Saturday News: “Delta Variant Fears Spur Some Americans to Get Covid-19 Vaccine”; “Trump Pressed Justice Department to Discredit 2020 Election”; “Fact check: Is Kevin McCarthy a ‘moron’?”; “Sen. Tim Kaine welcomes first group of Afghan civilian applicants to Fort Lee”

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Saturday, July 31.

• More countries hike climate pledges, piling pressure on major emitters (“A group of mostly smaller countries submitted new, more ambitious climate pledges to the United Nations this week, raising pressure on big emitters including China to do the same ahead of a major U.N. climate summit in November.”)
• Climate Chaos Is Avoidable. Here’s How. (“The big changes that can still save us.”)
• Delta variant rampant in Asia; Tokyo, Thailand, Malaysia post record COVID infections
• This professor assigns value to nature — then persuades world leaders to save it (“Gretchen Daily is a pioneer in the field known as ‘natural capital.’ Using science and software, she shows why it benefits everyone to prioritize conservation.”)
• Greenland: enough ice melted on single day to cover Florida in two inches of water (“All-time record temperature of 19.8C in region on Wednesday”)
• As Fears Grip Afghanistan, Hundreds of Thousands Flee (“With the Taliban sweeping across much of the country, at least 30,000 Afghans are leaving each week. Many more have been displaced within Afghanistan’s borders.”)
• Statement of President Joe Biden on the Arrival of the First Flight of Operation Allies Refuge
• Israel accuses Iran over deadly oil tanker attack
• China’s Key Factory Gauge Slips as Economic Recovery Eases
• Investors Rethink China Bets After Beijing Crackdown
• Pedro Francke: relief in Peru as moderate is made finance minister (“President Pedro Castillo completes his cabinet after causing shockwaves with appointment of controversial Guido Bellido as prime minister”)
• Justice Department says Russians hacked federal prosecutors
• Biden Hosts Cuban-American Leaders to Discuss Cuba Protests
• What to Make of the “Concerning” New CDC Study
• ‘A rush to get shots’: Vaccine holdouts relent as delta variant takes hold
• ‘The war has changed,’ CDC says, calling for new response to Delta variant
• Delta Variant Fears Spur Some Americans to Get Covid-19 Vaccine
• Where the Delta Variant and Low Vaccination Rates Are Colliding
• How Did It Come to This? (“The Delta variant is winning, for the moment, and the CDC’s coronavirus map shows that we’re failing to fight it.”)
• Outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 Infections, Including COVID-19 Vaccine Breakthrough Infections,
• White House blasts Covid coverage (“The White House is frustrated with what it views as alarmist, and in some instances flat-out misleading, news coverage about the Delta variant.”)
• Breakthrough Covid cases: At least 125,000 fully vaccinated Americans have tested positive (Here’s the key point: “The 125,682 ‘breakthrough’ cases in 38 states represent less than .08 percent of the 164.2 million-plus people fully vaccinated since January.”)
• CDC study shows three-fourths of people infected in Massachusetts covid-19 outbreak were vaccinated
• CDC director blames COVID setbacks in spread of delta variant on unvaccinated people (Yep, it’s pretty much all their fault.)
• CDC Scaled Back Hunt for Breakthrough Cases Just as the Delta Variant Grew​​​​
• Require the vaccine. It’s time to stop coddling the reckless.
• Walmart tells corporate staff, managers they must have Covid vaccine by October
• The surge of Covid-19 infections for unvaccinated people is only beginning, experts warn
• Biden rolls dice by getting more aggressive on vaccines
• CDC Internal Report: Delta As Contagious As Chickenpox
• Broadway Theaters Will Require Vaccinations and Masks As Performances Return This Fall
• Delta variant drives concerns about outbreaks at long-term care facilities
• Fact check: Is Kevin McCarthy a ‘moron’? (“Alas, this leaves only one possible conclusion, which I deliver with no elms: Pelosi’s claim earns the rating ‘mostly true.'”)
• U.S. Senate works on the weekend on $1 trillion infrastructure bill
• Biden’s bipartisan deal faces Senate gauntlet
• Amid infrastructure talks, White House economic team finds itself wrenched back to coronavirus
• Tenants Across U.S. Scramble to Pay Months of Rent or Face Eviction (“A federal eviction moratorium is scheduled to end on Saturday. Many tenants are packing up and facing an uncertain future.”)
• Pelosi Bid to Head Off Evictions Crumbles
• Congress fails to extend eviction moratorium expiring Saturday
• Trump Pressed Justice Department to Discredit 2020 Election, Official’s Notes Show
• Trump to DOJ: “Just Say That the Election Was Corrupt” and “Leave the Rest to Me” (“The new information comes from contemporaneous notes taken by Trump’s acting deputy attorney general.”)
