Tuesday News: “Bezos pledges $1 billion to protect 30 percent of the Earth’s land and sea”; “Ominous new details about Trump’s coup attempt require Democrats to act”; “The only language McConnell understands is power. Act accordingly, Democrats.”; “Virginia judge re-victimizes an alleged victim of domestic violence”

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Tuesday, September 21.

• The goals we’ve set aren’t enough to stave off global warming. It’s past time to get real.
• We’re Finally Catching a Break in the Climate Fight (“As a new Oxford paper shows, the incredibly rapid fall in the cost of renewables offers hope–but only if movements can push banks and politicians hard enough”)
• Rich nations must increase climate support funds, says Boris Johnson
• ‘High risk of failure’ at critical Glasgow climate change conference, U.N. secretary-general warns
• The 10 Asian cities most threatened by climate change flooding
• The Millennials Not Having Babies Because of Climate Change
• British energy firms fear collapse as Europe’s gas crisis sees prices surge 250%
• Jeff Bezos pledges $1 billion to protect 30 percent of the Earth’s land and sea (“Bezos’s large donations are transforming climate philanthropy — even as Amazon’s cloud-computing business and shipping operations have a significant carbon footprint.”)
• Major Animal Pharma Industry Group Forced to Remove UN Logo from ‘Misleading’ Briefing on Livestock Climate Impact
• Urgent climate action is getting lost in the heat of Germany’s election campaign
• Johnson & Johnson Says Its Booster Shot Provides Increased Protection From COVID-19 (“The one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine has been found to be 66% protective against moderate and severe disease overall worldwide, and 72% protective against such cases in the U.S. But when a person receives a booster shot two months after getting the pharmaceutical company’s one-dose vaccine, the protection against COVID-19 increased to 94%.” Good, let’s do it!)
• Trudeau Wins Historic Third Term But Falls Short of Majority
• Canada’s Trudeau vows cooperation with opponents after bid for majority fails
• Canada election: Trudeau stays in power but Liberals fall short of majority
• Liberals projected to form minority government
• Biden’s UN speech will try to convince member states that ‘America is back’ (The main skepticism should be over the fact that Republicans have gone authoritarian/fascistic.)
• Biden seeks to open a new chapter in world affairs, facing fresh skepticism from allies
• Russia behind Litvinenko murder, rules European rights court
• Third Russian national charged over Salisbury poisonings
• CIA director’s team member reported Havana Syndrome symptoms during India trip
• Top EU official warns ‘something broken’ in transatlantic relations
• Taliban Once Again Shows True Colors, Refuses To Name Any Women As Deputy Ministers (“The international community has said that it will judge the Taliban by their actions.” No recognition for these @#@#!s)
• Australian documents showed French submarine project was at risk for years
• Biden’s Australian submarine deal is a big win in the strategic competition with China
• Deportees land in Port-au-Prince: ‘Nobody told us we were going back to Haiti’
• Biden to raise refugee admissions cap to 125,000 in the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1
• US Border Agents Are Removing Haitian Migrants Using Horses and Whips
• White House criticizes border agents who rounded up migrants on horseback
• White House says images of Border Patrol with apparent whip are ‘obviously horrific’
• The summer that wasn’t (“How our Covid-19 backslide taught us there may be no going back to ‘normal.'”)
• Six Rules That Will Define Our Second Pandemic Winter (“The pandemic keeps changing, but these principles can guide your thinking through the seasons to come.”)
• The FDA could authorize Covid-19 vaccines for young children in weeks, expert says
• Covid-19 has now killed as many Americans as the 1918-19 flu pandemic (“More than 1,900 people are dying in the US daily on average – the highest level since early March”)
• Vaccine Uptake Among Young Children Looms as a Major Question
• Fox News poll finds majority of voters support vaccines and masks
• Climate Change Is Killing Trees And Causing Power Outages
• Biden Administration Unveils Plan to Protect Workers and Communities from Extreme Heat
• Once again, Democrats must be the grown-ups and keep Republicans from causing a global catastrophe
• Democrats will put a debt limit suspension in bill that aims to prevent a government shutdown
• Republicans’ new civic religion: Election denial
• Democrats Begin Effort to Curb Post-Trump Presidential Powers (“But to appeal to Republicans, a bill being introduced in the House to impose checks on executive authority may be broken into pieces in the Senate.”)
• The only language McConnell understands is power. Act accordingly, Democrats.
• Democrats look for Plan B after blow on immigration
• After immigration ruling, Democrats’ once-sweeping agenda continues to shrink
• Democrats unveil new plan to fund government, suspend debt ceiling as major showdown with GOP looms (“Lawmakers have less than two weeks to pass a spending bill to avert a government shutdown, and they are running out of time on the debt limit”)
• Pelosi says House members would not vote on spending bill topline higher than Senate’s
• Key House Republicans Balk At Saving $1.2 Trillion Infrastructure Bill From Progressive Boycott
• It Isn’t Just Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema. A Handful of Cowardly Democrats Are Letting Them Front This. (“There’s nothing about the filibuster or the parliamentarian in the Constitution. They’re only roadblocks because some have chosen to believe in them, and they could be gone in a moment.”)
• It’s Not the Left That’s Causing Biden Problems
• Dear Joe Manchin: Coal Isn’t Your State’s Future
• Have Democrats Hit a Wall?
• Wolf-Killing Campaigns in Idaho and Montana May Just Have Backfired (“Fish and Wildlife is threatening to re-invoke Endangered Species Act protection.” Do it, ASAP!)
• The redistricting wars (“The battle lines for the next decade of US politics are about to be set.”)
• How Many House Republicans Who Voted To Impeach Trump Will Survive The Midterms?
