Thursday News: “Climate change tipping points are upon us, draft U.N. report warns”; “Biden’s patience may have delivered a breakthrough” on Infrastructure; “Joint Chiefs Chair Milley Schools Matt Gaetz On Critical Race Theory”; “[Virginia] Budget Surplus Could be Close to $2 Billion”

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Thursday, June 24.

• Climate change tipping points are upon us, draft U.N. report warns: ‘The worst is yet to come’
• A new U.N. climate change report vindicates Biden’s climate infrastructure plan (“Our choices are societal collapse or save a few billion dollars — and the Senate has to think about it.”)
• Can Massive Cargo Ships Use Wind to Go Green? (“Cargo vessels belch almost as much carbon into the air each year as the entire continent of South America. Modern sails could have a surprising impact.”)
• EXCLUSIVE: Gas infrastructure across Europe leaking planet-warming methane (Disastrous.)
• ‘Low-cost renewable hydrogen may already be in reach’ (“If the three record-busting low solar price tariffs recorded in the Middle East in the past 18 months are to be believed, renewables-powered hydrogen in prime sites in the region could already compete with gas-plus-CCS production, according to IRENA. Has the Gulf discovered the new petrol?”)
• Afghan Government Could Collapse Six Months After U.S. Withdrawal, New Intelligence Assessment Says
• German-French overture to Putin splits EU (“Initiative proposes a summit with Russian leader but also threatens new economic sanctions.”)
• Canada: Hundreds of unmarked graves found at indigenous school
• Building new solar now cheaper than keeping existing coal plants open: BNEF
• Hong Kong’s Apple Daily newspaper folds under government pressure
• Cindy McCain is Biden’s choice for ambassador to the U.N.’s food program.
• Indigenous Leaders and Human Rights Groups in Brazil Want Bolsonaro Prosecuted for Crimes Against Humanity (“The Brazilian leader’s ‘state policy’ to deforest and ‘plunder’ the Amazon, they’ve told the International Criminal Court, threatens tribal communities and constitutes what should be a new crime, ‘ecocide.'” Absolutely – do it!)
• Brazil Passes 500,000 Covid Deaths, a Tragedy With No Sign of Letup (Horrendous “leadership” by one of the worst presidents in the world.)
• Covid is already deadlier this year than all of 2020. So why do many in U.S. think the problem’s over?
• As The Pandemic Recedes, Millions Of Workers Are Saying ‘I Quit.’ (“People are leaving their jobs in search of more money, more flexibility and more happiness. A record 4 million workers quit just in April.”)
• Cities Are Taking A Fresh Look At Trees For The Planet’s Health — And To Address Racism
• Kamala Harris is set to visit the border
• Right-Wingers Who Demanded Kamala Harris Visit the Border Are Now Mad She’s Going
• Joe Manchin’s ‘help wanted’ ad: 10 reasonable Republicans (“He’s not going to find them.”)
• Three essential voting reforms that Democrats should add to their compromise bill
• Democrats hit wall on voting rights push (Not acceptable…we’ve got to protect our democracy, period, end of story.)
• The GOP shows Manchin and Sinema that saving democracy is a partisan issue
• Democrats hear calls to nix recess
• Antitrust Overhaul Passes Its First Tests. Now, the Hard Parts. (“When the Judiciary Committee began approving a suite of bills on Wednesday, it exposed the fault lines that could make final passage difficult.”)
• House Panel Votes to Curb Tech Giants
• Watch Matt Gaetz Get Schooled On Race By The Chairman Of The Joint Chiefs Of Staff (“Gaetz responded to the nation’s highest-ranking military officer by dismissively shaking his head.” Gaetz is evil.)
• Joint Chiefs chairman clashes with GOP on race theory, ‘white rage’
• Top general fires back at ‘offensive’ criticism of military being ‘woke’
• Top U.S. general hits back at right-wing uproar over racism teachings
• Why U.S. Police Have Been Quitting in Droves in the Last Year (“Public outrage and low pay were compounded by a demoralizing sense that the city itself did not back its police force, officers said.”)
