Friday News: “Hurricane Ida Aftermath Delivers Deadly Lesson on Climate Change”; “The Supreme Court is both corrupted and corrupt,” “dealt a big blow to Roe v. Wade — and the rule of law”; VA Governor’s Race “our first big test of the new politics of abortion”

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, September 3.

• Climate crisis likely creating extreme winter weather events, says report (“Arctic change increased chances of tightly spinning winds above North Pole, authors say, boosting chances of extreme weather”)
• Climate change: Arctic warming linked to colder winters
• Overlapping Disasters Expose Harsh Climate Reality: The U.S. Is Not Ready
• Climate scientist: This is a dystopian moment
• The Answer to Climate Change Is Organizing (Yes, and also changing the economics of energy.)
• Kerry urges China to cut emissions faster, as Beijing seeks easing of solar sanctions
• After Taking Office Less Than A Year Ago, Japan’s PM Says He Won’t Seek Re-Election
• New Zealand shooting: man shot dead by police after ‘terrorist attack’ in Auckland (“Jacinda Ardern says attack was carried out by a ‘violent extremist’ who followed Islamic State ideology and was being monitored by police”)
• US intelligence chief intervenes to block state secrets in Saudi Crown Prince’s feud with former Saudi official
• ‘We Don’t Have Any Money’: Taliban Takeover Plunges Afghanistan Into Economic Turmoil
• Afghan women report forced marriages to flee country amid Taliban takeover, sources say
• Taliban co-founder Baradar to lead new Afghanistan govt – sources
• Anti-Taliban resistance fighters rely on grit, history, geography to hang onto a sliver of Afghanistan
• Americans support Afghanistan pullout — but not the way it was done, a Post-ABC poll finds
• Jobs Report to Show Impact of Delta Variant on Economy
• Analysis: Are COVID boosters needed? FDA vaccine advisers wrestle with a thorny issue
• The staggering implications of the Supreme Court’s anti-abortion ruling (“The Court dealt a big blow to Roe v. Wade — and the rule of law.”)
• It Was the Plan All Along (“The Supreme Court’s Texas abortion ruling is a reminder that the consequences of Trump are still unfolding.”)
• Roe v. Wade Left in Peril as Supreme Court Allows Abortion Curbs
• Texas Abortion Case Highlights Concern Over Supreme Court’s ‘Shadow Docket’
• Statement by President Joe Biden on Supreme Court Ruling on Texas Law SB8
• Five Justices Did This Because They Could — The conservative majority on the Supreme Court …
• Repealing Roe v. Wade: A major midterm issue
• In the Dead of Night, the Supreme Court Proved It Has Too Much Power
• The Anti-Abortion Movement’s Investment in the Republican Party Is Paying Off (“Donald Trump was the first president to keep his promises to them, and now the big moment of rolling back abortion rights may be near.”)
• Republicans keep crossing the line. Democrats must hold them accountable. (“Democrats should make clear to voters that the GOP is no longer a normal, democratic party.”)
• This is what an unconstrained right-wing Supreme Court looks like (“Preparing to overturn Roe v. Wade is just the beginning.”)
• Sen. Collins repeatedly asserted that Kavanaugh considered abortion rights settled law. The justice’s decision on Texas’s restrictive law suggests otherwise.
• Texas Ruling Raises Doubts About Chief Justice’s Hold on the Roberts Court
• Expand the Supreme Court. Do It Tomorrow.
• SCOTUS Delenda Est (“There’s nothing I can add to the overnight news out of the Supreme Court and Texas that we haven’t discussed previously: the Supreme Court is both corrupted and corrupt. One of the court’s nine members sits illegitimately. At least five of the current conservative majority have opted for a parodic version of what the judicial right once denounced as ‘judicial activism.'”)
• Supreme Court abortion decision opens door to dismantling Roe v. Wade, experts say
• The Texas Abortion Ban Is Just the Beginning
• What’s Next After the Supreme Court’s Radical Abortion Ruling
• The Supreme Court aids and abets Texas in violating women’s constitutional rights
• Texas’s abortion law is a nightmare for women — and a warning to the nation
• The Supreme Court takes an ominous step on abortion
• All of Those ‘Hysterical’ Women Were Right (“For half a decade, Republicans gaslighted Democrats about Trump’s Court nominees’ views on abortion. The jig is up.” And some of us men warned, repeatedly, about the danger that the Supreme Court could be a disaster if Hillary Clinton weren’t elected president in 2016. Some of us also warned that Trump could win, even as we were told to “calm down,” “chill out,” etc.)
• Texas abortion law abruptly reshapes the political landscape
• Abortion order creates awkward questions for Maine’s Susan Collins (Collins is so bad.)
• Even outspoken tech companies have been glaringly silent on the Texas abortion ban (Worse than worthless.)
• The Conservative Justices’ Reasoning in the Texas Abortion Case Is Legal Mansplaining
• By turning law enforcement over to ‘abortion vigilantes,’ Texas uses lawlessness to destabilize equal treatment under law
• Why Texas’s Abortion Law May Go Too Far For Most Americans
• Texas Republicans Got What They Wanted. They Might Regret It. (“Until now, Republicans have had a lucrative, no-risk way to rail against abortion. But accountability is coming.”)
• Democrats rush to find strategy to counter Texas abortion law (“Biden administration’s options are limited and filibuster poses roadblock to federal legislation”)
• Democrats Vow To Protect Abortion Rights. The Question Is How.
• TikToker Makes Script to Flood Texas Abortion ‘Whistleblower’ Site With Fake Info
• The new GOP rage-fest at Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger contains a big tell (“If you support a full reckoning with Jan. 6, you’re an enemy of the party.”)
