Thursday News: “All the right words on climate have already been said”; “House Opens Jan. 6 Investigation Over Republican Opposition”; “Indictments of firm and top executive test Trump’s charmed life”; “In a just world, Rumsfeld would have been tried for war crimes”

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Thursday, July 1.

• Latest First Nations discovery reveals 182 unmarked graves at Canada school (The atrocities and genocide committed against Native Americans need to be taught in schools and not glossed over, sugarcoated, etc.)
• Rising Delta virus, absent Brits dampen Europe’s tourism hopes
• Xi Jinping says China won’t be bullied on 100th anniversary of Communist Party
• China is building more silos for missiles. That makes arms control talks with the U.S. essential.
• Taiwan lashes out at Beijing after Chinese President Xi Jinping pledges ‘complete reunification’
• China marks a century of its Communist Party with pageantry, propaganda and an iron grip (Yuck.)
• Xi Says China Is on ‘Historic Mission’ in Taiwan (“President Xi Jinping struck a defiant tone in a speech marking the Communist Party’s 100-year anniversary.”)
• Xi at Communist Party anniversary: China won’t accept ‘sanctimonious preaching’ from others
• Madagascar is headed toward a climate change-linked famine it did not create (Ugh.)
• Australia ranked dead last in world for climate action in latest UN report (Why do Australians keep electing godawful right-wingnut “leadership?”)
• Australia needs loud, fast and furious climate policy – now more than ever (Correct, but it won’t get that policy from conservatives)
• OPEC and allies to decide on crude production policy as oil prices climb, demand recovers
• British Columbia sees 195% increase in sudden deaths during Canada heatwave
• The Deadly Heat Wave Is Triggering Dozens Of Wildfires In Western Canada
• Canada is a warning: more and more of the world will soon be too hot for humans (“Without an immediate global effort to combat the climate emergency, the Earth’s uninhabitable areas will keep growing”)
• Iran’s New Leader Faces an Existential Economic Crisis
• What Will the Delta Variant Do to Israel’s Herd Immunity?
• Scalding temperatures give a taste of the suffering global warming brings
• No one was prepared for the Northwest heat wave — especially not the animals
• How to redesign cities to withstand heat waves (“Trees, green roofs, and white paint can help in a changing climate.” Regular – not reflective, not green, not solar, etc. – roofs should probably just be outlawed at this point.)
• Running out of water: how climate change fuels a crisis in the US west (The fossil fuel industry is HEAVILY responsible for this and should pay a severe price.)
• All the right words on climate have already been said (“What kind of awareness quotient are we looking for? What more about climate change does anyone need to know? What else is there to say?” Exactly – just ACT already!)
• Revealed: ExxonMobil’s lobbying war on climate change legislation
• ExxonMobil lobbyists filmed saying oil giant’s support for carbon tax a PR ploy
• In Video, Exxon Lobbyist Describes Efforts to Undercut Climate Action (In a sane world, it would be a serious crime to work towards destroying a livable planet and/or to block action protecting it.)
• The Chamber of Commerce Has Been Exposed as One of the Primary Obstacles to Climate Action (“Internal documents suggest the Chamber acknowledged the threat in 1989—and spent many of the years since trying to block a response.” Evil.)
• U.S. Job Gains Seen Strengthening After Two Disappointing Months
• ‘Jay’s job to lose’: Powell’s reappointment by Biden as Fed chief hangs on inflation
• The Delta variant has now been detected in all 50 states and Washington, DC
• Biden admin redoubles Covid testing efforts as Delta variant spreads
• 5 Findings From A New NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist Poll On COVID-19 And The Economy
• Connecticut’s Largest Offshore Wind Project Moves Closer to Approval
• 100s More Offshore Wind Turbines Greenlighted for New Jersey Coast
• House Opens Jan. 6 Investigation Over Republican Opposition (The fact that Republicans oppose investigating 1/6 should completely disqualify them from holding office at any level, including dog catcher.)
• Nancy Pelosi signals hard line on formation of 6 January select committee (“Pelosi determined to investigate root causes of Capitol attack” Absolutely!)
• Republicans go all-in on immigration as a political weapon (Disgraceful.)
• The GOP is mounting a dangerous new rebellion against federal authority (“It’s just getting started, but it threatens a return to the ‘nullification’ politics of dark periods in our history.”)
• The defense of democracy and truth is never finished (“Maintaining calm when so many are hollering is key.”)
