Tuesday News: “The U.N.’s dire climate report confirms: We’re out of time”; “Biden’s Expansive Economic Agenda Teed Up for Senate Endorsement”; “Democrats can’t neglect either democracy or the economy”; “How Stupid Does Glenn Youngkin Think We Are?”

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Tuesday, August 10.

• Welcome to ‘Trump world,’ the climate future that scientists fear — with politics driving up global temperatures
• The U.N.’s dire climate report confirms: We’re out of time
• U.N. Climate Report: Humanity Has Really Screwed Itself (“The world’s top scientists concluded there’s still time to avert the worst effects of climate change, but the clock is ticking—and fast.”)
• Analysis-UN climate report increases urgency for green investment funds
• The devastating new UN report on climate change, explained(“‘There’s no going back’ — and there’s no room for wishful thinking, top climate scientists say.”)
• Fires, Floods, Heatwaves: We’re Just Getting Started, Says IPCC (“Without aggressive action, the world is on track for truly apocalyptic warming.”)
• IPCC report shows ‘possible loss of entire countries within the century’
• Worst polluting countries must make drastic carbon cuts, says Cop26 chief (“Alok Sharma says chance to limit worst impacts of climate breakdown ‘still achievable, but retreating fast’”)
• There’s a Silver Lining in the Extremely Bleak New Climate Report (“The IPCC laid out five different scenarios, from a future where we move to very low or low emissions to one where we keep pumping more gases. The lower bound will likely keep us under a 1.8-degree Celsius increase, while a doubling down of the status quo could lead to heating of 3.3 degrees to 5.7 degrees Celsius.”)
• When Jet and Gulf Streams Run Amok, We’re In For It
• I’ve Hit My Climate Tipping Point (“Understanding global warming intellectually is not the same as feeling its presence in your daily life—or seeing photos of a 50-foot wall of fire.”)
• Things look grim in Afghanistan, even with US airpower. In 21 days, they could be much worse
• A U.S. Envoy Will Warn The Taliban Not To Bet On An Afghan Takeover
• Taliban Make New Gains in Afghanistan, Putting Kabul in Crisis
• The US is sending B-52s and AC-130 gunships back in Afghanistan to slow its impending collapse
• Taliban tighten control of Afghan north as residents weigh options
• China’s Covid lockdown could have economic costs to the world, says strategist
• France, Italy Impose Strict Covid-19 Vaccine Mandate
• ‘Pro-Israel’ Meets neo-Nazi: Brazil’s Bolsonaro Unveils His New Best Friends on the German Far Right
• Tucker Carlson’s Hungarian adventure gives right-wing populists a new tagline: Disdain America first
• U.S. Signals It Will Release Some Still-Secret Files on Saudi Arabia and 9/11 (Any good reason not to release all of them?)
• Australia’s fossil problem is deep: IPCC shows the danger it presents
• Prince Andrew sued in federal court for alleged sexual abuse
• Wildfire Risk Is Growing Everywhere, Even As More Americans Move Into Harm’s Way
• Heat, drought and fire: how climate dangers combine for a catastrophic ‘perfect storm’ (“The three conditions feed off each other to create a vicious cycle, demanding urgent action”)
• U.S. job openings hit a record 10.1 million in June
• Millions of Americans Are Unemployed Despite Record Job Openings
• It’s time to accept that school won’t be normal in the fall (“But we can still make this pandemic school year better than the last.”)
• Delta variant is derailing plans for normalcy as schools reopen
• What full FDA approval could change about Covid vaccination
• Kids sick with Covid are filling up children’s hospitals in areas seeing spikes
• Pentagon to require COVID vaccine for all troops by Sept. 15
• UN climate report raises pressure on Biden to seize a rare moment (“The US president may have only one chance to pass legislation to confront the crisis: ‘We can’t wait’”)
• Democrats release sprawling budget plan as Senate moves to pass bipartisan infrastructure bill (“The chamber will approve the infrastructure plan as soon as Tuesday, and then move ‘immediately’ toward passing the budget measure, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said. Democrats’ spending plan would invest in paid leave, child care, pre-K, community college, green energy and an expansion of Medicare, among a bevy of other programs.”)
