Saturday News: Last Month “Hottest Ever Recorded”; “Confirmed coronavirus cases are rising faster than ever”; Trump’s “Revolting” Comments About George Floyd; “Misclassification error” Distorted May Jobs Report; NYT “incapable of meeting the moment”

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Saturday, June 6.

• Is the US still the world’s moral leader? Not after what Trump just did this week (Yep, among other things, Trump has done a number on America’s moral standing in the world. Great job, Trumpsters, you’re really made us “great” “again.” /snark)
• Coronavirus infections haven’t spiked since Europe loosened lockdowns. There are many theories about why.
• OPEC+ Meets to Extend Cuts That Trump Says Saved Oil Industry
• Trump to Pull 9,500 Troops From Germany Amid Continuing Tensions
• Confirmed coronavirus cases are rising faster than ever (“The number of new cases has slowed in many of the countries that were hit hard earlier on in the pandemic, including China, the US, UK, Italy, Spain and France. But many countries, particularly in South America, the Middle East and Africa, the rate of transmission still appears to be accelerating, according to a CNN analysis of Johns Hopkins University data.”)
• Fossil Fuel Emissions Push Greenhouse Gas Indicators to Record High in May (“New measurements show that not even the pandemic can flatten the Keeling Curve.”)
• Last Month Was the Hottest Ever Recorded (The climate crisis remains, by far, the #1 problem facing humanity. Of course, it’s intertwined with other crises, such as environmental racism and injustice, and those need to be addressed as part of a holistic solution to our massive environmental problems.)
• Ex-Defense Secretary: White House Is ‘Leading Us Down The Trail Toward A Dictatorship’ (“Trump ‘has no understanding of what the rule of law really means in this country,’ argued William Cohen.”)
• On the anniversary of D-Day, a reminder of true leadership
• ‘Revolting’: Trump condemned for saying George Floyd is praising US economy
• This Is the Most Singularly Batsh*t Crazy Thing Any President Has Said Out Loud in Public (Trump: “George is looking down right now and saying ‘this is a great thing happening for our country. It’s great day for him, a great day for everybody. This is a great, great day in terms of equality. It’s really what our Constitution requires and what our country is about.”)
• This movement is not anarchy. It could push America to be a better nation. (It is also not “Antifa,” whatever that is, no matter how much the Corey Stewarts and AmanDUH Chases of the world rant and rave about their imagined bogeyman.)
• Trump’s Public-Relations Army (Unacceptable.)
• A Good Jobs Report Does Not Mean A Rigged Jobs Report (No, but it doesn’t seem to take accurate account of what’s really going on right now, probably because the situation is unprecedented and crazy/extreme in general.)
• A ‘misclassification error’ made the May unemployment rate look better than it is. Here’s what happened.
• What the Hell Happened With Today’s Shocking Jobs Report? (“Now about the data. To start, it’s possible that this month’s figures are just less accurate than usual. Thanks to the plague we’ve been dealing with, the response rate to the government’s regular household survey—which it uses to calculate the unemployment rate—was 15 percentage points lower than usual, while the establishment survey, used to track changes in payrolls, also fell slightly. With fewer people and companies responding, there was greater room for error.”)
• Amid reopenings and protests, virus spread remains high in much of U.S. (“The virus is persisting — and, in some places, spreading aggressively — in parts of the South, Midwest and far West, including in states that were among the last to impose shutdowns and the first to lift them.”)
• 89 former Defense officials: The military must never be used to violate constitutional rights
• How Trump came to the brink of deploying active-duty troops in Washington (The military should not follow illegal or unconstitutional orders. Period.)
• Esper, Milley won’t testify before House panel on military response to protests (Why the heck not?)
• Barr says he didn’t give tactical order to clear protesters (Don’t believe a word Barr says. About anything. Ever.)
• Another 2.8 million Americans could lose their jobs if GOP gets its way
• Besieged by Protesters Demanding Racial Justice, Trump Signs Order Waiving Environmental Safeguards (“Critics said the move to speed pipeline construction would harm minority communities. But one legal expert said the order would be ‘a sitting duck’ in court.”)
