by Lowell
Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Saturday, February 26.
“Anyone who wants to come over here and defend our country, please come, we will give you arms”
Ukraine’s President Zelensky addresses the nation from Kyiv saying “we have to defend our country, to defend Europe”https://t.co/lzLryg1HqN pic.twitter.com/zVF243no5C
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) February 26, 2022
- How a little-discussed revision of climate science could help avert doom
- African countries spending billions to cope with climate crisis
- The extreme wildfires raging around the world could become a lot worse
- Sanctions swing toward Putin himself as Ukraine anger grows
- Russia Says It Won’t Enter Talks Until Ukraine Stops Fighting
- Biden to order personal sanctions on Putin as Russian forces close in on Kyiv
- Ukrainians resist Russian onslaught as tanks and planes dig deeper toward Kyiv
- Ukrainian ambassador to U.S. accuses Russia of war crimes
- Russia says attacks not hitting civilians. Scenes in cities tell a different story.
- Protests resume as Russia seeks to quash invasion critics
- From the streets of Russia, protests rise to the war without a cause
- Vladimir Putin, Russia’s resentful leader, takes the world to war
- One of Russia’s closest allies denies request for troops (“Kazakhstan, one of Russia’s closest allies and a southern neighbor, is denying a request for its troops to join the offensive in Ukraine, officials said Friday”)
- U.S. stands ready to evacuate Zelensky, Russia’s ‘target No. 1’
- Ukraine invasion: Russians close in on Kyiv but meet strong resistance
- Italy Says It Backs EU on Russia, SWIFT Move: Ukraine Update
- How to think about the risk of nuclear war, according to 3 experts (“The threat of nuclear weapons never went away. But Putin’s invasion of Ukraine makes it visible again.”)
- Russian Fighters Close In on 3 Cities
- Regime Change in Russia Is Becoming a More Realistic Goal
- Zelensky rejects U.S. offer to evacuate: “I need ammunition, not a ride”
- Mapped: 87 countries condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine at the UN
- The Ukraine crisis is a major challenge for China
- China Distances Itself From Russia, Calls for Halt to Violence
- The antisemitism animating Putin’s claim to ‘denazify’ Ukraine
- NATO rushing to resupply Ukraine by land; no-fly zone all but ruled out (“The new overland option is something that ‘we’re prepared to do for weeks, for months, whatever it takes'”)
- Russian forces pound Ukraine for third day, Kyiv still in Ukrainian hands (The Russian forces should revolt.)
- US Extremists Have Picked a Side in Ukraine: ‘Lol Putin Is Brilliant’
- Russia-Ukraine latest news: Zelenskiy says Putin’s plan ‘derailed’; captured Russian soldiers ‘don’t know why they are here’
- Fears mount for safety of Ukraine’s nuclear reactors amid Russian invasion (“Core meltdowns due to operational challenges cause concern even as direct strikes to facilities remain remote possibility”)
- The West’s Embrace of Russian Influence Has to End
- U.S. Puts Banning Russia From SWIFT Global System Back in Play
- Street Fighting Begins In Kyiv; People Urged To Seek Shelter
- Ukrainians resist Russian onslaught as tanks, planes dig deeper toward Kyiv
- How the West Misread Vladimir Putin (“For years, the former KGB officer railed against U.S. domination, assailed the post-Cold War order and sent repeated signals that he intended to widen Russia’s sphere of influence. Nonetheless, until recently few imagined he would launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.”)
- Alex Ovechkin, the Russian star of the Capitals, says, ‘Please, no more war’
- Vladimir Putin Stands Alone (“Beyond sanctions, the worlds of sports and culture are pulling their support for the Russian leader.”)
- Putin has unfinished business in America
- GOP humoring of Trump’s praise of Putin sinks to absurd new lows
- ‘I’ll Stand on the Side of Russia’: Pro-Putin Sentiment Spreads Online (Social media is really problematic.)
- Ukraine: Curfew extended as Russian troops press on capital
- Ukraine fight isn’t proceeding as quickly as Russia expected, U.S. Defense official says
- Video of Ukrainian ‘tank man’ trying to block Russian military convoy goes viral
- Russian forces advance inside Ukraine: what we know so far
- Biden’s Theory of Escalation (“The president doesn’t want a war, but he’s been eager to show Putin what he’s made of.”)
- Bury the Old World Order (“The old ways of dealing with Russia no longer apply”)
- A State of Emergency for Democracy (“By attacking the rule of law, Republicans are helping Putin and Xi.”)
- Ukraine’s leader defiant as Kyiv withstands Russian attack
- Germany’s Reliance on Russian Gas Leaves It in a Pickle
- CDC expected to loosen COVID face-mask advice on Friday, and Canada authorizes first plant-based vaccine
- CDC Eases Mask Guidelines, Reflecting Covid-19’s Retreat
- Indoor mask use no longer necessary across most of the U.S., CDC says
- CDC to ease masking recommendations for 70% of country, including inside schools
- U.S. Bets on Faster-Charging Battery in Race to Catch Energy Rivals
- Auction for the right to build wind farms off New York and New Jersey raises a record $4.37 billion
- Lawmakers want to ban discomfort in school. But Black history isn’t always comfortable
- With his Supreme Court pick, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Biden takes the culture war fight to Republicans
- Ketanji Brown Jackson faces an epic fight (“Expect Republicans to blame her for the recent increase in crime, and who knows what else.”)
- Ketanji Brown Jackson’s nomination to the Supreme Court is historic and sound
- Reactions to President Biden’s Historic Nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson to the US Supreme Court
- Ketanji Brown Jackson Won’t Change a Politicized Supreme Court, but She Was Made for This Moment (“Jackson is a historic nominee—the first Black woman to sit on the court, if confirmed, and also the first public defender.”)
- Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Historic Nomination to the Supreme Court (“The fact that Jackson is eminently qualified doesn’t mean that her confirmation hearing won’t be a bonfire of bad faith—far from it.”)
- Why Biden picked Ketanji Brown Jackson for the Supreme Court
- Biden Made a Historic Supreme Court Pick. What Now?
- Imagine if Ketanji Brown Jackson Got to Play by Clarence Thomas’ Rules (“The SCOTUS nominee has eschewed overtly political causes, while Thomas and his wife have pursued a deeply partisan agenda—with impunity.”)
- The difference Ketanji Brown Jackson may make on the conservative-dominated Supreme Court
- Public Defenders Will Have a Champion on the Supreme Court of the United States
- Biden says Jackson will bring ‘uncompromising integrity’ to Supreme Court
- Ketanji Brown Jackson Won’t Be Able to Change a Radical Court. Yet.
- How a High School Debate Team Shaped Ketanji Brown Jackson
- Millions of Kids Are Back in Poverty Because Joe Manchin Bought the Wingnut Clichés
- President Obama: Trayvon Martin Made America Confront Its Original Sin
- A Kennedy’s Crusade Against Covid Vaccines Anguishes Family and Friends (“Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has risen to become a major figure in the vaccine resistance movement. Those close to him say it’s ‘heartbreaking.'”)
- North Carolina Republicans Ask SCOTUS To Decimate Voting Rights in Every State
- DeSantis gets rock star treatment at CPAC (DeSantis is, of course, horrendous.)
- Judge orders new trial for US woman sentenced to six years for trying to register to vote
- Georgia GOP chair tells January 6 committee that Trump campaign directed alternate elector effort
- GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene Speaks At White Nationalist Conference
- Fox News reporter Jennifer Griffin keeps fact-checking her colleagues on Ukraine
- How did Tucker Carlson turn into a Putin apologist?
- Newsmax Blasts Tucker Carlson For ‘Supporting Putin and Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine’
- Right-wing media blame LGBTQ equality, “pride flags” for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
- ‘That is fraud.’ GOP registered more than 100 voters as Republicans without their consent (Republicans actually doing the thing they falsely accuse Democrats of doing.)
- CNN Probe Finds Allison Gollust Assisted Chris Cuomo in His Efforts to Help Andrew Cuomo
- Schapiro: In a MAGA state of mind, Republicans fine tune their records (“Kiggans, a helicopter pilot-turned-geriatric nurse practitioner elected to the Virginia Senate in 2019, was one of only six senators — all of them Republicans — to support an amendment by Amanda Chase, the Trump mimic from Chesterfield, that would set aside $70 million in the state budget for a full audit of the 2020 results. Because expediency loves company, another congressional wannabe, Bryce Reeves of Spotsylvania, voted for the measure, too.” Pandering to the “Big Lie” crazies.)
- Appalling: Youngkin Administration Moves to Eliminate “Inherently Divisive Concepts” From Public Education; Dems Rip His “inherently divisive” “racist agenda,” “whitewashed history and fake news” (Youngkin clearly “committed to eliminating Black History lessons from our classrooms”)
- Youngkin administration ends equity initiatives at the Virginia Department of Education (Youngkin is truly horrible.)
- Virginia Legislative Black Caucus “condemn [Youngkin’s] constant attempts to further revise, rewrite, and erase history” (Youngkin aiming at “the erasure of truth and the history of Black and Brown people from public school curricula for the comfort of a few.”)
- Judge calls Thomas Jefferson High admissions changes illegal
- Judge Strikes Down Elite Virginia High School’s Admissions Rules (“Thomas Jefferson High School eliminated standardized tests and made other changes to attract more Black and Hispanic students. A judge declared the policy unfair to Asian Americans.”)
- House panel kills push to let localities fund their own school construction costs through sales tax (That’s Republicans for ya.)
- House panel rejects bills allowing localities to levy sales tax for school construction (“Speakers warn the alternative will be for localities to raise property taxes — perhaps 25% in Prince Edward County.”)
- Video: In Superb Speech, Del. Don Scott Talks About African-American History, Declares “this is the only country I know, so I’m going to always reserve the right to challenge this country to be better” (Del. Scott also encourages everyone to pray for Ukraine, for our Commander in Chief Joe Biden and for our troops)
- 10-Day New COVID-19 Cases Down 89% Compared to 1/19; Hospitalizations Continue Declining; Deaths Remain Relatively High
- Youngkin’s new health commissioner sparred with state’s top epidemiologists over health guidance
- New CDC guidance keeps most of western Virginia in high COVID-19 category
- Some state Senators want protective plexiglass in the chamber removed
- Following bomb threats, Youngkin will ask for emergency funding for security at historically Black colleges and universities
- Virginians can work together on the climate crisis (They can, in theory, but they won’t with climate deniers Youngkin and company in charge.)
- VIDEO: Hampton Roads Leaders and Community Advocates to Call for Climate Investment to Protect Vital National Security Infrastructure (“…this is an issue of national importance – affecting national security at the world’s largest naval base and a port that serves much of the country”)
- VA Beach Dems Rebuke “racist remarks made by VB School Board member Vicky Manning, Who Said “continuing to educate South Americans is not sustainable” (In March 2021, Winsome Sears wrote, “We must stop Critical Race Theory now! I’m proud that Vicky Manning is standing strong against this racist agenda in Virginia Beach.”)
- D.C.-area forecast: Chilly but less windy today, and temperatures continue to bounce in days to come
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