by Lowell
Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, March 5.
- It is not hard to figure out why freedom is in decline (“Democracy is under siege”)
- World no closer to answer on COVID origins despite WHO probe – expert
- Brexit: EU to launch legal proceedings against UK ‘very soon’ (“Threat of action follows UK moves to unilaterally delay implementation of part of deal relating to Northern Ireland”)
- The ever-shrinking role of gas in Australia’s power system
- Exclusive: U.S. blocked Myanmar junta attempt to empty $1 billion New York Fed account – sources
- UN Embroiled in Myanmar Crisis as Junta Dismisses Sanctions
- The police just shot’: the terror inflicted on Myanmar’s protesters (“Witnesses shaken by brutality of security forces but remain resolute in fighting military coup”)
- There Is No Vaccine for the Gulf Stream (“The Earth is still pretty ill, all things considered”)
- Solar surpasses wind in India
- An “emotional” moment at an NSC meeting shows why withdrawing from Afghanistan is so hard
- Oil hits almost 14-month high after OPEC+ extends output cuts
- Pope Francis arrives in Baghdad for risky, historic Iraq tour
- In battle with U.S., China to focus on 7 ‘frontier’ technologies from chips to brain-computer fusion
- Those fever scanners that everyone is using to fight covid can be wildly inaccurate, researchers find
- Pandemic’s Racial Disparities Persist in Vaccine Rollout
- We have a choice between two covid-19 futures. Let’s make the right one.
- One and Done: Why People Are Eager for Johnson & Johnson’s Vaccine
- Why a Prominent Group of Catholic Bishops Is Objecting to the Johnson & Johnson Vaccine
- NPR/Ipsos Poll: Nearly One Third Of Parents May Stick With Remote Learning
- Fauci says moves to reopen ‘inexplicable’ as U.S. case numbers plateau
- Pickup in Hiring Points to Job Gains, Renewed Growth
- Butterflies are vanishing out West. Scientists say climate change is to blame. (Horrible.)
- White House defends Biden’s ‘Neanderthal thinking’ comment on ending mask mandates (“Texas governor Greg Abbott, who lifted face covering requirement, said it was ‘not the type of word a president should be using’” Right wingers being ridiculous as usual.)
- Republicans’ rhetoric on H.R. 1 is apocalyptic. Are they that afraid of democracy? (“A bill to make voting easier should be obvious. To Republicans, it is not.”)
- We need a national crusade against Jim Crow voting laws
- What Does National Security Even Mean Anymore, After January 6th and the Pandemic?
- NOAA to release new climate ‘normals’ for temperature and precipitation
- Biden Administration Moves To Speed Up Processing Of Migrants In Family Detention
- Senate opens debate on $1.9 trillion pandemic relief bill
- Desperate Americans wait as Washington duels over Covid bill (“A theatrical Senate floor tussle is writing the early history of the Biden era”)
- Senate takes first step toward passing $1.9 trillion Covid relief bill — here’s what happens next
- Biden Stimulus Faces Lengthy Final Gauntlet of Senate Votes
- Senate Finishes Reading 628-Page Measure: Stimulus Update
- Here’s What’s in the Senate’s $1.9 Trillion Stimulus Legislation
- A third stimulus check is in the Covid relief bill. Here’s how to get your full payment.
- Biden turns focus to next priority with infrastructure talks
- Is Biden’s Outreach to Republicans Real? (“Unless Senate Democrats get rid of the filibuster, the president will need GOP support.”)
- Democrats Control Washington, But That Doesn’t Mean Their Agenda Will Pass
- GOP senator chooses history over oil and gas in supporting Haaland in committee vote (“Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) is the only Republican on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee who voted to send the interior secretary nomination of Rep. Deb Haaland to the full Senate.”)
- Unmasked: When Identity Politics Turns Deadly (“Will Republican politicians kill some Texans to own the libs?”)
- GOP grapples with extremist episodes among its own
- Republicans Who Voted To Overturn Election Say Congress Should Stay Out Of Elections (These people have no shame.)
- Newsflash: Biden actually is governing in a bipartisan way
- Being bipartisan does not mean looking the other way (“A change in tone should not shelter Republicans.”)
- Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s first majority written opinion limits reach of FOIA
- A few rightwing ‘super-spreaders’ fueled bulk of election falsehoods, study says
- Trump’s Appeal Rings Hollow at CPAC
- Donald Trump’s Georgia Rewrite
- Civil War: Trump attacks Republican strategist Rove, who fires back
- The latest QAnon-inspired threat on the Capitol was thankfully a dud
- U.S. Capitol calm amid high security; Trump supporters hold faith he will return
- Federal investigators are examining communications between US lawmakers and Capitol rioters
- ‘Nobody Is in Charge’: Capitol’s Secretive Police Board Faces Overhaul After Riot
- Trump Appointee At VOA Parent Paid Law Firm Millions To Investigate His Own Staff
- Trump appointee arrested in connection with Capitol riot (“The FBI on Thursday arrested Federico Klein, a former State Department aide, on charges related to the storming of the Capitol on Jan. 6, marking the first known instance of an appointee of President Donald Trump facing criminal prosecution…”)
- The man who put his feet up on a desk in Pelosi’s office during the Capitol riot throws a tantrum in court.
