by Lowell
Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, January 10.
- US broadcast news coverage of Australian fires largely fails to connect the crisis to climate change(“But an uptick in early January coverage signals a possible improvement after months of ignoring the disaster” As usual, the media largely sucks.)
- ‘True peril’: More than 1 billion animals may have been caught in Australia’s fires. Some may go extinct. (“Although scorched koalas and kangaroos have become the iconic images from the Australian wildfires, of greater ecological concern is the possibility of losing unusual animals on a continent with the highest rate of mammal extinction.” Attention Virginia lawmakers: we need bold action NOW on the climate crisis!)
- Australia fire crisis fuels protests calling for bolder action on climate change
- Iranian Missile Accidentally Brought Down Ukrainian Jet, Officials Say, Citing Early Evidence
- Trudeau: Evidence Shows Iranian Missile Shot Down Jet In Possibly ‘Unintentional’ Act
- Video Shows Ukrainian Plane Being Hit Over Iran
- An Iranian general dies in U.S. attack, and innocents suffer
- John Kerry: Diplomacy Was Working Until Trump Abandoned It
- Iraqi Prime Minister Tells U.S. To Decide Mechanism For Troop Withdrawal (“The request comes after Iraqi lawmakers passed a non-binding resolution to oust U.S. troops following a strike that killed top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani.”)
- House passes war powers resolution condemning military action against Iran
- When did it become OK to kill a leader of a country we aren’t even at war with? (Now THIS is the Jim Webb I like!)
- This is what a real Iran strategy would look like
- Black Britons Know Why Meghan Markle Wants Out
- ‘Soon,’ Pelosi promises, as some Democrats grow restless over delay in Trump’s impeachment trial
- Impeachment impasse shows Pelosi’s power
- McConnell backs measure to change Senate rules, dismiss impeachment without articles
- Tensions with Trump over Iran expose concerns about the role of Congress in making war
- Trump, in a raucous rally, takes on Democrats and touts Soleimani killing (Gotta love when the media uses bland words like “raucous” instead of “insane,” which is that Trump’s rallies actually are.)
- Graham, Paul rift deepens over Trump’s war powers (These two guys both suck in their own, unique ways.)
- At Impeachment Trial, Chief Justice Roberts May Have More Prestige Than Power
- Justice Dept. winds down Clinton-related inquiry once championed by Trump. It found nothing of consequence. (Of course it didn’t. How f’ing stupid.)
- Trump Complains About Not Winning the Nobel Peace Prize Days After Threatening to Commit War Crimes (Insane and dangerous.)
- Trump Proposes Speeding Up Climate Change to Build More Coal Mines (“The proposal affects virtually every significant decision by the federal government that affects the environment.” Corrupt and sociopathic.)
- ‘Chaos Is the Point’: Russian Hackers and Trolls Grow Stealthier in 2020 (“While U.S. cyberdefenses have improved since 2016, many of the vulnerabilities remain. And attacks are getting more sophisticated. The Russians were sloppy in 2016 because they could be: They caught Americans off guard. Now hackers and trolls are working far harder to cover their tracks.”)
- Trump’s Contempt for Democracy Has Reached New Depths
- Boeing Employees Mocked F.A.A. and ‘Clowns’ Who Designed 737 Max
- Surveillance video from Jeffrey Epstein’s first apparent suicide attempt ‘no longer exists’ (WTF?)
- Kansas Just Proved That a Better GOP Is Possible
- Majority of Americans favor wealth tax on very rich: Reuters/Ipsos poll
- A viral and misleading Biden clip shows the dangers of democratizing disinformation (“Virtually anybody can use tactics once limited to campaigns, flooding social media with misinformation”)
- Finally, the New Polls Have Arrived. Which Candidate Would You Most Like to Be Now?
- Who’s In — Steyer! — And Who’s Out Of The January Debate
- Who Will Win The 2020 Democratic Nomination? (According to FiveThirtyEight.com, Biden has a 40% chance, Sanders a 22% chance, Warren a 12% chance, Buttigieg a 10% chance)
- Fox News Poll: Biden and Sanders vie for lead in Nevada, Biden tops Trump (And Tom Steyer in third?!?)
