Thursday News: “Biden drew the line on Putin. Now it’s the Russian’s move”; Putin’s “best weapon is the Republican Party”; “Climate Change Batters the West Before Summer Even Begins”; Should Dems “Leap at the Chance to Take Joe Manchin’s Deal?”; “Critical Race Theory Panic Is Everywhere—Just in Time for Juneteenth”

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Thursday, June 17.

• Earth is now trapping an ‘unprecedented’ amount of heat, NASA says (“New research shows that the amount of heat the planet traps has roughly doubled since 2005, contributing to more rapidly warming oceans, air and land” Disastrous; we need to turn this around ASAP)
• Europe to Crack Down on the Plastics Befouling Its Beaches (“Starting in July, the EU will ban a host of common throwaway items.” We should do the same.)
• China Launches First Crew To Live On New Space Station
• Why so many Covid-19 variants are showing up now (“And what that tells us about the pandemic.”)
• The delta variant is a rising threat in the U.S. We have to redouble vaccination efforts.
• The delta variant adds a speed bump to the pandemic escape route (“Delta is 60 percent more infectious than alpha, a variant first detected in Britain, according to U.K. officials. There are also some studies that suggest it causes greater rates of hospitalization, though the evidence there is still limited. The good news is that vaccinations still work well in protecting people who are fully vaccinated against the delta variant.”)
• Trade War Costs Global Value Chains 3-5 Years of Growth, UN Says (“Tariffs are still being applied on billions of dollars of goods under a U.S.-China trade war.”)
• Biden and Putin praise Geneva summit talks but discord remains
• Biden Believes Putin Wants To Save Russia’s Soured Reputation On World Stage (“‘This is not about trust. This is about self-interest,’ Biden said after meeting with the Russian president in Geneva.”)
• After Putin Meeting, a Biden Trait Shows Itself Again: Stubborn Optimism (“The president’s insistence on an ‘optimistic face’ could open him up to criticism. But his allies insist it’s an essential ingredient to making progress.”)
• The biggest winner in the Biden-Putin summit: Democracy (“The president will return to the United States with increased stature.”)
• Biden drew the line on Putin. Now it’s the Russian’s move. (“Analysis: Biden turned the page from the Trump years. It’s up to Putin to decide whether to abide by international norms.”)
• Joe Biden Just Had a Summit with Vladimir Putin and Nothing Crazy Happened (“The triumph of Geneva is that it was not Helsinki.”)https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/iran-moves-toward-a-one-party-state
• What Biden knows about being a superpower that Republicans don’t (“The world knows which side we are on.”)
• Trump Made the GOP More Friendly to Putin. It’s Sabotaging Biden.(“The Russian leader’s best weapon is the Republican Party.”)
• Biden to Putin: Stability, sure. But democracy matters.
• Republicans parroted Putin’s propaganda. Now Putin parrots Republican propaganda.
• Analysis: Biden talks down Russia, spurs allies in bid to back Putin into a corner
• Right-wing media fawn over Putin following summit with Biden
• What Biden and Putin’s Meeting Accomplished for Both Leaders (“The limited scope of the Geneva summit doesn’t mean it was pointless.”)
• What Was Vladimir Putin Talking About After His Summit With Biden?
• U.S.-Russia Presidential Joint Statement on Strategic Stability
• Biden’s big Putin bet (“What Biden actually means when he says ‘all foreign policy is the logical extension of personal relationships.'”)
• Putin, Post-Summit: “There Is No Happiness in Life”
• The Biden-Putin Meeting Was Progress, But Not Enough
• Biden wiped the smirk off Putin’s face
• Joe Biden, the U.S. president who in Geneva didn’t shame America like Trump in Helsinki
• Vladimir Putin Is a King Bullshit Artist
• Biden warns US will hit back if Russia continues with cyber strikes (“US president hails ‘good and positive’ talks but added ‘proof of the pudding is in the eating’”)
• Five things we learned from the Biden-Putin summit in Geneva (“Cool normality helped exorcise ghost of 2018’s disastrous Helsinki summit but what else was achieved?”)
