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by Lowell
Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Thursday, February 17.
I have never before told my brother’s tragic story on the Chamber floor, but I was so angry at the Republicans’ disdainful view of the lives of troubled people that I felt compelled. pic.twitter.com/7K42KSlv8N
— Wendy Gooditis (@WendyGooditisVA) February 16, 2022
- As climate change worsens, Republicans insist we must do nothing (“The more dire the situation, the firmer their opposition to any government action.”)
- Prepare for mass migration to cities in climate crisis, UK mayors warn
- U.S. choices on climate change could cost $14.5 trillion — or generate $3 trillion: Deloitte report
- For Once, This Environmental Disaster Is Not a Symptom of the Climate Crisis (“More humans, most of them poor and impoverished, die every year from the effects of pollution than are dying in the pandemic”)
- Australia’s largest coal plant to close in 2025, as Origin Energy accelerates coal exit
- Oil’s Spectacular Covid Crash Set the World Up for $100 Crude
- US keeps the world on alert as a ‘new normal’ dawns in Europe (“New US claims on Russia’s moves represent the latest gambit in an unusual public relations campaign meant to remove the element of surprise from Putin”)
- Diplomatic Whirl Shows West Unconvinced by Russian Peacemaking
- Western Defense Officials to Meet Amid Disputes of Russia’s Drawdown Claims
- Shelling breaks out in east Ukraine as West and Moscow dispute troop moves
- No other path than Nato for Ukraine – president
- U.S. says Russian claim of pullback around Ukraine is ‘false,’ accuses Moscow of adding troops instead
- Harris to meet with Ukrainian President for first time when she leads US delegation to Munich Security Conference
- Putin Has a New, Brutal Backup Plan in Ukraine (“On Tuesday, the Duma, Russia’s parliament, passed a resolution authorizing Putin to recognize the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republic—the two provinces of Ukraine’s southeastern Donbas region, which are occupied by armed pro-Russia separatists—as independent states. He could next move thousands of troops, tanks, and other weapons into the territories, at the “request” of their leaders, to defend their people from Ukrainian assault.”)
- Beijing Weighs How Far to Go in Backing Putin on Ukraine
- France urges revamp of Europe’s security order in face of Russia threat —
- Scholz holds his ground in Putin’s den
- ‘Do we want to live in a world where Putin calls the shots?’
- Brazil’s Bolsonaro embraced the U.S. under Trump. Now he’s in ‘solidarity’ with Russia. (Bolsonaro is pure evil.)
- Brazil mudslides kill at least 94, with dozens still missing
- Canada protests: Ottawa stand-off continues as blockades cleared
- Canada’s ‘Freedom Convoy’ protesters dig in amid Ottawa police warnings
- Ottawa protests: ‘strong ties’ between some occupiers and far-right extremists, minister says
- ‘Carnival of chaos’: Ottawa police face growing flak for failure to end protests (“Failure to prevent protests initially, and to rid the city of the trucks over three weeks have baffled and angered residents”)
- US funds for Canada protests may sway American politics too
- My Pillow’s Mike Lindell barred from entering Canada to support convoy protestors
- Analysis: U.S. Congress may squawk over a new Iran deal but is unlikely to block it
- Scoop: House GOP moves to tank Biden’s Iran diplomacy (We’d better not put the House GOP in charge!)
- What the Hell Is Happening to COVID in Israel? (“The implication is clear. As the pandemic enters its third year, Israel is closer than ever to striking a sort of truce with the novel coronavirus. Many Israelis seem increasingly comfortable with the modest risk milder lineages such as Omicron might pose to the vaccinated. There’s little to no political will for new limits on crowds and businesses. If anything, people want fewer limits, even if that means higher risk for the unvaccinated.”)
- I witnessed brutal censorship in Iran. We should all take U.S. book bans as a warning. (“It’s alarming to think that American communities are actively seeking to deprive people of the reading experiences for which my Iranian students paid a heavy price.”)
- Estimated 73% of US now immune to omicron: Is that enough?
- CDC wants to give people a break from wearing masks as pandemic improves, director says
- The Millions of People Stuck in Pandemic Limbo (“What does society owe immunocompromised people?”)
- COVID cases plummet all across the U.S.
- It’s time for the Federal Reserve to make a decisive move on inflation
- Biden administration launches industrial decarbonization initiative, targets $9.5B for clean hydrogen
- Renewable energy growth in the US lags far behind Biden’s climate ambitions
- Giuliani’s unhinged Jan. 6 rant shows how Trump’s media scam really works
- Will Democrats Go on the Offensive in the Culture Wars? (“New data from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee suggests they should.”)
- GOP plunges into a primary season of ‘self-hate’ (“Evidence of the party’s unrest is everywhere. Nearly a half-dozen Republican governors alone are facing competitive primary challenges.”)
- Democrats try to regroup heading into rough November
- The Rise of Big Tech May Just Be Starting
- Social media companies don’t care about safety
- More Bad News for the Trump Organization: It’s Back in the Inauguration Scandal Lawsuit (“Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr. could end up on the witness stand.”)
- Trump Makes New Claims About His Wealth After Accountants Drop Him (“The former president has spent decades inventing facts and figures to suit his needs. Now, dropped by his accountants, he is making new claims.”)
