trashes Cheney on hot mic
• Jennifer Rubin: When will Liz Cheney and the GOP break up?
• Paul Waldman: Liz Cheney’s impending fall shows us how afraid Republicans are of their base
• House Republicans Have Had Enough of Liz Cheney’s Truth-Telling
• Republicans Are Purging Liz Cheney for Opposing Trump’s Insurrection
• Liz Cheney chooses truth over power – a lonely path in Trump’s GOP
• Liz Cheney Thought Her Back Was Covered By Someone With No Spine
• Battle between Republican leaders Cheney and McCarthy reaching boiling point
• The Republican Party Traded Its Soul for This
• Donald Trump returns to social media with glorified blog (“Ex-president unveils retro webpage featuring series of statements resembling blogposts ahead of Facebook oversight board’s decision on his suspension”)
• Facebook Board’s Decision On Trump Ban Could Have Wider Impacts (“The social platform will decide Wednesday whether or not it will reactivate the former president’s account.”)
• Donald Trump Has a New Website But It’s Bad
• The Facebook Ban Hurt Trump in Surprising Ways (“MAGA world still loves him, but it doesn’t hear him with the same force it used to. How long before that begins to erode his support?”)
• Corporations aren’t ‘woke,’ they just know their customers. Watch and learn, Republicans.
• Secret William Barr memo saying not to charge Trump must be released, judge says
• Judge Says Barr Misled on How His Justice Dept. Viewed Trump’s Actions
• Is our national crisis over? The right answer is that it doesn’t matter. (“If there are responses to the crisis that are worth doing anyway, we should do them.”)
• As the GOP hatches another Lucy-and-the-football scam, Democrats prep a response (“Democrats can’t get played — which means being ready to act alone.”)
• DNC gathers opposition research on over 20 potential GOP presidential candidates
• How not to talk about American racism: Tim Scott lures Democrats into a trap (“Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were forced to run the media’s ‘racist country’ gauntlet. Don’t answer dumb questions!”)
• Can Democrats fix their big 2020 polling errors? A lot depends on it.
• Giuliani’s Legal Bills Are Growing. His Allies Want Trump to Pay Them.
• Prosecutors seek ‘special master’ to review items FBI seized from Giuliani
• Prosecutors Seek Outside Review of Materials Seized From Rudy Giuliani
• Facebook’s problem goes well beyond Trump (“Facebook can’t seem to decide whether to live up to its own standards.”)
• ‘It really f—ks the other ‘24 wannabes’: How Facebook could give Trump a huge boost
• Trump and inner circle hang on Facebook verdict
• Paul Ryan, It’s Time for You to Stand Up to Fox
• Derek Chauvin Files For New Trial In George Floyd Murder Case
• Santorum flails and fails in CNN appearance following comments on Native American culture (Why does CNN allow him on their network?!?)
• Second Member Of “Boogaloo Bois” Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Provide Material Support to Hamas
• ‘We’re terrorized’: LA sheriffs frequently harass families of people they kill, says report (“Los Angeles sheriff’s department has routinely retaliated against victims’ relatives who speak out, NLG and ACLU say in report”)
• Mass Georgia voter cancellations begin using info from other states
• Rep. Luria invites President Biden for return visit to Hampton Roads (“Rep. Elaine Luria invited President Joe Biden to come back and to get a first-hand look at Naval Station Norfolk and the Norfolk Naval Shipyard.”)
• Opinion: Luria’s COVENANT Act will deliver on promises to veterans
• PolitiFact VA: Cline Skips Context with Green New Deal Claim (Does seditionist Ben Cline ever tell the truth on *anything*?)
• Editorial: Mental health crisis unfolding in Virginia (“Preliminary health data suggests a looming mental health catastrophe as a result of the pandemic, a crisis that demands action.”)
• “Do You Live in a Political Bubble?” Here Are Some Maps of Virginia… (“The alignment of lifestyle and politics reflects the sorting of Democrats and Republicans by income and education, in addition to race”)
• Data centers and electric vehicles will drive up Virginia electricity demand, UVA forecaster predicts
• To reduce racial disparities in Virginia schools, advisers say more of the numbers should be public
• Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring’s stiffest election challenge may come from his own party (“The incumbent attorney general is facing a young opponent who is hoping to make history as the first Black man to hold the office. Four candidates are seeking the GOP nomination.”)