• Ron Johnson Gets Caught Debunking the Big Lie
• ‘QAnon Shaman’ Reaches Plea Deal, Now ‘Repudiates’ Association With ‘Q,’ Lawyer Says
• Why I Won’t Support Spending Another $3.5 Trillion (Ugh, Joe F’ing Manchin…)
• Joe Manchin Has Put Biden’s Presidency in Mortal Danger The mercurial senator calls for a “pause” when Democrats desperately need to move fast.
• Trapped in Basements and Cars, They Lost Their Lives in Savage Storm
• Here’s what made the New York City flooding so devastating
• Hurricane Ida Aftermath Delivers Deadly Lesson on Climate Change
• 43 Die as Deadliest Storm Since Sandy Devastates the Northeast
• U.S. solar panel shipments rose 33% in 2020
• Remington Subpoenas Report Cards of Five Children Killed in Sandy Hook Shooting (Evil company.)
• Former prosecutor indicted over Ahmaud Arbery case, accused of helping shield suspects in fatal shooting
• Ex-prosecutor indicted for misconduct in Ahmaud Arbery death
• Heeding Steve Bannon’s Call, Election Deniers Organize to Seize Control of the GOP—and Reshape America’s Elections (Highly dangerous.)
• Trump loyalists team up with anti-vax doctors for ‘health and freedom’ tour (“Michael Flynn a key speaker on ‘ReAwaken America’ tour; Critics say series of events bad for democracy and public health”)
• Kevin McCarthy among GOP lawmakers whose phone records January 6 select committee asks to be preserved
• Trump-appointed ambassador directed government business to his hotel, emails show
• Trump’s Plot to Steal Arizona Was Even Wilder Than We Thought
• Americans Don’t Really Hate Density (“They hate other Americans”)
• As Herschel Walker eyes Georgia US Senate seat, a newly revealed stalking claim brings his troubled history under scrutiny
• Trump endorses Herschel Walker in Georgia Senate race
• As Herschel Walker eyes Georgia US Senate seat, a newly revealed stalking claim brings his troubled history under scrutiny
• Patients overdosing on ivermectin backing up rural Oklahoma hospitals, ambulances
• Race to the Far Right Escalates in VA-02 Primary as Jarome Bell Calls on Jen Kiggans to Support Baseless Election Audit(“Virginia’s 2nd Congressional Candidates tout extremism in supporting the Big Lie that the election was stolen”)
• Virginians React to Supreme Court’s Extremist Majority Allowing Unhinged Texas Abortion Law to Stand, Effectively Overturning Roe v Wade (“If you thought you didn’t have to care about Virginia, you do. Voting starts Sept. 17.”)
• Terry McAuliffe Hosted Press Call on Supreme Court Decision on Texas Abortion Ban and Glenn Youngkin’s Dangerous Agenda to Ban Abortion in Virginia
• Democrats are talking Texas and Republicans are talking 2019 in Virginia’s gubernatorial race
• Get ready for our first big test of the new politics of abortion
• ‘The Stakes Are Clear’: McAuliffe Seizes On Texas Abortion Law As Issue In Virginia Gubernatorial Race
• Bill Clinton fundraises for Terry McAuliffe in upstate New York
• What’s realistic — and what’s not — in Glenn Youngkin’s new taxes and spending plan (Some of it may be somewhat “realistic,” but that doesn’t mean it’s in any way/shape/form wise.)
• New Virginia Redistricting Commission Maps Starting to Come Out…Beginning with Northern Virginia
• Virginia’s Redistricting Commission has its first draft maps. They look… normal?
• DLCC: Virginia Republicans Will End Abortion Rights (“Reproductive rights are on the ballot in Virginia”)
• BREAKING From AG Mark Herring: “We have won the case to remove the Robert E. Lee statue from Monument Avenue” in Richmond!
• Va. Supreme Court clears way for removal of Lee monument in Richmond
• ‘Today it is clear—the largest Confederate monument in the South is coming down’: Court rulings clear way for removal of Lee Monument in Richmond
• Terry McAuliffe Continues To Grow Grassroots Strength – Raises $1.5+ Million From Over 35,000 Online Donations In August
• FWIW Virginia: “The Labor Day launch season New delegate ad campaigns appear in toss-up districts”
• Loudoun sheriff, in latest Youngkin ad, claims McAuliffe’s policies won’t make Virginia safe (Fear mongering and demagoguery…totally false.)
• Thursday (9/2) Virginia Data on COVID-19: With Delta Now Dominant, Hospitalizations (1,882) at Highest Level Since Mid February, 10-Day New Cases (+32,938) Highest Since Mid February
• Reforms needed at Virginia electric co-ops (“…the way to win an REC board election is to please incumbent board members, not to get the most votes from member-owners. That isn’t fair, it isn’t democratic, and it leads to board groupthink. No wonder incumbent REC board members stay in their well-paid positions for decades or for life.”)
• Fairfax Co. schools speeds up process of returning vaccinated students to classrooms after exposure
• ‘It’ll be nice to not have Lee looking down on us anymore.’ Residents and activists are eager to see Lee removed.
• Ban on electronic skill games discriminates against minorities, Roanoke store owner claims
• Non-profit news site Cardinal Press to launch in late September
• Arlington County’s new food scrap collection service starts on Labor Day
• Thomas Nelson board recommends renaming school Virginia Peninsula Community College
• D.C.-area forecast: Sunny 70s feel beautiful today. Largely rain-free through early week.