• House investigates possible shadow operation in Trump justice department
• Biden administration forces out border patrol chief, a supporter of Trump’s policies. (Good.)
• Biden administration removes Rodney Scott as head of U.S. Border Patrol
• How Trump Has Redefined Conservatism (“The civil war in the Republican Party, to the extent there is one, isn’t between conservatism and some new form of populism. Instead, it’s between the old view of conservatism and the new one. That suggests a very different future for the Republican Party — one in which reactions to Trump influence who is thought of as conservative more than views on taxes or spending.”)
• The Biggest Threat to America Is America Itself
• Democrats think now is their last, best chance to pass a big climate bill
• Biden’s patience may have delivered a breakthrough
• Biden’s Push for Infrastructure Deal Closer to Senate Goal Line
• Senate group reaches tentative deal with White House officials on infrastructure
• Senators say a deal with the White House is in hand on infrastructure
• Democrats Debate Their 2020 Post-Mortems
• The Supreme Court’s Latest Union-Busting Decision Goes Far Beyond California Farmworkers
• The Supreme Court’s conservative majority returns to its passion project
• It Is Every Teenager’s Inalienable Right to Say, ‘Fuck Everything’
• The Supreme Court’s “cursing cheerleader” case is its biggest student free speech case in 14 years (“Turns out, applying the First Amendment to public schools is hard.”)
• Merrick Garland is the wrong man for the job (“He is failing to hold those who have disgraced the Justice Department accountable.”)
• The feedback loop the conservative movement is using against “critical race theory”
• ‘The Tea Party to the 10th power’: Trumpworld bets big on critical race theory
• Partisan war over teaching history and racism stokes tensions in U.S. schools (Absurd headline by Reuters – it’s not a “partisan war,” it’s one “side” – the Republicans/right wing – pushing this nonsense for political gain.)
• Why won’t Republicans show the courage to condemn their party’s race-baiting? (Because they agree with it?)
• Jared and Ivanka Ditch Daddy and Try to Launder Four Years of Filth
• When will Biden realize that liberals won the marijuana debate?
• Adam Schiff wants to ‘Trump-proof’ the White House. Will Biden agree?
• Staving Off G.O.P. Attacks, Democrats Show New Urgency on Crime
• An unprecedented mess’: DC Circuit rejects FERC approval of existing Spire gas pipeline (Now time to reject other gas pipelines as well, including the Mountain Valley Pipeline boondoggle.)
• Donald Trump Reportedly Hoped COVID-19 Would Take Out John Bolton (“The ex-president also reportedly mocked people sick with the coronavirus, according to a new book from The Washington Post’s Yasmeen Abutaleb and Damian Paletta.” Yep, sounds like the sociopath.)
• Dean Baquet keeps using the same cliché (Baquet is so bad.)
• Lauren Boebert, lost in a cacophony of crazy
• “From POTUS”: Trump wanted Justice Department to investigate a QAnon-linked election conspiracy theory
• New videos show Capitol rioters attacking police line from officers’ point of view
• No jail time in 1st riot sentence; Oath Keeper pleads guilty
• In sentencing regretful Capitol protester, federal judge rebukes Republicans
• Michigan Republicans Confirm the Obvious: Trump Lost Fair and Square
• “No evidence” of fraud: Michigan GOP committee rejects Trump’s “ludicrous” claims
• Michigan Senate Investigation Finds No Evidence of Fraud in 2020 Election
• Ron DeSantis Is Blithely Sowing the Whirlwind (Horrible, horrible person.)
• Out-group animosity drives engagement on social media
• Britney Spears asks judge to end conservatorship: ‘It’s embarrassing, and it’s demoralizing’
• A Former NRA President Was Tricked Into Speaking At A Fake High School Graduation (” In a speech to the James Madison Academy 2021 graduating class, David Keene, a former NRA president and current board member of the gun rights group, called on the teens to fight those looking to implement tighter gun restrictions.”)
