Friday News: “Will Putin Kill the Global Economy?”; “The secret to the Ukrainian military’s success”; “The Right’s Disney Freakout”; “That’s no party. That’s the Republican Hot Mess.”; “Keep an eye on costs, but Virginia needs offshore wind”

by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, April 1.

Zelensky speaks of the strength and endurance of Ukrainians in latest late night address but also that Russia is “moving away from areas where we are beating them to focus on others that are very important. On those where it can be difficult for us.” pic.twitter.com/OmOWZvwSYf

— Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) March 31, 2022

• Indigenous Land Rights Are Critical to Realizing Goals of the Paris Climate Accord, a New Study Finds
• Pregnant people at much higher risk of breakthrough covid, study shows
• IEA to hold emergency meeting to tackle soaring oil prices
• Will Putin Kill the Global Economy?
• Putin Would Be Crazy to Cut Off Europe’s Gas. Or Desperate.
• Putin May Collect $321 Billion Windfall If Oil and Gas Keep Flowing
• Analysis: High oil prices, Ukraine war at Saudi pivot point
• War in Ukraine fuels fears among draft-age Russian youths
• Russians leave Chernobyl; Ukraine braces for renewed attacks
• How Russia’s War Revealed a Blindspot in U.S. Intelligence
• Russia’s War Lacks a Battlefield Commander, U.S. Officials Say (“Poor logistics and flagging morale have plagued a disjointed military campaign in Ukraine, according to American officials and independent analysts.”)
• Analysis: Russia’s rouble rebound is not as real as it seems (“The currency is also being artificially inflated by capital controls and, with the country’s gross domestic product predicted to shrink 10%-15% this year, Russians are quickly getting poorer as soaring inflation devours their earnings.”)
• The secret to the Ukrainian military’s success (“Ukraine’s conduct is a warning to U.S. leaders that a technically inferior adversary can impose surprisingly sharp costs.”)
• Putin ‘Just Threw Over the Chess Board,’ and Russians Feel Shame and Dismay
• Ukraine is top of the agenda as China and the EU prepare to meet
• Alleged strike on Russian fuel depot hurts peace talks – Kremlin
• Russia’s Neighbors Look at Putin and Ask “Who’s Next?”
• Chernobyl Russians fled with radiation sickness, says Ukraine as IAEA investigates
• The Kremlin is promoting Tucker Carlson’s false Fox News biolabs segment (This guy is evil, as is Fox “News”)
• Behind the Front Lines, Russia’s Military Struggles to Supply Its Forces
• Ukraine Update: Talks to Resume; Lavrov Says Working on Response
• Russia Says Ukraine Helicopters Made Rare Cross-Border Strike
• The US and its allies are weighing security guarantees for Ukraine, but they’re unlikely to give Kyiv what it wants
• Western spy agencies weaponize intelligence in attempt to undermine Putin
• Syrian Mercenaries Deploy to Russia en Route to Ukrainian Battlefields
• Ukraine war: Gruesome evidence points to war crimes on road outside Kyiv
• Russia’s Ukraine war builds on tactics it used in Syria, experts say (“Sieges, bombardments of civilian areas, disinformation: These are the tactics Russia is recycling in Ukraine from its intervention in Syria.”)
• Aid supplies not reaching Mariupol, city official says
• U.K. spy chief: Russian soldiers in Ukraine sabotaged own equipment
• Russia and the West are battling to get China and India to take their sides in the Ukraine war
• Hungarian leader with close ties to Putin toes the line on the war ahead of election
• A Familiar Script in Israel Might Have a New Ending (“Extremists are trying to break the fragile but growing ties between the country’s Arabs and Jews.”)
• US orders ‘unprecedented’ release of oil reserves
• The Right Way to Help People Hurting From High Energy Prices (“…fossil energy use comes with massive external costs, from local air pollution to climate change. That calls for governments to step in”)
• A Better Idea Than Releasing Oil from the Strategic Reserve (“It’s time to do away with the S.U.V. loophole”)
• Inside Clean Energy: US Battery Storage Soared in 2021, Including These Three Monster Projects
• DOE takes stock of offshore wind supply chain, calls for 2,100 turbines to meet 30 GW goal
• Senate closes in on $10B Covid aid deal despite Dem frustrations
• A Biden Labor Pick Was Vocal About Protecting Gig Workers. Three Democrats Helped Tank His Nomination. (“Joe Manchin, Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly voted with Republicans to sink David Weil’s bid to be Biden’s wage and labor standards enforcer.”)
• This Is Why It Took More Than 100 Years to Get an Anti-Lynching Bill
• Ketanji Brown Jackson is on track for a pretty quick confirmation (“While they may try, there isn’t much Republicans can do to block it.”)
• What Collins got right about supporting Jackson — and what she didn’t (“Collins appears to be confused about the Senate’s role in the confirmation process.”)
• Please, Merrick Garland. Don’t wait for the Jan. 6 committee. (“The Justice Department has an obligation to investigate Trump. Now.”)
• Yes, Merrick Garland can prosecute Mark Meadows (and Peter Navarro, and Dan Scavino) (“He should, too.”)
• Official review of Trump phone logs from January 6 finds record is complete (Coverup.)
• Scoop: New clue on Trump gap (“On Jan. 6, 2021, during an apparent seven-hour gap in White House call logs that the House select committee investigating the attack is now trying to piece together, then-President Trump’s executive assistant, Molly Michael, was absent for most of the day, three sources with direct knowledge tell Axios.”)