• All Elected Democratic Attorneys General Announce Support of Mark Herring for Re-election
• Virginia Republicans Have One Message: Complete Support for Donald Trump’s Extremism (“Pete Snyder is a complete and total Donald Trump acolyte”; Glenn Youngkin “has gone all in on Donald Trump’s most despicable, deranged election conspiracy theories”; Amanda Chase “has become the face of the Virginia GOP”; “Kirk Cox is a hardline, Trump-supporting 30+ year career politician”)
• GOP convention results could come as late as May 13; count features couriers, ballroom, off-duty cops. (“Tabulators and state GOP officials will hunker down in a ballroom at the Richmond Marriott starting Sunday to hand count an unprecedented swarm of paper convention ballots in order to determine the party’s statewide ticket.” Good luck, lol.)
• Republicans Enter Final Stretch of Nomination Contest
• Virginia lawmaker files defamation suit over anonymous anti-gay text (“Del. Glenn Davis, a Republican candidate for lieutenant governor, is seeking to find out who paid for the anonymous text.”)
• GOP candidate for lieutenant governor sues to find out who called him a ‘gay Democrat’
• Virginia lieutenant governor’s race attracts a dozen candidates who want to lift role out of obscurity (“Republicans and Democrats seeking the state’s second-highest office have policy goals that belie the reality of a part-time job that pays $36,000.”)
• Terry McAuliffe Releases “Building A Flourishing Rural Economy” Plan to Get Every Virginian Online and Make Historic Investments in Rural Jobs, Education and Health Care
• Another delay, cost increase for Mountain Valley Pipeline (“The project is now scheduled for completion in summer 2022, at a cost of $6.2 billion.” Massive waste of money.)
• More delays, cost increases for Mountain Valley Pipeline
• Criminal investigation of Mountain Valley Pipeline ends with no charges (“Federal prosecutors in Roanoke were asked two years ago to look into possible violations of the Clean Water Act.”)
• Tuesday (5/4) Virginia Data on COVID-19 Finds 1-Day COVID Cases Up Just 771; Lowest 10-day New COVID Cases Since 10/9/20(Also, lowest number of PCR tests since 12/2/20)
• The tight battle for control of Virginia’s House of Delegates
• Video: Fairfax Dems’ House of Delegates Candidates Forum (HD34 (Jennifer Adeli and Del. Kathleen Murphy); HD36 (Mary Barthelson and Del. Ken Plum); HD38 (Holly Hazard and Del. Kaye Kory); HD45 (Elizabeth Bennett-Parker and Del. Mark Levine); HD49 (Karishma Mehta and Del. Alfonso Lopez); HD86 (Del. Ibraheem Samirah))
• Boeing commits $50 million to Virginia Tech Innovation campus in Alexandria
• Google to power Virginia data centers with 24/7 clean energy from AES
• Fairfax County lowers tax rate as part of regional effort to pull out of pandemic-induced slump (“Several Northern Virginia jurisdictions either have cut or frozen their property tax rates while steering money toward social services and economic recovery.”)
• Williams: At a Hanover County gateway, conservatives are welcomed home. Liberals? Not so much.
• Justice for Bijan Ghaisar has been delayed — but not yet denied
• VMI to remove Stonewall Jackson’s name from buildings, contextualize art
• Newport News assistant police chief is leaving to lead department in Florida (“After a 23-year career in Newport News, Assistant Chief Eric Randall is returning home to Florida to lead the Pensacola Police Department.”)
• Roanoke Area Schools And Health Departments Plan To Vaccinate Younger Age Group
• Shadow Of Lawsuits Hangs Over New Police Chief In Fairfax (“Fairfax County board reaffirmed its support for newly appointed police chief, despite reports of lawsuits he faced earlier in his career.”)
• ACLU People Power Fairfax Applauds Fairfax School Board’s Action to Protect Immigrant Families (Fairfax School Board member Karl Frisch: “Even with our school system’s existing commitment to privacy protection, the need for a policy that rebuilds trust with immigrant families remains urgent”)
• Henrico County increases absentee voting locations to five for June primary
• Scattered showers and a few storms today; mostly sunny and cooler tomorrow