Monday News: “David Attenborough Says Climate Change Is A ‘Crime’ Humanity Has Inflicted On The Planet”; “The GOP superspreaders of Trump’s contagion”; “Manchin’s mighty delusions”; “If Youngkin Wins, Arizona’s Fiasco May Be Our Future”

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Monday, June 7.  Polls open at 6 am tomorrow.

• Climate crisis to shrink G7 economies twice as much as Covid-19, says research (“G7 countries will lose $5tn a year by 2050 if temperatures rise by 2.6C” We’d better not allow that to happen!)
• We are running out of time to reach deal to save natural world, says UN talks chair (“Warning comes amid fears of further delays to Kunming summit, which aims to agree on curbing destruction of ecosystems”)
• First Thing: economic toll of climate crisis ‘will be like two pandemics a year’
• Thinning Arctic ice is yet another ominous climate signal
• Great apes predicted to lose 90% of homelands in Africa, study finds (“Global heating and habitat destruction may together devastate humanity’s closest relatives” UGH.)
• David Attenborough Says Climate Change Is A ‘Crime’ Humanity Has Inflicted On The Planet (“The documentarian reiterated his grief that society has destroyed large swaths of the natural world, but said humanity is ‘not beyond redemption.'”)
• Wealthy Nations Continue to Finance Natural Gas for Developing Countries, Putting Climate Goals at Risk (Totally nuts.)
• Solar overtakes wind to be new queen of Australian renewables in 2020
• Biden Is Embracing Europe, but Then What? NATO and the E.U. Have Concerns. (“After the Trump trauma, Europe will welcome Biden’s warm words, but tough topics remain, from China and Russia to trade disputes, Covid-19 vaccine diplomacy and transitions to carbon-neutral economies.”)
• No “Biden bounce” to U.S. image in France, Germany, poll says
• G7: Biden calls for nations to boost their economies
• France fines Google €220 million for abusing position in online advertising
• Google Settles Antitrust Case Over Online Ad Practices
• ‘Do We Need to Be in Hong Kong?’ Global Companies Are Eying the Exits (China well into the process of ruining one of the gems of the world economy.)
• Mexico elections: President’s majority to shrink after crime-hit poll
• EXCLUSIVE China policies could cut millions of Uyghur births in Xinjiang
• Biden under pressure to help boost global vaccine supply
• Boris Johnson Knows Exactly What He’s Doing (“How the British prime minister uses chaos to his political advantage”)
• ‘Hero of Auschwitz’ David Dushman, last surviving liberator of death camp, dies aged 98 (“Red Army soldier David Dushman used his T-34 Soviet tank to mow down the electric fence of the Nazi death camp”)
• Party leaders to meet as government swearing-in approaches (“A new Israeli government may be sworn in as soon as Wednesday after securing a coalition to oust Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.”)
• Israel’s security issues rare warning over Jan. 6-style mob violence ahead of Netanyahu departure
• Netanyahu Slams ‘Biggest Election Fraud in History of Country’ at Likud Meeting (Netanyahu and Trump are very similar in their authoritarianism, hatred for democracy, etc.)
• Abubakar Shekau: Boko Haram leader is dead, says rival militant group
• Peru’s Castillo says there is ‘hope’ as razor-thin margin keeps country on edge
• C.I.A. Scrambles for New Approach in Afghanistan
• Yellen Passes Deal-Making Test on Taxes, With Long Road Ahead
• Here’s What Harris Will Do On Her 1st VP Trip To Guatemala And Mexico (“The vice president will meet with the leaders of Guatemala and Mexico to talk about corruption, violence and poverty — factors causing thousands of Central Americans to seek asylum at the U.S. border.”)
• U.S. Aid to Central America Hasn’t Slowed Migration. Can Kamala Harris?
• Meet the Reluctant “Green Hero” Behind ExxonMobil’s Shareholder Coup (“We strongly believe that climate risk is business risk.”)
• Senate Poised to Pass Huge Industrial Policy Bill to Counter China (“The broad support for the bill highlights how competition with Beijing is one of the few issues that can still unite both political parties.”)
• Juan Williams: Biden should go it alone
• Offshore Wind Farms Show What Biden’s Climate Plan Is Up Against (“The U.S. has fallen way behind Europe partly because of an old shipping law and opposition from homeowners and fishing groups.”)
• Ransomware attacks saddle Biden with grave national security crisis (“Biden faces the challenge of ransom-demanding cyber hackers targeting the staples of American life life: food, gas, water, hospitals and transport”)
• This Isn’t Normal, Either (“Just beneath a thin veneer of orderliness, the United States faces a set of perilous, unresolved threats”)
• Chuck Schumer Has Scheduled a Major Senate Showdown. It Starts Today.
• Schumer faces cracks in Democratic unity
• Appeasing Anti-Democracy Conservatives Will Not Save or Heal the Country
• A six-point plan to stop the Republicans’ anti-democratic moves
• Republicans pledge allegiance to fossil fuels like it’s still the 1950s (This party is just pure evil.)