• George Floyd killing: Washington expecting biggest march yet as mourners prepare for second memorial service – live
• Former White House chief of Staff John Kelly: ‘I agree’ with Jim Mattis on Trump
• The military and the media rose to defend democracy. But will the courts? (“Civil liberties are not self-effectuating.”)
• The president’s inhumanity is deeper than we knew (“Trump’s behavior is conscienceless, showing utter disregard for the safety of others, consistent irresponsibility, callousness, cynicism and disrespect of other human beings. Contempt for truth and honesty, and for norms, rules and laws. A complete inability to feel remorse, or guilt. As a New Yorker profile of Trump put it nearly a quarter-century ago, Trump lives ‘an existence unmolested by the rumbling of a soul.’ That’s Donald Trump’s problem yesterday, today and tomorrow.”)
• All swabs will be thrown out following Trump visit, Puritan says (Un-be-f’ing-lievable. On second thought, with this horrible “president,” it’s 100% believable.)
• As They Scream Voter Fraud, Trump And His Press Secretary May Have Voted Illegally (So typical; accuse others of doing the things YOU have done, or that you’d do if you could.)
• Biden got it right: Trump’s remarks were ‘despicable’ (“The president is warped and out of touch.”)
• The cowardly president hides — again (“No surprise: Trump’s stunt is about ego and cowardice.”)
• Security Concerns Give the White House a Fortified New Look
• Republicans fear Trump may cost them Senate
• Dear white people, please read ‘White Fragility’
• Cities Ask if It’s Time to Defund Police and ‘Reimagine’ Public Safety (“Calls to defund, downsize or abolish police departments are gaining new traction, with advocates arguing that many police tasks would be better left to others. The calls to redirect money away from the police come as local governments face the economic fallout from the coronavirus.”)
• Protests about police brutality are met with wave of police brutality across US
• In protests against police brutality, videos capture more alleged police brutality (“The protests have put police riot tactics on open display. People have been capturing officers beating nonviolent demonstrators, drawing more outrage.”)
• Biden formally clinches Democratic presidential nomination
• Joe Biden wins enough delegates to secure Democratic nomination
• Why Ta-Nehisi Coates is hopeful (“The author of Between the World and Me on why this isn’t 1968, the Colin Kaepernick test, police abolition, nonviolence and the state, and more.”)
• Americans Are Not Impressed with Trump’s Protest Response (“As the president takes an aggressive ‘law and order’ approach, a new poll finds two-thirds of Americans disapproving of how he’s handled the crisis stemming from the police killing of George Floyd.”)
• Teargassed, beaten up, arrested: what freedom of the press looks like in the US right now (What part of “shall NOT be infringed” does Trump not understand?)
• Facebook and Twitter took down a Trump campaign video over copyright concerns
• How Facebook Became the Social Media Home of the Right (“While the left has flowed to Twitter, Snapchat, and Instagram, Mark Zuckerberg has laid out the welcome mat to the Trump legions.”)
• Rubber bullets and flash-bangs don’t just tear through crowds — they jeopardize years of police reform (“‘What I’d like to see is police not just taking a knee but standing in support of systemic, sustainable police reform,’ a policing consultant said.”)
• This powerful protest movement deserves more from the press: Ask those with power what will change (“Journalists have access to the powerful. They must take the protesters’ message to those who can do something”)
• The New York Times is incapable of meeting the moment (“The Times crossed a line with a recent op-ed”)
• The New York Times Is Very Sorry for Publishing Tom Cotton’s Op-Ed (They need to fire the people involved in that fiasco, starting from the very top.)
• “Go Back to the Neighborhood Where You Belong” (“The viral anti–Black Lives Matter protests in Merrick, New York, stem from Long Island’s history of racist housing policy.” Really, this is the case for large swaths of suburbia, even as most white people are utterly/willfully oblivious.)
• Zuckerberg says Facebook will revisit policies in wake of Trump backlash (“Revisit?” Just fix the damn thing NOW!)
• Facebook employees said they were ‘caught in an abusive relationship’ with Trump as internal debates raged (Mark Zuckerberg should resign.)
• Bad Apples in Buffalo (“Fifty-seven officers were willing to take a stand to defend misconduct rather than oppose it.”)
