by Lowell
Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Saturday, July 3.
- UK Aims to Dump Coal Early, While Asia Stays the Course (It’s way beyond time to ditch coal.)
- Canadian inferno: northern heat exceeds worst-case climate models (“Scientists fear heat domes in North America and Siberia indicate a new dimension to the global crisis” We need to fix this NOW.)
- WHO Sees ‘Dangerous Period’; Tokyo Cases Rise: Virus Update
- Biden Sends Dueling Messages on Afghanistan (“The administration has sought to reassure Americans that it is ending ‘forever wars’ while signaling to Afghans that the U.S. is not abandoning the beleaguered country.”)
- As Afghan Forces Crumble, an Air of Unreality Grips the Capital
- Canada heatwave: Lightning triggers wildfires in British Columbia
- ‘Ocean on fire’: Footage of blaze in Gulf of Mexico takes social media by storm
- ‘Eye of fire’ in Mexican waters snuffed out, says national oil company
- ‘Eye of fire’: Gas leak sparks huge blaze on ocean surface off Mexico (“Flames that raged near a Pemex oil platform took more than five hours to extinguish” GET OFF FOSSIL FUELS ASAP!)
- Horrifying Massive Oil Pipeline Blaze Sets Gulf Of Mexico On Fire
- OPEC+ Fails to Reach Output Deal With Talks Kicked to Monday (How about stop producing planet-killing petroleum and instead switch to CLEAN energY?!?)
- U.N. warns of worsening famine, more clashes in Ethiopia’s Tigray
- Unable to control Tigray, Ethiopia isolates region already beset by famine and war
- Australian officials report biggest daily COVID-19 caseload for 2021
- The 3 Simple Rules That Underscore the Danger of Delta (“Vaccines are still beating the variants, but the unvaccinated world is being pummeled.”)
- Finally, Experts Break the Silence on J.&J. Boosters
- Climate Change Is Driving Jarring Changes at Yellowstone National Park (“Temperatures are likely the warmest they’ve been in 800,000 years.” Great job, humanity, you really rock! /snark)
- Post-vaccine rebound accelerates as US economy adds 850,000 jobs (“Joe Biden hails ‘historic progress’ and credits stimulus package”)
- Here’s Why This Economic Recovery Is Putting 2009’s to Shame (“… early evidence shows that the new, more generous economic framework — now being applied by the Biden administration in its own way — is being proved right again.”)
- Lawmaker Threatens to Subpoena Exxon After Secret Video (Don’t threaten, just do it already! And start looking into indicting people. Why is this so difficult?!?)
- Climate scientists take swipe at Exxon Mobil, industry in leaked report (“A top lobbyist for the oil major was caught on camera acknowledging working with groups engaging in disinformation campaigns.”)
- ‘We thought it wouldn’t affect us’: heatwave forces climate reckoning in Pacific north-west
- 5 states where the coronavirus delta variant is spreading
- US companies hit by ‘colossal’ cyber-attack
- Why Biden and Democrats can take credit for an improving economy
- Pay goes up as employers eye smaller pool of workers (“In the past three months, rank-and-file employers have seen some of the fastest wage growth since the 1980s, as desperate businesses offer perks and higher pay.”)
- Breyer Hires Four New Clerks in Hint He’s Staying on Court (Jerk.)
- Supreme Court order ends congressional Democrats’ attempts to determine if Trump lied in Mueller probe
- The Supreme Court’s Conservative Supermajority Is Just Beginning To Flex Its Muscles (This court is absolutely appalling – and also illegitimate, with at least two stolen seats, depending on how one looks at it.)
- Proving Racist Intent: Democrats Face High New Bar in Opposing Voting Laws (“Democrats and voting rights groups say they can no longer count on the federal courts, including the Supreme Court, to serve as a backstop for preventing racially discriminatory voting restrictions.”)
- A Supreme Court Term Marked by a Conservative Majority in Flux (“The chief justice’s power waned, and the three Trump justices grew more influential. The term ended with an exclamation point, with the court imposing new limits on the Voting Rights Act.”)
- 3 winners and 3 losers from the just-completed Supreme Court term (“The biggest loser was democracy.”)
- Biden administration formally launches effort to return deported veterans to U.S.
- How Pro-Trump Local News Sites Keep Pushing 2020 Election Misinformation (“Georgia’s fledgling website gets a boost from publisher John Fredericks’ talk radio show that has featured numerous figures from Trump’s orbit, including Bannon and former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski. His show also regularly features Georgia Republican politicians who have pushed false claims of election fraud or are challenging those who did not work to overturn the election.”)
- For Biden and Trump, a tale of very different weeks
- Can One Florida Man Wrest Control of the G.O.P. From Another?
- GOP divided on anti-Biden midterm message
- Merrick Garland vs. Trump’s Mob (“Those who hoped he would prosecute January 6 with gusto have been bitterly disappointed.”)
