Tuesday News: “Climate crisis: Amazon rainforest tipping point is looming”; “Ukrainian Forces Stall Russian Advance as Civilians Suffer”; “There Is No Excuse for Failure to Charge Trump”; “Biden Gets a Popularity Bounce”; “Tax cuts and a balanced budget: it’s now or never for Virginia lawmakers”

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Tuesday, March 8.

• Climate crisis: Amazon rainforest tipping point is looming, data shows (Disastrous. FIX THIS NOW.)
• Amazon Rainforest Nears Climate ‘Tipping Point’ Faster Than Expected
• The companies taking on climate change—and enlisting others in the fight
• Is the Amazon Approaching a Tipping Point? A New Study Shows the Rainforest Growing Less Resilient
• Ukrainian Forces Stall Russian Advance as Civilians Suffer
• Ukraine evacuates civilians from besieged city as two million flee Russian assault
• Fears mount for trapped Ukrainians
• People flee embattled Ukrainian cities along safe corridors
• Russia Is Now the World’s Most-Sanctioned Nation
• With New Limits on Media, Putin Closes a Door on Russia’s ‘Openness’
• Russia-Ukraine live updates: Odessa braces for Russian assault as humanitarian conditions deteriorate
• As Russia’s Military Stumbles, Its Adversaries Take Note
• Russia, Blocked From the Global Internet, Plunges Into Digital Isolation
• Hate for Putin’s Russia Consumes Ukraine
• Businesses are fleeing Russia. McDonald’s and Pizza Hut are sticking around.
• Russia will stop ‘in a moment’ if Ukraine meets terms – Kremlin (Russia’s “terms” are non-starters.)
• Why Biden is getting some praise from Republicans on his handling of Ukraine
• ‘Our sons were sent to Ukraine as cannon fodder’: Furious Russian mothers face down Kremlin
• Congress moves to bar Russian energy imports and end favorable trade relations.
• Vast Majority Of Americans Say Ban Russian Oil, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds (And the vast majority will complain if “gas prices” go up.)
• White House reaches out to Venezuela, a longtime foe, amid Russia crisis
• Morgan Stanley Says Russia’s Set for Venezuela-Style Default
• The Strategy That Can Defeat Putin (“Western strategy should rest on three pillars: vigorous and imaginative military support to Ukrainian regular and irregular forces; sanctions that will hobble the Russian economy; and construction of a militarily powerful European alliance that can secure the border with Russia as long as that country remains a menace.”)
• Zelensky: I’m not hiding, I’m not afraid
• Russia says it may cut gas supplies if oil blocked
• Shell to Stop Buying Russian Oil and Gas
• Russian Threat to Cut Gas Sends European Market Into Frenzy
• Putin’s autocratic vision is for a ‘Russian World’
• A no-fly zone means Nato shooting down Russian jets. We must not do that
• One More Thing to Worry About: Putin May Be Paving the Way to Use Chemical Weapons in Ukraine
• Can Russia Be an Ally Against Putin? (“Bringing his rule to a nonviolent end would pave the path to peace.”)
• “Z,” the Symbol of Russia’s New Politics of Aggression (“The letter has come to stand for devotion to the state, murderous rage, and unchecked power.”)
• The Future Turns Dark for Russia’s Oil Industry
• Why China Can’t Bail Out Putin’s Economy
• In defiant address from his office, Zelensky calls Russian troops war criminals
• Ukrainian foreign minister: The world can do more to help us fight Russia
• As Russia escalates its aggression on Ukraine, evidence of war crimes mounts
• America can’t solve its gas price problem (or its Russia problem) with drilling
• U.S. added less new wind power in 2021 than the previous year — here’s why (“New wind installations fell in 2021 as the industry faced a series of challenges, including supply chain headwinds, logistics logjams and international trade barriers, according to new analysis from S&P Global Market Intelligence.”)
• Trump was ready to give Putin what he wanted. We now have a president on the right side. (“This is why we should never allow a fanboy of authoritarians into the Oval Office.”)
• The GOP: An unending display of toxic masculinity (“Have we ever seen a national party make such naked appeals to masculine insecurity?”)
• A novel way for Democrats to fight the culture wars in the 2022 elections (“Is there a message that will both energize Democrats’ base and persuade voters in the middle to turn on the GOP?”)
• Senate’s vulnerable Dems ready to Manchinize their spending plans (“Manchin is floating a package that would reduce the deficit, lower prescription drug costs, plow some money into fighting climate change and reform the tax code. While he’s repeatedly said there are no formal talks going on with Biden or his colleagues, most Democrats take it as a sign he’s open for business.”)
