Wednesday News: “The country is on fire, and the biggest obstacle to action is the GOP”; “Pelosi’s new Jan. 6 select committee is about to collide with ‘white rage’”; “Masks Again? Delta Variant’s Spread Prompts Reconsideration of Precautions”; “NYC Board of Elections Reported False Results”

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Wednesday, June 30.

• The climate crisis is a crime that should be prosecuted (“Fossil fuel companies lied for decades about climate change, and humanity is paying the price. Shouldn’t those lies be central to the public narrative?”)
• Afghanistan: US military ‘days away’ from completing pull-out
• China is facing its worst power shortage in a decade. That’s a problem for the whole world
• Europe wants to stop the Covid delta variant. But experts say it may already be too late
• Australia Covid: Seventh city locks down amid vaccine chaos
• Latin America Is Slipping Back Into Strongman Rule
• Kim Jong Un warns of ‘grave consequences’ and fires top officials after Covid-19 incident
• Calls to cancel Canada Day after graves found: ‘Indigenous people paid with their lives’
• Scientists warn of climate change intensifying heat waves
• It’s not the heat. It’s the existential dread. (“The record-breaking temperatures have fed another sensation just as oppressive.”)
• The country is on fire, and the biggest obstacle to action is the GOP
• It’s the climate change, stupid
• That Heat Dome? Yeah, It’s Climate Change.
• Canada weather: Dozens dead as heatwave shatters records
• First Thing: officials warn historic heatwave in North American west is just the beginning (“Extreme weather is the start of a ‘permanent emergency’ caused by climate breakdown, Americans have been told.”)
• Feeling the Heat? Maybe Your City Needs More Trees.
• Nowhere Is Ready for This Heat (“The Pacific Northwest is melting now, but all across America the infrastructure we have was built for the wrong century.” And we’re still, insanely, emitting greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Uh, humanity? STOP THIS SHIT ASAP!)
• Cities across US west ban Fourth of July fireworks amid wildfire fears
• Fauci warns there may soon be ‘two Americas’ as divide widens between vaccinated and unvaccinated areas
• Warren Buffett says the pandemic has had an ‘extremely uneven’ impact and is not yet over
• Biden Unveils Plan To Combat Threat Of Western Wildfires Amid Extreme Drought (The only solution is to address the climate crisis on an emergency basis.)
• A key indicator shows we are past peak inflation fear, supporting the stock market rally
• Biden’s infrastructure plan would cut U.S. debt and slightly increase economic growth, Wharton study finds
• The delta variant is bringing back the dark clouds of last year
• Masks Again? Delta Variant’s Spread Prompts Reconsideration of Precautions. (What’s the downside to wearing masks indoors?)
• Bipartisan Gestures on Infrastructure Won’t Save Us from a Climate Apocalypse (“Democrats like Manchin should forget about negotiating a weak infrastructure bill with Republicans and focus on something that can save America.”)
• The US Chamber of Commerce Has Helped Downplay the Climate Threat, a New Report Concludes (Any reason this isn’t criminal?)
• Pelosi’s new Jan. 6 select committee is about to collide with ‘white rage’
• How Nancy Pelosi hopes to back Joe Manchin into a corner
• Pelosi rebuffs McConnell on infrastructure
• McConnell says Biden would be his ‘desert island’ Democratic president
• U.S. natural gas producers hope customers will pay more for ‘green gas’ (It’s only “green” if it doesn’t emit greenhouse gases.)
• House passes bill to remove Confederate statues from Capitol (120 Republicans, including three from Virginia – with Bob Good absent – voted to KEEP them.)
• Biden learned Washington as a senator. He needs a different skill set now.
• The White House press corps fails to inform the public (They actually misinform the public – badly.)
• Biden Weighs New Executive Order Restraining Big Business
• The truth about many in the GOP base: They prefer authoritarianism to democracy (“You cannot make peace with those who repudiate democracy.”)
• Every State Should Adopt Maine’s New Climate Policy (“The law to divest within five years is proof young climate activists are gaining momentum.” Hello Virginia?!?)
• “I Represent What They Want”: Trump’s First Postpresidential Rally Was a Dark Warning (“The former president evangelized to an adoring crowd with sinister new applause lines that demonstrate the binary choice before the GOP—and why we should still pay attention.”)
• Progressives Are Hoping That Justice Stephen Breyer Steps Down At The End Of The Term (Absolutely…as RBG’s death showed, it’s WAAAY too risky for Breyer NOT to step down.)
• Supreme Court allows eviction ban to remain in place
• Trump-backers want to export the Arizona ‘audit’ across the country (Hell no.)
• Trump in financial and political danger as company faces possible criminal charges (“New York prosecutors may soon bring indictment against Trump Organization tied to perks for top executives”)
• New York prosecutors must follow the facts as far as they go (“Trump has a real vulnerability.”)
• Trump legal team expects charges against company in coming days
• Murkowski has the moxie to take on Trump. Will she?
• Beyond Tulsa, Overlooked Race Massacres Draw New Focus
• Trump heads to U.S.-Mexico border for fresh attacks on Biden policies (Pathetic.)
• From viral videos to Fox News: how rightwing media fueled the critical race theory panic
• Kristi Noem Uses GOP Donor’s ‘Private Donation’ For Guard Deployment To Texas (Noem is so slimy.)
