| Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... |
by Lowell
Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Wednesday, August 11.
- UN climate report is our ‘final wake-up call,’ say environmental experts
- Are Bolsonaro’s Attacks on the Amazon and Indigenous Tribes International Crimes? A Third Court Plea Says They Are. (“Native groups have accused Brazil’s president of weaponizing the environment to carry out genocide and crimes against humanity.”)
- Joe Biden urges Afghans to ‘fight for their nation’ as Taliban advance continues
- U.S. officials warn collapse of Afghan capital could come sooner than expected
- Afghanistan war: Biden says he does not regret troop withdrawal
- A man claiming to be a Mexican cartel leader threatened to kill a TV anchor. She returned to her nightly broadcast.
- Michael Spavor: Canadian jailed for 11 years in China on spying charges
- Are We Ready for a World Without Merkel?
- Trump’s Favorite Dictator Fueling New Pro-Hitler Movement (“Admins on the Nazi Facebook pages and Telegram channels say they are linked to the Egyptian Army—one says he was ‘an officer in [President] al-Sisi’s military intelligence.'”)
- The CDC Said The Delta Variant Is As Contagious As Chickenpox. That’s Not Accurate (“A leaked document compared it to the highly contagious children’s disease. Data does not support this claim. Nonetheless, the delta variant is likely the world’s most contagious respiratory disease.”)
- America has a long history of vaccination mandates. Why should the worst plague in a century be any different?
- See the Data on Breakthrough Covid Hospitalizations and Deaths by State
- Sorry, Republicans. Your chance to block vaccine and mask requirements has sailed.
- Delta Is Bad News for Kids (“More children are falling ill because more are being infected.”)
- Delta Fears Ignite Anger Ahead of U.S. School Reopenings
- Senate Democrats poised for voting rights push to counter Republican restrictions
- Democratic Senators Prepare for Battle on Voting-Rights Bill
- Schumer sets September voting rights fight after GOP blocks quick debate
- Senate Democrats Pass $3.5 Trillion Blueprint for Biden’s Agenda
- Senate Democrats adopt sweeping $3.5 trillion budget that opens the door to health, education and tax reforms
- Senate Passes $3.5 Trillion Budget Plan, Advancing Sweeping Safety Net Expansion
- Most GOP Senators Sign Pledge to Not Help Democrats on Debt Ceiling
- How Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans learned to stop worrying about a Biden victory and love the infrastructure bill
- America Squandered Decades Living for the Moment
- The Just-Crazy-Enough-That-It-Might-Work Infrastructure Strategy Is Nearly Halfway Home
- Biden hails Senate passage of giant $1tn bipartisan infrastructure bill
- The Senate just passed a bipartisan infrastructure bill. Here’s why it happened. (“Biden should relish this victory, but the factors that made it possible may not come together again.”)
- It’s now Pelosi’s move on bipartisan roads bill
- Senate passes Dems’ $3.5T budget resolution in latest win for Biden (“Congressional approval of the resolution would mark a crucial first step by Democrats toward enacting President Joe Biden’s domestic agenda.”)
- What’s in the new infrastructure bill — and why it’s a big deal
- AP: GOP Used Census Data To Gerrymander Districts For Greater Political Advantage (“It’s ‘really hard for one party to win when the other party has designed the maps,’ said political scientist Chris Warshaw.”)
- Once Again, I’m Telling You That the Filibuster Doesn’t Actually Work
- Biden should defend local officials against tyrannical GOP governors
- Senate Judiciary chairman wants to interview former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows
- Yes, it’s racist when a Black real estate agent and his clients get handcuffed for touring a home
- Federal prosecutors came to suspect Trump Org CFO Allen Weisselberg lied, and considered charging him with perjury
- If Mike Lindell’s claims were correct (they’re not), he likely broke wiretapping laws (“Lindell’s ‘absolute proof’ almost certainly isn’t legit. But if it were, he could be in serious legal trouble”)
- Ron DeSantis’s anti-mask threats create terrible choices for schools officials
- Raphael Warnock’s plan to neutralize a GOP takeover of Georgia elections, explained (“Warnock’s political career — and democracy in Georgia — could hinge on the most dangerous provision of the state’s new voter suppression law.”)
- As COVID-19 cases surge and schools assess safety measures for the new year, Facebook is allowing anti-mask groups to thrive (“Nearly 100 new anti-mask groups — including groups focused on children and schools — were created this year, despite Facebook’s policy against anti-mask content”)
- Facebook removes anti-vax influencer campaign (Facebook is still allowing TONS of disinformation, including Amanda Chase spewing out lies about the 2020 election. Why?)
- Fox News has spent the last 8 months mocking and downplaying the threat of COVID-19 variants (Pure evil.)