• No wonder Republicans want to fight about ‘process’ (“Biden’s infrastructure deal is a political winner.”)
• Biden wins on substance. So McConnell clings to process.
• Social network giants pledge to tackle abuse of women online (Why didn’t they do that YEARS ago?!?)
• Inside the Capitol Riot: An Exclusive Video Investigation (“The Times analyzed thousands of videos from the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol Building to understand how it happened — and why. Here are some of the key findings.” It’s all incredibly disturbing. Just as disturbing is that most Republicans are trying to block any investigation of what happened on 1/6, when pro-Trump insurrectionists tried to overthrow our democracy and to unconstitutionally/illegally keep Trump in power.)
• Stephen Breyer is making a strong case for Supreme Court term limits (“A justice who tries to be apolitical only exacerbates the political stakes. It’s time for the system to change.”)
• The Supreme Court will soon rule on a controversial voting-rights case. Here’s what to look for. (“The justices might severely limit Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.”)
• Gavin Grimm: I fought for years in court for my basic rights as a trans kid. It shouldn’t have been this hard.
• More People Are Buying Guns. Fewer People Are Getting Background Checks. (“Amid a surge in gun sales, the FBI didn’t complete over 316,000 gun background checks last year.” This country is a massive outlier.)
• The Right’s New Reason to Panic About ‘Critical Race Theory’ Is Centuries Old (“On the persistent specter of Black revenge”)
• Virginia and many other states have quietly made voting easier
• Senate hopefuls embrace nuking filibuster
• DHS raises alarms over potential for summer violence pegged to August conspiracy theory
• ‘Perfect storm’: Bulletin warns of extremist violence as pandemic restrictions lift
• Biden Gained With Moderate and Conservative Voting Groups, New Data Shows
• Trump is making Republican leaders look downright pathetic
• Behind Biden’s 2020 Victory
• Eric Trump Insists Trump Org. Will Survive Because Daily Mail Commenters Say So (LOL)
• Indictments of firm and top executive test Trump’s charmed life
• Trump Organization and Top Executive Are Indicted in Tax Investigation (Any why not indict the people who own and run the company, which also has their name in it?)
• N.Y. grand jury said to return criminal indictments against Trump’s company and its CFO
• Loyal Trump Aide Weisselberg Expected to Turn Himself In Today
• Ranking the 44 Former American Presidents
• Historians Give Trump A Damning Place On The List Of Presidents In New Survey
• What It Takes to Be a Worse President Than Trump (“C-SPAN’s latest rankings put Donald Trump at fourth to last.” In fact, it’s not even close…Trump is by far the worst president in US history, as he was wildly corrupt and incompetent, almost ended our democracy, is responsible for 100s of 1000s of deaths, etc.)
• ‘Sedition Hunters’: Meet The Online Sleuths Aiding The FBI’s Capitol Manhunt
• Fox News fearmongered about migrants and the immigration system in at least 693 segments in a 12-week period (Fox should be completely shunned.)
• Tucker Carlson: There is an “invasion” of immigrants “changing the population” (More white nationalism, xenophobia, etc. from Carlson, who should NOT be on the air.)
• Not just neo-Nazis with tiki torches: Why Jewish students say they also fear cloaked anti-Semitism
• Cosby’s freeing was correct as a matter of law. But it’s in no way a vindication.
• ‘Disgusted’ And ‘Outraged’: Women Who Accused Bill Cosby Stunned By Release (“‘He is released because a prosecutor promised him years ago that he would not be brought to justice,’ said attorney Lisa Bloom.” Totally nuts.)
• The court decision freeing Bill Cosby, explained as best we can
• Bill Cosby Walks Free Because of This Power-Hungry Prosecutor (“Bill Cosby, who has admitted to using drugs to target women, is out of prison. And Bruce Castor is the disastrous Trump impeachment lawyer who set the stage.” Why has Castor not been disbarred?!?)
• New York City primary meltdown deals new setback to nation’s strained electoral system
• NYC mayoral primary descends into chaos — but don’t blame ranked-choice voting (“Right-wingers seize on NYC snafu to undermine voting rights push — but ranked-choice voting isn’t the problem”)
• Adams Holds On As Garcia Surges With New Vote Totals: Updates (Garcia’s now favored by PredictIt to win.)
• Margins Tighten in New Count of N.Y.C. Mayor’s Race; Adams’s Lead Shrinks
• ‘A relic from the past’: New York’s troubled election agency ignites fury
• How Rumsfeld Deserves to Be Remembered (“America’s worst secretary of defense never expressed a quiver of regret.” Yep, absolutely horrendous.)
