by Lowell
Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Wednesday, January 12.
- Big Banks Band Together to Measure and Manage Climate Risk
- The top 10 global weather and climate change events of 2021
- Climate change destroying homes across the Arctic
- UK government sued over ‘pie-in-the-sky’ net-zero climate strategy
- Astronomers witness the explosive death of a giant star for first time (“Supernovas are usually detected only after they explode, but this time the star was spotted 130 days before its end.”)
- An Army of Millions Enforces China’s ‘Zero Covid’ Policy, at All Costs
- Omicron: Has the winter wave peaked already?
- Omicron may be headed for a rapid drop in Britain, US
- Covid loses 90% of ability to infect within 20 minutes in air – study
- Macron is right: It’s time to make life a living hell for anti-vaxxers (“Macron has set a fine example for other world leaders to follow in refusing to kowtow before ignorance or honor selfishness.”)
- Amid Djokovic backlash, Australia grapples with omicron wave
- Ukrainians wait as Russia faces off with the West
- Russia is risking all-out war to prevent Ukraine from joining NATO
- As the U.S. and Russia debate Ukraine, it’s hard to see the wiggle room
- Analysis: Vladimir Putin’s Next Move on Ukraine Is a Mystery
- Pressure grows on Johnson over lockdown gathering
- Biden Administration Approves 5 More Guantánamo Releases
- Senate Democrats, with White House backing, unveil Russia sanctions bill
- This Year’s Economy Will Come Down to Wednesday’s Inflation Report (“The end stage of the pandemic-era economic policies is nigh.”)
- Powell Makes Case for Fed Curbing Inflation While Doing No Harm
- Inflation isn’t Biden’s fault. And he can’t solve it, either.
- Joe Biden backs filibuster rule change to push voting rights bill
- Biden challenges Senate on voting: ‘Tired of being quiet!’
- Biden’s speech on voting rights was full of soaring rhetoric. It may not matter. (“Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema just may not care about democracy.”)
- Dems Can’t Afford to Form a Circular Firing Squad on Voting Rights
- What would James Madison have thought of the filibuster?
- Newfangled ‘voting rights’ are barely established. The filibuster is eternal.
- The Filibuster Is Made-Up and Stupid
- Black activists say the time for pretty speeches is over: They need an action plan on voting rights
- Democrats Say It’s Time To ‘Cut A Deal’ And Salvage Build Back Better (“But hammering out a narrower bill may be easier said than done.”)
- Capitol attack panel closes in on Trump inner circle with three new subpoenas (“Subpoenas suggest committee examining whether Trump’s rally speech suggests White House had prior knowledge of attack plans”)
- U.S. Sen. Rand Paul driving violent threats against me, Fauci says
- Dr. Anthony Fauci Reveals Why He Called GOP Senator A ‘Moron’ On Hot Mic
- Hot mic catches Fauci calling GOP senator ‘a moron’ (Fact check: Fauci is 100% correct!)
- Fauci’s Spit-Roasting of Rand Paul Was Refreshing
- An inane squabble with Dr. Fauci shows the problem with congressional oversight (“Congressional oversight is only as good as the people we elect to Congress.”)
- Democrats’ best argument for 2022: The GOP creates chaos (“Midterm voters must decide: Do they want to give the unhinged party in charge of Congress?”)
- Pressed on his election lies, former President Trump cuts NPR interview short (Every media outlet should press Trump on his lies.)
- The Big Lie’s Long Shadow (“How a network of conspiracy peddlers has made the GOP thirsty for major electoral change.”)
- Top Republicans stand up for Rounds after Trump’s attack: He ‘told the truth’
- Americans Reading Fewer Books Than in Past (Yep, and reading more trash on Facebook, etc.)
- In 2024, Mike Pence Is Gearing Up to Go Rogue (“The former veep is loosening up in public appearances and earning brownie points with donors. Allies see a man who’s ready to launch a presidential bid—even if it means running against Donald Trump.”)
- Trump Rips ‘Gutless’ Politicians Who Won’t Say If They’ve Had Vaccine Booster: ‘Say It’
- Donald Trump Invites QAnon Backer to Speak at His Upcoming Rally (“Mark Finchem is a conspiracy theorist who supports Trump’s Big Lie.”)
- Lindsey Graham: Push to combat GOP voter suppression makes GOP look racist
- Eric Trump: Winner of “Dumbest Trump Alive”? (“The ex-president’s son is out there trying to defend his dad, and it’s not going well.”)
- NPR hosts’ departures fuel questions over race. The full story is complex —
- Wash. Post downplays Fox anchor Bret Baier’s role in spreading misinformation about COVID-19 deaths
- GOP Hopeful Herschel Walker Pushed Snake Oil Body Spray for COVID (Walker is a total nutjob.)
- West Virginia governor feels ‘extremely unwell’ after testing positive for Covid-19 and cancels state legislature address
- Ted Cruz Now Carries the Mark of the Beast in the Wingnutosphere
- Some North Carolinians Think Madison Cawthorn Has a Rendezvous With the 14th Amendment (“As the months go on, we may find reasons to drop Section 3 on the heads of a number of Cawthorn’s colleagues, too.”)
- Video: Sen. Tim Kaine Pushes for Voting Rights Reform as “Good for Democracy” (“[W]e just had a Governor’s race and the turnout increased 25% from the 2017 Governor’s race to 2021, and a Republican won”)
- Another Potential Democratic Primary Opponent for Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA07) Says He’s Not Running, Will Support Spanberger for Reelection
- McPike, Torian, Carroll Foy out of race for 7th Congressional District as new map changes political calculus
- AG Mark Herring Opinion: Governor Can *NOT* Pull Out of Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) Through Executive Order
- Youngkin can’t pull Virginia out of carbon cap initiative through executive action, outgoing AG Herring says
- Youngkin’s Pick to Head His Medical Advisory Team Is a Fox “News” Contributor Who (Falsely) Argued We’d Have “Herd Immunity” By April 2021, Cheered College Students “pushing back like we saw during the Vietnam War”
- What to know about Glenn Youngkin’s newest COVID-19 adviser (“The governor-elect appointed Dr. Marty Makary, a regular Fox News commentator, to chair his new medical advisory team”)
- New VCU Poll Looks at Virginians’ Attitudes About “CRT,” Charter Schools, the Redistricting Commission, etc.
- Gov. Northam says he’s ‘99% sure’ of identity of man in blackface
- Virginia COVID-19 Cases Up a Massive 176,902(!) the Past 10 Days; Hospitalizations at Highest Level (3,845) Since Pandemic Began
- What to expect from the 2022 General Assembly session (“Democrats in the Senate will probably end up blocking most of the major changes Republicans in the House are hoping to make.” Good.)
- A new era begins (“The Virginia General Assembly reconvenes today for its 2022 session, with Republicans set to hold all three statewide offices and the majority in the House of Delegates.” We’ll see if it turns out to be an “era”…)
- Virginia’s legislative session will test GOP’s ability to roll back Democrats’ gains
- Virginia was winning the fight against the pandemic. Youngkin’s rhetoric threatens that progress.
- Virginia lawmakers still at odds over resentencing for people in prison on marijuana charges
- Editorial: Establish a state flood board
- ‘I am just so sorry’: Virginia transportation officials apologize after I-95 snowstorm backup
- Loudoun School Division Withholding Sexual Assault Report
- Unofficial results: Norfolk Democrat Jackie Glass wins special election for Virginia’s 89th House District
- Colonial Heights shifts to virtual learning after significant Covid-19 spread
- D.C.-area forecast: Not as cold today and tomorrow; chilly again this weekend with a storm to watch
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