by Lowell
Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Monday, Presidents Day, February 21.
- Can Rights of Nature Laws Make a Difference? In Ecuador, They Already Are
- How to clear the air in the most polluted cities on Earth (“How countries like India can have economic growth and cleaner air.”)
- COP27 Will Turn Attention to Climate Justice for Poor Nations
- What winter weather forecasts, wildfires and mosquitoes mean for our health (“While the change in seasons is confusing, to say the least, here’s what is most concerning to me as a physician.”)
- A Big Climate Warning from One of the Gulf of Maine’s Smallest Marine Creatures (“Whales, puffins and cod feast on the zooplankton Calanus finmarchicus. The tiny crustaceans fuel the vast North Atlantic food web, but they are threatened by warming waters.”)
- Cannon-Brookes’ unstoppable billions pierce the bubble of fossil fuel denial (“Technology costs are plunging and legacy business models are being challenged. Decades old machinery designed for a different type of grid are being made rapidly redundant. The only thing missing was the forces of green capital to make the transition happen.”)
- We should boost Europe’s energy independence by investing in renewables, CEO says (There needs to be an emergency/crash program on this.)
- The one thing that could deter Putin (“Potential military costs, in the form of Russian losses on the battlefield, remain as the only viable disincentive that could stop Putin from invading Ukraine again.”)
- Russia blows past another off ramp in the Ukraine crisis
- For Russia, taking action on Ukraine now might be ‘less costly’ than waiting, says analyst (“Russia doesn’t want NATO and Kyiv to believe that arms exports to Ukraine successfully deterred Moscow, said Rob Lee of the Foreign Policy Research Institute.”)
- Putin Summons Russia’s National Security Officials (“President Vladimir Putin has called an unscheduled meeting of his Security Council. The Kremlin said that ‘tensions are rising.'”)
- Putin Prepares (“The autocrat has been trying for decades to end what he sees as a prolonged period of Russian humiliation.”)
- Ukraine’s neighbours bracing for millions of refugees if Russia invades
- Why Putin Held Off on Invading Ukraine—For Now (“On Saturday, at the Munich Security Conference, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all nations must be respected—and that includes, he pointedly added, Ukraine. “)
- Putin may go to war to capture Ukraine. With Belarus, he did it without firing a shot.
- U.S. warns that Moscow has compiled lists of Ukrainians to target after invasion
- Kremlin Cautious on Prospect of Biden-Putin Summit Amid Tensions
- Biden agrees ‘in principle’ to summit with Putin if Ukraine is not invaded
- There Are No Chamberlains in This Story
- Blitzkrieg or Minor Incursion? Putin’s Choice Could Determine World Reaction
- EXCLUSIVE U.S. plans to cut ties with targeted Russian banks if Ukraine is invaded – sources
- Alexander Gabuev writes from Moscow on why Vladimir Putin and his entourage want war (“Elites have hijacked Russia and conflated the country’s interests with their own”)
- Wielding the threat of war, a new, more aggressive Putin steps forward
- Putin warned the West 15 years ago. Now, in Ukraine, he’s poised to wage war.
- Biden Agrees to Meet Putin Provided Russia Pulls Back
- U.S. has intel that Russian commanders have orders to proceed with Ukraine invasion
- Biden abruptly cancels Delaware trip after top level meeting on Ukraine crisis
- How Putin took Europe to the brink of war
- Analysis: China’s bubble Olympics kept reality at a distance
- Covid: Australia’s border reopens to international visitors
- Canada’s capital secured and cleaned up after weeks-long protest
- Canada looks to end Covid-19 protests with tougher financial measures after another weekend of arrests
- Phil Mickelson’s willingness to entertain a Saudi-sponsored golf tour is shameless. He’s in good company.
- The Taliban Confront the Realities of Power (“They fought for decades to retake Afghanistan, but promises of a new start are already colliding with internal divisions and external opposition.”)
- This ‘Could Kill Far More Afghans Than the Past 20 Years of War’
- The European Union can now get tough with miscreant members. Will it?
- Havana Syndrome: High-level national security officials stricken with unexplained illness on White House grounds
- After the pandemic, long covid may unleash a tidal wave of health troubles
- The C.D.C. Isn’t Publishing Large Portions of the Covid Data It Collects
- ER Nurse Kellen Squire: We Once convinced 96% of Americans to Get Fully Vaccinated. How Have We Fallen So Far?
- Biden Administration Halts New Drilling in Legal Fight Over Climate Costs
- Congress races to clinch government funding deal
- The GOP’s Spreading Selective Amnesia About January 6 (“Will any Republicans be immune?”)
- Juan Williams: GOP is stirring up crime fears (Stirring up fears is what the Republican Party does.)
- Bomb Threats Are Roiling Historically Black Colleges and Universities
- Recent presidential history gives us little reason to relax on Presidents’ Day
- Yes, Georgetown should fire an academic for a racist tweet (It’s not just a single tweet, it’s numerous offensive comments.)
- ‘This should terrify the nation’: the Trump ally seeking to run Arizona’s elections
- The first public option health plan in the U.S. struggles to gain traction (“Washington was the first state in the U.S. to introduce a public option for health insurance, but the rollout hasn’t been smooth. Other states with public options in the works are taking notice.”)
- Kaine pushes change in retirement law to encourage savings
- To What Extent Might Virginia’s Off/Odd-Year 2023 Elections Look Like the Off/Odd-Year 2011 Elections?
- Virginia House, Senate “Money Committees” Hold Important Budget Meetings Sunday Afternoon
- VA House Republicans Release Budget That Will Devastate Virginia’s Public Schools
- Youngkin renews tax-cutting push after mixed reception from General Assembly
- Senate budget sweetens teacher, state worker pay, House lowers raise; split on size of tax cuts
- House pushes for $2 billion to fund school construction needs (Fine, but how do House Republicans propose paying for this?)
- AG says staff can’t keep up with flood of new criminal appeals
- Just what is a ‘divisive concept’? … Without real answers, educators are concerned about their implications in public schools (“Gov. Glenn Youngkin promised parents he would eliminate critical race theory in schools, a term that has become a framework for anything controversial. But some are raising concerns that it’s an attempt to roll back progressive efforts to provide Virginia K-12 students with an equitable, inclusive education.”)
- House Republicans and Senate Democrats advance their budget proposals
- Virginia farm bankruptcies remained low in 2021
- Legislation aims to protect residents evicted from assisted living facilities
- Air and water board bills hurt businesses and communities
- Equal Rights Amendment is vital for democracy, feminist activist Gloria Steinem says in Richmond
- Virginia Beach city official who embezzled $80K plans to pay much of it back with his unused leave time
- D.C.-area forecast: Sunny and mild today before a rainy, unsettled workweek
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