Friday News: China Congratulates President-Elect Biden; “Trump, stewing over election loss, silent as virus surges”; “Trump Pockets Donations”; AZ Finally Called for Biden; “2020 Shows That the Electoral College Is Stupid and Immoral”

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, November 13.

• How Joe Biden could make Brazil his first “climate outlaw” (Do it, for sure.)
• China offers belated congratulations to US President-elect Joe Biden
• China warns of action after Pompeo says Taiwan not part of China (Pompeo’s definitely the worst Secretary of State in U.S. history.)
• November on track to be worst month of pandemic so far in US as cases surge
• New U.S. Virus Cases Surpass 160,000 in a Day, Again Shattering Record
• The economy as we knew it may be over, Fed chief says
• Vaccine Could Unlock Trillions In Spending, Leading To ‘Biden Boom’
• Trump Silent on Virus Surge as Cases and Deaths Rise Sharply
• Trump, stewing over election loss, silent as virus surges
• Biden finds support among Republicans as Trump scrambles to salvage his strategy to contest the election
• Trump Floats Improbable Survival Scenarios as He Ponders His Future
• Trump ready to plot way out of White House as he ponders defeat
• A closer look at the Trump campaign’s election lawsuits — and why they’ve mostly failed (Start with zero or next-to-zero evidence.)
• As Trump stews over election, he mostly ignores the public duties of the presidency (Meanwhile, our country desperately needs competent leadership, as COVID-19 surges.)
• Is This a Coup, or Just Another Trump Con? (“Despite President Trump’s bluster, senior Administration officials and outside advisers say that he is not serious about defying the election results to remain in office”)
• Trump’s eldest children split on his path forward
• Joe Biden ignores Trump obstruction to press ahead with cabinet selection (“The president-elect is likely to value Washington experience but must balance the wings of his party and a possibly hostile Senate”)
• Top contender for Biden Defense chief would be historic pick (“Michele Flournoy, who held the No. 3 civilian Pentagon job during the Obama administration, is widely seen as the odds-on favorite to be Biden’s Pentagon chief.”)
• ‘No Evidence’ Election Was Compromised, Cybersecurity Agency Says
• President Trump’s GOP wall of support is cracking
• Was Joe Biden the Most Electable Democrat After All? (Sure seems like it.)
• Obama says Trump’s baseless election fraud claims put democracy on a “dangerous path”
• Never Trumpers played a critical role in beating him. The numbers prove it.
• Small Cracks Emerge in G.O.P. Support for Trump’s Baseless Fraud Claims
• Trump’s Down Right Now—and Republicans Should Kick Him (“If they want to thrive, Republicans need a Trump-free future. But why do I fear we’re going to see a repeat of 2015-2016?”)
• Alito’s politically charged address draws heat
• Samuel Alito Goes Full Political Commentator In Federalist Society Speech (“The conservative justice criticized science-backed COVID-19 restrictions and condemned the Supreme Court’s 2015 decision to legalize same-sex marriage.” UGH.)
• Trump Is Far More Vulnerable to Federal Prosecution Than People Think
• Senior U.S. cybersecurity official tells associates he expects to be fired: sources
• This is a massive failure of character among Republicans — with evangelicals out in front
• Whatever Trump Is Doing, It Isn’t a “Coup” (“But the longterm effect could be similarly damaging.”)
• Trump’s contempt for democratic norms could haunt us for years
• Trump has deliberately made our government more dysfunctional. Here’s how Biden can fix it.
• Republicans are wrong. Trump has no ‘right’ to cause this chaos.
• Democrats’ 2024 Problem Is Already Clear (“Joe Biden succeeded in bridging his party’s past and future coalitions—but the challenges of future elections are daunting.”)
• Some local officials are resisting Trump’s big lie. Sadly, GOP senators aren’t as principled.
• Biden is preparing for his presidency. The Trump administration? Not so much. (“The General Services Administration hasn’t ‘ascertained’ an election winner. Here’s what that means.”)
• Kevin McCarthy Has Embraced the Crazy in the House Republican Caucus
• What the election tells us about religion in America (“White Catholics and those identifying as “none of the above” have greatly boosted Biden.”)
• Republicans may never have the nerve to quit Trump
• Stop wasting time on Trump’s lawsuits. More nefarious behavior is afoot. (“Turn your attention to the Pentagon.”)
• Democrats Question Decision To Give Up Canvassing During Election (Yep, probably a big mistake.)
• Once Again, An Election Proves That Red America Is the Real ‘Moocher Class’ (“Joe Biden won very few counties—but they account for 70 percent of our country’s GDP. How long is Blue America going to have to carry Red America? Forever, basically.”)
• Incoming GOP Senator Apparently Doesn’t Know Basics of World War II (Tuberville appears to be a stone-cold moron.)
• Count on Biden to Restore the National Monuments Trump Trashed (“He’s also vowed to designate new ones.”)
