Thursday News: “100,000 Americans didn’t have to die”; “Trump just issued his most serious threat yet to free speech”; “McConnell strangles the states”; “Coronavirus may never go away, even with a vaccine”

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Thursday, May 28.

• China Approves Hong Kong Security Legislation, Defying Trump
• China Votes to Override Hong Kong’s Autonomy on National Security
• Premier Li Says China Doesn’t Want Cold War, U.S. Decoupling
• Coronavirus live news: South Korea re-tightens lockdown restrictions after spike in cases (“Officials have re-implemented lockdown measures in the metropolitan area of Seoul; European commission proposes €750bn coronavirus recovery fund; Kenya records highest one-day case rise”)
• Studies add to alarm over deforestation in Brazil under Bolsonaro (This is appalling and 100% unacceptable.)
• As 100,000 die, the virus lays bare America’s brutal fault lines – race, gender, poverty and broken politics (“The US’s brutal fault lines – of race, partisanship, gender, poverty and misinformation – rendered it ill-prepared to meet the challenges of Covid-19”)
• They didn’t all have to die — a moment of reflection as US Covid deaths reach 100,000
• For a numbers-obsessed Trump, there’s one he has tried to ignore: 100,000 dead
• The U.S. death toll has reached 100,000.
• The US has reached a grim milestone: 100,000 coronavirus deaths (“The official toll, almost certainly an undercount, is the highest in the world.”)
• Propping Up the Fossil Fuel Industry Is a Bad Bet (“The Fed should not be directing taxpayer money to further entrench the carbon economy.” Agreed.)
• Here’s the Latest Good (and Bad) News About the Coronavirus
• The Death of George Floyd, in Context (“It’s both necessary and, at this point, pedestrian to observe that policing in this country is mediated by race.”)
• How White Women Use Themselves as Instruments of Terror (“There are too many noosed necks, charred bodies and drowned souls for them to deny knowing precisely what they are doing.”)
• Pence Chief Of Staff Owns Stocks That Could Conflict With Coronavirus Response
• Trump’s ‘Horrifying Lies’ About Lori Klausutis May Cross a Legal Line (“The president’s innuendo about the death of a congressional staffer in 2001 could lead to a costly court judgment against him.”)
• Bad state data hides coronavirus threat as Trump pushes reopening (“Test counts inflated, death tolls deflated, metrics shifted.”)
• Trump campaign is creating an alternate reality online about coronavirus
• Coronavirus may never go away, even with a vaccine (“Embracing that reality is crucial to the next phase of America’s pandemic response, experts say.”)
• Trump press secretary Kayleigh McEnany has voted by mail 11 times in 10 years
• Refusing to Wear a Mask Is an Empty Act of Defiance
• At last, a climate policy platform that can unite the left (“The factions of the Democratic coalition have come into alignment on climate change.”)
• Why does Trump get away with everything? (“Trump gets away with it because the previously unthinkable has become routine…Second, it’s not easy for humans to admit when we are wrong…Third, U.S. politics is now defined by a phenomenon called ‘motivated reasoning,’ the tendency to see reality through the lens of desired outcomes…American democracy is badly broken if few people change their minds about a president who falsely accuses someone of murder or boasts about his TV ratings while 100,000 Americans lose their lives and nearly 40 million lose their jobs. And that says as much about the dysfunctional state of our country as it does about Trump.”)
• ‘There’s no stigma attached to wearing a mask’: McConnell makes plea in favor of face masks
• CDC issues guidelines for reopening offices: Masks, handshake bans and more
• Trump finds himself playing campaign defense with core elements of his base (“Heading into the crucial summer stretch of his re-election campaign, the president’s support is declining among key groups that helped deliver his 2016 victory.”)
• Can Democrats Win the Senate on Biden’s Coattails?
• Biden says he’ll pick running mate by Aug. 1 (“Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic candidate for president, told supporters Wednesday night that his campaign has interviewed every candidate on his short list to be his running mate and hoped to name the woman by Aug. 1.”)
• Tech billionaires are plotting sweeping, secret plans to boost Joe Biden
• Famed Democratic pollster: Warren as VP would lead to Biden victory (“Contrary to conventional wisdom, Stan Greenberg says the Massachusetts senator would bring the biggest political upside — and he’s making the case to Biden.”)
• Warren’s VP bid faces obstacle: Her state’s Republican governor
• Republicans working on legislation to strip Twitter of federal liability protections
• You cannot keep from getting swept up in Trump’s agenda without a firm grasp on your own
• Donald Trump just issued his most serious threat yet to free speech (“Twitter is well within their right to call out Trump’s fabrication. Does he misunderstand the First Amendment?”)
• Time to take away Twitter’s special status (“Let’s not overthink this. Let Twitter operate by the same rules as traditional media.”)