- Latest alleged Oath Keeper arrested in Capitol riot turned over body armor and firearm
- This week’s GOP clown is Paul Gosar — and the ringmaster isn’t doing anything to stop him
- Nancy Pelosi has backed Kevin McCarthy into a corner (McCarthy is acting like he’s very, VERY guilty.)
- Trump’s Hill allies could be ensnared in January 6 probe as GOP preps strategy
- The Trump case may be unusual. But if true, it’s brazen tax fraud.
- Prosecutors have charged the Trump business. But is there more to come?
- The New Republican Heresy (“How the Capitol riot became a test of party loyalty” Sick.)
- What a Tech Breakup Could Mean for You (“A push to split up Facebook, Apple, Amazon and Google may mean more competition and innovation. But it may also curb conveniences we’ve come to take for granted.”)
- Capitol rioter accompanied members of Congress on trip to US-Mexico border
- Trump Is Working Harder Than Ever to Undermine Democracy
- Trump Is Said to Have Called Arizona Official After Election Loss
- Arizona Republic: Trump allies pressured Maricopa County election supervisors
- “Utter betrayal”: Angry activists who helped elect Kyrsten Sinema say “she has no values” (“Sinema once criticized the filibuster and mocked Joe Lieberman. Now she’s helping kill progressive legislation”)
- Kyrsten Sinema’s run out of excuses: Supreme Court leaves Senate Democrats with little choice (“Kyrsten Sinema may not care about saving democracy — but why doesn’t she care about saving her own Senate seat?”)
- ‘There’s just no legal defense’: Trump Organization in jeopardy, experts say
- Sha’Carri Richardson’s drug test suspension is the end result of racist policies
- Advocates say THC does not enhance sports performance. So why is it banned? (“Sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson’s positive marijuana test runs afoul of at least two regulations: being against the ‘spirit of sport’ and posing a potential health risk.” Do they ban athletes for smoking tobacco? Drinking alcohol? Eating fatty foods? No? Hmmm…)
- Why We Hold Olympic Athletes to Such Ridiculous and Cruel Standards
- New Hampshire Supreme Court strikes down 2017 voter registration law Senate Bill 3 as unconstitutional
- Trump ally in Pennsylvania raises 2020 election audit plan
- North Miami Beach condo ordered to close, evacuate after inspection said structurally unsafe
- ‘Tragedy beyond tragedy’: Champlain Towers South was a catastrophe in slow motion
- NYC mayoral contenders file lawsuits seeking ballot review
- The Big Winner of the NYC Mayor’s Race Was Ranked-Choice Voting
- New York City’s Needless Election Fiasco (“A bungled vote-counting procedure brought national attention to the city’s long history of poor election administration.”)
- Alvin Bragg Wins Democratic Nod for Manhattan District Attorney (“Alvin Bragg is on the cusp of becoming the first Black Manhattan district attorney after his top rival, Tali Farhadian Weinstein, conceded the race Friday”)
- Bragg Set to Be Manhattan’s Next D.A., and a Potential Trump Scourge
- Professors and Students Sue Over Florida’s New College Survey Law
- A Mystery Illness Is Killing Mid-Atlantic Songbirds
- Democratic Party Of Virginia Statement On Massive Job Growth In June (“The U.S. economy added a stunning 850,000 jobs in June, with an average of over half a million new jobs per month since President Biden took office”)
- Governor Northam Celebrates Sweeping Change to Move Virginia Forward as New Laws Take Effect (“Historic measures include marijuana legalization, tuition-free community college, increased access to voting, and expansion of passenger rail”)
- Data Appears to Show Racial Disparities in Traffic Stops
- Virginia has improved its access to health care coverage. But the gap has worsened among Latino families.
- New Poll: Unvaccinated Black Virginians More Likely to Get a Shot Than White Virginians
- Youngkin’s campaign says he wouldn’t seek to repeal marijuana legalization
- Plaintiffs: VEC Processing Claims Too Slowly
- Graphic: Virginia House of Delegates Democratic Candidates Are Highly Diverse; Republicans Lagging Waaaaayyy Behind (Among House incumbents, the vast majority of Republicans are older White males.)
- With death penalty repealed, two once-condemned men moved off Virginia’s death row
- Schapiro: Virginia’s politics of denial spring forth on the Fourth
- Recall petition against state Sen. Louise Lucas dismissed
- Friday (7/2) Virginia Data on COVID-19: Hospitalizations, New COVID Cases At Lowest Points Since March 2020
- Virginia Beach City Councilwoman Jessica Abbott resigns due to health concerns
- 4 children shot in Norfolk; ages range from 6 to 16 (Horrible and all too common in America.)
- Fairfax County moves forward with new vendor on solar power initiative
- Libraries in Arlington are finally set to reopen. Officials say hiring troubles are behind the delay.
- How two tornadoes touched down between Arlington and the District on Thursday night (“The Arlington tornado was on the ground for 4.4 miles as it tracked into the District and the National Mall”)
- D.C.-area forecast: Quite nice today, and remaining rather pleasant for Independence Day
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