Saturday News: “Biden scores legislative win as House passes $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief plan”; “J&J One-Shot Vaccine Endorsed by FDA Advisory Panel”; “This Year’s CPAC Is Approaching the Wingnut Singularity”; “Despite term limit, Northam running for re-election”

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Saturday, February 27.

• Atlantic Ocean circulation is the weakest in at least 1,600 years, study finds – here’s what that means for the climate
• United Nations: Countries’ pledges to cut emissions are far too meager to halt climate change (“New analysis shows the world remains on a perilous trajectory, even as global leaders have promised more urgent action.”)
• Myanmar police try to crush protests as envoy pleads with UN for action
• Democracy is on the brink in one of Russia’s neighbors, and Putin is delighted
• Ethiopia’s War Leads to Ethnic Cleansing in Tigray Region, U.S. Report Says
• Biden Won’t Penalize Saudi Crown Prince Over Khashoggi’s Killing, Fearing Relations Breach
• Mohammed bin Salman is guilty of murder. Biden should not give him a pass.
• Saudi crown prince approved fatal Khashoggi operation, U.S. report finds
• Lack of sanctions for crown prince shows weight Riyadh holds
• Named, shamed but unscathed: Saudi crown prince spared by US realpolitik
• U.S. says Saudi crown prince approved Khashoggi killing, imposes visa restrictions on 76 Saudis
• Crushing Dissent: The Saudi Kill Team Behind Khashoggi’s Death
• What does justice for Jamal Khashoggi look like? Unleashing free expression in Saudi Arabia.
• Democrats renew push for war powers overhaul after Biden’s Syria strike (“’Offensive military action without congressional approval is not constitutional absent extraordinary circumstances,’ Kaine said.”)
• FDA advisers endorse J&J coronavirus vaccine, paving the way for likely authorization this weekend
• J&J One-Shot Vaccine Endorsed by FDA Advisory Panel
• Federal Scientists Plead for Pandemic Controls as Infection Declines Stall (“Now is not the time to relax restrictions”)
• House passes $1.9 trillion stimulus despite setback on minimum wage
• House Passes Biden Aid With $1,400 Checks; Focus Moves to Senate
• Where the stimulus bill stands in Congress, and what comes next
• Democrats scramble to rescue minimum wage hike
• Biden scores legislative win as House passes $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief plan
• Democrats’ remaining options for raising the minimum wage, explained
• Biden Pledges That Border Shelter For Teens ‘Won’t Stay Open Very Long’ (“Our hope and expectation is that won’t stay open very long, that we will be able to provide for every kid that comes across the border to safely be housed in a facility that is licensed”)
• Biden is hiking the cost of carbon. It will change how the U.S. tackles global warming.
• A Return to Science: Evidence-Based Estimates of the Benefits of Reducing Climate Pollution
• Questions grow about discrimination’s role in the hurdles Biden’s nominees are facing (The headline should say, clearly, “discrimination by REPUBLICANS”)
• Sputtering GOP opposition has given Democrats a big opening. Will they take it? (“If they let themselves be handcuffed by the filibuster, the Biden presidency will fail and Republicans will take control of Congress. In other words, Democrats will have done the job Republicans couldn’t do themselves.”)
• F.B.I. Said to Have Singled Out Potential Assailant in Capitol Officer’s Death
• FBI focuses on video of Capitol Police officer being sprayed with chemicals before he died in pro-Trump riot
• Prosecutors Suggested That The Oath Keepers Had A Special Force Ready With Weapons During The Capitol Insurrection
• Revealed: Meet The Trump Fanatic Who Tasered A Cop At The Capitol Insurrection
• This Year’s CPAC Is Approaching the Wingnut Singularity
• CPAC in Orlando Looks to Be the Saddest, Stupidest CPAC Yet
• Ted Cruz Has a Superpower: His Total Inability to Feel Shame
• CPAC organizers begged attendees to wear masks — and got booed (“CPAC 2021 shows how conservatives have learned nothing about the coronavirus.”)
• Trump Loyalists Spurn ‘Failed Republican Establishment of Yesteryear’
• More than a dozen Republicans tell House they can’t attend votes due to ‘public health emergency.’ They’re slated to be at CPAC.
• This golden statue of Trump at CPAC is a perfect metaphor for the state of the GOP
• The evolution of CPAC’s speaker lineup is the story of the GOP
• Fact check: CPAC speakers make false claims about the election, the Capitol attack and The Muppets (Far-right freak show.)
• Former CPAC Chair Minces No Words Slamming What The Event, GOP Have Now Become (“This year’s Conservative Political Action Conference attendees ‘are living in an alternate reality in which facts don’t matter,’ said former GOP Rep. Mickey Edwards.”)
• This year’s CPAC is devoted to 2020 election lies — journalists shouldn’t help spread them
• The New CPAC Makes the Old CPAC Look Like the #Resistance (“Trump critics are out, election truthers are in.”)