• Sen. Whitehouse’s beach club says accusations of all-white membership are ‘inaccurate and false’
• John McAfee found dead of apparent suicide in Spanish jail after court approves his extradition for tax crimes
• Antivirus pioneer John McAfee, who had Roanoke Valley roots, found dead in Spanish prison
• Miami-area Condo Collapse Causes Massive Emergency Response
• California Governor to Face Recall, Second in State History
• N.Y.C. Mayoral Race Live Updates: Ranked-Choice Could Give Wiley and Garcia a Win, But It Is an Uphill Battle
• How Andrew Yang Broke All the Rules, and Fell On His Face (I’ve never understood the appeal of Andrew Yang; apparently, neither did NY City voters, lol.)
• In N.Y.C., Black Is Back
• Centrist Pundits’ Supposedly Savvy, Terribly Wrong Takes About the New York Mayoral Race (“Since the polls closed, I and every other too-online follower of election news have seen countless other similarly broad and vastly overgeneralized interpretations of this primary election.”)
• The Mayor’s Race Isn’t (Quite) Decided Yet (“Adams it the overwhelming favorite, but at least one other candidate still has a chance”)
• Biden: Sen. John W. Warner ‘is a reminder of what we can do when we come together as one nation’
• Video: President Joe Biden, Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine Eulogize Former Senator John Warner as “Great American,” “Great Virginian” Deeply Committed to Our Country and Our Democracy
• Glenn Youngkin Cowers in Fear of Debating Terry McAuliffe (“Youngkin attacked candidates who ‘selectively chose’ not to show up to debates before selectively choosing to hide from debates”)
• Va. Gov. Northam calls on General Assembly to return Aug. 2
• Governor Northam Announces General Assembly to Convene August 2 (“Special session to address state budget, including the allocation of federal relief funding”)
• McAuliffe and Youngkin differ on how they want to see potential surplus funds dispersed
• Republican Glenn Youngkin makes early-bird TV pitch in Virginia governor’s race
• Opinion: Virginia’s campaign finance system demands reform
• Virginia has more than a billion dollars in aid for people behind on rent. Here’s how to get it.
• Secretary of Finance: Budget Surplus Could be Close to $2 Billion
• House Democrats Continue Promoting Gun Safety in Virginia
• 50 Years On, Virginia’s Constitution Faces New Tests
• What you need to know about the delta coronavirus variant in Virginia
• Editorial: 70% vaccinated, but more to do
• Wednesday (6/23) Virginia Data on COVID-19: Hospitalizations, New COVID Cases At Lowest Points Since March 2020
• Dismissal of Virginia lieutenant governor’s lawsuit upheld (“In its ruling, a three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said that because Fairfax is a public official, he can seek redress for any alleged defamatory statements only if CBS published them with ‘actual malice,’ meaning ‘with knowledge that it was false or with reckless disregard of whether it was false or not.’ The judges said Fairfax had not shown that.”)
• Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax defamation suit dismissal upheld by federal appeals court
• Schapiro: Youngkin vs. McAuliffe — the debate over debates
• “What does someone identifying themselves a certain way or loving someone do to you to make you so viscerally angry all the time?” (Matt Royer: “To the transgender and non-binary students and to the LGTBQ+ student population at large. We see you. We hear you. You are valued.”)
• Residents left fuming, fearful after contentious Loudoun County school board meeting (Ugh, they “both sides”-ed this…even literally used the phrase “both sides”)
• In aim to boost diversity, Thomas Jefferson High offers 550 spots under revised admissions process (“The class of 2025 is the first to apply under the revised admission, which also got rid of the $100 application fee, raised the minimum grade point average and expanded the freshman class from 480 to 550, a school news release said…Admissions data for the class of 2025 shows that Black students’ acceptance increased from 1.23% in 2020-2021 to 7.09% this year, while Hispanic students’ acceptance increased from 3.29% to 11.27%.”)
• Chesterfield Board of Supervisors endorses name change for Jefferson Davis Highway
• Alexandria city manager to retire by end of year, adding to season of turnover there (“Mark Jinks was appointed Alexandria city manager in 2015, capping off more than two decades in the city’s government.”)
• D.C.-area forecast: Superbly dry and mild today, but humid heat returns this weekend