• Joe Biden’s Likely Pick to Lead His Party (“…there’s only one name on leading Democrats’ list for Democratic National Committee chair: Jaime Harrison, who lost a race for U.S. Senate in South Carolina last week.”)
• Stacey Abrams Will Run for Governor Again, Allies Say
• Why Susan Collins won
• You Blew It, Cal Cunningham (“Why on earth would someone risk an extramarital affair while running for a Senate seat that could determine the country’s future?”)
• The All-Important Perdue-Ossoff Senate Runoff Gives Voters a Clear Choice on Climate Change (“Perdue, a Republican, supports Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris climate accord, while Ossoff, a Democrat, favors aggressive steps to curtail global warming.”)
• Far-Right Extremists Heading to Washington Amid Talk of Trump “Coup”
• Militia leader Stewart Rhodes says he has men stationed outside of D.C. ready to engage in violence on Trump’s order
• Rep. Max Rose Is Defeated as Republicans Take Back N.Y.C. Seat
• As coronavirus surges across the country, Fox propagandists are fighting new efforts to slow its spread
• Donald Trump attacks Fox News: ‘They forgot the golden goose’ (“President turns to right-wing network Newsmax for support after Fox warned viewers Trump’s election victory claims were false”)
• The crisis isn’t too much polarization. It’s too little democracy. (“If Republicans couldn’t win so much power while losing votes, the US wouldn’t be in the current crisis.”)
• Trump Campaign Lawyer Caught Using His Business Partner as Witness in ‘Sharpiegate’ Case (A lot of people, including this person, need to be disbarred.)
• 2020 Shows That the Electoral College Is Stupid and Immoral (“It doesn’t just distort presidential elections. It infects the entire political process.”)
• Biden cements victory by winning Arizona, but Trump still refuses to concede (And he’ll “cement” it even further with Georgia.)
• Biden Wins Arizona, Further Cementing His Presidential Victory
• Three Networks Echo Call of Arizona for Biden: Election Update
• Biden carries Arizona, flipping a longtime Republican stronghold (Yes, we’ve known this for a few days. Same with Georgia, which CNN hasn’t called for some weird reason.)
• Zuckerberg says Bannon has not violated enough policies for suspension: recording (Zuckerberg and FB are so, so bad.)
• Pa. appellate court sides with Trump in fight over ID deadlines for voters, tossing small number of ballots
• Alaska congressman who ridiculed coronavirus now says he has COVID-19
• First major newspaper to endorse Trump in 2016 urges him to accept loss in this election (“The editorial page of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, owned by GOP megadonor Sheldon Adelson, urged President Trump to work with Joe Biden’s transition team.” Gotta love how the media just picked up this story, days after it happened.)
• In *Percentage* Terms, Turnout Surged in “Red” Parts of Virginia. However, Those Increases Were Swamped by Shifts From “Purple” to Blue”, and Absolute Turnout Increases, in Large Jurisdictions
• Va., Md. Republicans follow Trump playbook, questioning his defeat and refusing to concede. (Appalling.)
• Freitas acknowledges outcome won’t change in 7th District, without formally conceding
• Video: Rep. Denver Riggleman (R-VA05), One of the Most Conservative Members of Congress, Says “In two months we’re going to have a new president and…that’s a fact.” (Riggleman: “We’ve got to stop this conspiratorial thinking too…it’s just out of control.”)
• October 2020 Revenue Report: “Virginia is on sound financial footing despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic”
• Thursday (11/12) Virginia Data on COVID-19 Finds +1,521 Confirmed/Probable Cases (to 198,027), +66 Hospitalizations (to 13,339), +17 Deaths (to 3,758)
• Concessions and Non-Concessions by Virginia Candidates for U.S. Senate, U.S. House
• Virginia’s reelected congressional Republicans back Trump’s refusal to concede to Biden (These people just suck.)
• Wary Northern Virginia superintendents eye reopening — but note rising virus cases
• Editorial: Return of in-person learning should be based on science and safety, not fatigue
• At Least One Lawmaker Wants to Prohibit Private Prisons in Virginia
• New Analysis Shows Segregation in Virginia Schools Is Getting Worse
• New Maps Show COVID-19 Risk Anywhere in Virginia, Depending Upon Event Size (e.g., 50-person, 100-person, 500-person)
• Virginia education leaders: COVID-19 has made school staffing shortages worse
• Will Virginia legalize marijuana in 2021? Some lawmakers think so.
• Virginia got 25 applications for sports betting permits, but officials won’t say who applied
• Judge orders tree-sitters down after more than 2 years (“A temporary injunction issued Thursday by Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Robert Turk ordered the three unidentified tree-sitters and 10 of their supporters to be gone by Monday.”)
• Will The Water Stay On? Virginia’s Municipal Utilities Need Help
• Newport News-based contractor a subject in requested probe of Richmond mayor’s statue-removal deal
• Parts of Richmond’s floodwall activated ahead of rising floodwaters on the James River
• Heavy rain closes Fredericksburg-area roads, schools
• D.C.-area forecast: Brighter and breezier today, after some early fog and drizzle