Wednesday News: “Sweaty Trump Stooge Kevin McCarthy Tries to Kill Jan. 6 Commission”; “Ex-DOJ Official Warns Trump: ‘This Is A Letter Talking About Jail Time’”; “Solar prices and customer prodding push rural electric co-ops past coal”

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Wednesday, May 19.

• The World’s Top Energy Agency Reckons With Net-Zero Emissions
• Banks Always Backed Fossil Fuel Over Green Projects—Until This Year (They need to zero out their support for fossil fuels, immediately.)
• Trees Fell Faster in the Years Since Companies and Governments Promised to Stop Cutting Them Down (“The Forest Trends report shows a 50 percent increase in deforestation of tropical woodlands, most of it for agriculture and much of it illegal, since the 2014 New York Declaration on Forests.” Ugh, we need to be doing the exact opposite!)
• Going Green, or Greenwashing? A Proposed Climate Law Divides France. (“Emmanuel Macron’s credentials as a leader on climate issues are being tested as business and environmental groups spar over changes to the French way of life.”)
• For Netanyahu, Israel’s Fight With Hamas Is Going Just Fine (“Two weeks ago, he was about to lose his job. Now, he’s stronger than ever.”)
• Diplomatic pressure mounts for a cease-fire as Israel, Hamas attacks continue into 10th day
• Israel has no coherent strategy for the Palestinians. The U.S. should push for a reset.
• This is a war Israel can’t win
• Mob Violence Against Palestinians in Israel Is Fueled by Groups on WhatsApp (“Jewish extremists have formed more than 100 new groups on the Facebook-owned encrypted messaging app in recent days to target attacks.” Social media has its upsides, but the downsides are many and powerful as well.)
• Gaza War Deepens a Long-Running Humanitarian Crisis (“The Palestinian enclave was already in a dire state. The war with Israel has made it worse, damaging the health and sewage systems, closing schools and displacing tens of thousands.”)
• Publicly Supportive, Biden Is Said to Sharpen His Tone With Netanyahu in Private
• Source: U.S. helped avert Israeli ground invasion of Gaza; hopes rise conflict could end soon
• Israeli jets pound Gaza as rocket fire resumes and Palestinians hit streets to protest
• U.S. Discourse Is Growing More Pro-Palestinian. U.S. Policy Isn’t.
• $270 billion wiped off crypto market as bitcoin falls below $40,000 for first time in 14 weeks
• Biden administration decides not to sanction company building controversial Russian gas pipeline
• Covid’s Next Challenge: The Growing Divide Between Rich and Poor Economies (“The U.S., U.K. and China are roaring ahead, while most lower income nations are struggling, reversing decades of progress in alleviating global poverty. ‘This has become the inequality virus.’”)
• India Sets Record For Highest Daily Coronavirus Death Toll Of Any Country
• Back to normal? Psychologists warn the pandemic could have lasting effects (“Mental health professionals are ramping up their efforts to understand the pandemic’s impact — and early findings are not encouraging.”)
• Belarus’s channels of civil society are being destroyed. Another just went dark.
• Hurricane Sandy was much worse because of climate change, study finds
• What to Save? Climate Change Forces Brutal Choices at National Parks.
• Joe Biden is turning the debate about tax cuts on its head (“The president’s child tax credits will make Democrats the tax-cutters.”)
• Seriously, just tax the rich
• Why Can’t the Republican Party Quit Donald Trump?
• Scalise urges House Republicans to vote against Jan. 6 commission (Horrible person.)
• How the Storming of the Capitol Became a ‘Normal Tourist Visit’ (Completely deranged…and evil.)
• At Least 81 Pro-Trump Rioters Are Charged With Assaulting Police on January 6 (“But Kevin McCarthy acts as if none of it happened.”)
• Sweaty Trump Stooge Kevin McCarthy Tries to Kill Jan. 6 Commission (“McCarthyism” part 2)
• Kevin McCarthy plumbs new depths of political cowardice
• Sources: McConnell opposed to current Jan. 6 commission
• At least 7 GOP senators say they’re open to a commission focused on Jan. 6
• McCarthy’s bid to quash January 6 commission underscores GOP split on Trump
• GOP splits open over Jan. 6 commission vote
• Capitol riot vote forces Republicans to pick truth or Trump
• How The Republican Party Could Splinter (Or Stay The Same) After Liz Cheney’s Ousting
• Investigation of Trump Organization now exploring possible criminal conduct, N.Y. attorney general’s office says
• New York attorney general adds ‘criminal capacity’ to probe of Trump Organization
• Ex-DOJ Official Warns Trump: ‘This Is A Letter Talking About Jail Time’
• New York AG’s office opens criminal probe into Trump Organization
• Trump Nears Deal With House on Deutsche Bank Subpoenas
• Joe Biden poised to sign anti-Asian American hate crimes bill (“Legislation, which passed the House on Tuesday, marks a bipartisan denunciation of attacks that have proliferated during pandemic”)
• Liberals to Biden: Ditch the infrastructure talks with Republicans
• House Democrats’ 2020 election autopsy: Bad polling hurt and GOP attacks worked
• The Inside Story of Joe Biden’s Most Fateful Decision (“His mind was made up about a 2020 presidential run—until it wasn’t.”)
• America’s Satanic Panic Returns — This Time Through QAnon
• Dark Money Group Faces Ethics Probe After Boasting of Drafting Voter Suppression Laws
• The Pro-Trump Culture War on American Scientists
• Biden’s Supreme Court commission to meet as abortion debate reignites
• Abortion rights groups warn of imminent crackdown if Roe v. Wade overturned
• The Supreme Court’s abortion case fundamentally changes upcoming elections (“Virginia Democrats would love to run on preventing criminalization of abortion.”)