• Biden’s Expansive Economic Agenda Teed Up for Senate Endorsement
• Infrastructure Is Having A Moment In Washington. High-Speed Rail Is Not. (We desperately need high-speed rail in this country.)
• Senate set to pass bipartisan infrastructure bill Tuesday
• Democrats gamble on GOP caving in debt ceiling fight
• Biden’s reconciliation bill would be a big fucking deal
• Senate Poised to Pass Infrastructure Deal, Then Turn to Democratic Budget (“The bipartisan bill, which is expected to pass the Senate on Tuesday morning and then head to the House, would touch nearly every facet of the American economy.”)
• Democrats can’t neglect either democracy or the economy (“It’s not a question of which to prioritize. They must succeed on both fronts.”)
• McConnell’s reckless new threat makes a strong case for ending the filibuster (“The time has come to get rid of both the filibuster and the debt ceiling.”)
• Why governors’ races will be so critical in 2022 (“Governors might be the difference between chaos and constitutional democracy.” And 2021 here in Virginia!)
• A few sane Republicans try to prevent unnecessary covid deaths (“It is time to go all in on truth and democracy.”)
• Biden’s centrist strategy makes sense: It can prevent Trump’s return
• House Democrats won’t have a shot at getting Trump’s tax returns from the IRS until at least November (This constant delay is beyond ridiculous)
• Social media algorithms determine what we see. But we can’t see them.
• Bad behavior is surging on flights. The U.S. needs to crack down on it.
• Progressive Opposition to Powell Clouds His Chances for Second Term Atop Fed
• Shocking new Trump-DOJ revelations should shape the Jan. 6 investigation
• Lauren Boebert’s midnight run: Capitol tour happened after she attended “Stop the Steal” rally (“Boebert was in D.C. to attend “Million MAGA March” when she took her family on unexplained midnight Capitol tour” Is this being fully investigated?)
• Report: The Chances Allen Weisselberg Will Flip on Trump Have Gone Way, Way Up (“The criminally indicted CFO has one very big reason to cooperate against the ex-president.”)
• Voting Machine Tampering Is Coming From Inside The MAGA House
• How The Rise Of White Identity Politics Explains The Fight Over Critical Race Theory
• Marty Baron on truth, democracy, and the press in an age of distrust (“The former executive editor of the Washington Post on what worries him about America’s future — and why defeatism is not an option.”)
• Choose your own Fox News: The network edited out Trump’s election lie from an interview — then uploaded a second version with the lie back in
• Fox News upset other networks didn’t spend more time attacking Obama’s birthday (Beyond parody.)
• Abbott Criticized for Ban on Covid Mandates as Cases Soar in Texas
• Gov. Greg Abbott asks Texas hospitals to delay nonessential procedures as COVID-19 patients strain capacity (Abbott is a disaster, as bad and evil as DeSantis)
• Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Office: State Education Board Could Withhold Salaries Of Superintendents, School Board Members Who Implement Mask Mandates (This guy is pure evil.)
• Ron DeSantis Announces Plan to Basically Ensure Florida Schoolchildren Get COVID
• Has Ron DeSantis cracked the code to lead the post-Trump GOP?
• DeSantis to appeal Norwegian cruise vaccine proof ruling
• Andrew Cuomo’s Inner Circle Is Collapsing (“Fallout from the damning sexual harassment probe continues, as top aide Melissa DeRosa and Time’s Up chair Roberta Kaplan announced their resignations. “)
• New York Assembly moves forward with Cuomo impeachment inquiry as the governor digs in, refusing to step down
• CNN must investigate Chris Cuomo
• Albany’s newspaper has covered Gov. Cuomo’s sexual misconduct admirably. Chris Cuomo and CNN have blown it. (CNN continues to disgrace itself.)
