by Lowell
Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, December 24.
- Russia says Europe missing out on gas with Nord Stream 2 delay
- Europeans Ponder Living With, Not Defeating, the Coronavirus
- What makes the omicron variant so strange and surprising (“The mutations in omicron hint at what’s to come in the Covid-19 pandemic.”)
- Omicron up to 70% less likely to cause hospitalization than delta variant, UK government study finds
- How the Soviet Union’s collapse explains the current Russia-Ukraine tension
- Putin Demands Quick Answers on Russian Security Concerns
- James Webb Space Telescope, now at the launch pad, faces extraordinary challenges on path to discovery
- Massive Webb Telescope May See Close to the Beginning of Time
- ‘Burn it all down’: How Myanmar’s military razed villages to crush a growing resistance (Horrifying.)
- Monster: The Myanmar Army That Murdered Civilians and Threatened My Friends (“The country’s security forces have killed more than 1,300 unarmed people since the coup, including at least 75 children.”)
- The Coronavirus Is Part of Our Lives Now. We’ve Finally Accepted That. (“Nearly two years in, and who knows how many years to go, we’re living a little differently.”)
- Omicron Is Our Past Pandemic Mistakes on Fast-Forward
- United and Delta Cancel Around 200 Christmas Eve Flights
- Deflated health care workers and desperate patients clash over alternative Covid treatments
- Search For A COVID-19 Test Means Sold-out Signs, Long Lines (“The extra-contagious omicron variant plus people trying to gather and travel for the holidays is fueling the surge in demand for tests.”)
- ‘It’s never going away’: Covid continues to delay medical care at hospitals nationwide (“It appears patients should once again prepare to delay treatments, procedures and operations as the omicron variant spreads.”)
- The Rapid-Test Plan That Wasn’t
- Manchin told White House he would support some version of a tax on billionaires
- Democrats set for showdown over filibuster, voting rights
- Democrats look to scale back Biden bill to get it passed
- Report shows the extent of Republican efforts to sabotage democracy (“Research identifies at least 262 bills were introduced in 41 states this year with the intent to hijack the election process”)
- Surprisingly, there has been a redistricting turnaround (“Instead of Republicans locking in a House majority with redrawn maps, it looks as though the process will be a wash.”)
- The bad guys on social media are learning new tricks (“A new report from Meta homes in on the latest online threats.”)
- How Republicans will retcon the past to try to reelect Trump
- What Jim Jordan knows about Trump’s coup attempt — and what he may cover up
- Trump asks Supreme Court to withhold records from House Jan. 6 committee (The Supreme Court should reject this bullshit immediately.)
- Thompson says Jan. 6 committee focused on Trump’s hours of silence during attack, weighing criminal referrals
- Trump could face charges for trying to obstruct certification of election, legal experts say
- We Have a President Who Loves Dogs—and Not a Minute Too Soon (“Almost every president has had a pet, and the ones who have not suggest that someone who can’t care for an animal has no business leading the nation.”)
- Trump to Candace Owens: “People aren’t dying when they take the vaccine”
- MAGA Diehards Melt Down Over Trump’s Pro-Vax Push
- MAGA Cartoonist Ben Garrison Turns on Trump After Pro-Vaccine Comments
- Trump pushes one truth and hides another (“…he’s also trying to keep some other things quiet this week. His lawyers asked the Supreme Court to shield him from having to turn over documents and communications related to the January 6 insurrection.”)
- Wayne LaPierre Testified He Fled to the Bahamas for ‘Security.’ Documents and Interviews Tell a Different Story. (“The NRA chief’s misleading statements about his yacht trip after Sandy Hook and his niece’s employment could strengthen the New York attorney general’s attempt to dissolve the gun group.”)
- A War on Christmas Story: How Fox News built the dumbest part of America’s culture war (“Propaganda works, and right-wing media have it down to an art form”)
- A dozen times right-wing media said something ridiculous about climate change in 2021
- A year ago, Fox News considered a breakup with Trump. 2021 changed those plans.
- Joan Didion, who chronicled American decadence and hypocrisy, dies at 87
- Joan Didion was the essence of effortless cool, amid a life of loss and disillusionment
- Joan Didion, ‘New Journalist’ Who Explored Culture and Chaos, Dies at 87
- A 19-year-old has been charged in the carjacking of U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, police say. Four other teens were also arrested
- Ex-Minnesota Cop Kim Potter Convicted for Killing Daunte Wright
- Ex-officer Kim Potter wouldn’t have been convicted in Daunte Wright’s fatal shooting years ago, legal experts say
- Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA08) Presents “twelve pieces of good economic news worth highlighting” This Holiday Season
- Proposed EV Tax Credit Should Boost Jobs and Environment
- ‘A better person’ and a more ‘inclusive state’: Northam nears end of tumultuous and consequential term as governor
- Virginia Republicans say they have mandate to increase standard deduction
- Report Says Virginia’s Smaller Metros Are Being Left Behind
- Mountain Valley Pipeline faces another legal battle
- State NAACP, others lodge criticism of proposed redistricting lines
- Home sales in Virginia increases as inventory continues to creep downward; median prices across the U.S. edged up in November
- Loudoun County School Division Flooded with Over 500 FOIA Requests (“About 40 percent of them have been filed by a half-dozen individuals who are members of or allied with Fight for Schools, which has led efforts to recall members of the School Board over the policies they have protested.”)
- Editorial: A Christmas Eve wish list for Southwest Virginia
- Christopher Newport University delays spring semester start date (“The university announced late Thursday that classes will begin Jan. 10, instead of Jan. 5 when classes were originally scheduled.”)
- Washington Football Team considering Prince William, Loudoun for new stadium (Hell no.)
- UR suspends fraternity following video depicting racist comments
- D.C.-area forecast: Mild and rather cloudy today. Warmer on Christmas, with shower chances.
********************************************************
Sign up for the Blue Virginia weekly newsletter