• Democrats see fresh hope for Biden’s stalled agenda, eyeing Manchin’s vote
• Biden’s Approval Rating Improves After State of the Union as More Back His Tack in Ukraine (“45% approve of Biden’s job performance; 46% support his handling of Ukraine”)
• Finally, an initiative to hold Trump’s lawyers accountable
• Russia’s invasion puts a new light on Trump’s Ukraine pressure campaign
• Merrick Garland Should Tell Us if DOJ Is Investigating Trump for His Attempted Coup
• There Is No Excuse for Failure to Charge Trump for His Role on January 6
• Republicans warn Justice Department probe of Trump would trigger political war
• Trump’s Social Media Woes (“Truth Social has been a complete disaster and the ex-president seems to know it.”)
• Dark-money groups fighting Biden’s Supreme Court pick also funded Big Lie, Capitol riot (“Groups that backed Amy Coney Barrett and are attacking Ketanji Brown Jackson pumped money into Trump’s Big Lie”)
• Jen Psaki Schools Fox News’ Peter Doocy With Facts: ‘I Know That Can Be Inconvenient’ (“The reporter tries to blame rising gas prices on the Biden administration rather than Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.”)
• Biden goes home a lot — but not as much as Trump went to Trump properties
• The Supreme Court Just Came Perilously Close to Blowing Up Federal Elections
• A grand Supreme Court showdown over gerrymandering ends in a whimper
• Supreme Court Allows Court-Imposed Voting Maps in North Carolina and Pennsylvania
• How Supreme Court Radicalism Could Threaten Democracy Itself
• Supreme Court won’t review decision that freed Bill Cosby
• Congress Gives Final Approval to Make Lynching a Hate Crime
• Prosecutor tells jurors ‘ecstatic’ Jan. 6 defendant bragged about carrying gun
• The trucker convoy detours into conspiracy — and irrelevancy
• Why the ‘People’s Convoy’ of anti-vaccine truckers is fizzling out (“What the conservative media wants is chaos and destruction, and the convoy isn’t delivering.”)
• Pro-Trump PAC Exec Rants About Hillary After Feds Charge Him for Ponzi Scheme (Nutjob.)
• Douglas Macgregor, Tucker Carlson’s foreign policy muse, is a coup-curious conspiracy theorist
• GOP nominee for Michigan legislature shared material blaming Jewish people for 9/11, presidential assassinations, and subjugation of “white men
• Millions of Palm-Sized, Flying Spiders Could Invade the East Coast
• Texas county finds 10K uncounted ballots from primary day
• Sen. Ron Johnson says Obamacare should be repealed if GOP wins power back
• Florida says healthy kids shouldn’t get COVID vaccine, contradicting CDC (Florida’s Surgeon General is, predictably, horrible.)
• Former NC congressman registered to vote in home where he purportedly never stayed (That’s voter fraud.)
• Taylor Lorenz Introduces Her Brand to the Washington Post (“Today is Taylor Lorenz’s first day at the Washington Post, and she’s already doing, arguably, exactly what she was hired to do: She’s stirring up trouble on social media.”)
• And The First Virginia Congressional Endorsement (By Far-Right Rep. Bob Good) in VA02 Goes To…. Jarome Bell
• Rep. Good endorses far-right congressional candidate who has called for voter-fraud executions
• Governor Youngkin Continues to Sow Division With Continued Racist Dog Whistles
• Va. Senate leader moves to close potential loopholes in Commanders stadium bill (“Virginia state Sen. Richard L. Saslaw (D-Fairfax) is proposing new language to put a check on the potential public funding of a Commanders stadium complex.”)
• Tax cuts and a balanced budget: it’s now or never for Virginia lawmakers (“Lawmakers are trying to balance the books before heading out of town Saturday.”)
• Kenneth: State budget must make investments in Virginia communities, not unrealistic tax plan
• General Assembly passes protections for Virginians evicted from assisted living facilities
• Video: Virginia Dems’ Chair Susan Swecker Announces For Reelection, Is Endorsed By “Overwhelming Majority” of DPVA Steering Committee [UPDATED with Names of Other Candidates]
• Va. Democratic Party chair to seek new term, face left-wing challengers (Very strange headline.)
• Video: Powerful, Emotional Speech by Virginia Del. Jackie Hope Glass on Sexual Violence, Gender, Race, Justice and Injustice (Del. Glass tells the story of Recy Taylor, a 24-year-old African-American sharecropper who was raped by six White men in 1944, and how NONE of them were convicted.)
• Changes are on the horizon for Virginia’s Parole Board
• General Assembly agrees to end ban on Sunday public land hunting
• 10-Day New COVID-19 Cases Down 94% Compared to 1/19; Hospitalizations at Lowest Level Since August 2021
• Full Disclosure Briefing: The race for gambling entertainment dollars
• Youngkin concerned about Virginia Community College System’s search for new leader
• Giant, turbine-installing ship is Dominion Energy’s $500M bet on U.S. offshore wind
• Noose found at school in Loudoun, sheriff says (“Sheriff calls incident suspicious, is investigating.”)
• Roanoke’s official relationship with Russian city to continue (Good.)
• D.C.-area forecast: Brighter but much cooler today; cold rain might mix with wet snow tomorrow