• Former Iranian president lashes out over election process, demands U.S. stops ‘meddling’ in Middle East
• Iran Moves Toward a One-Party State (“The Supreme Leader is willing to risk the legitimacy of an election to consolidate monolithic hard-line control.”)
• The science around the lab leak theory hasn’t changed. But here’s why some scientists have.
• An eighth of the US population is sweltering under a record-breaking heat dome. Climate change is making it worse
• Climate Change Batters the West Before Summer Even Begins (“Global warming has been fueling disasters in the region for years. Now, an early heat wave and severe drought are threatening lives and leaving water in perilously short supply.” We’d better fix this.)
• Biden administration cancels Trump limits on asylum eligibility
• The Fed moves up its timeline for rate hikes as inflation rises
• Tensions grow between liberals and centrists on infrastructure (Gotta love how the media constantly frames liberals as not “centrists.” It’s obnoxious and false, of course.)
• White House tries to privately calm Democratic fears on infrastructure deal
• 11 GOP senators back bipartisan infrastructure plan, boosting its chances of moving forward
• Bipartisan infrastructure pitch gains steam in Senate
• Republicans are running on nihilism (“Republican are not even bothering to conceal their obstructionism.”)
• Congress votes overwhelmingly to make Juneteenth a federal holiday. The day commemorates the end of slavery in Texas in 1865.
• House passes bill to make Juneteenth a federal holiday
• Critical Race Theory Panic Is Everywhere—Just in Time for Juneteenth (“And that’s no coincidence.”)
• The Forever-Trump Movement Has Won
• ‘Pure insanity’: How Trump and his allies pressed Justice Dept. to help overturn election
• GOP hands Dems a new line of attack: They’re for ‘Trump over the cops’ (“A wedge has started to form between House Republicans and law enforcement after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, and their opponents are ready to make the most of it.”)
• The Justice Department must recognize how close we came to disaster (“Here are five steps the Justice Department should take to defend democracy.”)
• Democrats turn up the heat on DOJ for burying a key Trump document (“The Justice Department must be fully transparent about Trump-era corruption.”)
• Democrats Weigh Plan to Muscle Through Immigration Changes (“Idea under discussion as budget plans take shape, Kaine says”)
• Democracy ‘on the line,’ Senate Democrats race to unite on voting rights
• Joe Manchin keeps Democrats guessing on sweeping election bill
• Joe Manchin is ready to deal. But he’s focused on the wrong partners. (“There are negotiations and compromises waiting to happen — with other Democrats.”)
• Manchin outlines demands on voting legislation, creating an opening for potential Democratic compromise
• Manchin moves shake up Dem strategy for massive elections bill
• Democrats Should Leap at the Chance to Take Joe Manchin’s Deal
• Manchin proposes compromise on voting bills ahead of crucial Senate vote (“Sen. Joe Manchin opened the door to a compromise on voting legislation with a memo proposing a slew of changes to the Democratic bills.”)
• Maybe Joe Manchin Knows Exactly What He’s Doing
• Republicans Fall Short in Voting-Rights Crackdown While Adding Hassle at Polls
• Justice Dept. Ends Criminal Inquiry, Lawsuit on John Bolton’s Book
• Could the Southern Baptists be tiptoeing away from Trump?
• Republicans Are on the Brink of Embracing the Capitol Rioters
• GOP congressman refuses to shake hands with D.C. police officer who protected the Capitol on Jan. 6
• Cop Beaten In Capitol Riot Slams ‘Coward’ GOP Lawmaker Who Refused His Handshake (“Officer Michael Fanone said Rep. Andrew Clyde ignored him and ran away ‘like a coward.'”)
• 2 South Carolina executions halted until firing squad formed
• Tucker Carlson hosts guest who attended a white supremacist conference to rewrite the events of January 6
• Fox’s flagship “straight news” show has a troubling record on the climate crisis (“Nearly 88% of Special Report’s climate segments since 2009 either spread misinformation or perpetuated false or misleading narratives”)
• ‘A Spicy Exchange’: Who Won the Final New York City Mayoral Debate?