• The Most Confounding Part of Bob Woodward’s New Trump Book Is What It Doesn’t Say (“It’s heavy on scoops and low on analysis.”)
• Why Biden’s approval numbers have sagged, explained by an expert (“The Covid-19 resurgence and chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal have fueled a 10-point drop in his approval rating.”)
• U.S. Senate confirms Biden judicial pick Rossman to 10th Circuit
• This Supreme Court Brief Gives Away the Whole Game
• 500 Female Athletes Urge Supreme Court To Protect Abortion Rights
• Bad News for Trump: Court Hearing Suggests the NY Probe of His Business Is Expanding
• Indicted Trump Org. ex-CFO Weisselberg expects more indictments, his lawyer says
• How Trump mobilized women — including me
• Ominous new details about Trump’s coup attempt require Democrats to act
• Memo shows Trump lawyer’s six-step plan for Pence to overturn the election (Very, very disturbing. Has the lawyer who wrote this been disbarred? Charged with any crimes? If not, why not?)
• Two GOP operatives indicted for allegedly routing money from Russian national to support Trump campaign
• How one anti-mask activist leveraged TikTok and Facebook to spur local school protests across the country (“It took less than five months, two viral TikTok videos, three national events, and a Facebook network of 51 private groups” Social media is a disaster.)
• Federal officer arrested at Capitol rally won’t be charged (Not charged…why?)
• Public Pans Texas Abortion Law
• Texas doctor who violated state’s abortion ban is sued, launching test of constitutionality
• Nevada GOP Senate candidate threatens election lawsuits — 14 months before anybody votes (“Adam Laxalt, the ‘Nevada version of Rudy Giuliani,’ vows he’ll sue to ‘tighten up the election’ before anyone votes” Nutjob.)
• The Memo: Could O’Rourke beat Abbott to become governor of Texas?
• St. Louis Couple Who Waved Guns At BLM Protesters Face Suspension Of Their Law Licenses
• FBI cart away possible evidence from Gabby Petito’s fiancé’s home as the search for him continues
• Eccentric Christian reporter causing headaches for Jen Psaki, White House press corps (“Little-known Christian reporter — who once sang in press room — claims Biden administration is persecuting him”)
• Mark Herring Joins 24 State AGs Urging US Supreme Court Not to Overturn Roe v Wade (“Herring files amicus brief with SCOTUS arguing that Mississippi’s abortion ban is unconstitutional and should remain unconstitutional”)
• DPVA and Virginia Doctor Hold Press Call on the Dangers of Glenn Youngkin’s Reckless Anti-COVID Safety Agenda (“In Texas and Florida, where [Republican] governors are prohibiting schools from following CDC guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19, schools have already been forced to close and thousands of children are being quarantined following exposure.”)
• CASEY: Hours before Thursday’s debate, Youngkin campaign issued blizzard of questionable claims (“The 14 press releases attacked Democrat Terry McAuliffe on abortion, economic growth, employment, crime and more. One claimed Republican Glenn Youngkin is the ‘most pro-vaccine candidate in the race.'” Totally bonkers and dishonest.)
• Review paints dire picture of Virginia Employment Commission
• Virginia Employment Commission Still Swamped By Pandemic Backlog, May Need Additional Oversight
• New VCU Poll Has McAuliffe, Ayala, Herring Ahead, But Take This One With a HUGE Grain/Pillar of Salt (There are a lot of very, very odd things about this poll…)
• Post-Schar School poll: Northam’s popularity waning during final months as Virginia governor
• Virginia redistricting commission considers preliminary new maps
• Dominion Virginia customers should get $312 million refund, plus rate cut, SCC staff says
• Dominion accelerates solar and storage buildout plans (“Proposal calls for more than a gigawatt of new renewable capacity”)
• Three Days After Viciously Anti-Semitic, Misogynistic Tweet By VA GOP House of Delegates Candidate, “Not a Peep” From Glenn Youngkin, etc. (Also, the Jewish Community Relations Council of Tidewater condemns the use of a “longstanding antisemitic trope and degrading language toward women.”)
• Virginia Republicans Hide Their Extreme Anti-Abortion Views from Voters While Raking in Endorsements
• A $257 million CDC grant funds Virginia’s K-12 COVID testing program. Most public school districts haven’t opted in.
• Monday (9/20) Virginia Data on COVID-19: With Delta Now Dominant, Hospitalizations (2,158) Near Highest Level Since Mid February, 10-Day New Cases (+34,313) Near Highest Since Early February
• House candidate reveals in secretly recorded audio that he would block “any attempt” to fund Planned Parenthood (“A candidate for the House of Delegates was recorded saying he would block any attempt to fund Planned Parenthood with state money. That candidate is AC Cordoza, the Republican challenger to Martha Mugler in the 91 House district.”)
• Virginia Democrats’ soft enthusiasm gives Republicans hope (Agreed – Virginia Democrats need to wake the f*** up, immediately.)
• Virginians Will Be Able to Register and Vote on the Same Day Next Year
• A Virginia judge re-victimizes an alleged victim of domestic violence (This person absolutely should NOT be a judge!)
• Prominent filmmaker says Lee removal is exciting but that Richmond must change more than symbols
• Loudoun Co. could study segregated school past, current impact of discrimination
• Police: 2 people wounded in shooting at Virginia high school; suspect in custody
• “Mom, there’s an active shooter”: Chaos, lockdown after shooting at Heritage High in Newport News
• ‘Private Funding’ Fueled Nazis in Charlottesville: Lawsuit
• Virginia Tech president says school’s COVID-19 mitigation strategies are working
• D.C.-area forecast: Warm with considerable clouds today; some rain on the way for Wednesday into Thursday