by Lowell
Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Thursday, July 15.
- Europe Unveils Plan to Shift From Fossil Fuels, Setting Up Potential Trade Spats (“The proposal would impose tariffs on some imports from countries with looser environmental rules. It would also mean the end of sales in the European Union of new gas- and diesel-powered cars in just 14 years.” Excellent, do it!)
- Move faster to cut emissions, developing world tells rich nations (“More than 100 poorer nation governments demand action from rich world before Cop26 climate talks”)
- Trillions of dollars spent on Covid recovery in ways that harm environment (“Only 10% of $17tn global bailout directed to cutting greenhouse gas emissions and restoring nature, report finds” So, so stupid.)
- Amazon rainforest ‘will collapse if Bolsonaro remains president’ (“Brazilian academics and activists issue warning amid fresh assault on environmental protections”)
- Study: The Amazon May Now Actually Be Making Climate Change Worse
- Weatherwatch: the impact of Arctic cyclones on sea ice(“A study has found that stronger and more frequent Arctic cyclones may be contributing to declining sea ice”)
- As a new Russian election season begins, the Kremlin’s fraudsters are working overtime
- Ikea likely to have sold furniture linked to illegal logging in forests crucial to Earth’s climate, report says (“The report criticized an international green organization that gave its seal of approval to a Russian logging firm with a record of flouting forestry laws.” This should be criminal.)
- Merkel’s 16-year roller-coaster ride with U.S. presidents is coming to an end
- Angela Merkel’s swan song in Washington
- Cuban protests risk exacerbating COVID-19 spike – PAHO
- After the Cuba protests, a regime shows its true colors
- Biden’s Cuba policy is suddenly in the spotlight (“Trump-era sanctions are adding to Cuba’s crisis. Biden has to decide whether to keep them in place.”)
- Australia was a pandemic hero. Mixed messages and rising cases are muddying the picture.
- China’s Economic Growth Slows in the Second Quarter
- WHO clarifies details of early covid patients in Wuhan after errors in virus report
- Global Coronavirus Cases And Deaths Rise, Dampening Hopes For A Return To Normal
- U.S. Leadership on Human Rights and Ending Systemic Racism
- The Pandemic Has Worsened Childhood Vaccination Rates Around The World
- Suspects in Haitian President’s Killing Met to Plan a Future Without Him (“Haitian officials say key suspects met to plot the assassination, but participants called them sessions to plan a government once the president resigned. The meetings, conducted in Florida and the Dominican Republic, appear to connect a seemingly disparate group of suspects in the investigation”)
- Head of Haitian presidential guard in custody as hunt for masterminds behind assassination continues
- Haitian civil society leaders have a plan for the country’s future. It doesn’t involve the US.
- The Developing World Is a Tinderbox
- Germany floods: Six dead and dozens missing after heavy rain (Yet another example of the types of things that happen in a globally heated-up world.)
- More than 20 die in floods in western Europe, dozens missing
- Delta Variant Fuels Rising U.S. Caseload as Vaccinations Slow
- The U.S. Surgeon General Is Calling COVID-19 Misinformation An ‘Urgent Threat’
- Can vaccinated people get long Covid? Doctors say risk is ‘very, very small’
- GOP vaccine resistance poses growing challenge in pandemic fight (This party is a disgrace.)
- How the GOP crusade against vaccines could get even more dangerous (“What if they come for routine immunizations kids need before starting school?”)
- Meet the new tea party, same as the old tea party (“Vaccine derangement and valorization of insurrectionists act as a smokescreen for more powerful interests.”)
- Only 48.2% of the US is fully vaccinated. Meanwhile, cases have been rising dramatically
- Mitch McConnell claims he’s “perplexed” by vaccine opposition. His party’s propagandists are fomenting it.
- Top U.S. General Said Trump Preached ‘Gospel of the Führer’
- ‘They’re not going to f**king succeed’: Top generals feared Trump would attempt a coup after election, according to new book
- Joint Chiefs chairman feared potential ‘Reichstag moment’ aimed at keeping Trump in power
- Whodunit? Trump. New Books Dig Into the Crimes We All Saw Him Commit.