• Plan to widen Beltway and Interstate 270 suffers major defeat in key vote (“In the lead-up to the vote, local leaders from Montgomery, Prince George’s and Frederick counties said Hogan’s proposal failed to adequately calculate the impact new lanes would have on the region’s environment. Nor, they said, would it account for the loss of parkland.”)
• Video: Sen. Mark Warner Says We Need to Do *BOTH* the $579 Billion Bipartisan Infrastructure Package and *ALSO* a Reconciliation Package with Democrats-Only Support (Sen. Warner: “we have no margin of error,” so “some of my progressive friends trashing the work of this bipartisan group…doesn’t help us get to an all-50-person Democratic reconciliation plan.”)
• ‘Jump ball’ – Warner unsure if infrastructure funding would include new schools
• Bob Good (VA-5) Votes Against Honoring Capitol Police with Congressional Medal of Honor. They Protected Him During Jan. 6 Insurrection.
• Editorial: A billion for the bay? Yes. (“The ‘Billion for the Bay’ initiative may sound ambitious but protecting this natural resource is critical to Hampton Roads and Virginia.”)
• Defying early expectations, Virginia is coming out of the pandemic flush with cash
• NEW: Glenn Youngkin Was For Terry McAuliffe’s Economy Before He Was Against It (“Before pledging his complete allegiance to Donald Trump, Youngkin knew Terry McAuliffe was an excellent governor who oversaw record economic growth and created over 200,000 good-paying jobs”)
• Video: Four Years Ago, Glenn Youngkin Heaped Praise on Gov. Terry McAuliffe, Said Virginia Under McAuliffe’s Leadership “doing very well and has really shown great strides” (Youngkin (who today is an all-out Trump Republican) then asked Gov. McAuliffe about “the role you played in developing Virginia’s economy” and “how do you do it?”)
• Schapiro: A Republican campaign in search of a theme (“A parole board adrift, a rising murder rate and skepticism of police are being bundled by Republicans to make a larger point: that Democrats are going too far. But in trying to make that case, Republicans could do more to arouse adversaries than allies.”)
• Video: Senator McClellan, Speaker Filler-Corn, Democratic Leaders Highlight The Health Care Stakes Of Virginia’s 2021 Election
• Princess Blanding qualifies for the ballot in Virginia governor’s race (This November, it’s a choice between the Democratic nominees and the Republican nominees. Period.)
• Video, Photos: Virginia Democratic Unity Rally for Lt. Governor Nominee Hala Ayala
• Early release of Virginia state inmates due to COVID-19 is ending July 1 (“Since April 2020, 2,114 inmates have been released early.”)
• Williams: Resistance to change is the Virginia way. Now is no time for a victory lap.
• DLCC Holds #VADemsChat with “Virginia Spotlight Candidates” (Candidates include Michelle Maldonado (HD50), Katie Sponsler (HD66), Irene Shin (HD86), Dr. Mark Downey (HD96), Finale Johnson Norton (HD100), Del. Alex Askew (HD85), Del. Nancy Guy (HD83), Del. Dan Helmer (HD40), Del. Rodney Willett (HD73), Del. Mike Mullin (HD93) and Del. Chris Hurst (HD12))
• Wednesday (6/16) Virginia Data on COVID-19: Hospitalizations, 10-Day New COVID Cases Near Lowest Points Since Start of Pandemic
• Amid Equity Backlash, Loudoun Supervisors Celebrate Local LGBTQ Heroes
• As Commonwealth Begins Environmental Justice Work, New Tools Emerge
• Thanks to the Biden administration, small steps toward justice in the Bijan Ghaisar case
• Now a state holiday, Hampton Roads residents turn Juneteenth into a platform for change
• In bid to hurry construction of a new George Wythe High School, Richmond to request design proposals Thursday
• Morrissey wins restraining order against former president of Virginia Oath Keepers
• Buchwald: Rural America needs broadband
• Michael Paul Williams: Pulitzer Winner on What’s Next for Richmond
• 20th district candidate Randall Wolf to go on 3-day bike tour
• New electricity contract could mean more energy-efficient lights for Roanoke
• $1 million from Facebook going to 30 Black-run nonprofits in Hampton Roads
• D.C.-area forecast: Sunny perfection today; humid heat returns for the weekend