- Dominion sues Newsmax, One America over U.S. election fraud claims
- ‘Reign of Terror’ Brilliantly Traces the Course From 9/11 to President Trump
- The con is winding down
- “All Roads Lead to Mar-a-Lago”: Inside the Fury and Fantasy of Donald Trump’s Florida
- Cuomo’s sex scandals will give New York its first female governor, Kathy Hochul
- Cuomo’s downfall sends the country a needed message
- The Resignation of Andrew Cuomo (“The Governor’s address didn’t really dispel doubts about his judgment and his character.”)
- Texas judge clears way for San Antonio to mandate masks in blow to Gov. Greg Abbott
- Texas House speaker signs arrest warrants for Democrats who broke quorum over voting restrictions
- ‘A Publisher’s Worst Nightmare’: How Cuomo’s Book Became a Cautionary Tale
- Railing at Enemies and Pleading for Time: Inside Cuomo’s Final Days (Nixonian.)
- Andrew Cuomo flexed his political muscle in office. It became his undoing.
- Andrew Cuomo’s fall serves as a warning for other governors whose flaws are magnified in the Covid spotlight
- Why Cuomo Finally Resigned (“Democrats hold their leaders to higher standards than Republicans do.”)
- How Cuomo’s flexing of political power became his undoing
- Andrew Cuomo resignation is the coda on a mean era Joe Biden ended by beating Donald Trump
- On CNN, covering one Cuomo while another is on vacation.
- Andrew Cuomo Resigned Because the Democrats Aren’t a Cult
- Neal Conan, Longtime Host Of NPR’s ‘Talk Of The Nation,’ Dies At 71 (“Neal Conan, who spent 36 years with National Public Radio and 11 years as the host of the network’s Talk of the Nation died Tuesday in Hawaii of glioblastoma at the age of 71”)
- Senators Elizabeth Warren, Angus King and Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA08) Announce Legislation To Prevent The Biggest And Most Profitable Corporations From Paying Nothing In Federal Taxes
- Mark Warner, Tim Kaine Statement on Senate Passage of Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Major investment in roads, bridges, rail, broadband, EV charging, etc, etc.)
- New Poll by “Conservatives for Clean Energy”: McAuliffe Up 5 Points Over Youngkin in Virginia Governor’s Race
- New polling in the gubernatorial race shows McAuliffe with a five-point lead
- New Poll: By >2 to 1, Virginia Voters Support President Biden’s $3.5t Build Back Better Plan To Help Working Families (“Biden’s proposals to raise taxes on those making over $400,000 meet with wide approval (72% support) in Virginia”)
- Youngkin/Sears/Miyares to Rally Friday with Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX02), Who Signed “Amicus” Brief Contesting 2020 Election, Wants Supreme Court to Overturn Roe v Wade, etc. (As former Gov./Sen. George Allen (R) once said, “You can tell a lot about people by the folks they stand with.”)
- ICYMI: PolitiFact Exposes Youngkin’s Lie on Critical Race Theory in Virginia Schools (Politifact: “We rate Youngkin’s statement False.”)
- State Senate Completes More Historic Work for Virginians; Speaker Filler-Corn Leads House Through Successful Special Session
- Lawmakers recess special session after electing eight judges to Court of Appeals and some to lower courts
- Tuesday (8/10) Virginia Data on COVID-19: With Delta Now Dominant, Hospitalizations At Highest Level Since Early May, 10-Day New Cases (+16,694) Highest Since March 2
- Editorial: Northam ducks mask order (“Gov. Ralph Northam shouldn’t lean on ambiguously worded legislation if he wants masks in schools. He should take responsibility and order it.”)
- Vaccinated or not, most Virginians are projected to encounter coronavirus soon
- Children ages 5 to 11 could be eligible for vaccine in September, Avula announces
- Children ages 5 to 11 could be eligible for a vaccine in September, right as Va. heads into worst of pandemic
- Hileman and Bowers: Mountain Valley Pipeline is an unncessary imposition
- Virginia Democrats reshape Court of Appeals with eight new appointments (“When we have a diversity of perspectives, it makes the decisions better.”)
- State Democrats Send Eight New Judges to the Virginia Court of Appeals
- Loudoun School Board to Reconvene Wednesday to Vote on Transgender Student Policy
- After turmoil, Loudoun County Schools slated to vote on transgender student rights (Nice, neutral word by the wimpy WaPo…generic “turmoil.” God, the media sucks so bad.)
- Following hours of public comment, School Board pushes controversial vote to Wednesday
- Falls Church neighborhoods cleaning up after strong storms slam the area
- UPDATED: Mask mandate adopted by Chesterfield School Board, rejected by Hanover School Board
- Roanoke, Salem school divisions announce mask requirement
- “I scratch your back, you scratch mine”: Longtime jail vendor describes relationship with ex-Norfolk Sheriff Bob McCabe
- Four years after torch march at UVa, criminal charges have been scant (“I think it was a mistake that [criminal] cases weren’t brought, and I think that it would have made a difference to folks to see that the commonwealth took a position that this kind of criminal activity is not to be tolerated in our borders.”)
- D.C.-area forecast: Hot and getting hotter, with the heat index near or past 100 today through Friday
