Thursday News: China “Betting on a low-carbon future”; “Joe Biden Seeks To Unite Democrats In Do-Or-Die Moment For His Agenda”; McConnell 2019 vs. 2021; “Broadcast news shows ignore Trump coup memo”; “Vaccines take center stage in tight Virginia governor’s race”

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Thursday, September 23.

BREAKING: Democrats release video showing Mitch McConnell contradicting himself on the debt ceiling between Trump and Biden: pic.twitter.com/vSZyqAkTHo

— No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen (@NoLieWithBTC) September 22, 2021

• ‘Betting on a low-carbon future’: why China is ending foreign coal investment
• China Says It Won’t Build New Coal Plants Abroad. What Does That Mean? (“Beijing is the undisputed king of coal, but the announcement at the United Nations General Assembly this week was cautiously welcomed by climate experts.”)
• British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says the world needs to ‘grow up’ and deal with climate change (Agreed.)
• Climate change may trigger migrations around the world. They’ve already started in Guatemala.
• Sun Cable: World’s biggest solar and battery project expands again, gets Indonesia approval (“The world’s biggest solar PV and battery storage project, Sun Cable, has been expanded up to to a mind-bending 20 gigawatts for the solar component of the Northern Territory proposal, and 36-42GWh of battery storage.”)
• US to donate an additional 500m Covid vaccines to poorer countries, says Biden (“US president outlines plan at Covid summit, bringing America’s global donation to over 1.1bn doses amid backlash over boosters”)
• As Climate Envoy, John Kerry Faces Tough Path
• Covid could be more like cold by spring – expert
• The U.N. Warns That Without New Funding, 16 Million People In Yemen Face Starvation
• Changing China: Why Xi Jinping is leading a way back to socialism
• Xi Jinping’s U.S. Envoy Invokes Lincoln in Declaring China a Democracy (Says the dictator of China…)
• He Scrounged For Food As A Boy. Now, He Hopes To Be Next President Of The Philippines (“Moreno, the Manila City mayor and former actor, announced Wednesday he’s running to succeed President Rodrigo Duterte, whose term ends in June 2022.”)
• Aukus pact: France and US seek to mend rift
• France to bill Australia over submarine deal, as Britain’s Johnson tells Macron: ‘Donnez-moi un break’
• The French sunk the submarine deal, not the U.S.
• Days Before Germans Vote, Merkel Is Where She Didn’t Want to Be: On the Stump (“The race for chancellor is tightening, but Angela Merkel says Armin Laschet is the man to fill her shoes.”)
• Angela Merkel’s International Legacy: Cooler Trans-Atlantic Relations
• Canada’s Tory party left reeling after dismal performance in federal election (“The results raise questions about the future of Erin O’Toole’s party, which has lost ground under conservative and liberal candidates”)
• In Canada, challenges for both the right and left
• China tells Evergrande to avoid dollar bond default as deadline looms
• Biden admin seeks contractor to run migrant detention facility at Gitmo, guards who speak Creole
• Haitians Who Fled The US Border Are Now Facing Nights Of Raids And Terror In Mexico
• Why many thousands of Haitians converged on the US-Mexico border
• Biden Cornered by Haitian Migrant Situation (“While Democrats are calling on the White House to end the expulsions, Republicans are seizing on the chance to paint Biden as inept.”)
• The Republican ‘Split’ on Accepting Refugees Is Between ‘No Afghans’ and ‘Very Few Afghans’
• Tucker Carlson pushes white supremacist conspiracy theory that accepting refugees is an “attempt to change the demographics of the United States”
• Biden makes early gains eroding Trump’s environmental legacy (“Thus far, the administration has reversed 42 actions and targeted 73, with no steps taken on another 122, according to a tracker from The Washington Post.”)
• Biden Administration Finalizes Rule To Slash Super-Pollutant HFCs (“The EPA rule targets an 85% reduction in hydrofluorocarbons, a class of potent greenhouse gases, by 2036.” Good riddance! Now do methane.)