- Mike Pence committed a cardinal sin by the GOP’s standards. He can kiss 2024 goodbye. (“There is no viable path to being the GOP presidential nominee without Trump’s MAGA supporters, who won’t support anyone publicly rebuking the former president.”)
- Right-wing media said it was exposing a scandal. What it really revealed is how bad information spreads in MAGA world
- Republicans Blame Crime On An Innocence Project Lawyer Tapped For A Judgeship (Wrong on pretty much every level.)
- Rob Portman is a vestige of a disappearing GOP. He seems to know it. (“A reasonable Republican chooses a successor from among the MAGA crowd.”)
- Thank you, Sandy Hook families, for taking on the gunmakers
- GOP tensions boil over Trump’s fundraising tactics
- Russia fight shows off tensions between McConnell, pro-Trump wing
- There Republicans go again, siding with thugs (“Which party is soft on crime?”)
- Jim Clyburn saved Biden’s candidacy — and now has the president’s ear on Supreme Court picks
- We need a ‘Mazars warning’ on everything Trump says
- Journalist Reveals ‘Chilling’ Text GOP Lawmaker Sent White House Before Jan. 6 Riot (It was an insurrection/coup attempt, not a “riot”)
- Ryan Zinke broke ethics rules while leading Trump’s Interior Dept., keeping improper ties with land developers, watchdog finds
- Report: Trump Interior Secretary Violated Federal Ethics Rules (“The department wrote that it had referred the case to the Biden Department of Justice, which declined to prosecute.” Uhhh…why not?)
- We asked all 143 Texas GOP congressional candidates about Biden’s win. Only 13 call it legitimate. (In fact, the 2020 presidential election was by highly safe, secure and accurate. Not a single one of those Texas GOP congressional candidates should hold any public office.)
- What Pundits Don’t Understand About the San Francisco Recall (“It was about incompetence.”)
- Arbery’s killers sent many racist and violent messages, FBI analyst says
- Jury Hears Evidence Of Racial Slurs During Hate Crimes Trial Of Ahmaud Arbery’s Killers (“Prosecutors say Travis McMichael made racist statements about Black people on social media and in private messages.”)
- Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo attempts to connect any news to a Hillary Clinton conspiracy theory (She’s a complete nutjob.)
- Fox News host Mark Levin will keynote GOP event at Mar-a-Lago despite network’s supposed policy against campaign events
- OAN chief White House correspondent Chanel Rion pocketed GOP money for fundraiser (Why would OAN be allowed in to the White House?)
- Video showing police breaking up fight between Black teen and White teen in a mall prompts outrage (It really is outrageous when you watch it.)
- D.C. police lieutenant suspended over alleged ties to right-wing group
- Sen. Tim Kaine speaks on Russia-Ukraine conflict
- Video: An Exasperated Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA11) Says It’s Long Past Time for Legal ACTION Against Donald Trump and His Many Crimes (“There’s been a lot of investigations; there’s no action!”)
- VA Dems: “Governor Youngkin has chosen to strip [local school boards] of their constitutional responsibilities and tie their hands” (“Youngkin is putting the opinions of the few far-right over those of the overwhelming majority, and he’s making a name for himself as the Anti-Education Governor”)
- Video: “CNN Medical Analyst @JReinerMD says Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin’s move allowing parents to opt out of the state’s school mask mandate is premature” (“When we drop masking, we’re telling the most vulnerable in our population sort of that you’re on your own”)
- Youngkin signs law requiring Virginia public schools to make masks optional by March 1 (The WaPo – with its typical “who’s up, who’s down” “horserace” coverage – reports this one as a “win” for Youngkin.)
- Virginia House Democrats Highlight Their Successes at Crossover (“While Democrats have been focused on moving Virginia forward, Governor Youngkin and his Republican colleagues have put right-wing politics ahead of the interests of Virginia families.”)
- Virginia animal advocates hopeful as bills protecting dogs and cats at breeding facilities pass state Senate
- Williams: Virginia can’t afford another Massive Resistance. Stop the purges in education.
- Virginia NAACP calls for elections this year under new General Assembly maps (“U.S. District Court Judge David J. Novak stayed the outcome of the lawsuit until the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals settles a procedural dispute over whether members of the state election board are immune from being sued. The appeals court is scheduled to hear arguments in the case March 8. If Goldman prevails in a potential trial on the merits, it would force Virginia to hold legislative elections for three successive years, as the state did after a successful constitutional challenge more than 40 years ago.”)
- 10-Day New COVID-19 Cases Down 77% Compared to 1/19; Hospitalizations Continue Declining; Deaths Remain High
- Wood and Kreps: Floaters, heelsplitters and pigtoes — why Virginia must invest in freshwater mussels
- Republicans and Democrats at odds over best approach to marijuana licenses
- Hot-button issues mostly mooted in General Assembly (That’s completely untrue in the Republican-controlled House of Delegates, where they’re pushing MANY “hot-button issues.” The reason that they’re “mooted” is that Democrats control the State Senate.)
- Judge halts Loudoun’s school mask mandate as state mask-optional law takes effect
- Video: Makya Little Announces Candidacy for Virginia’s New 19th House of Delegates District
- Roanoke Councilman Robert Jeffrey case: Health issue, new court detail emerge
- Workers uncover another Lost Cause time capsule in Richmond
- D.C.-area forecast: Mild today with windswept showers overnight
