Sunday News: “Democrats facing tough reelections back bipartisan infrastructure deal”; How *Not* to Run a Sunday News Show; “Truck kills one, barely misses Wasserman Schultz at Florida Pride event”; R.I.P. Champ Biden

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Sunday, June 20.

• UN blasts world leaders for failing to seal £72bn-a-year deal on climate (“Financial aid ‘critical’ to help developing countries limit fossil fuels – and make Cop26 a success, says UN”)
• Joe Biden, Vladimir Putin, and the Weight of History (“At last week’s summit, on the centenary of the Russian dissident Andrei Sakharov’s birth, Biden tried to reassert democratic values.”)
• World Powers Meet on Nuclear Deal After Iran Hardliner Win
• Iran Says Documents Needed to Revive Nuclear Deal Are Ready
• Iran’s next president could be the most repressive figure to ever hold the position
• Iran’s new president Ebrahim Raisi consolidates hard-line grip as reformers pushed aside
• Iran has a new president. He could end up being much more than that. (“Iranians elected Ebrahim Raisi as the next president in an election rigged in his favor.”)
• Israel’s Bennett warns against nuclear talks with Iran’s “hangmen regime”
• Iran election: Israel voices ‘grave concern’ over Ebrahim Raisi
• Prime Minister’s Office to Investigate Whether Netanyahu Shredded Documents Before Bennett Took Office
• Israel Says it Sent ‘Completely Normal’ Vaccines to Palestinians
• Marine Le Pen poised to make gains in France’s regional elections (“Sunday’s poll could help far right step further towards political mainstream ahead of 2022 presidential elections” Ugh.)
• Terrorist Attacks, Immigration Debates Push French Voters Rightward, Boosting Le Pen (“Anti-immigration party National Rally seeks to capitalize in regional elections, as Macron’s party also leans to the right”)
• Biden fights to sell democracy abroad when it faces challenges at home
• Op-ed: In Europe, Biden laid the foundations for an alliance to preserve democracy and check authoritarians
• Covid: Brazil hits 500,000 deaths amid ‘critical’ situation
• “Impeachment or Death”: Scenes From Brazil’s Massive Protests Against Bolsonaro (“Thousands hit the streets as the country surpasses 500,000 COVID deaths.”)
• As Europe cracks the door open to visitors, airlines pounce with new trans-Atlantic flights
• Australia embraces U.S. and pays price with China as trade war hits bottom line
• Death of Afghan commander in Taliban massacre highlights country’s struggles and fears
• Don’t Count on Needing a Covid Booster Shot, WHO Scientist Says
• Many Brazilians Insist on Pfizer Even With 500,000 Covid Deaths
• For Biden, confronting Putin may have been easier than dealing with Republicans back in Washington (“During Biden’s trip, developments on Capitol Hill gave the White House a glimmer of hope. Ten senators from each party edged toward a bipartisan compromise on physical infrastructure elements of his plan. Passage of that compromise could in turn reduce the price tag of — and increase the willingness of moderate Democrats to vote for — a follow-on package with the remaining elements through a budget ‘reconciliation’ process requiring only Democratic votes. If Republicans block the compromise, moderate Democrats will see party unity on a reconciliation package as the only route to action.”)
• Covid Counting Enters New Era as Threat Shifts Away from Cases
• The American West is drying out. Things will get ugly
• Our democracy needs a bipartisan win. Biden can help the Senate get one on infrastructure.
• Democrats facing tough reelections back bipartisan infrastructure deal
• Congress barrels toward debt cliff (Not this again…)f
• Champ, Joe Biden’s German shepherd and ‘sweet, good boy’, dies aged 13 (“Statement says pet was ‘constant, cherished companion during the last 13 years and was adored by the entire Biden family'”)
• Manchin’s voting rights compromise is great — except it doesn’t take on ‘election subversion’
• Voters supported progressive policies on ballot initiatives. Republicans are pushing back. (“Progressive policies like pot legalization and Medicaid expansion became law through ballot initiatives. Now some Republican-led states are working to limit that process.”)
• Why does this former Bush-era official scare ExxonMobil?
• The martyr who may rise again: Christian right’s faith in Trump not shaken (Craaazy.)
• The Two Men Blocking Military Sexual Assault Reform
• Horse deaths and drug violations: The dark side of Bob Baffert’s reign (Horse racing is a disgusting industry.)
• ItalyGate Is The Crown Jewel Of Big Lie Conspiracies. And It Just Got A Lot Wilder.
• Leader of companies that pushed ‘Italygate’ election conspiracy theory falsely claimed $30 million mansion was her home
• Truck kills one, barely misses Wasserman Schultz at Florida Pride event
• One dead after pickup truck drives into crowd attending Wilton Manors LGBTQ Pride parade
• New Yorkers Weigh Clashing Visions as Primary for Mayor Nears End (“As the city roars back to life, its residents are buoyed by optimism around reopenings, but also anxious about public safety and jobs. Eric Adams is considered the front-runner in Tuesday’s Democratic primary, but the race is fluid enough that another candidate may win.”)
• Yang and Garcia Form Late Alliance in Mayor’s Race, Drawing Adams’s Ire
• A Very Late Night With the Yangs The former frontrunner and his wife vent about Eric Adams, the media, and much more.
• Is U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley now ‘vincible’? In new Iowa Poll, nearly two-thirds say it’s time for someone new
• Ammon Bundy Announces Run for Idaho Governor (“He might not even be the most extreme candidate in the race.” The Republican Party at this point is just horrifying.)
• Video: Former Rep. Denver Riggleman (R-VA05) Warns of Dangerous “Law Enforcement False Flag” About 1/6, Says It “Should Scare the Hell Out of People”
• Virginia’s ‘dangerously’ full and short-staffed mental hospitals seek federal funds
• New report defends parole and calls for a larger, more transparent parole board in Virginia
• Editorial: Refocus energy on reform (“If officials would set politics aside — an all-but-impossible ask — they could improve operations at the Virginia Parole Board and the Office of the State Inspector General, both of which are needed.”)
• Hundreds of places in Virginia were listed in the famed ‘Green Book.’ This project seeks to find them all.
• Photos: Big Turnout as Ona Judge Historical Marker Unveiled in Mt. Vernon on Juneteenth
• Hundreds gather in Byrd Park for ‘Juneteenth Jubilee Celebration’ Saturday afternoon
• Saturday (6/19) Virginia Data on COVID-19: Hospitalizations, New COVID Cases Near Lowest Points Since Start of Pandemic
• For some Virginians, quest for jobless aid comes at a price
• Clark Mercer column: Central Virginia’s community connector: The Fall Line Trail
• Juneteenth celebrants glad for federal recognition, say more needs to be done
• Route 1 could go from elevated highway to an ‘urban boulevard’ in Crystal City. But not everyone is happy. (“Route 1 may soon take a very different form in Arlington’s Crystal City neighborhood: a green, tree-lined corridor with wide crosswalks, dedicated bike lines and pedestrian islands.”)
• Resilient Virginia prepares for Omaha and its return to the College World Series
• D.C.-area forecast: Building heat with a Father’s Day storm chance