by Lowell
Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, October 30. Remember, if you still have an absentee ballot, make sure you deliver it in person – to a dropbox or the registrar’s office or a satellite location – ASAP!
- Euro zone GDP beats forecasts for the third quarter, but new lockdowns threaten recovery
- Taiwan just went 200 days without a locally transmitted Covid-19 case. Here’s how they did it
- Global Cases Top 45 Million, Fleeting GDP Bounces: Virus Update
- U.S. Reaches New Daily High of COVID Cases, Tops 9 Million in Total
- The Pandemic Is in Uncharted Territory
- US coronavirus cases hit record daily high and experts warn daily death rates will triple by mid-January
- Polls show Trump is losing ground where the coronavirus is surging
- Lies, Damned Lies and Trump Rallies
- Dow on Track to Wrap Up Worst Month Since March
- Wilbur Ross Remained on Chinese Joint Venture Board While Running U.S.-China Trade War
- Americans Say They’re Fired Up To Vote — Especially Democrats (“The share of Democrats who say they’re more enthusiastic to vote this year is about 9 percentage points higher than the share of Republicans who say the same. That’s not as large as the 14-point enthusiasm gap we saw in 2008, when Barack Obama was first elected president, but that’s not because Democrats aren’t just as enthusiastic. The difference is that Republicans are a bit more enthusiastic in 2020 than they were in 2008.”)
- 9 questions about 2020’s record-breaking early vote, answered (“According to the US Elections Project, in the 20 states that report party registration, Democrats have turned out early to vote at nearly twice the rate of Republicans. However, that data is likely skewed by the inclusion of states like California (a highly populous and Democratic state) and the unavailability of data from states like Texas (also highly populous and more Republican).”)
- Trump mocks Biden’s coronavirus precautions in dueling Florida rallies (Utter disgrace…the worst of America.)
- The Supreme Court might have to choose between power and principle
- The Supreme Court could still flip the election
- The Supreme Court’s Conservatives Sure Are Pushing Some Crazy Legal Theories Lately
- Trump’s effort to steal the election, explained by a Democrat fighting against it
- Why Many White Men Love Trump’s Coronavirus Response (“Many white men feel that their gender and race have been vilified, says the sociologist Arlie Russell Hochschild. Their economic prospects are bad, and American culture tells them that their gender is too. So they’ve turned to Trump as a type of folk hero, one who can restore their sense of former glory. Exposing themselves and others to the coronavirus is part of that heroism.”)
- How a fake persona laid the groundwork for a Hunter Biden conspiracy deluge (The whole thing has been appalling, including how a couple “mainstream media” figures initially shared this crap.)
- GOP faces fundraising reckoning as Democrats rake in cash
- Despite Trump’s efforts, democracy is flourishing (“Americans are fighting back.”)
- The Raw Desperation of the Republican Party (“The GOP is in danger of losing an entire system of political control.”)
- US election 2020: Trump and Biden both head to crucial swing states Minnesota and Wisconsin
- In campaign’s waning days, both candidates turn focus to Latino voters (“Polls show that Latinos could be a decisive constituency in battleground states across the country — not only where they are recognized as a burgeoning political force, but also in places like Michigan and North Carolina, where they are a growing part of the electorate.”
- Denialism, Dishonesty, Deflection: The Final Days of the Trump Campaign Have It All
- Here’s How Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court Could Steal the Election—and Why It Probably Won’t (“Please let me talk you back from the ledge for a minute.”)
- The Day After Election Day (“Current and former Trump administration officials are worried about what might happen on Nov. 4.”)
- Trump’s chances hinge on a polling screw-up way worse than 2016 (“You have to squint to see how Biden’s lead won’t hold up on Election Day.”)
- The polls point to a Biden victory but can they be trusted this time? (“Although polling averages gave Clinton the edge over Trump in 2016 there are significant differences in the evidence today”)
- A harsh new anti-Trump ad flips the script on his biggest issue
- Trump tests limits as Cabinet members fan out to key states
- Walmart Pulls Guns, Ammo Displays in U.S. Stores, Citing Civil Unrest
- Trump adviser Stephen Miller reveals aggressive second-term immigration agenda (It would be really, really bad.)
- Heat at Trump rally sends a dozen attendees to the hospital (Go to a Trump rally, catch COVID-19…or hyperthermia…or hypothermia. Pick your poison.)
- Final NPR Electoral Map: Biden Has The Edge, But Trump Retains Narrow Path (This is such an NPR-style headline and NPR-style analysis. And no, that’s not really a compliment.)
- Florida And Iowa Races Are Too Close To Call, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Biden Maintains His Lead In Pennsylvania, Has Narrow Lead In Ohio
- Florida: Biden Maintains Lead (“Joe Biden holds a lead of 4 to 6 points over Donald Trump in Florida, based on different likely voter models in the latest Monmouth (“Mon-muth”) University Poll.”)
- Trump’s Voter-Suppression Strategy Is a Crisis (Even If It Backfires)
- Glenn Greenwald resigns from the Intercept following dispute over Biden story (Greenwald is effectively an ally of Trump and Putin.)
- Noam Chomsky Believes Trump Is “the Worst Criminal in Human History”
- Don’t Sweat the Polls (“Many Democrats are worried that pollsters are making the same mistakes they did four years ago, but this election is different”)
- Pence absent from Covid-19 planning calls for more than a month
- Biden camp slams Facebook as thousands of ads remain blocked in final week (If Dems take Congress and the White House, they’ll need to take serious action regarding Facebook, which is a totally f’ed-up company.)