• Donald Rumsfeld’s death leaves behind a legacy of arrogance and violence (“In a just world, Rumsfeld would have been tried for war crimes, or at least became persona non grata”)
• You Go to Hell With the Alibis You Have
• Donald Rumsfeld, Defense Secretary During Iraq War, Is Dead at 88
• The Hell Donald Rumsfeld Built
• Kristi Noem Is Activating Forces That She Does Not Understand and Will Never Be Able to Control (She is truly heinous.)
• Biden to meet with Surfside families as rescue efforts enter eighth day
• Florida’s DeSantis rises as possible 2024 alternative to Trump (DeSantis=DeSaster)
• Federal judge blocks Florida law that would penalize social media companies (“A federal judge on Wednesday blocked a Florida law that would penalize social media companies for blocking a politician’s posts, a blow to conservatives’ efforts to respond to Facebook and other websites’ suspension of former President Donald Trump.”)
• The Senator Who Decided to Tell the Truth (“A Michigan Republican spent eight months searching for evidence of election fraud, but all he found was lies.”)
• The Dream of Florida Is Dead (Florida is much closer to a nightmare, in almost every way, than a “dream.” What on earth does anyone see in that state?)
• A Florida woman saw a crack forming in her condo and told herself, ‘You have to run to save your life’
• Majority of Florida condo board quit in 2019 as squabbling residents dragged out plans for repairs
• Nikole Hannah-Jones receives tenure offer from UNC after backlash
• UNC board weighs tenure for journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones after uproar over inaction on job protection
• RELEASE: AAPI Victory Fund and AAPI Coalition Partners Endorse Terry McAuliffe, Hala Ayala and Mark Herring for 2021 Virginia State Leadership Races
• Luria blasts Navy plan, says US should be building more warships, not decommissioning them
• Video: At Loudoun Rally, Glenn Youngkin Says Virginia Needs to Elect *ALL* Republicans Running This Year. Let’s Meet a Few of Them. (Winsome Sears, Dave LaRock, and several other far-right candidates.)
• Youngkin reveals education policy plans and Democrats blame him for divisiveness (Haha, yeah, Youngkin’s “education policy plans” are to ban the teaching of something that isn’t being taught, to bring in his own people to run the Virginia Dept. of Education – something every governor routinely does, to crank up so-called “school choice,” etc. HARD PASS.)
• Democrats criticize Glenn Youngkin over use of ‘yellow Virginians’ in interview about unity (“The Republican gubernatorial candidate used the term in April. But the GOP noted that prominent liberals have also used the word while discussing multicultural society.”)
• Virginia GOP candidate for governor calls Asian Americans ‘yellow’ in April interview
• House Democrats Continue Bringing Sweeping Change to Virginia (Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn: “I am incredibly proud of the progress we have made under strong progressive leadership and look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues in the House to build a better Virginia.”)
• Video: Democratic Leaders and Loudoun County School Board Member Discuss Education Plans and Highlight Youngkin’s Divisive Extreme Agenda (Atoosa Reaser: “The threats of violence against school board members is horrific and real. This has to stop, and we need to be able to do our job.”)
• Health Care Coalition Applauds New Health Policies Taking Effect in Virginia
• Judge weighs manufacturers’ lawsuit to overturn Virginia carbon market regulation (F*** that.)
• Editorial: Fix Virginia’s broken child care system
• A new day: With recreational marijuana now legal in Virginia, the Richmond area is gearing up
• It’s here: Virginians prepare for legalized marijuana on Thursday
• Virginia policymakers have a lot of work left to do on marijuana legalization. Here’s a look at what’s ahead.
• Marijuana is now legal in Virginia. Advocates are already pushing for changes to the law.
• Ban on pet box turtles takes effect in Virginia
• Wednesday (6/30) Virginia Data on COVID-19: Hospitalizations, New COVID Cases At Lowest Points Since March 2020
• Photos, Video: The Fight Against the Destructive, Polluting, Economically Nonsensical Fracked-Gas “Mountain Valley Pipeline” Continues, As “Old Folks” Block Access (“My presence here today is just a small gesture of dissent. It’s what I can do to delay – even for a few hours – the march towards assured oblivion.”)
• Lawyers for Loudoun Co. suspended teacher file brief with Va. Supreme Court
• D.C.-area forecast: Heavy rain threat this afternoon and tonight, but it’ll dry out this weekend