• Video: Far-Right Rep. Bob Good (R-VA05) Absurdly Claims a Mask Mandate on Schoolkids “Really Amounts to Child Abuse”
• Virginia House and Senate Reach Agreement on Historic Court of Appeals Nominees (“The nominees…reflect a diverse makeup of legal practice, experience, and geographic representation, and include four women and four African-American nominees.”)
• General Assembly approves compromise spending bill with more money for law enforcement (“Most of the big-ticket items proposed by Northam remain in the budget, including over $1 billion that the state could spend later as the pandemic continues.”)
• Governor Northam Releases Statement on Approval of American Rescue Plan Funding (“Together, we are using the American Rescue Plan to invest boldly and build Virginia back better”)
• NEW Digital Ad: “Our Future” Contrasts Terry McAuliffe’s Fight for Quality Jobs and Higher Wages with Glenn Youngkin’s Fight for Donald Trump
• Virginia spending plan includes $1.5M for voter education and fighting misinformation (“It’s important for voters to understand all of the steps that we take”)
• How Stupid Does Glenn Youngkin Think We Are? (Youngkin clearly has complete contempt for his voters.)
• McAuliffe campaign to require staff to get coronavirus vaccine
• McAuliffe requires campaign staff to receive the COVID-19 vaccination
• AG Mark Herring Rejects Suggestions Made at Anti-Democracy, Voter-Suppression, Conspiracy-Theory Virginia “Election Integrity Rally” That Trump Could Be Reinstated (Note that Glenn Youngkin actually *attended* this “dangerous and harmful” event. That should be disqualifying)
• Glenn Youngkin and the ‘Election Integrity’ Myth in Virginia
• A consultant firm that previously worked for Winsome Sears tried to recruit Proud Boys for a post-election rally last year in Nevada
• Dominion planning ‘largest clean energy submission to date’ in Virginia filing
• Video: Virginia House of Delegates Resolution Commends Virginia State Police, National Guard For Defending US Capitol on 1/6/21 Against What Del. Dan Helmer Accurately Describes as “Armed Mob of Right-Wing Insurrectionists” (VA House GOP leader gives bizarre response, praising tear gas and stating, “there were in fact no injuries to law enforcement [on 1/6]”)
• Monday (8/9) Virginia Data on COVID-19: With Delta Now Dominant, Hospitalizations At Highest Level Since Mid-May, 10-Day New Cases (+14,935) Highest Since 4/18
• Pediatricians join call for masking in schools as conservatives chafe at governor’s ‘mandate’ (“Face masks have been scientifically proven to be effective, well-tolerated and safe”)
• As New Climate Report Highlights Climate Emergency, Urgent Need to Get Off of Fossil Fuels ASAP, ~100 People Protest the Mountain Valley Pipeline Fracked-Gas Disaster (BTW, any political candidate who doesn’t acknowledge the climate crisis should be automatically disqualified from consideration…)
• Nearly 100 protesters block work on Mountain Valley Pipeline; some are arrested
• Editorial: Richard Trumka’s legacy in Virginia
• Virginia NAACP Affirms the Importance of Teaching African American History and Antiracist Education in Virginia’s Public Schools (“Virginia students must learn about the complex and often untold history of Black Americans in Virginia, and our nation”)
• Equity Programs Debate Leads to Fireworks in the House of Delegates (Classic “view from nowhere,” “both sides” headline. Yuck.)
• VCU and VCU Health will require employees to be vaccinated; Bon Secours is considering the measure; HCA is not at this time
• ‘We’re doing everything we know how to do’: COVID-19 cases spiking in Hopewell’s school system
• For now, Chesapeake School Board stands by mask-optional policy — counter to state law
• Alexandria will use Rescue Plan funds to give $500 a month to some low-income families (“Flush with millions in extra cash, the Northern Virginia city is testing out an idea that has gained steam across the United States and beyond.”)
• Donovon Lynch family’s lawsuit alleges ‘decades old’ problems in Virginia Beach police department
• D.C.-area forecast: Staying steamy with daily storm chances