• What Would Happen if Twitter Banned Trump? (“Social media and journalists alike amplify the president’s lies and propaganda.”)
• Trump expected to sign executive order that could threaten punishment against Facebook, Google and Twitter over allegations of political bias (Very, very dangerous – not to mention authoritarian – stuff.)
• Trump threatens Twitter over fact checks: What’s next?
• Zuckerberg Says Twitter Is Wrong to Fact-Check Trump (Screw Mark Zuckerberg.)
• Twitter has provoked outrage. But Trump is the bigger problem
• Ted Cruz’s Attempt To Explain Journalism To Reporter Backfires Spectacularly (“Texas senator’s attempt to help spread Trump’s favorite conspiracy theory quickly falls apart.”)
• The Memo: Trump’s Scarborough tweets unsettle his allies
• The real nightmare scenario for this fall’s elections (“The fear is that in many battleground states, Republicans will successfully prevent various efforts by Democrats to make voting amid the coronavirus easier.”)
• Conservatives who refuse to wear masks undercut a central claim of their beliefs
• Shining sunlight on Trump’s idiocy is the best disinfectant
• The Right-Wing Legal Network Is Now Openly Pushing Conspiracy Theories
• Trump needs to be called out for his huckster brand of populism
• Larry Kramer, Playwright and Outspoken AIDS Activist, Dies at 84 (“He sought to shock the country into dealing with AIDS as a public-health emergency and foresaw that it could kill millions regardless of sexual orientation.”)
• Trump is losing even the mask war (“When Sean Hannity abandons you, it’s time to give it a rest.”)
• No Bad Conservative Idea Ever Dies
• Protest over George Floyd death turns violent, deadly in Minneapolis
• Kelly Loeffler’s Story Is Modern Republicanism
• McConnell strangles the states: So much for a quick recovery and Trump’s reelection (“Delaying and skimping on aid to the states will undermine the recovery.”)
• Trump’s bullying cannot disguise his weakness (“The flap over the Republican convention sets off a new bout of self-absorption.”)
• Members of Congress ask President Trump to cancel his Fourth of July parade (“Congressman Beyer, who led the effort, says he was ‘sadly not surprised’ when he heard the parade had not been canceled.”)
• Sen. Tim Kaine meets virtually with Roanoke County leaders about COVID-19 concerns
• Rep. Denver Riggleman (R-VA05) Is NOT Going to Be Happy About This!
• Republicans reject Rep. Denver Riggleman’s appeal alleging ‘corrupt’ convention process
• 5th District GOP denies Riggleman venue appeal
• As VA-02 Primary Heats Up, Republican Attacks Scott Taylor’s “Law Situation”
• Editorial: Saving the bay is worth the cost
• Congressman Ted Lieu and Khizr Khan Host Virtual Virginia AAPI Heritage Month Celebration
• AG Herring Sues Trump Administration Over Reckless Rollback of National Clean Car Standards
• Northam Administration Reiterates: Mask Order to Be Enforced by VA Dept. of Health, NOT via the Criminal Code (“As [Gov. Northam] noted yesterday, he does not want to put anyone in jail over this”)
• Wednesday (5/27) Virginia Data on COVID-19 Finds +907 Confirmed/Probable Cases (to 40,249), +60 Hospitalizations (to 4,385), +45 Deaths (to 1,281) From Yesterday
• Following months of workplace complaints, Northam proposes on-the-job safety rules for COVID-19
• Editorial: Loose ends in Northam’s mask policy (“Virginians should wear masks when in shared spaces, but the Editorial Board questions if the governor’s mask policy isn’t the best way to achieve that.”)
• Yes, disobeying Virginia’s mask order could carry a criminal charge. But Northam appears to be counting on compliance.
• Sen. Chap Petersen (D?) Turns to Barstool Sports (!) for Advice on COVID-19 Reopening, Gets Ripped as “Demagogue in Denial with “Astounding Tone-Deaf Response”
• An Early Look at the 2021 Gubernatorial Race (Actually, the Democratic and Republican primaries for governor are in just over 12 months.)
• More federal aid for nursing homes in Virginia as testing push intensifies staffing challenge
• Regulators warn utility disconnection moratorium ‘is not sustainable’
• Dominion overstated need for high-voltage power line across James River, opponents’ study says
• Stoney: Richmond Ready to “Cautiously” Enter Phase One Friday
• Rebuffed by the state, Stoney says Richmond is ready to ‘cautiously’ enter Phase One Friday
• Virginia agency aims to make solar ‘faster, easier and more affordable’
• Microsoft to Build New Software Hub in Northern Virginia
• Chesterfield Board of Supervisors approves COVID-19 fund, additional budget cuts
• Roanoke school leaders were aware new superintendent faced ethics complaint in Baltimore County
• Arlington Barbershops and Salons Adapt to Cutting Hair During Pandemic
• Summerlike mugginess today and Friday with some showers around