Friday News: “Explosions rock Ukraine’s capital as Russian forces advance on Kyiv”; “Inside Putin’s deep appeal to the GOP”; Sen. Warner “points to 21st-century dangers with invasion of Ukraine”; “Biden makes decision on Supreme Court nominee”

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, February 25.

• Plastic summit could be most important green deal since Paris accords, says UN (“World leaders to gather in Nairobi next week to discuss first global treaty to combat plastic waste”)
• Oil and Gas Companies ‘Flare’ or ‘Vent’ Excess Natural Gas. It’s Like Burning Money—and it’s Bad for the Environment (“A valuable resource is squandered. Experts blame weak regulations, ineffective tracking and a lack of economic incentives to capture and sell the gas.”)
• Live Updates: Russian Troops Enter Kyiv as Moscow Pushes to Topple Ukraine’s Government (“Foreign Minister Sergey V. Lavrov made clear that Russia would not negotiate until Ukraine stopped fighting. Ukraine’s leaders told Kyiv residents to ‘prepare Molotov cocktails’ to defend the capital.”)
• Explosions rock Ukraine’s capital as Russian forces advance on Kyiv
• The Case for the EU Cutting Off Its Russian Gas Supply Now
• Protests Erupt Around the World After Russia Attacks Ukraine
• How War in Ukraine Threatens the World’s Economic Recovery
• Attack Is Putin’s Most Aggressive Move Yet to Restore Russia’s Place in the World (Russia’s economy is tiny, its population is old and dying off, etc. Good luck restoring its place in the world…)
• Putin’s assault on Ukraine will shape a new world order
• How Putin’s Move Into Ukraine Could Backfire Disastrously (“Invading is the easy part. Controlling Ukraine while sanctions bite might prove impossible.”)
• Russia’s Strike Changes Not Just Ukraine but the World (“The security arrangement that has prevailed in Europe since the end of the Cold War has been shattered.”)
• The E.U. has exceeded expectations on Russia. It can do even more.
• Russian Forces Close In on Kyiv, Bombing Intensifies (“Putin aims to oust Zelensky; airstrikes target dozens of cities”)
• Kyiv braces as Russian forces reach city
• White House: Putin ‘improvising’ Ukraine strategy, was not prepared for U.S. intel
• Biden has been presented with options for massive cyberattacks against Russia
• With Russia attack, U.S., Europe ponder the future of the post-war world they created
• World leaders divided on whether to eject Russia from Swift payments system
• Putin’s attack on Ukraine is about more than his own delusions of grandeur (“It is also a lesson for the Russian people about what happens to those who insist on seeking Western-style democracy.”)
• Putin Unbowed as Russia Presses Ahead With Invasion Toward Kyiv
• Putin waves nuclear sword in confrontation with the West
• World leaders fine-tune punitive measures against Russia
• Battle for Kyiv underway
• Ukraine’s President Says He Is ‘Target No. 1’
• Trump largely isolated in praise for Putin as GOP condemns Russian invasion (Trump is a traitor.)
• Trump Pals Beg Him to Stop Kissing Putin’s Ass During Ukraine Invasion
• Biden Administration Debates Legality of Arming Ukrainian Resistance
• The Most Immediate Nuclear Danger in Ukraine Isn’t Chernobyl
• Invasion could drive 5 million Ukrainians to flee abroad – U.N.
• Putin’s Miscalculation May Make Him a War Criminal (“The West condemns Russia’s aggression as ‘barbaric’ and ‘horrific,’ as Biden warns that conflict could drag on for weeks or months.”)
• Analysis: Russia’s economic defences likely to crumble over time under sanctions onslaught
• Putin’s invasion of Ukraine plants a bomb under the Russian state
• In Washington, a Ukraine Tragedy Foretold
• US expels Russia’s No. 2 diplomat at Washington embassy
• Stop whitewashing GOP’s Putin worship
• Dear media: Ask Republicans why they are normalizing support for Putin (“Make them choose a side: Team Democracy or Team Trump/Putin.”)