• Are Jan. 6 investigators stuck with the gap in Trump’s call logs?
• Jared Kushner interviewed by Jan. 6 committee for over six hours
• Mike Pence’s rehab tour begins, and a big Trumpian truth is revealed
• The Hyperbole and Horror of Ginni Thomas
• Inside Ginni Thomas’ ‘Insane’ Hiring Memos for Trump (“Kristina Karamo is running for Michigans’s chief elections officer, and if she wins she would have considerable sway over how the presidential election is conducted in 2024”)
• The latest threat to democracy? A Trump-backed candidate willing to ‘find extra votes’ (“Kristina Karamo is running for Michigans’s chief elections officer, and if she wins she would have considerable sway over how the presidential election is conducted in 2024”)
• Can Republicans Win by Just Saying No?
• That’s no party. That’s the Republican Hot Mess.
• How Democrats can solve their enthusiasm problem
• Why Democrats must figure out their message on schools and race (“Young people and parents are the voters Democrats should be appealing to.”)
• ‘Grooming’: Republicans’ vile new attack on any who criticize them
• House passes $35-a-month insulin cap as Dems seek wider bill
• Thomas Zimmer Nails the NY Times for Providing “cover…for the reactionary ‘cancel culture’ crusade” (Zimmer: “The reactionary political project behind the ‘cancel culture’ crusade is about maintaining hierarchies, about entrenching white Christian patriarchal dominance and authority in all spheres of American life”)
• The Right’s Disney Freakout
• Trump Judge Who Defended Same-Sex Marriage Ban Will Review Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” Law (These Trump judges are going to be the death of US democracy and many other things.)
• CBS News faces backlash for prioritizing “access” to Republicans over journalistic standards
• She Took the White House Photos. Trump Moved to Take the Profit.
• Report: Trump Ripped Off His Own White House Photographer, ’Cause That’s Just the Kind of Dick He Is
• Federal judge: Some new Florida voting laws unconstitutional (Will this be overturned on appeal?)
• A Facebook bug led to increased views of harmful content over six months
• Academy Accused Of Lying About Asking Will Smith To Leave The Oscars
• Will Smith didn’t slap just Chris Rock
• Fox Corp CEO Lachlan Murdoch uses Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to attack the NY Times’ 1619 Project (Completely deranged.)
• On Facebook, right-leaning pages push smears about Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson
• Cloud of notoriety builds over Cawthorn after sex-and-drugs claims
• Senators Warner, Kaine Demand Immediate Action in Light of “Continued, Horrific Mistreatment” of Dogs, Puppies at Virginia Facility (Urge Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service “to immediately suspend Envigo’s Cumberland facility license”)
• Warner, Kaine want dog breeding facility stripped of license
• Sen. Tim Kaine speaks on foreign relations
• Video: Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA11) on Trump and 1/6/21 Insurrection – “That ought to be a crime. That out to be pursued. That ought to be prosecuted.” (“I would hope…Merrick Garland is refreshing his familiarity with…the facts surrounding the insurrection, and Donald Trump’s criminal role in all of that.”)
• Jan. 6 committee member: Jared Kushner interview ‘really valuable’ (“Rep. Elaine Luria (D-Va.), a member of the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, said on Thursday that former President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner’s interview was ‘really valuable’ to the committee.”)
• Keep an eye on costs, but Virginia needs offshore wind
• How much to spend on affordable housing is another debate state lawmakers face next week
• Tax breaks are biggest difference between state budget negotiators, but there’s a gap in SNAP funding too
• Editorial: Saying no to sunshine (“Ask the Youngkin administration for records and details about its policy decisions, and the answer is almost certainly no.”)
• Youngkin administration faults aging Virginia elections data system
• Pope & Schapiro: What to expect from the special session, Miyares’ opposition to Dominion offshore wind project
• New VA Senate Candidates in SD17 (Democratic Del. Clint Jenkins) and SD27 (GOP Del. Tara Durant) (Durant’s announcement looks like good news for former Del. Josh Cole)
• Video: At Mar-a-Lago, Former President Trump Says Amanda Chase Has “Done a Great Job,” Pledges to “Be With [Chase]” in Her “Next Campaign”
• Sen. Louise Lucas: VA GOP “called me a pedophile just this week” and “@GovernorVA was silent”; “This is a pattern of behavior and the media should be reporting on it” (The VA GOP also attacked Sen. Jennifer McClellan for…playing Wordle!)
• Fredericksburg judge declines to dismiss civil lawsuit against Del. Durant
• Easing new limits on police powers, Virginia is cracking back down on noisy cars
• Virginia 10-Day New COVID-19 Cases Down 96% Compared to 1/19; Hospitalizations Down to 267 From ~4,000 in January
• Study to track Virginia’s bobcats
• Disputed school admissions policy OK’d pending appeal
• Legal fight against COVID-19 related fraud launched in Western Virginia
• Playing the Trump card (“How Patrick County’s [Wren] Williams carefully tries to build a national profile by aligning himself with the former president.”)
• Severe storms bring damage, possible tornadoes in Fairfax County
• D.C.-area forecast: Cooler but windy today, then sunnier and calmer tomorrow