by Lowell
Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, January 21.
- UN Chief: World Worse Now Than 5 Years Ago Due To COVID, Climate And Conflict (“Antonio Guterres said his priorities are the lack of vaccinations, the need to reduce emissions by 45% and the ‘extremely unjust’ financial situation that favors rich countries.”)
- Blinken Meets Lavrov as U.S. Strives for Clearer Line on Ukraine
- Ukraine tension: Urgent US-Russia talks in Geneva as invasion fears grow
- Belarusian Government Officials Charged With Aircraft Piracy For Diverting Ryanair Flight 4978 To Arrest Dissident Journalist In May 2021
- A Dam in Syria Was on a ‘No- Strike’ List. The U.S. Bombed It Anyway.
- France’s Total Exits Myanmar, Citing Shareholder Pressure Since Coup
- A power struggle in Kazakhstan
- Biden’s misstep on Ukraine was telling the truth
- Those least likely to worry about getting covid (Republicans) have been those most likely to get covid
- 6 ways to counter authoritarians ahead of the midterms
- Families are in distress after the first month without the expanded child tax credit
- Biden administration raises minimum wage for U.S. federal employees to $15
- The voting rights push in Congress is over. The fight for democracy isn’t.
- Finally, some moral clarity in the voting rights debate (“Debate on voting rights legislation revealed the best and the worst of the Senate.”)
- Why Biden Bet on a Senate That No Longer Exists (“On the eve of the President’s first anniversary in office, members of the chamber he served in so long voted for paralysis over action.”)
- In Year Two, Biden needs to be The Boss (“The president must remind legislators, and maybe himself, that he’s not a colleague anymore.”)
- It’s time for Biden to execute a hard reset on his presidency
- Give Manchin What He Wants Already (“Before Democrats give up on passing Biden’s climate agenda, they should see if the West Virginia senator will take yes for an answer.”)
- Behind their big defeat, Democrats may have reached a turning point (“The ‘epiphany’ came, except it’s Democrats who have finally seen the light.”)
- Democrats scramble to resurrect ‘chunks’ of Biden spending plan
- Mitch McConnell’s plan is working (“How McConnell’s obstruction playbook really works for Republicans.”)
- Democrats hope to salvage Biden’s agenda on Manchin’s terms
- Effort to overhaul archaic election law wins new momentum
- Is Ginni Thomas a Threat to the Supreme Court? (“Behind closed doors, Justice Clarence Thomas’s wife is working with many groups directly involved in controversial cases before the Court.”)
- Americans are divided on abortion. The Supreme Court may not wait for minds to change
- Sotomayor Denounces Supreme Court For Looking ‘The Other Way’ On Texas Abortion Law (“This case is a disaster for the rule of law and a grave disservice to women”)
- Trump’s January 6 Cover-Up Is Unraveling Faster Than You Can Say “You’re Screwed, Donny-Boy” (“The Supreme Court’s ruling against him is a huge, huge blow.”)
- What Trump’s loss at the Supreme Court means for the future of democracy
- Trump campaign officials, led by Rudy Giuliani, oversaw fake electors plot in 7 states
- Michigan GOP co-chair said Trump campaign asked for GOP elector push: CNN
- As Giuliani coordinated plan for Trump electoral votes in states Biden won, some electors balked
- An anti-Black backlash — with no end in sight
- Mitch McConnell Says Black People Vote Just as Much as ‘Americans’
- Mitch McConnell’s viral Black voter comments cause widespread furor
- Fact check: McConnell makes racist false claim that voter suppression doesn’t exist
- Democrats Moved the Filibuster Overton Window (“Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema may be the last in their party to support maintaining the procedure.” Good, but it very well could be too late.)
- I Am Embarrassed for the Supreme Court
- NPR reporting on Supreme Court mask controversy merits clarification (“An inaccurate verb choice made the reporting unclear”)
- Don’t be fooled by the GOP’s next ‘Contract With America’ (“Just because they present it doesn’t mean we have to take it seriously.”)
- Media messes up coverage of voting rights, blames Biden for GOP’s racism (“Sorry, mainstream media: Republicans aren’t one lunch meeting away from dropping their support for white supremacy” The mainstream media is so absurd.)