• EPA finalizes first new climate rule under Biden, targeting refrigerants
• Biden’s EPA orders slash in climate-warming chemicals used in air-conditioning and refrigeration
• F.D.A. Authorizes Pfizer Booster Shots for Older and At-Risk Americans
• FDA Authorizes Booster Dose of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine for Certain Populations
• ‘We are not out of the woods yet.’ Expert expects US Covid-19 cases to climb in the coming weeks
• US public health workers leaving ‘in droves’ amid pandemic burnout
• Right-wing figures co-opted “my body, my choice” to attack vaccine mandates (“Using traditionally pro-choice language to criticize the vaccine push is part of a long conservative media history of undermining abortion access and politicizing the COVID-19 pandemic”)
• The pro-choice backlash is already brewing (“Americans aren’t happy with the prospect of Roe v. Wade being overturned. Just wait until it actually happens.”)
• Pelosi signals she won’t move $3.5T bill without Senate-House deal
• Joe Biden Seeks To Unite Democrats In Do-Or-Die Moment For His Agenda
• Kill the debt limit now, Democrats. If you don’t, here’s what will happen. (“There is only one answer to this sort of bad faith: A procedural punch in the teeth.”)
• Anxious Democrats float Plan B: Raise debt ceiling on party-line vote
• Republicans usually lose shutdown fights. So why are they going there again?
• This is what a broken system looks like
• As the GOP renounces democratic governance, the rationale to keep the filibuster is evaporating (“Wreck the economy. Destroy elections. What’s next?”)
• Potential fallback for debt ceiling fraught with complications
• GOP plan to block House measure could trigger an unprecedented $28tn default (“Opposition from Mitch McConnell means the spending package is dead and the US faces a shutdown and default”)
• Congressional standoff poses new risk to fragile recovery (No, actually it’s Mitch McConnell and Congressional REPUBLICANS who pose that risk to our economy!)
• Fed Officials See ‘Transitory’ Inflation Lasting Quite a While
• Democrats still have real options for immigration reform
• Biden, Harris Criticize Senate Republicans For Tanking Bipartisan Police Reform Talks
• The case for funding bike infrastructure (“It’s about climate change, public health, and economic development.”)
• Democrats are seeking to restrain the executive branch. Will Republicans really oppose them? (“The difference between the two parties: Belief in democracy.”)
• Black And Latino Homeowners Are About Twice As Likely As Whites To Get Low Appraisals
• What California’s Recall Election Can — And Can’t — Tell Us About The 2022 Midterms
• Trump just sued the New York Times and his niece. If history is a guide, he probably won’t win.
• Broadcast news shows ignore Trump coup memo (“Only late-night shows covered the Eastman document”)
• Susan Collins Reminds Us She Is Hardly a Moderate (The news media has been flat-out lying about this for years.)
• Sen. Susan Collins won’t support abortion rights bill (And yet the media insists on calling her “moderate” or “centrist.” LOL)
• Susan Collins To Endorse Paul LePage For Another Term As Maine Governor (That’s right, this supposed “moderate” just endorsed a far-right nutjob for governor of Maine.)
• Michael Flynn Spreads Bizarre Conspiracy Theory About Vaccines In Salad Dressing (“Trump’s former national security adviser, a QAnon believer, seemed to suggest vaccines might be imposed on people via salad.”)
• Murder Rose by Almost 30% in 2020. It’s Rising at a Slower Rate in 2021. (“No geographic area was spared. The F.B.I. reported in March that murder was up at least 20 percent in every region of the country, including around a 30 percent increase in the Midwest. Overall, murder was up at least 20 percent in counties carried by Joseph R. Biden Jr. as well as by Donald J. Trump in 2020.” Right, so it appears to have had nothing to do with individual states’ policies.)
• Beto O’Rourke Says It’s “No Secret” He’s Thinking of Running for Governor: It’s All About Voting Rights
• ‘Outrageous’: Judge Lays Into Trump-Loving Deputy Who Wore ‘Sheriff’ Patch On Jan. 6
• News Media Can’t Shake ‘Missing White Woman Syndrome,’ Critics Say
• Republican-Led Election Reviews Take Shape In Pennsylvania And Wisconsin (Disgraceful and unacceptable.)