• The GOP’s strategy for retaking power is uglier than you think
• Republicans roll out “tidal wave of voter suppression”: 253 restrictive bills in 43 states (“GOP is using Trump’s ‘big lie’ to push a historic ‘contraction of voting rights,’ says Democratic lawyer Marc Elias”)
• With voting rights already under attack, the Supreme Court could deal another big blow
• Why Republicans Are Still Holding Onto the Big Lie (“Even with a new president, it’s in Republicans’ interest to undermine the idea that democracy is worth it.”)
• The way to fix democracy is more democracy(“This is an all-hands-on-deck moment for our country.”)
• Republicans’ real beef with the Jan. 6 commission (“The notion of a truly apolitical body must scare the dickens out of them.”)
• 3 Percenter Sticker Found On Truck At Capitol Riot Belongs To GOP Rep’s Husband (“Illinois state Rep. Chris Miller denied knowing what the anti-government symbol represents.”)
• As USPS delays persist, bills, paychecks and medications are getting stuck in the mail
• Sen. Tom Cotton says it’s ‘anti-American’ to oppose systemic racism (Unhinged/evil.)
• Energy Secretary Granholm: Texas Outages Show Need For Changes To U.S. Power Systems
• In storm-struck Texas, Biden’s personal touch is muted by the pandemic
• Texans Demand Answers as They Grapple With Storm’s Lingering Wrath(“After millions lost power during a winter storm, lawmakers have held marathon hearings, prosecutors have started criminal investigations and residents have asked for accountability.”)
• Texas’s Power Market Is $1.3 Billion Short After Energy Crisis
• “Danger Warning”: Women Say Madison Cawthorn Harassed Them In College (This guy’s horrible in every way, kinda like Marjorie Taylor Greene.)
• New York Times Columnist David Brooks Wrote A Blog Post For Facebook’s Corporate Website (“Brooks also appeared in a Facebook-produced video panel used to promote an NYU study of Facebook Groups funded by the social media giant.”)
• Lady Gaga’s dogs recovered safely (“Lady Gaga’s two French bulldogs, which were stolen by thieves who shot and wounded the dogwalker, were recovered unharmed Friday, Los Angeles police said.”)
• Georgia Senate panel backs end to automatic voter registration, no-excuse absentee voting
• Sen. Kaine Argues “Offensive military action without congressional approval is not constitutional absent extraordinary circumstances”
• Virginia Republicans Plan To Vote Against Direct Payments To Their Constituents Even As Americans Rally Around Relief Package
• Schapiro: Despite term limit, Northam running for re-election (“Ralph Northam is thinking of endorsing Terry McAuliffe for Northam’s second term as governor. Coming off the final full legislative session of his nonrenewable four-year term, Northam is in legacy mode. While those close to him say an endorsement is not a done deal, that Northam might make one suggests he aims to burnish his image and believes early consensus among Democrats would contrast dramatically with the chaotic Republican contest.”)
• VA GOP Week in Review: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Parking Spots (“The Republican Party of Virginia Finally Chose a Nomination Method…But Forgot to Check the Details”)
• Saxman: The ‘R’ Word (“Circus. Raging dumpster fire. Charlie Foxtrot. Names and words really don’t matter when the definition is universally known and shared. And this one stinks to high heaven. Is it any wonder why fewer and fewer people don’t want to be associated with the “R” word and prefer to be just I?”)
• One Week Later, Virginia Goes From Vaccine Shortage to Surplus
• Marijuana bills in flux as Virginia’s legislative session nears end
• House and Senate struggle to reach deal on marijuana legalization as end of session nears
• Budget Request For Teacher Pay Disparities Gets Fully Funded
• Friday (2/26) Virginia Data on COVID-19 Finds +2,036 Confirmed/Probable Cases (to 572,639), +107 Hospitalizations (to 23,978), +234 Deaths (to 8,197)
• Governor Northam Introduces First-Ever Statewide Strategic Plan to Advance Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (“The ONE Virginia Plan is a strategic blueprint to institutionalize equity across state government”)
• Video: VA Senate Dem Caucus Vice Chair Scott Surovell Says Teachers Should All Be Vaccinated by Mid-March; General Assembly MIGHT Still “Squeak Out” Marijuana Legalization Bill
• Lawmakers Pass Bill Giving Home Health Workers Sick Leave
• Virginia legislature approves paid sick leave for home health care workers under Medicaid
• ‘The laws did not matter’: Leaked reports show pattern of Parole Board violations
• “Good Riddance” to One of the Most Far-Right, Extreme Members of the Virginia House of Delegates (Mark Cole (R) is on the the DLCC’s “seditious signatories” list)
• State police troopers justified in fatal shooting of Xzavier Hill on I-64 in Goochland, grand jury finds
• Controversial Wegmans project in Hanover gets wetlands permit approved by state board (“Officials from the Department of Environmental Quality said earlier in the morning that they had received 462 comments against the permit, and only three in favor.”)
• Schools in Roanoke, New River valleys see increase in failing grades during virtual learning
• African Americans’ contributions officially acknowledged by Newport News as part of “We Stand for Justice” project
• D.C.-area forecast: Wet weather lasts through the weekend