Wednesday News: “Pfizer Covid-19 Vaccine 100% Effective in Study of 12- to 15-Year-Olds”; “Biden Set To Unveil Expansive $2 Trillion Infrastructure Plan”; “Don’t believe conservative fearmongering over vaccine passports”; “Northam proposes legalizing marijuana in Virginia on July 1”

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Wednesday, March 31.

• WHO chief, U.S. and other world leaders criticize China for limiting access of team researching coronavirus origins
• Brazil’s Military Chiefs Quit as Covid-19 Pandemic Pressures Government
• Brazil is rocked by political turmoil as pandemic outlook darkens
• Brazil on edge as three military chiefs resign after Bolsonaro fires defense minister
• ‘Immediate and drastic.’ The climate crisis is seriously spooking economists
• How Russia and China are attempting to rewrite cyberworld order
• U.S. open to discussing wider nuclear deal road map if Iran wishes
• EU Meets Delivery Goal of 100 Million Vaccines in First Quarter
• Russia suspected of stealing thousands of State Department emails
• China’s Covid Rebound Edges It Closer to Overtaking U.S. Economy
• Don’t Believe the Doomsayers. Vaccines Will End The Pandemic.
• A dangerous coronavirus variant is wreaking havoc in parts of Europe. Experts fear US could be next (“The B.1.1.7 variant, first spotted in the UK, is more contagious, may cause more severe disease and is rapidly infecting younger populations, epidemiologist Michael Osterholm told CNN on Tuesday night. Recent research suggests the strain may also be more deadly.”)
• Merkel, Macron and Putin in talks on using Sputnik V jab in Europe, says Kremlin
• Exclusive: U.S. investigations into cartels paralyzed by standoff with Mexico
• How a full moon and a ‘huge lever’ helped free Ever Given from Suez canal
• Russia is Turning Ever Given’s Plight into a Marketing Tool for Arctic Shipping. But It May Be a Hard Sell (“Increased traffic through the Northern Sea Route could be a financial boon to Russia, and a quicker way to export its fossil fuel reserves.” Ugh, no!)
• The Fourth Surge Is Upon Us. This Time, It’s Different. (“A deadlier and more transmissible variant has taken root, but now we have the tools to stop it if we want.”)
• More And More Americans Say They’ll Get Vaccinated — But It’s Still Unclear Just How Many Will
• Pfizer Covid-19 Vaccine 100% Effective in Study of 12- to 15-Year-Olds (“The Covid-19 vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech safely protects kids 12 years and older, the companies said, results likely to lead to inoculating the children before the next school year.”)
• America is now on track to vaccinate all adults by July 4
• New rise in Covid cases shows that, yes, the vaccines work (“Younger, unvaccinated people appear to be driving the latest uptick in Covid-19 cases.”)
• U.S. Climate Groups Call on Kerry to Shut Off Wall Street Funds
• ‘The wish list’: Biden to launch effort to enact far-reaching infrastructure package (“In Pittsburgh, the president will detail a $2 trillion proposal that is the first part of a plan to overhaul the economy.”)
• Biden Set To Unveil Expansive $2 Trillion Infrastructure Plan
• Five things to watch on Biden infrastructure plan
• GOP gaslighting on infrastructure has begun. Here’s how Democrats must respond.
• Infrastructure was a Trump punchline but is a window into Biden’s soul
• GOP gaslighting on infrastructure has begun. Here’s how Democrats must respond.
• Don’t believe conservative fearmongering over vaccine passports (“We might not be able to get a passport system up and running. But it wouldn’t be an Orwellian nightmare if we did.”)
• GOP seeks to make vaccine passports next battle in the pandemic culture wars (Republicans are a bad, bad joke.)
• The latest threat to the GOP: Americans are becoming less religious (“Their demographic vise tightens.”)
• Trump’s favorite new candidate exposes the true depths of GOP radicalization (“Perhaps we should be thankful that Rep. Jody Hice is running to be the new chief of elections in Georgia, with the enthusiastic backing of former president Donald Trump. That’s because the Republican’s candidacy is exposing vile truths about the GOP’s ongoing slide into authoritarianism with dispiriting but useful clarity.”)
• Corporations will oppose voting rights unless they pay a price (“Companies reveal their spinelessness in attempting to skirt the single-most important civil rights issue of our time.”)
• Are primaries the primary problem? (“Getting rid of partisan primaries is only one possible reform.”)
• White supremacy and the filibuster: From John C. Calhoun to Mitch McConnell (“Conservatives simply don’t want majority rule. Since before the Civil War, the filibuster has been their weapon”)
• What Biden’s first list of judicial nominees tells us about his approach to the courts (“Biden named a diverse group of 11 lawyers to the federal bench on Tuesday, including several former public defenders.”)
• Biden Borrowed the Federalist Society’s Tactics. Good. (“Except his first slate of judicial nominees represents actual diversity.”)
• Republicans Have an Agenda All Right, and They Don’t Need Congress for It (“The G.O.P.’s program lives in the judiciary — and especially in the Supreme Court.”)
• The G.O.P. Has Some Voters It Likes and Some It Doesn’t (“This is what happens when a political party turns against democracy.”)
• Democrats Splinter Over Strategy for Pushing Through Voting Rights Bill (“President Biden and leading congressional Democrats have made the far-reaching bill a top priority, but some proponents believe it needs major changes.”)
• Why Are Republicans Promoting Gratuitously Cruel Election Restrictions? (That’s just who Republicans are.)
• Georgia voter limits take root amid weakened Justice Department
• Dems could dethrone Iowa (“The party, uncomfortable with the overwhelmingly white state’s sway, is thinking about blowing up its presidential primary calendar.” Make Virginia the first state!)