- How Serious Is Tom Steyer’s Polling Surge? (“In a new survey, he’s second in South Carolina and tied for third in Nevada”)
- Surging Steyer qualifies for Democratic debate
- Elizabeth Warren’s surprising closing argument (“A candidate known for battling Bernie Sanders for the hearts of progressives is pitching her electability in the weeks leading up to Iowa.”)
- Fox News Poll: Biden ahead by 21 points among South Carolina Democrats
- Four-Way Fight in Dem Primary (“Among registered New Hampshire Democrats and unaffiliated voters who are likely to participate in the February 2020 Democratic primary, 20% currently support Buttigieg, 19% back Biden, 18% back Sanders, and 15% back Warren.”)
- Maybe Nominating Bloomberg for President Isn’t a Crazy Idea (“All the Democratic candidates are flawed, but only one can outspend Trump five to one.”)
- Lindsey Graham’s challenger breaks fundraising record to flip Senate seat
- With Iran war powers resolution, Kaine finds new way to push his signature issue
- Virginia delegation was split over a resolution dealing with Iran (Everyone *should* have voted yes.)
- Virginia governor calls Lee statues ‘offensive,’ promotes efforts to boost black history
- Video: Governor Northam Outlines Historic Justice and Equity Agenda
- Audio: State Sen. Amanda Chase (R) Rips Senate Republicans as “Bozos,” “Clown Show”
- Video: ERA Passes State Senate Privileges and Elections Committee, On Way to Certain Ratification by Virginia
- ERA Clears First Hurdle In General Assembly
- Virginia House Majority Leader Charniele Herring Introduces Bill Establishing Rules for 2020-2021 Sessions
- Northam administration outlines gun control measures, releases proposed definition of ‘assault weapon’ (“The Northam administration threw its weight Thursday behind the eight proposals it will back on gun control this legislative session, including a ban on assault weapons defined as any semiautomatic rifle or pistol with a magazine that holds more than 10 rounds.”)
- Protesters Take to Virginia Capitol, Opposing Military Action In Iran
- Governor Allots Funds to Preserve and Tell Black History
- House Democrats’ new rules: Feminine pronouns, labor first and (maybe) a Capitol gun ban
- Lawmaker wants to give tenants more leverage over landlords who fail to make repairs
- Editorial: Time to ban cell phones while driving
- It’s time for Virginia to get a raise (Absolutely.)
- Shad Plank: To the victors, go the spoils — in state Senate committees, anyway
- Virginia Democrats move toward ban on guns in State Capitol
- In Light of Recent Texas Shooting, One Virginia Lawmaker Wants to Allow Guns in Churches
- Virginia Lawmaker Wants to Ban NRA’s Shooting Range (“Helmer said wasn’t he targeting the NRA per se, but said he was not aware of any other specific shooting ranges in the state that would be affected by his bill.”)
- Hala Ayala column: We need to do more for our underserved schools
- Pronouns at Mr. Jefferson’s Capitol get a gender change (“Under Virginia’s first female speaker, it’s out with ‘he/him,’ in with ‘she/her.'”)
- Video: Virginia Grassroots Coalition Briefing/Press Conference
- GOP lawmaker forgets to fill in blanks on bill he copied from anti-abortion group (“John McGuire, a Republican member of Virginia’s House of Delegates, filed an anti-abortion bill on Wednesday similar to those already being pushed in multiple states by the National Right to Life Committee”)
- Del. Jeffrey Bourne, Dominion’s Clown Prince
- New Demographics Report Reveals Fairfax County Is Growing Older, Richer and More Diverse (“The county’s estimated population is 1,167,000, and we grew by 1.2% by the beginning of last year, adding about 14,100 residents. This makes Fairfax County more populous than six states and the District of Columbia: Alaska, Montana, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont and D.C.”)
- Video: Five Democratic Candidates Announce for Arlington County School Board
- Hampton leaders declare they support both Second Amendment rights and sensible gun laws
- Forecast: Clouds can’t hold back springlike temperatures this weekend
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