Thursday News: “Russia’s Missile Test Fuels U.S. Fears of an Isolated Putin”; “The Media Should Cover Earth Day the Way Walter Cronkite Did”; “Trump walks out of interview after he’s challenged on false voter-fraud claims”; “Youngkin prepares to wade into national politics”

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Thursday, April 21.

• How climate change is reshaping the world
• Brazilian Meat Giant JBS a Bigger Emitter Than Italy, Study Estimates (The meat industry is a DISASTER on so many levels.)
• Australia’s biggest wind and solar hybrid plant begins production
• Climate change triggering global collapse in insect numbers: stressed farmland shows 63% decline – new research (Stop emitting greenhouse gases ASAP!)
• Climate crisis could lead to rise of smaller bees, study finds
• There’s a climate solution hiding in our walls (“Buildings waste a lot of energy. One low-tech solution could fix that.”)
• Bitcoin Mining Is a Tax on Our Electrical Grid
• Shanghai lockdown: Whole communities relocated in anti-Covid drive (Crazy.)
• It’s not enough to push back against authoritarianism (“A Freedom House report shows that Western democracies must address problems that leave people vulnerable to demagogues.”)
• US Treasury secretary and other finance ministers walk out of G20 meeting with Russia
• Putin rattles his ‘Satan II’ nuclear saber to hide failures in war, experts say
• Analysis: Russia’s missile test is fueling fears in the U.S. of an isolated Vladimir Putin who could strike in new ways.
• Russian Offensive Bears Down on Donbas as West Races to Resupply Ukraine
• EU Asks Citizens to Turn Down Heating, Lower Car Speeds to Cut Russia Energy Dependence
• Ukrainians Are Speaking Up About Rape as a War Crime to Ensure the World Holds Russia Accountable
• Ukraine war: Holocaust survivor aged 91 among Mariupol’s civilian dead – reports
• Russia Faces New Urgency to Avoid Default, Sidestep Wall Street
• US unveils latest sanctions targeting Russia
• Russia’s Chernobyl seizure seen as nuclear risk ‘nightmare’
• Russia’s Missile Test Fuels U.S. Fears of an Isolated Putin
• Seal off last Mariupol fighters, Putin tells forces
• Putin Calls Off Storm of Mariupol With Ukraine Troops Surrounded
• Russia’s Isolation From the West Will Outlast the War (“Restrictions on press freedoms are unlikely to be rolled back when the war in Ukraine finally ends.”)
• An important shift in Ukraine — and the US hopes more weapons will help (“In making the decision to send billions of dollars of weapons and equipment into Ukraine, the Biden administration factored in the risk that some of the shipments may ultimately end up in unexpected places, a defense official said. But right now, the official said, the administration views a failure to adequately arm Ukraine as a greater risk.”)
• Why a Chinese Security Deal in the Pacific Could Ripple Through the World
• China’s Xi proposes ‘global security initiative’, without giving details
• Macron comes out on top in French election TV debate with Le Pen (“Verdict of public and pundits is that the current president was more convincing than his far-right rival”)
• Analysis: Macron cements French presidential frontrunner status with combative debate performance
• The sinking of a Russian warship has become a liability for the Kremlin’s propaganda machine.
• ‘There will be no way back’: will war change Finland’s pragmatic approach to Russia?
• Justice Department Appeals to Reinstate Transportation Mask Mandate
• This Earth Day, Biden Faces ‘Headwinds’ On Climate Agenda
• The Media Should Cover Earth Day the Way Walter Cronkite Did (“In 1970, CBS and ABC devoted virtually their entire evening news broadcasts to coverage of the first Earth Day, with profound effects on politics and society.”)
• Has the mainstream media already made its peace with fascism? We’ll soon find out (“Piece by piece, we learn the truth about Trump’s coup — but the media gives us celebrities hitting each other”)
• Biden’s ‘New Deal’ Spent $1.9 Trillion on Aid. Voters Didn’t Notice. (Yep, this is exactly what “Democracy for Realists” found, that voters almost NEVER correctly parcel out credit or blame, because they are simply clueless, ignorant, etc.)
• Democrats Fear for Democracy. Why Aren’t They Running on It in 2022?
• Further Evidence Emerges the Saudis Did Not Pay Jared Kushner Billions Because They Thought He Was an Investing Genius
• Why the Hell Isn’t Jared Kushner’s $2 Billion Saudi Payment a Big Scandal? (“Anyone remember Billygate?” Apparently, it’s only a big “scandal” if it’s something almost completely inconsequential by a Democrat. If it’s a HUGE potential crime/crimes by a Republican, the media’s like…yawn.)
• Democrats are hostage to the myth of their ideas’ unpopularity (“Why is it always Republicans who act like they’ve got the public on their side?”)
• It appears CNN and the New York Times forgot a lesson of the Trump years (“In terms of independence, let’s be honest, the Times and CNN are declaring freedom from the left — they are not worried about being cast as too aligned with the Republicans.”)
• Manhattan DA’s Star Witness: Indict Trump Now or I’m Out (“Michael Cohen, the New York lawyer Trump used for years as his family company’s trusted consigliere, told The Daily Beast he’s already wasted too much of his time on a case that slowly and then suddenly doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. Prosecutors only have until the current grand jury’s term expires on April 30 to issue charges, at which point they must ask jurors who’ve already done this for six months to continue hearing evidence—or call the whole thing off and awkwardly make the entire presentation all over again in front of another 23 jurors.”)
• The Jan. 6 committee and Merrick Garland must protect our endangered democracy
• Alex Jones Reaches Out to Justice Dept. About Jan. 6 Interview
• Jan. 6 panel piecing together details of final Trump-Pence call
• We may never learn what happened between Trump and Pence on Jan. 6
• Inside the New Right, Where Peter Thiel Is Placing His Biggest Bets
• McConnell and McCarthy’s Jan. 6 Fury at Trump Faded by February (That’s completely f’ed up.)
