by Lowell
Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, August 6.
- A critical ocean system may be heading for collapse due to climate change, study finds (We should be completely freaking out about this AND taking emergency action to slash fossil fuels.)
- Crucial ocean system could be collapsing—which would have catastrophic effects
- Analysis | The climate news is about to get a lot worse
- Thousands flee in Greece as wildfires sweep through Mediterranean
- Reduce methane or face climate catastrophe, scientists warn (“Exclusive: IPCC says gas, produced by farming, shale gas and oil extraction, playing ever-greater role in overheating planet”)
- Novavax Delays Seeking U.S. Regulatory Approval for Covid-19 Vaccine (“The shot, which can be stored at normal refrigerator temperatures, could provide much-needed boost to global vaccination efforts”)
- Washington is still shying away from punishing Putin’s closest cronies. Why?
- Democracy is under attack in Nicaragua
- No Work, No Food: Pandemic Deepens Global Hunger (“Relentless waves of the virus, combined with crises caused by conflict and climate change, have left tens of millions of people on the brink of famine. The situation is particularly bleak in Africa, where new infections have surged.”)
- Belarus: IOC expels two coaches over Krystina Timanovskaya case
- Exclusive: Belarusian sprinter decided to defect on way to airport over safety fears
- Belarus’s Rogue Strongman Is Pushing His Luck
- Samantha Power has long championed humanitarian intervention. Ethiopia’s crisis is putting her to the test.
- Lalibela: Ethiopia’s Tigray rebels take Unesco world heritage town
- Beijing doubles down on conspiracy theory blaming US for Covid (“An outlandish theory linking the origin of coronavirus to the US military has been revived as the Delta variant outbreak worsens in China” WTF???)
- Business Groups Call on Biden to Restart Trade Talks With China
- Iran Inaugurates a President Tied to a Massacre (This guy is a thug.)
- South African study shows high COVID protection from J&J shot
- China Tightens Scrutiny to Meet Ambitious Targets for Renewables
- The Era of Cheap Natural Gas Ends as Prices Surge by 1,000% (“An age of far more costly energy will create ripple effects across the global economy.”)
- Dead zones spread along Oregon coast and Gulf of Mexico, study shows (“Agricultural runoff from farms and livestock operations creates oxygen-depleted areas inhospitable to animal and plant life” Our food/agricultural system is a disaster.)
- The media is figuring out that Biden was right: Left-wing Twitter is not real life
- Our democracy may depend on judges (“Judges have proven to be a reliable backstop. But they are not the solution.”)
- Biden administration considers withholding funds and other measures to spur vaccinations
- Americans On COVID-19 Vaccine Requirements: Yes For Health Care Workers,
- Americans Are In Favor Of Vaccine Mandates. But Support Is Driven Mainly By Those Who Have Already Gotten The Jab.
- Delta Variant Threatens Robust U.S. Job Gains
- FDA Vaccine Booster Plan Could Be Ready Within Weeks
- Biden sets goal for 50% of new US vehicles to be electric by 2030
- In Praise of Smoke and Mirrors (“…if politicians feel the need instead to obscure what they’re doing with a bit of fiscal hocus-pocus, that’s better than not investing at all. Creative accounting in pursuit of a better future is no vice.”)
- Senate Sets Up Weekend Infrastructure Vote After Final Skirmish
- Schumer moves to shut down debate on $1T infrastructure bill
- The CBO’s Efforts With the Senate Infrastructure Deal Mean Nothing. The Country Needs Every Dollar.
- Polls show Democrats’ $3.5 trillion budget plan is even more popular than bipartisan deal
- Debt Limit Fight Ramps Up As Mitch McConnell Makes Key Demand (“Now that a Democrat is in the White House, the GOP is raising alarms about deficits after years of looking the other way under Trump.”)
- <Mitch McConnell is threatening more mayhem. Democrats plan to call his bluff. (“Another day, another radical and destructive threat from the GOP.”)
- Infrastructure Bill Would Add $256 Billion to Deficit, Analysis Finds (That’s over 10 years)
- The Capitol Rioters Attacked Police. Why Isn’t the FOP Outraged?