• ‘I fear Putin is unstoppable’: Russians on the invasion of Ukraine (“Many Guardian readers in Russia who got in touch with us said Putin was not representative of the country – and there was concern about sanctions”)
• Fighting reaches Kyiv suburbs as Russian invasion of Ukraine intensifies (“Air raid sirens wail over capital and heavy gunfire and explosions heard in residential district”)
• As war breaks out in Europe, China blames the US (Complete crap.)
• Russia’s Assault on Ukraine Has a Crusader Element
• The Memo: Biden locks into battle with enigmatic Putin
• Ukrainian Refugees Head to Poland, Seeking Safety in EU
• Russian Billionaires Lose $39 Billion in a Day on Ukraine Attack
• Hundreds arrested as shocked Russians protest Ukraine attack
• Sean Penn on the Ground in Ukraine Filming Documentary About Russia’s Invasion
• Will Ukraine Be Afghanistan All Over Again for Russia? (“Insurgency could make even victory costly for Putin.”)
• Mr. Putin Launches a Sequel to the Cold War
• Former GOP strategist Rick Wilson on Putin’s deep appeal to “dictator-friendly” Republicans (“On Salon Talks, Rick Wilson breaks down the stakes of the ‘MAGA crazy’ midterms and 2024, and what Dems need to win”)
• Laundered Money Could Be Putin’s Achilles’ Heel
• Ukraine shrugged off predictions of war. Now it’s a mad dash to leave. (That was always very strange…denial, apparently.)
• War in Europe casts the continent into a frightening unknown
• Here’s How Trump’s Russia “Hoax” Led to Death and Destruction in Ukraine (“What began in 2016 could only have emboldened Putin.”)
• At great risk for Russia, Putin signals a dark endgame
• Garrison Of Ukrainian Soldiers Killed After Refusing Russian Demands To Surrender (“Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the 13 guards would be honored as heroes.”)
• Putin’s Useful Idiots (“Too many Republicans who know better are serving as mouthpieces for the Kremlin.”)
• Is Taiwan Next?
• Fox is using the Ukrainian crisis to suggest the Biden administration’s climate policies emboldened Putin (Fox “News” is both unhinged and evil, also NOT real news. It should be treated as such.)
• GOP slams John Kerry for discussing climate ramifications of Russian invasion (Uhhhh…that’s actually Kerry’s JOB!)
• Why Biden Wanted Americans to Know Exactly What Putin Was Planning (“The president’s diplomatic efforts may have failed at foiling Russia’s attack on Ukraine, but they worked to build global unity and remind Americans, post-Trump, what government is. It’s about “what’s best for the American people, as opposed to our leaders’ personal interests,” one senior administration official says.”)
• CDC to significantly ease pandemic mask guidelines Friday (” The Biden administration will significantly loosen federal mask-wearing guidelines to protect against COVID-19 transmission on Friday, according to two people familiar with the matter…”)
• Biden makes decision on Supreme Court nominee, with announcement as soon as Friday
• U.S. offshore wind bids soar past $3 bln, auction to continue Friday
• What Ivanka Trump can tell us about her father and Jan. 6
• What Really Happened to the Criminal Investigation of Trump? (“What the resignation of two prosecutors says about the strength of the case”)
• Why Does New York’s Criminal Investigation of Donald Trump Appear All But Over?
• Bragg taps new attorney to head Trump investigation after two lead prosecutors quit
• Trump’s Republican Rivals Smell Blood in the Water
• The Democrats Have Bigger Problems Than the Squad (“If there was one goal in mind among the moderates and conservatives who froze the Democratic Party’s agenda in place, it was to pass their priorities in law while distancing themselves from their progressive colleagues. What happened, instead, is that they weakened Democrats across the board, as candidates struggled to overcome a sense of failure that had settled over the party. Terry McAuliffe, the moderate former governor of Virginia, couldn’t clear that hurdle.”)
