Advertisement 
by Lowell
Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Saturday, January 11.
- The Truth Behind That Viral “1 Billion Aussie Animals Are Dead” Stat Is Way More Complex—and Sad (“It’s possible some populations lost an entire generation of progeny.”)
- Can the catastrophic fires bring some sanity to Australian climate politics? (“It might be a moment.”)
- Enormous ‘Megafire’ In Australia Engulfs 1.5 Million Acres
- Trump Broke It. Now He Owns It.
- The lull in hostilities between Iran and the U.S. is just escalation in disguise
- Taiwan president takes early lead in election closely watched by China
- New Oman Ruler Sworn in After Almost Half a Century Under Qaboos
- North Korea says US ‘deceived’ Pyongyang on nuclear talks after Trump sends Kim birthday letter
- Swiss Back Channel Helped Defuse U.S.-Iran Crisis
- Iran says military shot down plane in error, after denial drew scrutiny abroad
- Zelensky calls for admission of guilt, justice after Iran admits to mistakenly shooting down Ukrainian plane
- Iran Says It Unintentionally Shot Down Ukrainian Airliner
- On the day U.S. forces killed Soleimani, they launched another secret operation targeting a senior Iranian official in Yemen
- Trump now claims four embassies were under threat from Iran, raising fresh questions about intelligence reports
- Trump’s team insists Soleimani was an “imminent” threat. Just don’t ask for details. (“’They really need to get their story straight,’ an expert said.”)
- White House considers expanding travel ban to more countries
- The Real Backstory of Why Trump Ordered the Killing of Suleimani Is Becoming More Clear
- Trump’s Rationale for Killing Soleimani Is Falling Apart
- Trump weighs in on Harry and Meghan royal split, defends the queen: ‘I think it’s sad’
- Trump angered by House ally’s push to limit his authority on Iran
- Trump impeachment trial to be set in motion next week, Pelosi indicates
- Trump will try to block Bolton impeachment testimony; Senate to get case next week, Pelosi says
- Was Nancy Pelosi’s Delay Worth It? (“The Democratic speaker will send the House’s articles of impeachment to the Senate without much to show for her three-week standoff with Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.”)
- George Conway and Neal Katyal: How Pelosi should play her impeachment cards
- I Hope Nancy Pelosi Isn’t Making Her Impeachment Move With the Democratic Candidates in Mind
- Australia is burning. The Arctic is melting. Yet Trump keeps gutting climate change regulations.
- We Found Major Trump Tax Inconsistencies. New York’s Mayor Wants a Criminal Investigation.
- Stephanie Grisham: Trump’s Press Secretary Who Doesn’t Meet the Press
- McConnell Is Drafting the Senate Trial Rules: ‘No One Is Going to See Them Until We’re Underway’
- Trump Allies Explore Buyout of Conservative News Channel One America News Network (It’s not “conservative,” it’s far right.)
- Donald Trump Is the War Crimes President
- The GOP’s Forever War on Democrats (“The Iran debate shows Republicans don’t believe in fighting tyrants. They believe in smearing their opponents.”)
- Much-Anticipated Iowa Poll Shows Virtual Four-Way Tie
- Biden Is The Front-Runner, But There’s No Clear Favorite (“Sanders has the next-best shot — among other possibilities”)
- Bernie Sanders leads the Iowa Poll for the first time, just weeks before the Iowa caucuses
- Elizabeth Warren holds on to 2nd place in Iowa Poll, showing some strengths, weaknesses
- ‘Politics of love’: the end of Marianne Williamson’s bizarre and mesmerizing campaign
- Endangered Dems sound the alarm on Bernie and Warren
- Bloomberg and Steyer’s spending binges start to pay off (“The two have dropped more than $300 million combined, and they’re rising in polls.”)
- It’s a different primary race now
- The Women’s March Tries to Repair the Damage. Is It Too Late? (“After a year of shrinking crowds, power struggles and allegations of anti-Semitism, a new board is hoping to get the movement back on track.”)
- This is how Democrats can flip the Senate (“A 50-50 split or better is quite possible for Democrats.”)
- Neil Peart, Drummer for Influential Rockers Rush, Dead at 67
- Editorial: Should miners learn code? Why Biden is closer to being right than Yang is.
- Virginia Members of U.S. House Issue Statements on War Powers Resolution: The Good, the Bad, the Ugly
- U.S. House votes to crack down on toxic chemicals; Virginia’s Republicans vote no as Trump threatens veto
- Spanberger: Congress must exercise its war powers
- A resolution over Iran splits a tight group of moderate Jewish lawmakers
- Some Democrats sour on redistricting amendment. Northam says it’s not the only solution. (Northam’s correct – it’s not!)
- Guns banned in Virginia Capitol as Democratic majority takes first action on firearms
- Democrats bar firearms from state Capitol and legislative office building
- Virginia Democrats enact immediate gun ban at state Capitol complex
- Virginia Democrats vote to ban guns in state Capitol
- Democratic majority bans guns from Virginia Capitol, legislators’ office building
- Video: Virginia Legislature Adopts Rules Governing Guns at the State Capitol
- No excuses, Virginia — it’s up to you to save these birds (“25,000 birds are in danger. It’s time to act.”)
- Virginia legislators want schools to ease the suffering of transgender students
- Lawmakers Likely to Pass Anti-Discrimination Legislation
- Virginia is the birthplace of democracy. We must protect our voting rights.
- Pope, Church & State: A weekly look at the General Assembly’s 2020 Session (“A weekly conversation about what’s happened at the General Assembly with Michael Pope and Luke Church.”)
- ACLU opposes Virginia governor’s marijuana decriminalization plan – for now
- This week in wins: Virginia makes history with its first woman speaker of the House
- To Cover Virginia Statehouse, Journalists Are Asked Their Race
- Sen. Adam Ebbin Introduces Virginia Values Act Legislation to Protect LGBTQ Virginians from Discrimination
- Northam: Passenger rail to Bristol ‘logical step,’ but not soon
- ‘Not perfect’ plan to shift Arlington County students’ schools draws criticism, nears vote
- Gaming consultants assess Hampton’s economic viability for a casino
- Unseasonably warm today and tomorrow, plus gusty showers late tonight
There's no paywall on Blue Virginia, and we definitely want to keep it that way! If you want to help support our work, you can donate here - thanks! Also, you can sign up for our weekly email list here. 