- New Trump revelations underscore his undimmed danger (“In a glimpse into Trump’s crazed final days in office, it emerged the top military officer was shaken by Trump’s refusal to concede and feared he might attempt a coup”)
- Is It Finally Time to Begin Calling Trumpism Fascist?
- Biden must embrace his own logic on voting rights
- Why Biden is learning to love executive orders
- Biden lacks a strategy to equal his rhetorical defense of voting (“The president offers a booming defense of voting. But what’s next?”)
- Senate Democrats’ $3.5tn infrastructure deal paves way for Biden’s goals (“Major step in party’s push to pour resources into climate change, healthcare and family service programs sought by president”)
- Biden heads to Capitol Hill to boost Democrats’ ‘human infrastructure’ plan
- Biden Agenda Gains Senate Momentum With Major Hurdles Remaining
- Democrats Call for a Tax on Imports From Polluting Countries
- Joe Manchin says he’s ‘very, very’ disturbed about reconciliation proposals on climate change
- Emerging details on reconciliation show Democats are really going for it (“They only have so many chances to pass legislation, and they’re taking advantage of this one.”)
- Schumer working to unify Democrats ahead of infrastructure fight
- Senate Dems Start Loading a $3.5 Trillion Bazooka to Pass Biden’s Agenda
- Pigs fly: McConnell weighs giving Biden a bipartisan win (“The self-appointed Senate GOP ‘Grim Reaper’ has aired remarkably little criticism of the physical infrastructure deal that his members helped negotiate.”)
- White House prepares to fight back in the Covid vaccine disinformation war (“Washington (CNN)White House officials are devising ways to fight the spread of dangerous falsehoods about Covid-19 vaccines, administration officials told CNN, as Republicans and their media allies ramp up their vocal skepticism about vaccines.”)
- Under Trump, Republicans touted the coronavirus vaccines. Now, under Biden, they’re questioning them.
- The Anti-Trump Republican Jackpot (“Liz Cheney and others are filling up their coffers since voting to impeach Donald Trump. A MAGA primary challenger still won’t be easy.”)
- Trump rages over post-presidential books he did interviews for (“The avalanche of coming books has caused recriminations. And there is anxiety about what’s to come.”)
- Mass incarceration is bad law enforcement policy. It’s bad for the economy, too. (“By tackling criminal justice reform, we can address the worker shortage in the process.”)
- DOE initiative seeks to drop long-duration storage cost 90% in a decade
- Former Kamala Harris national finance chair to launch firm to advise corporations, execs on political issues
- A legal reckoning may be coming for the lawyers who helped Trump push election lies (Should have happened already.)
- Trump Wishes He’d Lowered The Flag For Slain Rioter (“Trump’s private comments mark the latest of his attempts to rewrite the history of Jan. 6.”)
- The Deeply Racist Dimensions To Ashli Babbitt’s Martyrdom
- Liz Cheney Reportedly Tore Into Jim Jordan At The Capitol On Jan. 6 (“The Wyoming lawmaker refused help from ‘that son of a bitch’ as she blamed him for the violent insurrection, according to a new book.”)
- Some ballots initially double-counted in Fulton before recount (“Digital ballot images made public under Georgia’s new voting law show nearly 200 ballots — including one for West — that election officials initially scanned two times last fall before a recount. There’s no indication any vote for president was counted more than once in official results.”)