• Does the Supreme Court rule, or do its members? We’re about to find out.
• Stephen Breyer and the danger of the deluded institutionalist (“You can pretend you’re above politics, but that doesn’t mean you’ll be able to escape it.”)
• It’s time for the House to show Marjorie Taylor Greene the door (Greene is completely psycho.)
• If Joe Manchin really believes this about the GOP, we’re in serious trouble
• How Joe Manchin can avoid blame for sinking voting rights bills (“Manchin needs 10 Republicans. So far he has one.”)
• Joe Manchin says he needs Republicans to support voting rights. He found one. (“He needs nine more.”)
• A GOP congressman compared Capitol rioters to tourists. Photos show him barricading a door.
• Judge Tosses Michigan Election Lawsuit That Trump Was Still Clinging To (Trump is a pathetic loser.)
• Now the “QAnon Shaman” wants to use autism as an excuse: Hell no (“Lawyer for Jacob Chansley, better known as the ‘QAnon Shaman,’ offers bizarre, bigoted and ignorant defense theory”)
• Colonial Pipeline hit by new computer problem but company says it’s unrelated to recent cyberattack
• Obama on UFO videos: ‘We don’t know exactly what they are’
• Texas attorney general indicted for securities fraud is running for reelection
• Georgia Republicans See Disastrous Election Cycle As Something to Brag About (Delusional.)
• Feds investigating alleged scheme to illegally finance Collins’ reelection bid (Hmmm…is Collins “concerned” or “very concerned?” LOL)
• Justice moved swiftly for George Floyd. What about Bijan Ghaisar?
• ‘I’m a car guy’: Biden zips around in electric Ford truck to boost clean-energy agenda
• Ford reveals new electric F-150 Lightning pickup during Biden’s visit to Michigan plant
• Biden floors electric Ford truck in test drive as he pushes infrastructure plan
• The Arizona Republican Civil War Over the Election ‘Audit’ Farce Just Went Nuclear
• In Arizona, Republicans accidentally created a robust demonstration of the shoddiness of their fraud claims (Complete crap, and says a GREAT deal about anyone pushing said crap…)
• Arizona auditors now say voter data is intact, after sparking GOP feud
• Bill Gates will never be the same (“The aura that Gates built over the past two decades may be permanently shattered.”)
• Audio: Far-Right VA State Sen. Amanda Chase (R) Will Not Run As Independent, Says She Supports Glenn Youngkin
• Can Democrats Put Trump On Ballot With Youngkin? (Absolutely.)
• Audio: VA Sec. Education Atif Qarni, Marques Jones Push Back *Hard* on Lt. Gov. Nominee Winsome Sears’ Wildly False Claims About Virginia Schools (Among other things, Sears falsely claims that “84% of Black kids are failing.” Qarni: “She just made up some numbers…she doesn’t know what she’s talking about”)
• Governor Northam Directs Virginia Employment Commission to Speed Up Processing of Unemployment Claims
• Northam orders VEC to hire 300 more claim processors
• Northam issues order to clear unemployment backlog; settlement reached in federal lawsuit
• Update: Northam Issues Executive Action to Speed Up Unemployment Claims
• Video: Mark Herring Campaign Releases First Ad, “Why I Do It,” Ahead of June 8 Democratic Primary
• State Sen. Dave Marsden: My Picks for Governor, Lt. Governor and Attorney General Would Give Us a Robust Ticket That Can Win in November
• PolitiFactVA: Did Youngkin Flip On President Biden’s Legitimacy? (Meh.)
• In First Broadcast TV Ad, Jennifer McClellan Urges New Perspective in Governor’s Office
• Predatory Lending Takes Center Stage in Dem. AG Primary (“At issue is a bill Jones introduced last year that would have allowed for loans of 36% interest plus a daily fee that could amount to 320% a year. At the time, advocates were worried that the bill Jones introduced would create a loophole for predatory lenders. Delegate Jones never withdrew the bill, although it never made it out of committee because the clock ran out and it was left in committee.”)
• Meet the candidates vying for the Democratic Lieutenant Governor nomination
• Tuesday (5/18) Virginia Data on COVID-19: Lowest 10-Day New COVID Cases Since 4/3/20; Hospitalizations at Lowest Levels Since Start of Pandemic
• Virginia Launches Nation’s First Statewide Health Equity Dashboards (“The two dashboards—Equity in Action and Equity at a Glance—were created by the Virginia Health Equity Leadership Taskforce (ELT) in partnership with several state agencies.”)
• Solar prices and customer prodding push rural electric co-ops past coal (“Old Dominion Electric Cooperative in central Virginia exemplifies a shift that’s underway as rural electric co-ops shed resistance to solar and renewables and take advantage of falling prices and new technology.”)
• On shared solar, Dominion and solar groups clash over $75 minimum bill proposal
• A Virginia lawmaker wants to make FOIA requests cheaper or free. Some government and police groups aren’t happy about it.
• SCHEV member resigns over VMI investigation, saying agency is ‘turning its back’ on institute
• Virginia Doctor Gets 59 Years for Unneeded Surgery and Improper Sterilizations
• Loudoun Co. schools plan return to full-time in-person learning (“Loudoun County Public Schools wants all students back in classrooms five days a week starting this fall.”)
• Arlington County Board to Consider Measures Designed to Use Best Practices for Policing
• New data shows Virginia police are more likely to stop and search Black drivers
• Newport News board approves new names for 4 schools
• D.C.-area forecast: Heating up, with highs in the 80s to near 90 through the weekend and beyond