- Arizona Democrat says some senators urging him to challenge Sinema with party at a ‘breaking point’ (“Rep. Ruben Gallego says his phone has been ringing a lot recently — with many Democrats making a pitch to him: Run against Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema in 2024.”)
- Who were the Jan. 6 attackers? Isolated white folks, searching for meaning — and enemies (“New research offers clearer picture: Capitol rioters were often suburban and middle-class — and many felt isolated”)
- BREAKING: Fulton DA requests special grand jury for Trump probe
- Politico gives a bright, colorful treatment to Trump’s ongoing attempt to destroy American democracy (Politico represents everything wrong with US political journalism.)
- Trump’s filing cabinets and Post-It notes: New York AG details new areas of interest in company probe
- Rep. Lauren Boebert Asked A Group Of Jewish Capitol Visitors If They Were Doing “Reconnaissance” (WTF is wrong with this person?)
- Tim Kaine wants to ‘change the trajectory’ of his ‘Byrd seat,’ long held by segregationists
- In Letter, Rep. Donald McEachin (D-VA04) Calls Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s Comments on African-American Voters “prejudicial and morally reprehensible,” “appalling” and “deeply disturbing”
- Democratic Party of Virginia Applauds President Biden’s First Year in Office
- (Video) Sen. Louise Lucas Orders Committee Room Cleared As Ivermectin Supporter Shouts “you will pay for this one day” (Sen. Lucas: “If you don’t understand how important our Senate firewall is then take a look at this.”)
- Video: VA Sen. Mamie Locke Rips Youngkin’s New “Office of Diversity, Opportunity and Inclusion,” Says It’s Using “Critical Race Theory” as “Red Herring” (Sen. Locke: “We are swapping equity for opportunity. Equity IS opportunity”)
- VA House Dems “Whip” Alfonso Lopez Asks: “YOUNGKIN CHANGING THE DUTIES OF VA’s CHIEF DIVERSITY OFFICER TO INCLUDE BEING AN “AMBASSADOR FOR THE UNBORN” is… what?”
- Va. Republicans won big under Democratic voting rules. They still want tougher laws.
- Virginia COVID-19 Cases Up 155,947 Over the Past 10 Days; Hospitalizations (3,868) Near Highest Level Since Pandemic Began
- In catering to selfish parents, Youngkin is failing Virginia’s kids
- Youngkin discourages people with no symptoms from using up tests, says state will boost vaccination efforts without mandates
- Youngkin covid action plan trumpets vaccines but rejects mandates
- Outcast Republican senator is earning some GOP support for COVID-19 bills (That really says it all about today’s Republican Party.)
- Measure allowing medically questionable COVID-19 treatments fails in a Senate committee (They’re not “questionable,” they are complete nonsense.)
- Va. attorney general files motion to dismiss lawsuit against order ending mask mandate
- Evictions of public housing residents in Richmond paused
- ‘Privilege Bingo’ in Fairfax Co. Class Meets Controversy for Including Being a Military Kid
- Loudoun Supervisors Adopt 5-cent Plastic Bag Tax
- Masks will be optional for students in Virginia Beach and Chesapeake; Portsmouth makes them mandatory
- Chesterfield County School Board votes 3-2 to uphold mask mandate until Youngkin administration provides more details
- Stafford County Public Schools will continue to require masks
- Caving team discovers, retrieves “rare” ice age-era cat skeleton from Southwest Virginia cave (“The American cheetah found in Lee County is between 100,000 and 500,000 years old.”)
- Hampton Roads braces for 2nd winter storm; up to 8 inches of snow expected in some areas (“Between 6 and 8 inches of snow is expected Friday night into Saturday morning in Norfolk, Virginia Beach and Chesapeake with lower accumulations moving west, according to the National Weather Service in Wakefield. Around 4 to 6 inches of snow is predicted to hit the southern Peninsula.”)
- D.C.-area forecast: Winter’s coldest air yet, before we slowly thaw a bit by late weekend
********************************************************
Sign up for the Blue Virginia weekly newsletter