• As Trump Rekindles N.F.L. Fight, Goodell Sides With Players (“President Trump said it was disrespectful to kneel during the national anthem. Commissioner Roger Goodell then said the league supported peaceful protest.”)
• NFL says it was wrong in handling of protests over racial injustice, encourages players to speak out (Duh. Many/most of us knew that – and said so – AT THE TIME. Why couldn’t the NFL figure that out?)
• Video: Sen. Mark Warner Says “the thing that is so unsettling…is this president’s constant disregard of the law, of the rules”
• With Virginia Primaries and Conventions Coming Up Soon, Which Candidates Are Racking Up Endorsements – and Which Aren’t?
• Nearly 60 General Assembly Members, AG Mark Herring, Appalachian Voices, Enviro Groups Call for Extension and/or Expansion of Utility Disconnection Moratorium During COVID-19 Crisis
• By the numbers: Amid the protests, taking stock of racial inequality in Virginia
• Virginia lawmakers planning police reform legislation
• Phase Two locally: Gyms, restaurants open indoors with limited capacity
• Northam gets second COVID-19 test to date at free testing event in Chesapeake
• Northam: N.Va. ‘Phase 2’ Put Off Past June 5 (“While most of Virginia is expected to enter Phase 2 on Friday, June 5, Northern Virginia, which had a delayed entry into Phase 1 last week, will not enter Phase 2 until there are more positive signs of key statewide health metrics, he said.”)
• Friday (6/5) Virginia Data on COVID-19 Finds +676 Confirmed/Probable Cases (to 48,532), +51 Hospitalizations (to 5,008), +8 Deaths (to 1,453 From Yesterday)
• Loudoun County organizers, NAACP partner for four upcoming ‘Black Lives Matter’ rallies; first one in Purcellville June 7
• George Mason University announces plans to reopen for fall semester
• Virginia coronavirus update: Rate of positive tests continues trending down
• Central Virginia Rallies to Oppose Racism
• Virginia finally ends unjust driver’s license suspensions
• It’s unanimous: All nine Richmond City Council members back removal of Confederate monuments on Monument Avenue
• Trump-appointed prosecutor in Virginia opens up about George Floyd and his privilege as a white man (Can’t wait.)
• After long week of protests, Fort Monroe rally goers dress up, call for change
• Gyms welcome back members weary of at-home workouts
• Planet Fitness preparing to reopen Virginia clubs on June 9
• Seven-Day Total of New Coronavirus Cases in Arlington Drops Below 100 (“After rising above 300 to end the month of May, the rolling seven-day new coronavirus case total in Arlington has dropped precipitously.”)
• Fredericksburg removes controversial slave auction block
• Council majority supports removing Roanoke’s memorial to Robert E. Lee, renaming plaza
• Northam reappoints five to UVa Board of Visitors
• Barnhill: Time to change Roanoke’s Lee memorials
• Audio: At Last Night’s NoVA Transportation Commission Meeting, Powerful Statements on Transportation, Equity and Racial Justice (“Public transit should also be an opportunity to further racial justice in our region”; “we need to think about transit as an equalizer”)
• With City Facing COVID-19, Protests, etc., Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney About to Get a Major New Election Challenger? (Alexsis Rodgers was policy director for LG Ralph Northam, Comms Director for VA Planned Parenthood, VAYD President, etc.)
• Housing in Tysons is ahead of goals
• Virginia Conservation Community Statements on the Deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade, and Nationwide Protests
• Cyclist Charged With Assaulting Teenagers Who Posted Fliers Against Police Brutality (“The police said that Anthony Brennan III, 60, of Kensington, Md., was arrested after investigators received hundreds of tips from people who had seen a video of the encounter.”)
• Virginia mayor resigns after requesting Confederate monuments (“Crewe Mayor Greg Eanes resigned Friday, effective at noon, Courier-Record Newspaper reports. On Thursday, Eanes wrote a letter asking Richmond and the Virginia General Assembly to send monuments of Confederate Generals Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, and J.E.B Stuart to his town for public display.”)
• Another hot one as a front passes, then a string of seasonable days ahead