- FBI made ‘fundamental errors’ in handling Larry Nassar case, DOJ watchdog says
- FBI failed to pursue Nassar sex-abuse allegations, inspector general finds
- Pro-Trump Senate hopeful J.D. Vance called then-President a ‘moral disaster’ in 2017 messages
- The Moral Collapse of J. D. Vance
- Broadcast and cable news coverage of the latest record-breaking heat wave in the West mentioned climate change but largely ignored its effects on vulnerable populations
- Groups sue to block enforcement of DeSantis’ anti-riot law as Cuban violators in FL go largely untouched
- Michigan GOP executive who blamed Trump for election loss resigns leadership post
- Video: Sen. Mark Warner Touts $3.5 Trillion “Reconciliation” Infrastructure Package, Predicts “Many More than 10-11 Republicans” Will Support Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill (“This is a moment in history when the United States needs to reassert itself” on numerous fronts, including “the existential crisis of climate change” and the $60 trillion clean energy economy)
- Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA08): “I know a few things about the auto industry, so let’s look under the hood at what’s going on with inflation.” (“I am not at all surprised to see my Republican colleagues distort economic data for political gain. They are rooting [for] economic pain and President Biden to fail”)
- Former aide to Virginia’s last Republican governor seeks GOP nomination to challenge Spanberger
- Taylor Keeney officially launches congressional campaign in VA-07
- Republicans look to midterms for chance to unseat Spanberger in 7th Congressional District
- Glenn Youngkin Still Not Ready to Answer Questions About Abortion (Or any other issue.)
- Glenn Youngkin’s unforced errors give Terry McAuliffe the advantage in Virginia
- Terry McAuliffe Releases “Path to a Brighter Future” Plan to Make Higher Education More Affordable and Connect Virginians to Opportunities (In stark contrast, Glenn Youngkin lists no policies or plans whatsoever on his website…)
- Democrat Terry McAuliffe centers affordability, job access in plan for Virginia colleges
- Video: “Republican Extremist Glenn Youngkin Condemned for Hardline Anti-Abortion Agenda” (“Do we want to elect someone as dangerous as Youngkin? Someone who will smile and lie to get our vote while plotting to strip us of our rights?”)
- As economy recovers, Virginia revenue surplus reaches $2.6 billion
- Virginia Finishes Fiscal Year 2021 with Record-Breaking $2.6 Billion Surplus (Under Democratic leadership, top state for business AND largest budget surplus in Virginia history, plus making things a lot better for workers as well. Nice job!)
- Virginia finally has its first C-PACE success story, a decade after initial law (“After more than a decade of false starts and fine-tuning, advocates hope an Arlington restaurant’s solar financing will represent an opening of the floodgates for commercial property assessed clean energy in the state.”)
- Legislators built a solar program for apartment dwellers. The SCC gutted it. (“Dominion Energy is largely to blame here, as it so often is whenever customer-sited solar encounters barriers. The utility proposed to lard up the program with fees, none of them allowed by the law. But it’s the SCC’s agreement with Dominion that’s the problem—and not just for people in apartment buildings who want solar, but for the future of any solar in Virginia that isn’t utility-owned.”)
- Federal Appeals Court Strikes Law Banning Handgun Sales To 18-20 Year Olds (The judge was appointed by…yep, Donald J. Trump. That says it all.)
- Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia Announces 73 Pro-Reproductive Health Candidates for House of Delegates
- Yes, birth rates in Virginia have declined. But experts say regional differences tell a more complicated story.
- Wednesday (7/14) Virginia Data on COVID-19: Still Relatively Low, But…Highest New 1-Day COVID Cases Since 5/25; Highest 10-Day New COVID Cases Since 6/3
- Editorial: Virginia’s mental health crisis should sound an alarm
- Report from progressive thinktank finds irrational, inequitable, and unjust funding in VA colleges
- UAW Workers Ratify Deal, Will End Volvo Strike
- Norfolk police launch use-of-force database detailing incidents over past 5 years
- Newport News lifts state of emergency; slightly more than half the city has been vaccinated
- Arlington Takes Next Steps in Race and Equity Work
- Virginia plans to replace time capsule in Richmond’s Robert E. Lee statue (“The time capsule contains Confederate relics. Officials want to create a new one reflecting modern times.”)
- Richmond launches second attempt at West Broad Street rezoning after backlash to plans allowing 20-story buildings
- D.C.-area forecast: Hot through Friday, and we add in storms over the weekend
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