• Moderate Democrats are still deluded about how to win
• Suburban Gerrymandering Is Fueling The Republican Party’s Far-Right Radicalization (“Republican efforts to make congressional districts uncompetitive mean the only real election is the GOP primary, and the only way to win is to run far to the right.”)
• Roger Stone sues to block January 6 committee from getting his personal cell phone records
• ‘Conservative’ Confab Highlights Pro-Putin Voices, Including Trump And Gabbard (“Tulsi Gabbard is speaking at the Reagan Dinner and Trump, who once told Putin he was “a big fan” and has praised his invasion of Ukraine, is to speak Saturday.” Gabbard is horrendous, and really always has been…)
• Now is the time to remember what Fox’s own lawyers said about Tucker Carlson
• Republicans are obsessed with harassing transgender kids (“Cruelty is the point.”)
• Right-wing media get what they spent years asking for: Texas says accepting trans kids is “child abuse”
• Florida House passes ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill (“The legislation restricts classroom discussion around sexual orientation and gender identity.”)
• James Inhofe, Oklahoma Senator, Is Said to Plan an Early Retirement (Inhofe is a nutjob who will likely be replaced by another nutjob…possibly even a WORSE one, if that’s even possible.)
• ‘That history was broken’: Warner points to 21st-century dangers with invasion of Ukraine
• Virginia’s Democratic Members of Congress Condemn Putin’s “Illegal Invasion of Ukraine,” “Act of Aggression That Serves Only the Irrational Self-Interest of One Man”
• Virginia lawmakers hoping to unseat Democratic congresswomen use Ukrainian crisis to blast Biden (Absolutely disgraceful.)
• Video: Far-Right VA Sen. Amanda Chase (R)’s Budget Amendments Questioning the 2020, 2021 Elections Are Overwhelmingly Defeated; Sen. Kiggans and Sen. Reeves Both Should Be Disqualified From Higher Office Based on Their “Yes” Votes
• VA Senate Democrats Successfully Block Republican Attempts to Defund Local Schools (Youngkin “wants to be the Anti-Education Governor, but Virginia Democrats are forcefully pushing back and standing up for Virginia’s students”)
• The legislative session is over halfway through. How are Youngkin’s education proposals faring?
• More services or more tax cuts: Virginia House and Senate pass vastly different budgets (Tax cuts should be offset with tax increases on big corporations and/or very wealthy Virginians. We should NOT cut spending on Medicaid, school teachers/buildings, etc.)
• Proposed budget omits Youngkin’s request for ban on ‘divisive concepts’ in Virginia schools
• Editorial: Youngkin’s budget opportunity (“New poll numbers suggest the public is souring on Gov. Glenn Youngkin, but he can earn confidence by bridging the partisan divide in budget negotiations”)
• Pope & Schapiro: Budget battles, election audits and approval numbers
• 10-Day New COVID-19 Cases Down 88% Compared to 1/19; Hospitalizations Continue Declining; Deaths Remain Relatively High
• An effort to end solitary confinement in Virginia is dead for this year’s session
• Budgets call for polystyrene ban delay, despite 2021 compromise (Uh, why???)
• Changes in decertification of police should bolster trust among Virginians
• Report Highlights Health Risk Scores of Virginia’s Most Toxic Communities (“Virginia is one of the most toxic states in the nation with the majority of health risk concentrated in communities of color”)
• Del. John McGuire jumps into race for new 10th District Senate seat (McGuire was literally at the Capitol insurrection on 1/6)
• Youngkin delivers red vests to Sens. Lucas and Locke
• Thousands more Afghans headed to D.C. area for processing
• Loudoun Co. to become safe haven for asylum seekers from Afghanistan
• D.C.-area forecast: Clearer, warmer and windier afternoon after rain and freezing rain departs early morning