• RNC Paid Trump’s Personal Attorneys Another $350,000 In March
• Parachute demo at Nats Park causes brief Capitol evacuation
• Trump releases audio that appears to refute claim he walked out of interview over 2020 questions
• Confronted With The Truth, Trump Appears To Walk Out Of Piers Morgan Interview
• Trump walks out of interview after he’s challenged on false voter-fraud claims
• Hillary Clinton moves to shut down Trump lawsuit
• DNC hauled in $16.8M in March
• Obamas to Leave Spotify, Seek Multimillion-Dollar Deal Elsewhere
• The 13 Most Important Republican Senate Primaries To Watch
• Only One Blue State Is Fully Preparing for the Next Phase of the Abortion Wars (“Republican legislators are already plotting to punish reproductive health providers across state lines. Connecticut has a plan to fight back.”)
• Sanders’ team says he has ‘not ruled out’ a 2024 bid if Biden doesn’t run
• For Democrats, the benefits of going on Fox are illusory at best (“Few benefits, heavy costs to appearing on the GOP’s propaganda network”)
• Effort to boot Greene from ballot could open new avenue of attack
• Five states that could take Iowa’s spot on the early primary calendar
• GOP turns to false insinuations of LGBTQ grooming against Democrats (Vile. Call them out!)
• She Was Called a ‘Groomer’—and Swung Back (Dems need to do this a LOT more!)
• A young Democrat’s viral takedown demands a ‘wokeness’ rethink (“Mallory McMorrow’s forceful rebuke of Republicans suggests a way forward for Democrats.” DO IT!)
• This Michigan Democrat Fired Back Against a Disgusting Republican Smear. Now She Just Reported a Huge Fundraising Haul.
• Firing Back Against a GOP Smear (“In a floor speech that reverberated through the political world, Michigan state senator Mallory McMorrow turned a scurrilous “groomer” slur into a resonant call to arms (and an effective fundraising prompt).”)
• Take a lesson from Jared Polis, Democrats (“The Colorado governor knows how to talk about MAGA cultists.”)
• Florida Senate Passes Bill to Eliminate Disney’s Special Tax District
• Ron DeSantis Uses All His Powers Ahead of 2024
• A Succession of Texas Governors Have Made a Great Show—and a Great Mess—of Policing the Border
• Idaho Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin rallying with pro-Putin conspiracy theorist who claims COVID-19 is satanic snake venom
• Dismantling Disney World’s special district status would be complicated and expensive
• ‘I was not there to do his bidding’: Sen. Mike Lee breaks his silence about White House text messages
• Proposal to change Utah GOP platform on abortion eliminates language on exceptions for rape, incest and preserving life of the mother
• We Are Sorry to Say That You Should Take Tucker Carlson’s Testicle-Tanning Stuff Seriously
• Netflix’s world has been turned upside down as stock plunges 35%
• DCCC: Far-Right “Turning Point” Action Endorses Jarome Bell in VA-02 Primary (“The extremism from the Republican candidates in the VA-02 primary is enough to make any Virginia voter sprint in the opposite direction”)
• Sen. Kaine hosts roundtable with local health officials
• Senator Jon Tester To Headline Democratic Party of Virginia’s Blue Commonwealth Gala
• Youngkin prepares to wade into national politics (“Virginia’s Republican governor will use new political groups as a vehicle to get involved in other state races in 2022.”)
• Gas tax holiday concludes in Maryland as Virginia debates its own (“As Maryland wraps up its gas tax holiday, prospects for one in Virginia remain uncertain.”)
• Happy 4/20 Virginia, Governor Youngkin and Republicans Continue to Try and Criminalize Weed (“Democrats will fight tooth and nail against the Governor’s attempts to criminalize weed”)
• What new Virginia laws reveal about how the natural gas industry sees its future
• A workers’ market, in Virginia and elsewhere, awaits anyone still on the sidelines
• Why Virginia officials ruled the Parole Board leaks don’t count as whistleblowing
• Youngkin wants to further loosen hiring requirements for health district directors
• Audio: Former VA Sen. Glen Sturtevant Was Supposed to Be a “Moderate” Republican, So Why’s He Talking Like a Raving, Far-Right, Amanda Chase-Style Extremist? (In unhinged interview on right-wing radio, Sturtevant rants about “transgenderism, the ‘woke’ ideology…sexualizing of our kids,” etc.)
• Virginia 10-Day New COVID-19 Cases Down 94% Compared to 1/19; Hospitalizations Down to 166 From ~4,000 in January (“New cases creeping up; the 10-day total of 12,223 is the highest since 3/9.”)
• Amazon announces 2 more solar farms in Virginia (“They will be in Frederick and Pittsylvania counties.”)
• New ALA report: Virginia cities have some of the cleanest air in the country
• Dominion shareholders demand a different response to climate change (“Freeda Cathcart has stock in Dominion Energy, and she worries about what economists call stranded assets.”)
• AG Miyares uses new law to help an innocent Virginian
• Virginia misses EPA deadline for clean air report
• Sen. McClellan, Del. Price Joint Statement on Recent Gun Violence and Pending Legislative Action (“In Hampton Roads, 161 people were shot in the first three months of 2022, a 27% increase over 2021. In the city of Richmond, gun deaths are up 20% over last year.”)
• After 35 years, Fairfax Co. police make arrest in case of rapist who posed as radio DJ
• Two prosecutors speak in favor of legalizing marijuana at cannabis summit in Portsmouth
• D.C.-area forecast: More clouds but milder today, then sunny and warm Friday