• Auto Scrap Billionaire Who Paid To Send National Guard To Southern Border Sounds Off On Why He Did It
• Billionaire GOP megadonor funding South Dakota’s troop deployment to border (Complete waste of money.)
• No. 3 House Democrat Steps Into Ohio Race to Head Off a Sanders Acolyte
• Most advertisers have dumped Tucker Carlson — why he’s still on TV ?
• Tucker Carlson says labeling white supremacists a threat is a “racial attack” on all white people (Why does Carlson have a platform?)
• Fox News doesn’t believe Tucker Carlson
• Error mars vote count in NYC mayoral primary
• Ranked-Choice Voting Will Come Under Attack By the Usual Opportunists
• New York Mayor’s Race in Chaos After Elections Board Counts 135,000 Test Ballots
• New York City releases preliminary ranked choice vote count — and then pulls it (Crazy)
• NYC Board of Elections Reported False Results: Updates (It’s like a third-world country…ugh.)
• Inside Decades of Nepotism and Bungling at the N.Y.C. Elections Board (“Some staffers read or watch Netflix at the office, while others punch in and then go shopping or to the gym, current and former employees said.”)
• New York City Mayoral Race: Elections Board Pulls Early Ranked-Choice Results
• Trump: Herschel Walker will run for Senate in Georgia (Go Raphael Warnock!)
• Josh Mandel’s staff quit campaign because of toxic work environment created by staffer in relationship with Mandel, sources say (This guy is so, so horrible.)
• Top Oregon RNC official says he was unaware of pro-Nazi host and White national activist they discussed during YouTube chat (Riiiiiight.)
• Rising GOP star Ron DeSantis goes after campus thoughtcrime with vague, threatening new law (This guy gives off really strong authoritarian vibes.)
• The Horror of Surfside
• Video, images and interviews deepen questions about role of pool deck in condo collapse
• Video, images and interviews deepen questions about role of pool deck in condo collapse
• More Champlain Towers Residents Sue Their Condo Association, Alleging Negligence
• Miami building collapse: Letter in April warned of worsening damage
• Paul Gosar Hangs Out with Racists to Own the Libs
• In the condo collapse, water is an inevitable suspect. This is Florida.
• Video: Sen. Mark Warner Comments on Syria; Infrastructure Bills (he’s looking to find “some breakthrough between where Bernie’s at, where Joe Manchin’s at”); Need to Take Action on the Climate Crisis (“I’m even open to a phase-in on a carbon tax”)
• Video: Labor Leaders and Congressional Leaders – Including Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA03) – Converge on Capitol Hill to Urge Congress to Pass Joe Biden’s Full “American Jobs Plan” (“To create a sustainable future for our nation, we must restore the middle class and protect our environment at the same time”)
• Congressman Connolly Wants to Be Ready for the Next Pandemic
• After 3 years and 4 indictments, investigation into Scott Taylor petition scandal isn’t over yet
• Glenn Youngkin Opposes New Laws That Make Virginia Safer, Healthier, More Inclusive
• The Last Thing Team Youngkin Wants You To Read Right Now
• McAuliffe fact-check retraction leaves state buzzing
• Audio: VA GOP Chair Lists Top Agenda Items for Statewide Ticket, Including Fighting “critical racist theory,” Which He Falsely Claims Is “institutionalized, recognized bias and racism that has emerged to replace the old racism” (Anderson also lists “reopening schools” (they’re already open) and “fighting back against the cancellation of advanced courses” (they haven’t been cancelled and aren’t going to be))
• Metrorail oversight board criticizes transit agency for response to safety incidents
• Governor Northam says Commonwealth on right road out of pandemic (“Despite the presence of the Delta COVID-19 variant in Virginia, Governor Ralph Northam said vaccinated people can return to near-normal lives as much as possible.”)
• No Masks for Vaccinated for Now, Despite Delta Variant Rise
• With Delta variant spreading, WHO urges fully vaccinated people to wear masks but Virginia is sticking to CDC guidance
• Virginia’s COVID-19 state of emergency is set to expire. What does it mean?
• Gov. Northam commemorates 50 years since 1971 state constitution took effect
• State workers’ next checks will include 5% raises
• AG Mark Herring Joins 20 Other AGs In Urging FBI to Recognize Non-Binary Individuals In Uniform Crime Reporting
• Republican lawyers interviewing for Va. redistricting job say Biden was rightful 2020 winner
• Tuesday (6/29) Virginia Data on COVID-19: Hospitalizations, New COVID Cases At Lowest Points Since March 2020
• A new state office aims to address longstanding gaps in Virginia’s foster care system
• Virginia man admits selling illegal ivory online (Disgusting.)
• Partisanship, race play too much of a role in recall efforts around Virginia
• Petition against Louise Lucas seeks to do the unprecedented — recall a Virginia lawmaker (“Experts say this is likely the first time a group of voters has tested the state’s law for a recall trial against a state legislator.”)
• Fairfax police use force against Blacks and Whites more often than researchers expected, study finds (“Blacks are subjected to more severe forms of such treatment, the study says.”)
• Wild Oysters Overcoming 35-Year Struggle with Deadly Parasite (“…scientists at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science have discovered the oysters are evolving to resist a deadly parasite variant outbreak that began 35 years ago.”)
• Majors and Jarrell: Wake up to injustice of MVP
• Editorial: Why should rural Virginia care about a WFT stadium?
• D.C.-area forecast: Scorcher today, storms likely tomorrow; cooler with some rain into the weekend