- Trump plans 3 more Pennsylvania rallies as doctors beg him not to
- After bitter debate in Georgia, Senator David Perdue cancels third face off with Jon Ossoff. (Perdue=chicken)
- Sinclair is spreading the Trump campaign’s last-ditch Hunter Biden attack to local news stations around the country (“Its local stations have run at least 311 reports on the smear campaign in 40 states” Reminder: DO NOT WATCH SINCLAIR “NEWS”…including WJLA-7 in the DC area.)
- Twitter locks Customs and Border Patrol chief’s account after he posted that Donald Trump’s border wall keeps out ‘gang members, murderers and sexual predators’ (“Acting Deputy Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Ken Cuccinelli posted an image of the tweet along with other images of the border wall” Cuccinelli is a rabid xenophobe, of course.)
- Sen. Tim Kaine: Joe Biden has my vote. He will restore character, compassion and competence to our nation (“I know that Joe Biden’s heart is in the right place and he knows good government”)
- Maryland, North Carolina, and Virginia Announce Agreement to Spur Offshore Wind Energy and Economic Development
- VCU Virginia Poll: Biden +12 points (51%-39%), Warner +17 points (55%-38%)
- Opinion/Editorial: Return Warner to Senate (“The Daily Progress endorses Sen. Mark Warner”)
- Opinion/Editorial: Webb is good pick for district (“Good trends almost as far right as his party can go — on women’s rights, LGBQT rights, immigration and other issues. He is running a campaign that involves limited interaction with voters at large, on the theory that voters from the right are sufficiently numerous and motivated to carry him through to election…Finding balance between the aspirational and the achievable will be vital for these and other goals. Keeping that in view, The Daily Progress endorses Dr. Cameron Webb for election in the 5th District.”)
- 5th Congressional District Democratic candidate Cameron Webb plans for Saturday Southside tour with Sen. Tim Kaine
- More Virginia Seniors Are Dying From Dementia. Social Isolation Might Be the Cause.
- Nick Freitas’ “My Way or the Highway” Attitude Is the Last Thing Our Country Needs Right Now
- Some Thoughts and Quibbles (and More than Quibbles) on Yesterday’s UVA “Crystal Ball” Article, “States of Play: Virginia”
- A rare 2020 bright spot: Chesapeake Bay had shorter, less severe dead zone
- Editorial: Court compromises privacy with license plate data ruling
- Editorial: Virginia’s new coastal resilience plan has to deliver tangible solutions (“Climate change no longer can be an ideological battle. There is no time to waste.” Wow, this is in the newspaper I called the “Republican Times-Disgrace” for years, because it was so right-wing? The time are a-changin’?)
- AG Mark Herring Releases Training Video on Voter Intimidation Protections Ahead of Election
- The SCC’s vanishing trick: turning shared solar into no solar (“What has emerged from the SCC in the form of proposed rules manages to be both incoherent and everything Dominion wants. The reason for that is clear: most of the rules are copied and pasted from proposals Dominion submitted in August…The SCC rules are so blatantly contrary to the program mandate set out in Solar Freedom that one can’t help but wonder whose side the SCC is on. It is certainly not the customers’. We want solar.”)
- Del. Carroll Foy Statement on VMI’s Adoption of Her Proposals to Root out Racism at VMI, Removal of Stonewall Jackson Monument
- VMI to remove statue of Thomas ‘Stonewall’ Jackson
- Thursday (10/29) Virginia Data on COVID-19 Finds +1,429 Confirmed/Probable Cases (to 178,183), +70 Hospitalizations (to 12,454), +20 Deaths (to 3,636)
- Virginia ranks worst in nation for quickly reviewing some unemployment claims
- Amendment 1 and the “Representatives Picking Their Voters” Trope
- Jerry Falwell, Jr. Sues Liberty University for Defamation; Says “Liberty’s actions are antithetical to the teachings of Christ”; Also Blames The Lincoln Project and “sinister political operatives with ulterior motives”
- Falwell sues Liberty, saying school damaged his reputation
- State says lawsuit over carbon cap-and-invest plan should be dismissed … because of $71 in court fees
- New mega-region group plans collaboration on economic development in Richmond and Hampton Roads
- Photos: Long-awaited Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel expansion project groundbreaking
- Ruling on Ballot Postmarks Likely to Impact Few Votes
- Arlington Sun-Gazette Editor Scott McCaffrey: Outlandish, Racist, and Sexist, Again
- Some Hampton teachers rebel against reopening plan as classroom return approaches
- Attorney: Legal brief urging removal of Lee statue will be filed by more than 50 nearby residents
- Residents Want Virginia Supreme Court to Hear Lee Appeal
- Richmond Free Press: City Council choices (“To that end, we are endorsing six current City Council members who are seeking re-election: Andreas D. Addison, 1st District; Kristen Nye Larson, 4th District; Stephanie A. Lynch, 5th District; Ellen F. Robertson, 6th District; Cynthia I. Newbille, 7th District; and Michael J. Jones, 9th District…After discussions and reviewing candidates’ records, we believe that Tavarris J. Spinks in the 2nd District and Amy C. Wentz in the 8th District would be the best additions to City Council to help tackle the current problems.”)
- Loudoun Co. school board votes to eliminate class rank, starting with Class of 2025
- Raindrops end this morning, then it gradually clears with breezy conditions
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