- QAnon Proves Its Resilience
- The Promises to Coal Country Are Familiar, but Can Biden Deliver? (“For nearly 60 years, presidents have promised to lift up Appalachia, but many communities remain on the brink.”)
- The Rise of the Biden Republicans
- Mr. Potato Head, Dr. Seuss and trans kids: How Democrats are already letting Republicans win in 2022 (“Republicans have quickly seized on wedge issues while Democrats stubbornly refuse to end the filibuster…Culture war antics work because they keep the GOP voters whipped up over imaginary threats.”)
- Fox News’ Dr. Seuss obsession reveals the dishonest desperation of the right-wing war on “cancel culture”
- Dr. Seuss Books Deemed Offensive Will Be Delisted From eBay
- “Cat in the Hat” puts cash in the bank for GOP
- Fox News will be ‘loyal opposition’ against Biden, Fox CEO says (Yeah, riiiiight.)
- YouTube let the March 4 QAnon conspiracy theory spread
- Right-wing Facebook pages dominated conversation around Equality Act and Dr. Rachel Levine
- Cuomo Aides Rewrote Nursing Home Report to Hide Higher Death Toll
- Why Glenn Greenwald Says Tucker Carlson Is a True Socialist (WTF?)
- Metro’s safety lapses are alarming. That they’re recurring is unnerving.
- Warner applauds Treasury Department’s $9 billion investment in minority communities
- Sen. Kaine honors late doctor from VA with new bill
- The General Assembly made progress on climate in 2021, but our work here is hardly done (“The transportation category truly outperformed expectations, but building efficiency underperformed and renewable energy access didn’t perform at all…Unfortunately, beefing up the energy efficiency provisions of Virginia’s residential building code (HB2227) proved a hard sell in the face of entrenched opposition from the homebuilders’ lobby and surprising resistance from even some Democratic legislators…Unfortunately, 2021 was another bad year for my third priority, giving consumers the right to buy renewable energy from competitive suppliers.”)
- Democrats Continue Push For Environmental Reform
- It never seems to be the right time for campaign finance reform in Virginia (Or ethics reform…)
- Northam endorses Norfolk delegate for Virginia attorney general, bypassing incumbent Herring
- Governor Ralph Northam Endorses Delegate Jay Jones for Attorney General
- There are accusations of political pressure after Del. Jenkins changes course and endorses Terry McAuliffe for governor
- Sabato’s Crystal Ball Takes Its First Look at Virginia 2021 Governor’s Race, Starts As “Leans Democratic”
- Sen. Adam Ebbin, Del. Mark Sickles Condemn Republican Pete Snyder’s Antil-LGBTQ Statements and Actions
- VA State Senator and 2021 Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate Jennifer McClellan Announces “K-12 Equitable Education & Investment Plan”
- Former Roanoke sheriff Johnson announces run for governor (“Octavia Johnson was sheriff for eight years before being unseated in the 2013 election. In 2014, she was the GOP nominee in a special election…”)
- Virginia Democrats Respond to Far-Right Republican Candidate Forum
- New “Virginia People’s PAC” Launches, Promises to Bring Diversity to State Campaigns
- Thursday (3/4) Virginia Data on COVID-19 Finds +1,300 Confirmed/Probable Cases (to 581,408), +60 Hospitalizations (to 24,414), +31 Deaths (to 9,357)
- Virginia in a race with vaccines and variants
- First child in Virginia under the age of 10 dies from COVID
- Editorial: More interesting details in Virginia’s marijuana legalization bill
- Editorial: Legislature deserves credit for budget built on restraint
- Portsmouth to bring back elementary school students for in-person classes in April (“Portsmouth students in pre-K through sixth grade have the option to return for in-person classes April 12. The school division was the last in Virginia to make plans to bring back at least some students.”)
- Governor Northam views in-person learning methods in Louisa
- Virginia data protection bill signed into law (“The state is the second in the nation to enact a consumer data protection law along the lines of the EU’s GDPR. Here’s what businesses need to know about Virginia’s CDPA.”)
- Fairfax planning commission rejects flag ordinance proposal
- Can squeezing more vaccine doses out of each vial speed things up in Hampton Roads? It’s complicated.
- VCU Professors Call for Better Pay, Health Services Amid Pandemic
- Stoney administration proposes $185.6M capital budget for next fiscal year
- Early signs that pandemic fallout will linger into next academic year in Alexandria
- University of Richmond names Kevin Hallock its next president
- D.C.-area forecast: Chilly, sunny and windy through tomorrow. Dry through early next week!
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