- Here’s a roadmap for the Justice Department to follow in investigating Trump
- The full picture of Trump’s attempted coup is only starting to emerge
- ‘It was riot and mayhem’: Biden, honoring police, warns against distorting Capitol assault
- Trump Is Planning a Much More Respectable Coup Next Time
- Exclusive: Going Down The ‘Big Lie’ Rabbit Hole With Former President Trump
- ‘We’re Going Back To The Capitol’: Ex Trump Campaign Official Announces ‘Huge’ Protest
- ‘Dark Money’ Is Funding The 2020 Election Challenge — And Could Challenge 2024
- The Trumpist right drifts toward fascism
- Merrick Garland: It is time for Congress to act again to protect the right to vote (“On the 56th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, it is clear that the provisions neutered by the Supreme Court must be restored to protect the rights of all Americans.”)
- Graham says he’s told Trump to ‘speak up’ on COVID vaccines
- Floridians want leadership on covid-19. Instead, they’re getting rotten MAGA antics. (“Gov. Ron DeSantis remains focused on his standing with his base, not the survival of Floridians.”)
- Some Florida School Districts Will Require Masks. The Governor May Cut Their Funding
- Labor leader remember as key ally of Democrats
- A Fox host claimed that leftists hate babies, and then in the next segment bemoaned the child tax credit, championed and passed by Democrats (“Democrats hate babies so much they gave parents a tax break for having them”)
- The Arizona ‘audit’ is a big problem. Online disinformation will make it worse. (“A toxic combination with truly alarming implications.”)
- Tucker Carlson Has a New Hero (Carlson has gone full fascist)
- Why it matters that Tucker Carlson is broadcasting from Hungary this week (“The country has become a model for a rising kind of authoritarianism. So, of course, the American right’s most popular cable host is embracing it.”)
- Reporter Removed From Kevin McCarthy Press Conference After 1/6 Commission Question: Video
- MyPillow magnate Mike Lindell’s latest election conspiracy theory is his most bizarre yet
- Marjorie Taylor Greene Ripped For ‘Encouraging Violence’ With Anti-Vaccine Push Comment (“An audience in Alabama also cheered when the far-right lawmaker said their state had one of the lowest COVID-19 vaccination rates nationwide.” The worst/stupidest people in America right there.)
- Letter from Acting Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection Samuel Levine to Facebook (“Today, Acting Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection Samuel Levine sent the following letter to Mark Zuckerberg concerning Facebook’s misleading claims regarding the company’s consent decree with the FTC:”)
- False Election Audit Claims Surge on Facebook (The world would be MUCH better off without Facebook.)
- Oil and Gas Inundated Facebook With Election Season Ads After Biden Released Climate Plan (“ExxonMobil and the American Petroleum Institute were top spenders in a $9.6 million election-year fossil fuel marketing blitz targeting U.S. Facebook users.”)
- GOP fears grow over Herschel Walker as party leaders seek other candidates in Georgia Senate race
- Human Rights Campaign Staff Rip Their President Over Ties To Andrew Cuomo
- LGBTQ leader entangled in Cuomo report comes under fire (Disgraceful…should be fired)
- In the End, Cuomo Goes Full Trump (“Lies, cover-ups, retaliation, grotesque self-justification—sound familiar?”)
- Scoop: Dem fundraising platform ActBlue boots Cuomo
- Cuomo’s political future in question as fallout grows
- Andrew Cuomo’s Last Play to Hold Onto Power “He is not resigning,” said one ally. “It is just not in his nature to ever do that.” (Impeach, ASAP!)
- Abbott calls new special session to push voting restrictions Texas Democrats have blocked by fleeing state
- How Rudy Giuliani Went From 9/11’s Hallowed Mayor to 2021’s Haunted Ghoul
- Rudy Giuliani Admitted He Lied About Feds Slipping Him Info Ahead of 2016 Election, Watchdog Finds
- Georgia Republicans didn’t waste any time in using their new voter suppression law (“Republicans have begun a legal process that could allow them to disenfranchise much of Atlanta.” This is completely f’ed up.)
- Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine hoping for bipartisan infrastructure bill to pass soon
- Lawmakers roll out bipartisan bill to help track cyber crimes (“The legislation is led by Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) in the House”)
- Md., Va. governors say state workers need to show proof of covid vaccination or get tested
- FL Gov. Ron DeSantis Called “The Pied Piper leading us off a cliff” as COVID-19 Surges Out of Control; VA GOP Chair Calls This Disaster “The Face of Real Leadership” (Given that DeSantis is the VA GOP Chair’s role model for governors, what does that tell you about his support for Glenn Youngkin?)
- What Issues Are Virginia Democrats Running On? (FWIW Virginia: While Rs “are focused on hot-button culture war issues like Critical Race Theory,” Dems are talking about “kitchen table issues…healthcare…education…the environment…the economy/jobs”)
- Youngkin’s gubernatorial campaign stops in Prince George for a rally (“As far as the popular issues for Republicans, Youngkin vowed to protect qualified immunity for police officers, ban critical race theory in schools, and said he would oppose repealing the right-to-work laws in Virginia.”)
- Video: VA Senate Majority Leader Dick Saslaw (D) Says If Republicans Had “an ounce of intellectual honesty” They’d Call Gov. Northam and Tell Him “we don’t want a dime of your Marxist money spent in our district” (Saslaw’s remarks come after outlandish comments by Sen. Amanda Chase, Sen. Bill Stanley)
- In VA General Assembly Special Session, Hypocritical GOP Seeks American Rescue Plan Act Funds *Their Own Party* Voted Against
- Virginia House rejects Senate’s changes to $4.3 billion budget, drawing out passage for federal relief funds
- How the Virginia Senate’s COVID-19 relief bill is different from the House version (“Changes range from technical language amendments to over $100 million in new spending on law enforcement bonuses.”)
- Poll Shows 87% (!) of Unvaccinated Virginians Don’t Plan To Get COVID-19 Vaccine Because…Really Stupid “Reasons” (In other news, “Nearly 9 in 10 Virginians (88 percent) now say they feel safe about going to a hospital or doctor’s office to get medical care”)
- Video: First Gov. Ralph Northam Press Conference on COVID-19 in a Long Time, Says “we will require all state employees to be vaccinated”
- Northam requires COVID-19 vaccination or routine testing for state workers
- Northam to require proof of vaccination or weekly COVID testing for most state employees (“Starting Sept. 1, Virginia will require most state employees to show proof of vaccination or subscribe to weekly COVID-19 testing if they refuse.”)
- Va. superintendent: Schools face ‘significant legal pressure’ if they don’t follow CDC mask guidance (“I don’t know that it can be any simpler than that,” Northam said. “It’s the law of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and I expect our school districts to follow the law.”)
- Schools must follow CDC guidelines, Northam says. For now, that means requiring masks.
- Thursday (8/5) Virginia Data on COVID-19: With Delta Now Dominant, Hospitalizations At Highest Level Since Mid-May, 1-Day New COVID Cases (+1,751) Highest Since 4/13; 10-Day New Cases (+12,626) at Late-April Levels
- Virginia AFL-CIO Mourns the Loss of AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka
- Facing pressure from lawmakers, DMV says it’s still not ready to resume walk-in service
- Despite so-called eviction bans, thousands of Virginians have been forced out of their homes during the pandemic
- Editorial: To get vax rates up, we need better leadership (“Three of the five health districts with the fastest-rising number of COVID-19 cases in Virginia are in the 5th Congressional District.”)
- Norfolk teen dies of coronavirus complications, a first in Eastern Virginia (“There have now been six deaths between the ages of 10 and 19 and two under 9 years old statewide.”)
- Assembly honors Michael Paul Williams: Pulitzer Prize winner gets new perspective on old institution
- Advocates Say Police Have Too Much Discretion in Updated Public Housing Policy
- Chesterfield County to spend most of its $68.5 million American Rescue Plan funding on infrastructure
- D.C.-area forecast: Summer’s making a comeback, first with heat and eventually humidity
********************************************************
Sign up for the Blue Virginia weekly newsletter
