Monday News: “America confronts Trump’s destructive legacy”; ‘Majority of Americans say Trump should be convicted”; “Biden Gives First TV Interview As President”; “What’s behind Virginia’s meteoric rise in the vaccine rankings?”

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Monday, February 8.

• Tens Of Thousands Rally In Myanmar Protesting Military Coup
• Myanmar coup: Police use water cannon as thousands strike
• Coal-Fired Power Took a Beating During the Pandemic, Study Finds (“A broad move away from coal power was an important factor in pushing down global greenhouse gas emissions, researchers said, and could help accelerate a shift toward renewable energy.” Good riddance.)
• South Australia achieves world-leading 60pct wind and solar share over last year
• Virus Variant First Found in Britain Now Spreading Rapidly in U.S.
• The World Is Moving Toward Net Zero Because of a Single Sentence (“What it says, in English, is this: By 2030 the world needs to cut its carbon-dioxide pollution by 45%, and by midcentury reach ‘net-zero’ emissions, meaning that any CO₂ still emitted would have to be drawn down in some way.”)
• Covid-19 News: South Africa Halts Use of AstraZeneca Vaccine
• AstraZeneca races to adapt Covid vaccine as South Africa suspends rollout
• Netanyahu’s corruption trial resumes weeks before Israeli election
• EU, UK and U.S. to speak with Navalny team after Russia expels diplomats
• The World Likes Biden But Doubts the U.S. Can Reclaim Global Leadership
• US moves to rejoin UN rights council, reversing Trump anew
• Biden says U.S. won’t lift sanctions until Iran halts uranium enrichment
• Fighting Covid Is Like Fighting a War
• Biden says Trump administration’s handling of pandemic was ‘more dire than we thought’
• Despite dip in Covid-19 cases, expert says US is in the ‘eye of the hurricane’
• Biden says it will be very difficult to achieve Covid herd immunity before summer’s end
• ‘We Are Forgotten’: Grocery Workers Hope for Higher Pay and Vaccinations
• Poll: Clear Majority of Americans Want Senate to Convict Trump
• Impeachment Case Aims to Marshal Outrage of Capitol Attack
• America confronts Trump’s destructive legacy (“The ex-President faces a second impeachment trial over a historic insurrection and an attempt to steal an election that profoundly wounded US democracy”)
• The Constitution Doesn’t Bar Trump’s Impeachment Trial
• Breaking With G.O.P., Top Conservative Lawyer Says Trump Can Stand Trial (“Charles J. Cooper, a stalwart of the conservative legal establishment, said that Republicans were wrong to assert that it is unconstitutional for a former president to be tried for impeachable offenses.”)
• As impeachment trial nears, court documents cite Trump’s rage-fueling rhetoric
• Who Are David Schoen and Bruce Castor, Trump’s Impeachment Lawyers? (“The former president’s defense team unites a civil rights and criminal defense lawyer with a former prosecutor best known for not charging Bill Cosby.”)
• Here’s The Real Reason That Republican Senators Will Again Acquit Trump (“They don’t want to punish him for what he did because they know that a Republican president may do something like it again.”)
• What’s at Stake in Trump’s Second Impeachment Trial (“The Republican Party isn’t ready to walk away from the former President, but the senators know how close the country came to catastrophe.”)
• Roger Stone, Michael Flynn and the criminal conspiracy case of U.S. v. Donald Trump
• ‘This fever will break’: Republican Jeff Flake on the slow fade of Trumpism (“Anti-Trumpists are growing but very slowly – convicting Trump in his impeachment trial would help speed things along, says Flake”)
• Never Trumpers’ Republican revolt failed but they could still play key role
• Scoop: McCarthy told Cheney to apologize for voting to impeach Trump
• The one GOP principle: Protect Donald Trump
• Distinguished pol of the week: Biden starts off strong, with the public behind him
• How much did 2020 change the country? (“We may be in uncharted territory.”)