• Supreme Court begins its sprint to finish — with a retirement decision possible (“As the court’s term winds down, decisions await on the future of the Affordable Care Act, gay and religious rights, and whether Justice Stephen G. Breyer will create an opening for President Biden to fill.”)
• Breyer’s Fate, Obamacare Top Supreme Court Agenda in Final Weeks
• The Biggest Supreme Court Decisions Coming This Term
• Antisemitism Spikes, And Many Jews Wonder: ‘Where Are Our Allies?’
• What Happened When Donald Trump Was Banned on Social Media (“Since Facebook and Twitter banned him, the former president has posted fewer online statements, but some of them have traveled just as far and wide on social networks.”)
• Republicans Now Bragging About Being Trump Big Lie Pushers (“Republicans are lining up to show they’re on Jake Tapper’s list of election conspiracy theorists. Meanwhile, emails reveal how the Trump administration tried to bring election falsehoods to the Justice Department. “)
• Energy secretary says adversaries have capability of shutting down US power grid
• Trump adviser Lewandowski: he ‘lost the election’ and will not be reinstated
• Cheney: Trump inciting January 6 riot ‘the most dangerous thing’ a president has done
• The GOP superspreaders of Trump’s contagion
• Republican leaders say they want to focus on the future, but Trump is far from done with the past
• Joe Manchin’s mighty delusions
• Joe Manchin May Have Just Made Democrats’ Democracy Reform Efforts Impossible
• Mondaire Jones: Manchin ‘Would Rather Preserve Jim Crow’ For Bipartisanship (“The freshman congressman ripped into the West Virginia senator’s op-ed, in which he said he would vote against Democrats’ elections reform bill.”)
• ‘You’re doing it exactly the wrong way’: Chris Wallace shreds Joe Manchin for enabling GOP ‘obstruction’ (Manchin sounds like an imbecile, really.)
• Manchin Vows to Block Democratic Voting Rights Bill and Preserve Filibuster
• House progressives push Biden to go bold without Joe Manchin (How?)
• Once a Bastion of Free Speech, the A.C.L.U. Faces an Identity Crisis (“An organization that has defended the First Amendment rights of Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan is split by an internal debate over whether supporting progressive causes is more important”)
• White House briefing room to return to full capacity (“The White House press briefing room will return to 100 percent capacity on Monday.”)
• Fox News declines to air ad about Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol (Stop calling it “News,” because it isn’t.)
• No, Trump Did Not Wear His Pants Backwards at Rally (But he still looked bad.)
• ‘Sedition Hunters’ Turn Capitol Insurrection Into Ultimate Online Manhunt
• Rep. Mo Brooks served with lawsuit related to his role in Capitol insurrection
• The Republicans’ Wild Assault on Voting Rights in Texas and Arizona
• A conservative talk radio host once backed the Arizona GOP election recount. Now he’s warning Republicans against it
• George P. Bush, the Lone Star state’s latest profile in cowardice (Horrible person.)
• Warner: Debate on making it illegal to pay ransoms ‘worth having’ (Why *wouldn’t* it be illegal?)
• What We’re Watching In The Virginia And New Jersey Primaries (“… if Democrats in Virginia do win with a Democrat in the White House, this could signal a fundamental shift in the state’s politics, pointing to real difficulties for Virginia’s contemporary GOP in attracting a winning coalition.”)
• With 2 Days to Go, Here Are the Ads VA Dem Statewide Candidates Are Currently Running on Facebook (The biggest expenditure (by far?) seems to be by Clean Virginia against Hala Ayala, for taking Dominion Energy’s money after pledging not to do so.)
• Video, Photos of VA Dem Statewide Candidates From the Weekend Before Primary Day
• If Youngkin Wins, Arizona’s Fiasco May Be Our Future (“…what would ‘election integrity’ mean for Virginia in a Youngkin Administration? The best example is Arizona – and that should be enough to keep any voter from choosing Youngkin or his GOP ticket-mates this fall.” Yep, that alone should eliminate Youngkin and his ticketmates from consideration for your vote.)
• Final Predictions: The Virginia House of Delegates
• Tuesday’s Virginia primary expected to bring pre-pandemic crowds to the polls
• Experts Say Virginia Needs to Hire Many More Teachers and Support Staff
• Final rush: Democratic candidates for governor work to turn out supporters ahead of Tuesday’s primary
• Virginia Dems to Decide: Return McAuliffe or Chart New Path?
• Lee Carter discusses his Democratic campaign for Virginia governor
• Sunday (6/6) Virginia Data on COVID-19: Hospitalizations, 10-Day New COVID Cases Near Lowest Points Since Start of Pandemic
• Virginia has invested more than $20 million in vaccine outreach. But demand is still dropping. (Yes, and…?)
• Del. Candi King (D-HD02): Make Virginia #1 for Disabled People
• Podcast: Del. Elizabeth Guzman and her primary challenger Rod Hall
• D.C.-area forecast: Steamy through midweek, with daily storm chances through Friday