• It’s Time For Congress To Hold Tech Monopolies Like Facebook, Amazon, Google, and Apple Accountable For Their Actions
• US Sens. Warner, Kaine announce $4M for affordable housing in Virginia
• A group filed a complaint against a Virginia congressman for failing to disclose stock activity
• VA-02 Race to the Far Right Continues as Jarome Bell Gets Twitter Suspension for Spreading COVID Misinformation, Jen Kiggans Opposes Vaccine Mandates
• Virginians Reminded of Glenn Youngkin’s Complete Allegiance to Donald Trump…Even as He Nervously Dances Around It (“Asked a simple question about Trump’s endorsement, Glenn had a meltdown on camera.”)
• Is Virginia 2021 Starting to “Rhyme” with the Disastrous 2009 Virginia Governor’s Election? According to Bob Holsworth, It All Comes Down to “Who’s Ticked Off Now?” (Prof. Larry Sabato adds: “You’d have to be blind not to notice some disturbing signs for Democrats. Either Dems will galvanize or the Rs will win.”)
• Mary Washington poll shows tight contests for statewide races, with GOP boosts among likely voters
• Terry McAuliffe Calls on Child Care Providers to Require Employees to Receive COVID-19 Vaccines to Keep Virginia Children Safe & Economy Strong
• NEW TV Ad: Terry for Virginia and Everytown Release New Ad Featuring Gun Violence Survivor Lisette Johnson (“Glenn Youngkin Has Pledged to Oppose Any Gun Safety Laws, Would Oppose Laws That Keep Guns Out of Hands of Domestic Abusers”)
• Vaccines take center stage in tight Virginia governor’s race
• Video: In Wake of TX’s Abortion Ruling, AG Mark Herring Holds Press Conference on Defending Abortion Rights (“Virginia legislators and Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings praised Herring’s pro-choice record — which a majority of Virginians agree with.”)
• Wednesday (9/22) Virginia Data on COVID-19: With Delta Now Dominant, Hospitalizations (2,166) Near Highest Level Since Mid February, 10-Day New Cases (+41,385) Near Highest Since Early February
• Virginia Supreme Court Denies Petition to Challenge VA’s Law Ending Prison Gerrymandering
• Virginia Supreme Court rejects redistricting challenge over how prison inmates are counted
• Dominion Overcharged Virginia Customers By Over $1 Billion, According To State Regulators
• Strickler to step down as natural resources secretary
• Video: Stafford County Board of Supervisors Passes “Resolution Denouncing the 1619 Project, Critical Race Theory…Student Pronoun Selection” in the Stafford County Public Schools
• CASEY: Counting down the days on a Virginia medical marijuana license
• Staffing shortages remain, as Virginia’s state mental hospitals gradually reopen
• Roanoke County response: Judge has no jurisdiction over Confederate monument status
• ‘A capital of hope’: Emancipation & Freedom Monument unveiled Wednesday at Brown’s Island
• Northern Virginia’s sensible and reasonable decision to impose a tax on plastic bags
• Crowds celebrated a new monument commemorating the emancipation of enslaved people
• What does a ‘resilient Hampton Roads’ look like in 2050? ODU hosting season’s first ‘Science Pub’ on Thursday
• Henrico police investigating social media posts threatening Highland Springs; RPD investigating threats in Richmond
• Tennessee lawmaker says Virginia needs to do more to fix Bristol landfill’s malodorous emissions
• A group tried and failed to stop a Republican attack ad from airing in a competitive House district
• Editorial: A dream no more? (“After years of speculation and hope, Norfolk may build an arena as part of its Military Circle development initiative.”)
• Flood warnings, high water on roads as more storms affect DC region
• D.C.-area forecast: Heavy morning storms and flood risk today before clearing late (“Splendidly mild, sunny and dry conditions arrive tomorrow and hold tight through the weekend.”)