by Lowell
Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Tuesday, December 28.
- 2021 Was a Huge Missed Opportunity on Climate Action (“The pandemic should have been a wake-up call—instead, emissions have climbed once more. Here’s how the US could have seized the opportunity.”)
- Greta Thunberg on the State of the Climate Movement
- China’s Risen Plans $7 Billion Solar Factory Run On Clean Energy
- For the European Union, 2021 Was a Banner Year for Solar Power (“SolarPower Europe said that under its medium-growth scenarios, solar energy capacity in the EU is projected to increase from 165 gigawatts today, to 328 gigawatts in 2025, and to as many as 672 gigawatts by 2030…solar’s rapid growth will help the EU achieve a target of generating 45 percent of its electricity with renewables by 2030, an important milestone in Europe achieving climate neutrality by 2050. All EU states are currently on track to reach their 2030 solar goals, with Latvia and Estonia already meeting their 2030 solar targets, and Poland, Ireland, and Sweden expected to reach them next year.”)
- Germany Wants a Russian Gas Pipeline. Germany’s Allies Aren’t So Sure. (Really, really bad idea.)
- 2021 Trends that Could Drive the Energy Transition Further Next Year (“In a year marked by climate-linked catastrophe, the economic drawbacks of fossil fuels stood in stark relief while renewable energy’s slow expansion continued.”)
- Monsters: Cars, Which Are Killing Us and the Planet (“Automobile deaths keep rising, and we keep doing…absolutely nothing.”)
- Omicron May Reduce Delta Infections, South African Study Shows
- Welcome to Covid-19’s “junior year.” It’s not pretty.
- Australia COVID numbers hit a peak as Omicron outbreak strains domestic politics
- Israel open to ‘good’ Iran nuclear deal, but wants tougher Vienna terms
- Analysis: South America is winning the global vaccination race
- Massive New Bird Flu Outbreak Could Be 2022’s Deadly Pandemic
- Walmart Sparks Public Outcry in China Over Products From Xinjiang
- U.S., Russia set for Jan. 10 security talks amid Ukraine tensions
- Russian court shuts down human rights group Memorial International
- In Egypt, new signs that the regime’s human rights strategy is to violate them
- ‘Not in a good place’: Hospitals prepare for omicron surge after holidays
- Joe Biden says US Covid surge should be ‘a source of concern but not panic’ (“President says Americans with boosters are ‘highly protected’ as CDC reduces isolation time for those with asymptomatic cases”)
- CDC recommends shorter COVID isolation, quarantine for all
- CDC halves recommended isolation time for people with asymptomatic infections to 5 days
- Biden concedes not enough has been done to expand Covid-19 testing capacity: ‘We have more work to do’
- Flight disruptions continue with thousands more cancellations as Omicron thins airline crews.
- Biden says Covid surge needs to be solved at state level, vows full federal support
- Omicron Is Breaking Us. But We Can Still Avert Catastrophe (“It’s time to focus less on counting cases and preventing transmission, and more on preventing deaths.”)
- US alarm at rise in child Covid infections sees school closures back on agenda (“Omicron threat stokes fears coast to coast but leading public health expert says ‘We know how to keep schools open and safe’”)
- Analysis: Biden’s regulatory agenda to take shape in 2022
- U.S. President Biden signs $770 billion defense bill
- 5 GOP-led states extend unemployment aid to workers who lose jobs over vaccine mandates (F’ed up.)
- 2021 Was a Year of “Weather Whiplash” in the West
- No, the Build Back Better Act Isn’t Dead Yet
- PV and energy storage expected to be 62% of U.S. capacity additions 2022-23 (“The U.S. is expected to add 78 GW generating capacity over the next two years, 49 GW of which is expected to be large-scale solar and energy storage.”)
- Fascism in America: It’s nowhere near as new as you might think (“This is not the first fascist threat to American democracy. The pro-Nazi movement of the 1930s and early 1940s was perhaps the most frightening to date. It culminated in an infamous 1939 rally at Madison Square Garden, when 22,000 members of the German American Bund delivered Nazi-style salutes before large banners — which depicted George Washington surrounded by swastikas.”)
- Gunman Kills 4 in Denver Area Before He Is Fatally Shot
- Capitol panel to investigate Trump call to Willard hotel in hours before attack
- Committee investigating Jan. 6 attack plans to begin a more public phase of its work in the new year
- Trump Adviser Peter Navarro Lays Out How He and Bannon Planned to Overturn Biden’s Electoral Win
- Trump Defends Remarks in Suit Blaming Him for Capitol Riot
- Rudy Giuliani May Be Next on the January 6 Committee’s Subpoena List. (“The House select committee appears to be kicking into higher gear ahead of next year’s midterm elections—after which Republicans may be able to kill the investigation.”)
- Why Is John Roberts So Popular Among Democrats? (Bizarre.)
- In 2021, right-wing media scapegoated unions for supposed school indoctrination, COVID-19 restrictions, and global supply chain shortages
- For-Profit Colleges Have Made a COVID-Fuelled Comeback (“The Trump Administration trashed a rule that protected students—the Biden Administration can fix that.”)
- Fox News spent 2021 mainstreaming the white supremacist “great replacement” theory
- You can’t troll the President with ‘Let’s go, Brandon’ and then play the victim
- Video Shows Chaos and Violence at Scene of Los Angeles Police Shooting
- 3-Day Christmas Weekend Virginia COVID Cases Up a Whopping 18,513; Also Up 54,459 Over the Past 10 Days (the Highest Since January 2021) (The somewhat positive news is that hospitalizations and deaths don’t appear to be growing as rapidly, at least not yet…)
- New COVID-19 cases in Virginia hit record highs on Christmas Eve and Christmas
- The Virginia Parole Board and the way it operates could soon be very different
- Editorial: Virginia’s Cabinet-level diversity office is good for business and all Virginians
- Youngkin says he’ll bring customer service to government | Chamber notes
- Gov. Ralph Northam: “They found it! This is likely the time capsule everyone was looking for.”
- Workers believe they have found the 1887 time capsule where the Lee statue once stood. It will be opened Tuesday at 1 p.m.
- Conservative Christian group in Arizona sues Albemarle Public Schools (Oh great…)
- Richard Marcinko, Founding Commander of SEAL Team 6, Dies at 81
- D.C.-area forecast: A mostly mild but bumpy weather pattern to close out the year