• Trump tax returns must be released by IRS to Congress, Justice Department says
• Committee Obtains Key Evidence of President Trump’s Attempts to Overturn the 2020 Election
• The Insurrection Was Just Part of the Plot
• Trump Pressed Justice Dept. to Declare Election Results Corrupt, Notes Show
• Newly revealed notes drag congressional Republicans into Trump’s election-subversion effort
• The Guardian view on investigating 6 January: the truth about the storming of the Capitol (“The attitude of Republican politicians to the committee shows exactly why it is needed”)
• “Progressive prosecutors” are working within the system to change it. How is that going?
• Biles withdraws from two finals, Djokovic goes empty-handed again
• Biden appoints Trump-critic Khizr Khan to religious freedom commission
• It’s a good thing Republican election-stealers are so incompetent
• If you watch Fox News, you’d think crime is skyrocketing. But reality is much more complicated. (If you watch Fox “News,” your entire worldview is completely warped.)
• In coverage of Simone Biles, right-wing pundits continue their attacks on Black athletes and mental health (Horrible people.)
• Texas just passed New York in COVID-19 deaths, despite once trailing by 29,000. Here’s how.
• Right-Wingers Say They Are a Sleeping Giant, Fully Awake to Take Back Their Country. Will You Let Them?
• Florida governor blocks school mask mandates, says parents can choose (Wildly irresponsible.)
• The Andrew Cuomo Scandal Circus Is About To Hit High Gear
• Ruth Pearl, seeker of justice for her murdered journalist son, Daniel, dies at 85 (Rest in peace.)
• Sen. Tim Kaine welcomes first group of Afghan civilian applicants to Fort Lee
• ‘New lives for long time patriots’ – Afghan allies arrive at Fort Lee in Virginia after Congress acts swiftly
• Epic Twitter Thread by Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA08) Comms Director on “group of unmasked Republican staffers…playing [water pong] in the halls of the Rayburn House Office Building”
• Taylor Swift and Virginia GOP Governor Candidate Have Bad Blood
• Video: Terry for Virginia Releases New TV Ad “Towns Like Ours,” Highlighting Terry’s Commitment to Workers & Businesses
• Video: Trump’s Former Chief of Staff, Who Helped Trump Try to Subvert the 2020 Election and Stay in Power, Now “Working With” VA House GOP Leader Todd Gilbert About This November’s Elections (Meadows pledges that Trump WILL BE INVOLVED in this election.)
• Youngkin’s New Ad Touts “Manufacturing Things RIGHT HERE in Virginia,” But…Contains Stock Photo From a Thai Photographer (Youngkin essentially “outsourced” a job right in his own ad…LOL)
• As assembly returns to Capitol after 17 months, so does the issue of face masks (“The House of Delegates and Senate will return to the Virginia Capitol on Monday to meet in its historic chambers for the first time in almost 17 months, but they won’t leave behind the issue of whether to wear face masks for indoor gatherings to forestall a new surge in the COVID-19 pandemic.”)
• Flip-A-District Friday: Volume III (Kim Melnyk, Kelly Fowler, Kathleen Murphy)
• Republican House of Delegates candidate in Va. compares right-leaning teachers to Jews in Nazi Germany (“Virginia Democrats called on the House Republican Caucus and gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin to end their support of Perry’s campaign and condemn the remarks.” Democrat Irene Shin: “Perry’s comments are disqualifying. She clearly does not embody the values of the 86th District and should not represent our community in elected office.” Speaker Filler-Corn: “This gross display of antisemitism is completely unacceptable, nor should it be used in our political discourse”)
• Friday (7/30) Virginia Data on COVID-19: With Delta Now Dominant, Hospitalizations Picking Up, 1-Day New COVID Cases (+1,178) Highest Since 4/30; 10-Day New Cases (+8,178) Highest Since 5/9
• UVA report: Virginia could surpass winter surge if cases, vaccination rates stay the same and delta spread worsens
• Virginia’s mental health system is collapsing. Gov. Northam must save it.
• Coal fuels less and less Virginia electricity. But when should utilities pull the plug on plants? (“Utilities contend it’s expensive to rapidly roll out renewables to replace still-functioning coal plants, but the plants’ continued operation leave ratepayers covering big costs.”)
• Pipeline’s plan to offset greenhouse gas emissions questioned by environmentalists (“Mountain Valley Pipeline said its operation will be carbon-neutral through the purchase of carbon offsets.” Yeah, riiiight.)
• Freshwater mussels across Virginia need help to survive, report says
• Only One Person from SW Virginia Speaks at Region’s Redistricting Hearing (What a joke.)
• Nearly a dozen children have been shot this month in Norfolk. Communities are hurting, and activists want change.
• Loudoun County is navigating the rough waters of the nation’s culture wars
• A Virginia woman opened sanctuary for elderly border collies in Gloucester County. Then her neighbors sued.
• Watch Now: In split vote, Bedford school board rejects state model policies on treatment of transgender students
• D.C.-area forecast: Pleasant today before rain chances rise tonight into early Sunday (“Humidity is out of here for the day as highs head for the low 80s.”)