Thursday News: “Biden calls Putin a ‘war criminal’” as “Russia Pounds Civilian Targets”; “America can’t afford to forget Zelenskyy’s role in Trump’s first impeachment”; “Youngkin says superintendents back him but offers little evidence”

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Thursday, March 17.

• Opinion | The Ukraine War Could Stall Climate Action — or Galvanize It
• Australian Firm Claims “Giant Leap” Toward Clean, Cheap Hydrogen Power (“The achievement, published Wednesday in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Communications, could see the Morrison government’s so-called hydrogen stretch goal of $2 a kilogram to make the fuel competitive reached as soon as 2025”)
• Puerto Rico Is Struggling to Meet Its Clean Energy Goals, Despite Biden’s Support (“A 2019 law obligates Puerto Rico to achieve 40 percent renewable energy by 2025. But the U.S. territory’s public utility doesn’t think it can meet that target.”)
• Rise of Omicron Subvariant in Europe Could Be Sign for U.S.
• WHO says global rise in COVID cases is ‘tip of the iceberg’
• Ukraine War’s Global Economic Impact to Hit Poorest Hardest, OECD Says (“Paris-based research body doesn’t expect food and energy prices to fall back rapidly, advocates targeted help for households”)
• Slaughter, devastation in 2 Ukrainian cities
• Russia’s Ruined Gameplan for Ukraine Is Visible in the South
• Ukraine Update: Kremlin Denies Report of Major Progress in Talks
• Reports of survivors in the rubble of bombed Mariupol theatre
• Hundreds feared trapped in Ukraine theater hit by airstrike
• Vladimir Putin Has Fallen Into the Dictator Trap (“Reality doesn’t conform to the theory of the rational, calculating despot who can play the long game.”)
• Putin Assails Russians Who Back the West, Signaling More Repression
• Russia Pounds Civilian Targets as War Enters 4th Week (“Peace Talks Between Ukraine and Russia Set to Continue”)
• U.S. Adds ‘Kamikaze Drones’ as More Weapons Flow to Ukraine
• Biden calls Putin a ‘war criminal’
• War criminal: Biden criticizes Putin in harshest terms from any US official so far
• Outmatched in military might, Ukraine has excelled in the information war
• As Russian Troop Deaths Climb, Morale Becomes an Issue, Officials Say (“More than 7,000 Russian troops have been killed in less than three weeks of fighting, according to conservative U.S. estimates.”)
• Putin Assails Russians Who Back the West, Signaling More Repression
• Ukraine says Russia strikes Mariupol theatre sheltering residents, Moscow denies attack
• A Ukrainian Town Deals Russia One of the War’s Most Decisive Routs
• Russian Troops Kill 10 People Waiting In Bread Line, U.S. Embassy Says (Putin is absolutely a war criminal.)
• First Thing: Zelenskiy likens Mariupol assault to Leningrad siege
• The Clever Way Zelensky Changed His Message to America (“After trying and failing to shame the U.S. into stronger action against Russia, Ukraine’s president tried a different tack in an inspirational speech on Wednesday.”)
• ‘The Future of Russia Is Leaving.’ Putin’s Critics Are Fleeing the Country.
• With advance stalled, Russia bombards civilians as war enters fourth week
• Pentagon dials up size, scope of military aid
• Deepfake video of Zelenskyy could be ‘tip of the iceberg’ in info war, experts warn (This is so dangerous.)
• Zelenskiy captivates viewers with truth telling in address to Congress (“Ukrainian president, a former actor and comedian, has an understanding of the camera, and is proving a more serious man for more serious times”)
• Facebook and Instagram have allowed and profited from advertising pushing the false Ukraine-US biolabs conspiracy theory (Facebook continues to be a disgrace. Same with Instagram.)
• Russian TV producer ‘extremely concerned’ for safety after protest live on air (“Marina Ovsyannikova says she stands by her actions in first interview since live TV intervention”)
• Russia resorts to older weapons, civilians pay the price
• Russia claims to have ordered crucial bond payment as it seeks to avoid historic debt default
• The United States Shares Interests With Ukraine, But They Aren’t Perfectly Aligned (“We are all constrained by the tragic realities of geopolitics.”)
• Exclusive: Secret CIA training program in Ukraine helped Kyiv prepare for Russian invasion
• Russia’s state TV hit by stream of resignations
• Spain seizes another Russian yacht believed to belong to an oligarch.
• Koch Industries stays in Russia, backs groups opposing U.S. sanctions (The Koch brothers are evil.)
• Zelensky says ‘peace is more important than profit.’ Koch Industries disagrees.
• Zelensky settles a robust U.S. foreign policy debate
• Russia getting bogged down in Ukraine, Western nations say
• China finds itself in a tricky position — stuck between the White House and the Kremlin
• Zelensky’s appeal deserves a generous response
• Social platforms’ bans muffle Russian state media propaganda (They should do the same for insurrectionist/”Big Lie” propaganda in the US.)
• Irish Prime Minister Michael Martin tests positive for Covid while in D.C. to meet Biden
• Powell Kicks Off Most Aggressive Fed Tightening in Decades
• The stealth operative for big oil who’s out to derail America’s climate fight (Absolutely disgraceful.)