• The Andrew Cuomo Stories Somehow Keep Getting Worse (“In another pair of bad headlines for New York’s embattled governor, another woman is accusing him of unwanted kissing, and health officials allege he prioritized state-run COVID testing for his inner circle.”)
• Facebook will let users control more of what they see rather than forcing them to rely on algorithms (“The feed filter bar will let users toggle between algorithmically ranked content, most recent posts and updates from their favorite friends and pages they follow.”)
• Court voids Trump campaign’s non-disclosure agreement
• Two Capitol police officers sue Trump for ‘physical and emotional injuries’ suffered in riots
• Trump Sued by Two Capitol Police Officers for Inciting ‘Wild’ Riot
• Dominion lawsuit outs Fox News’ disinformation campaign
• Brutal Attack on Filipino Woman Sparks Outrage: ‘Everybody Is on Edge’ (“Security guards failed to intervene while a man kicked and stomped on a 65-year-old woman near Times Square, yelling, ‘You don’t belong here.’ — The security camera video was shocking in its brutality.”)
• Biden administration allows media inside Texas border tents packed with minors
• Teen who filmed killing tells court George Floyd was ‘begging for his life’ (“Darnella Frazier said Derek Chauvin did not ease up as he pinned Floyd down and that she still loses sleep over the killing”)
• Chauvin’s defense attempted to portray bystanders as angry mob that diverted officers’ attention (Chauvin’s defense is a disgrace.)
• Firefighter Testifies: ‘I Was Desperate To Help … And This Human Was Denied That’
• Republican politics and right-wing media continue to fuse
• Matt Gaetz Is Said to Be Investigated Over Possible Sexual Relationship With a Girl, 17
• Republicans are unloading on Rep. Matt Gaetz in gossipy texts and snide asides amid reports of a DOJ sex investigation: ‘He’s the meanest person in politics’
• Scoop: Matt Gaetz eyes early retirement to take job at Newsmax
• South Dakota’s governor issues executive orders banning transgender athletes from women’s sports
• G. Gordon Liddy, undercover operative convicted in Watergate scandal, dies at 90
• A third member of ex-U.S. Rep. Scott Taylor’s staff pleads guilty to role in petition scandal (“Heather Guillot, 32, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor election fraud charge and got a suspended one-year jail sentence and fine as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors.”)
• Video: U.S. Transportation Secretary Joins Governor Northam to Announce Major Milestone for Transforming Rail in Virginia, Highlight American Rescue Plan (“$3.7 billion investment to expand and improve passenger, commuter, and freight rail in Virginia and create a vital connection in America’s national rail network”)
• Virginia seals deal for $3.7 billion rail plan, including new Potomac River bridge (“The plan seeks to relieve a rail bottleneck over the Potomac River and get more commuters onto trains.”)
• Virginia GOP Lt. Gov. Candidate Tim Hugo “Honored,” “Excited” To Be Endorsed By Far-Right Culture Warrior Who Referred To “Ruth Traitor Ginsburg”; Said Gay Marriage Like “Counterfeit Money,” Will “Hurt Everyone”; etc.
• Why Won’t Virginia Republicans Hold a Debate? (“Hopefully they stop hiding and debate, but the clock is ticking”
• Northam proposes legalizing marijuana in Virginia on July 1 (“The move would speed up the process by nearly three years. The General Assembly will consider his proposals during a one-day session on April 7.”)
• Northam Says “Last-Minute Negotiations” Over Marijuana Legalization Measure Underway
• Northam makes final push to legalize simple possession of marijuana this July
• Virginia: Governor Approves Expedited July 1 Enactment Date for Adult-Use Marijuana Legalization
• Tuesday (3/30) Virginia Data on COVID-19 Finds +1,432 Confirmed/Probable Cases (to 617,941), +87 Hospitalizations (to 26,367), +23 Deaths (to 10,242)
• With Virginia On Verge Of Legalizing Marijuana, Del. John McGuire (R) Goes on Right-Wing Talk Radio to Rant About Its Supposed Evils (Among other false claims: that pot is a “gateway drug” that leads people down “path of destruction”; that Dems are doing this b/c they are “drunk with power” and only care about the $$$; etc.)
• Jennifer Carroll Foy on Gun Violence in America: “Numbness can’t be our reality. Trauma can’t be our norm. Action must be our answer”
• Virginia DEQ Seeks Extension from Corps of Engineers on MVP Review
• Ettinger: The Clock Has Run Out On Yellow Finch Lane
• Virginia Education Department sued over guidelines to protect transgender students
• “FCPS Pride” Responds to Anti-Trans Lawsuit by The Family Foundation of Virginia Over VDOE’s Newly Approved “Model Policies for the Treatment of Transgender Students in Virginia’s Public Schools”
• House candidates will run in current districts, commission plans to deliver new maps in October
• Redistricting commission sets new timeline for drawing new Virginia legislative maps
• On Virginia’s rural coast, resiliency and Chesapeake Bay conservation goals collide amid sea level rise
• Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Lee Carter pushes back at rumors he made an error on ballot-petition signatures
• Virginia’s Attorney General Mark Herring is calling for an independent investigation into the shooting of Donovon Lynch
• Gooditis announces re-election bid
• For first time in VMI’s 181-year history, a woman will hold the highest-ranking cadet position
• Virginia State Police admit — after repeated denials — that they used controversial facial recognition app
• State police to conduct investigation of fatal shooting of Black man by Virginia Beach officer
• Task force begins formation of Civilian Review Board with oversight of Richmond police misconduct
• Family, friends hold vigil for Donovon Lynch, 25-year-old shot by Virginia Beach police
• D.C.-area forecast: Rain developing midday today; gusty winds tomorrow with wind chills in the 30s (“Spring is but a memory by tomorrow morning as a cold front knocks temperatures back into the 40s with gusty winds.”)