• Trump left behind a monstrous predicament. Here’s how to tackle it
• A Majority Of Americans Want To Bar Trump From Office
• Majority of Americans say Trump should be convicted, barred from holding federal office in impeachment trial: POLL
• Majority of Americans approve of Biden’s coronavirus response, poll finds
• Less than 10% of Americans like QAnon (Good, although it should be zero.)
• Analysis: Millions who likely voted for Trump want him barred from future office
• Senior Democrats to unveil $3,000-per-child benefit as Biden stimulus gains steam
• Why Chuck Schumer Is Cozying Up to the A.O.C. Wing of His Party
• Liz Cheney raises possibility of criminal investigation of Trump for provoking violence (Absolutely, that needs to happen.)
• In America’s ‘Uncivil War,’ Republicans Are The Aggressors (“The Jan. 6 insurrection and the run-up to it is perhaps the clearest illustration that Republicans are being more hostile and anti-democratic than Democrats in this uncivil war.” Duh, ya think?!?)
• The Women Who Paved the Way for Marjorie Taylor Greene (“She’s the latest descendant in a lineage of Republican women who embrace a boffo radicalism.” Blackburn, Palin, Bachmann, etc.)
• Sheryl Sandberg Downplayed Facebook’s Role In The Capitol Hill Siege—Justice Department Files Tell A Very Different Story
• Nick Jonas’s Super Bowl Ad Raises Important Questions. Some Are Uncomfortable. (“Dexcom makes a life-saving device for Type 1 diabetics. Awareness is important. But why are some diabetics upset about this commercial?” The short answer: it’s very expensive and a lot of people can’t afford it.)
• The Ugly Secrets Behind the Costco Chicken (“An investigator went under cover and brought back disturbing video from a farm growing those famous birds.” Appalling commentary on America and many Americans.)
• After Record 2020 Turnout, State Republicans Weigh Making It Harder To Vote (There is absolutely ZERO good reason to make it harder to vote. This anti-democracy bullshit needs to be overridden by Congress and/or the courts.)
• George P. Shultz, counsel and Cabinet member for two Republican presidents, dies at 100
• ‘Some Team Has to Want Me’ (“The NFL has pledged to address racism, but team owners still won’t put Black coaches in charge.” The NFL is a disgrace in many, many ways.)
• Editorial: What’s behind Virginia’s meteoric rise in the vaccine rankings? (“The fairness doctrine applies here: Those who criticized Gov. Ralph Northam for the state’s low ratings (and we were among those critics) now should give some credit to Northam for Virginia’s big bounce.” Yep, but Virginia Rs haven’t done so. Shocker.)
• What a Difference Two Years Makes: Gov. Northam Goes From Nearly Dead Politically to Quite Possibly the Most Consequential Governor in Virginia History (Northam’s signed 100s of progressive bills into law, guided Virginia through the pandemic, sent National Guard troops to help save the U.S. Capitol…)
• Sunday (2/7) Virginia Data on COVID-19 Finds +2,949 Confirmed/Probable Cases (to 529,125), +67 Hospitalizations (to 22,102), +5 Deaths (to 6,778)
• A dispute over a federal tax break for businesses could cost Virginia $101 million
• Video: VA State Senate Rejects Sen. Adam Ebbin’s Amendment to Let Governor Run For Two Terms. Their Reasoning Makes ZERO Sense.
• Lawmakers consider dueling resolutions to restore voting rights for people convicted of felonies
• Senate committee delays release of budget plan (“Confusion over the state budget intensified late Friday after the Senate Finance & Appropriations Committee abruptly canceled the meeting it had scheduled for Sunday to release its version of the revised two-year spending plan. The committee carried the budget bill over from the regular session that will adjourn on Monday into the special session that will convene Wednesday.”)
• World’s biggest battery could boost Appalachian Power, co-owner says
• Censuring Chase likely deepened a GOP split and fueled her base, but it was the right thing to do
• Editorial: A report once advised Virginia to get rid of VMI
• At General Assembly’s halftime, consumers hold a narrow lead
• Competitive suppliers’ attempt to reopen Virginia’s renewable energy market faces tough utility opposition
• ‘Dividing Lines’: How Norfolk ended school segregation — then created it again
• Cold today before another possible winter storm starting Wednesday night