• America can’t afford to forget Zelenskyy’s role in Trump’s first impeachment
• What Lindsey Graham’s call to ‘take out’ Putin says about GOP ‘strength’ (“No matter how this conflict ends, there will be some level of ‘toughness’ they’ll say Biden didn’t live up to.”)
• A failed Fed nomination shows how excruciating climate politics can be (“Joe Manchin and Republicans killed Sarah Bloom Raskin’s nomination because she was honest about climate change.” Unforgiveable by Manchin and Republicans.)
• How This Redistricting Cycle Failed To Increase Representation For People Of Color — And Could Even Set It Back
• As legislation languishes and midterms loom, Democratic lawmakers pressure Biden to issue executive orders
• What happened to Build Back Better? (“Three possible scenarios for what comes next for Biden’s social agenda.”)
• Donald Trump, Michael Flynn call for violence — they’re not kidding, but the media doesn’t care (The political media in this country, with a few exceptions, is abysmally bad.)
• Mitch McConnell has no basis to oppose Ketanji Brown Jackson. So he made one up. (“His real reason: He does not think Democrats should be able to appoint Supreme Court justices.”)
• Republicans’ Built-in Advantage on Gas Prices (“Democrats have complex arguments. Republicans can just chant, ‘Drill, baby, drill.'”)
• Trump Dumps Pence From 2024 Ticket, Wants to Stay Friends (“Trump cited coup-related differences, saying, ‘Mike and I had a great relationship except for the very important factor at the end.'” What a farce.)
• Sleep experts say Senate has it wrong: Standard time, not daylight saving, should be permanent
• Families of Parkland shooting victims awarded $127.5 million
• Texas’ Anti-Trans Crusade Is Spreading
• Behind the Right-Wing Assault on our Schools (It’s mostly not really about “concerned parents” but rather political operatives attempting to rally their right-wing, racist GOP base.)
• As Duke and Dominion ramp up their net zero goals, the supply chain comes into view (“The companies have expanded their net zero commitments to include scope 3 emissions. What will that take?”)
• DOJ wants prison time for rioter who said she would ‘absolutely’ storm Capitol again
• Georgia Republicans speed through another massive “anti-voter bill” inspired by Trump’s Big Lie (“Georgia GOP passes yet another sweeping bill to restrict voting; Democrats compare it to Jim Crow suppression”)
• Ohio Supreme Court rejects statehouse maps, ending hopes of full May primary
• Ex-New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo considers running against Kathy Hochul despite opposition from his own party (Hell no.)
• Democrats’ fears about restricting mail-in voting were confirmed in Texas
• ‘Right in the trash’: Texas ballot rejections soar, AP finds
• Utah Democrats face dilemma: help an independent to try to beat Sen. Mike Lee or stand with the party
• Chris Cuomo wants $125 million for ‘unlawful’ CNN firing (Hahahaha, good luck with that!)
• Video: Sen. Kaine Says “the quantity and lethality of the military aid that we’re providing Ukraine is dramatically escalating” (On a possible no-fly zone, Sen. Kaine says we don’t want this situation to “escalate into an all-Europe war”)
• VA Democratic Members of Congress React to Ukrainian President Zelenskyy’s Speech, Pledge Additional Military and Economic Support
• Kaine, Warner praise Zelenskyy’s heroism and renew support for Ukraine, stopping short of no-fly zone
• 2022 Legislative Recap: Virginia Democrats Won’t Budge on Combating Climate Change and Protecting the Environment (“Since day one of the session, Republicans launched attack after attack on our environment”)
• Youngkin says superintendents back him but offers little evidence (“The governor and his allies say a letter criticizing his education policies does not represent all the state’s superintendents. The Post asked them for their views…The vast majority declined to comment or did not respond. As of Wednesday afternoon, none said they disagreed with the overall message of the document.”)
• Va. Gov. Youngkin calls for gas tax holiday, fueling more discord in divided state legislature (“Fueling more discord” seems to be what Youngkin does. Horrible governor.)
• After 2021 losses, Swecker looks to retain role as chair of Va. Democrats
• Republican Todd Gilbert eases into new role as Virginia’s House speaker (“Gilbert has pragmatically steered the House away from some far-right talking points and has won plaudits for keeping the House from going off the rails in partisan bickering.”)
• The Virginia Legislative Black Caucus Protects and Builds Upon Progress in the 2022 General Assembly Session
• 10-Day New COVID-19 Cases Down 94% Compared to 1/19; Hospitalizations Down to 452 From ~4,000 in January
• Editorial: Ready for the flood (“Flood Awareness Week in Virginia calls on residents to get informed about risk and prepare themselves for disaster.”)
• Judge says VCU can’t be held liable for age-based discrimination
• NAACP asks for civil rights investigation of Arlington County jail
• Years-long battle over sacred Monacan site ends in preservation
• Fairfax County Police Release Footage After Officer Shot Man in Lorton
• D.C.-area forecast: Showers on the shamrocks today. Warm and sunny tomorrow.