Tuesday News: “New IPCC report says it’s fossil fuels or our future”; “Zelenskyy to address U.N. amid outrage over Bucha”; “DeSantis’s Threats to Disney Is What Post-Trump Authoritarianism Looks Like”; “Accelerate the energy transition to protect national security”

by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Tuesday, April 5.

• ‘We are at a crossroads’: New IPCC report says it’s fossil fuels or our future
• Stopping Climate Change Is Doable, but Time Is Short, U.N. Panel Warns
• ‘It’s now or never’: World’s top climate scientists issue ultimatum on critical temperature limit
• “Dangerous radicals:” UN takes aim at Australia over fossil fuels and climate lies (At this point, anyone pushing fossil fuels, which are trashing our planet, is a dangerous radical.)
• Wind energy needs dramatic increase to hit net-zero goals, new report says
• As Russia’s War In Ukraine Disrupts Food Production, Experts Question the Expanding Use of Cropland for Biofuels (Obviously, ditch insane stuff like corn-based ethanol.)
• The climate cost of the war in Ukraine (“There’s concern the U.S. push to send more natural gas to Europe will increase climate warming emissions. But energy experts say the crisis might actually speed up the shift to cleaner energy.” Exactly – this increases the urgency, if that’s even possible, for getting off of fossil fuels ASAP!)
• What’s really holding the world back from stopping climate change (“The latest UN climate report suggests the world has to end new fossil fuel infrastructure to meet current goals.” That includes the Mountain Valley Pipeline here in Virginia!)
• Another booster? A vaccine for omicron? Here’s what could be next for COVID vaccines
• Putin’s War Has Started a Global Food Crisis
• Beatings, threats and mock executions: Residents of one town described the Russian occupation as a terrifying ordeal.
• Zelenskyy to address U.N. amid outrage over Bucha
• U.N. to Meet as Horror and Atrocities Mount in Ukraine
• Bucha Has Joined the Atlas of World Barbarism
• The Horror of Bucha (“Russian invaders are now treating the entirety of the Ukrainian population as combatants, as dirt to be cleansed.”)
• Kremlin reverts to type in denial of alleged war crimes in Ukraine’s Bucha (Everything Putin’s regime says is a lie.)
• ‘Why did they do this to us?’: Bucha’s survivors come out of hiding (“With the Russians gone, the Ukrainian town’s inhabitants are trying to make sense of the carnage and horror they witnessed”)
• The Bucha massacre should prompt a forceful response
• Bucha fills Ukrainians with rage and fear for other unseen atrocities (“How many Buchas will Ukraine have to uncover before the world directly challenges the bloodthirsty dictator in Moscow?”)
• The bodies of Bucha have set a difficult test for the west (“Analysis: From Ukraine’s point of view, this has to be the time to pile pressure on Germany in particular”)
• Zelenskyy To Address UN Amid Outrage Over Civilian Deaths (“Germany and France reacted by expelling dozens of Russian diplomats, while President Joe Biden said Russian leader Vladimir Putin should be tried for war crimes.”)
• Ukraine says Russia preparing offensive in southeast
• Bristling Against the West, China Rallies Domestic Sympathy for Russia
• China-Ukraine Diplomats’ Call Signals Xi May Finally Speak With Zelenskiy
• Ukrainian villagers describe cruel and brutal Russian occupation
• Why Putin faces ‘more NATO’ in the Arctic after Ukraine invasion
• Satellite images show bodies lay in Bucha for weeks, despite Russian claims.
• As Russia retreats from Kyiv, U.S. sees uglier fights to come
• Zelensky: ‘Very difficult’ to negotiate with Russia after Bucha (“Ukrainian President warns worse atrocities may emerge, after hundreds of civilian bodies were found”)
• US tested hypersonic missile in mid-March but kept it quiet to avoid escalating tensions with Russia
• Treasury Stops Russia From Paying Debt Through U.S. Accounts
• Payments to Russia are covered in blood, Kyiv mayor tells EU
• EU to Propose Banning Russian Coal Imports After Atrocities
• U.S. Drones for Ukraine Will Include Latest Tank Killers
• U.S. seizes mega yacht owned by oligarch with close ties to Putin
• More Than 300 Dogs Found Dead In Ukraine Shelter After Weeks Without Food Or Water (More horrors…)
• The War in Ukraine Is Shifting, Not Ending
• Zelensky fears worst atrocities still to be found
• Orban’s victory sends a warning to the west(“The Hungarian leader has long walked a tightrope between the EU and fellow strongmen — but it is getting harder to keep up his balancing act”)
• Europe has tools to stop Hungary’s toxic ruler. It’s time to use them. (Absolutely; the EU should have done so years ago.)
• Europe’s other threat to democracy (“While Putin batters Ukraine, his ally Viktor Orbán just strengthened his hold on Hungary.”)
• The Worst People on the Planet Are Cheering the Reelection of Hungary’s Authoritarian Leader
• North Korea warns of nuclear response if South provokes it
• A Flight Over China in Clear Skies, Followed by a Nosedive (Very, very suspicious.)
• Accelerate the energy transition to protect national security (“Transitioning to a clean-energy future is not just a matter of environmental stewardship, but an investment in national security.” Exactly!)
• Democratic, GOP Senate bargainers reach $10B COVID agreement
• Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley Got What They Wanted From Their Child Porn Smear
• The GOP won’t be honest about opposition to Judge Jackson (“Their reasons cover up the nub of the problem.”)
• The significance of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson
• Lindsey Graham Throws an Impotent S–t Fit Over Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Supreme Court Nomination (Nutjob.)
• Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson expected to be confirmed this week after bipartisan procedural vote Monday
• Murkowski, Romney back Jackson, all but assure confirmation
• Jackson on course for confirmation, with 2 more GOP senators in favor
• Lindsey Graham: If GOP Controlled Senate, Ketanji Brown Jackson Wouldn’t Get a Hearing (We’d all better make damned sure the Trump Republican Party doesn’t ever control the Senate again.)
• ‘Swallowing a toad’: Progressives warm to Manchin’s fossil fuel demands to clinch climate package
• Can Democrats Make a Deal With Mitt Romney?
• Why nurses are raging and quitting after the RaDonda Vaught verdict
• Maybe Amazon Shouldn’t Have Dissed Its Own Workers
• A Covert Network of Activists Is Preparing for the End of Roe
• Four things Biden could do to help Democrats in the midterms (“Biden needs to sharpen his message and narrow his agenda.”)
• Biden-Obama: White House reunion to celebrate health law
• Democrats hope Obama will give Biden a jolt
• How Redistricting Affects The Battle For State Legislatures
• Republicans Just Proved ‘Right-Wing Populism’ Is a Con Job (They’re proved that about a gazillion times over many, many years, but…yes, they proved it AGAIN with their votes against putting a modest cap on the price of insulin.)
• Book Banning And Threats Against Librarians Soared Over Past Year, Report Shows
• DeSantis’s Threats to Disney Is What Post-Trump Authoritarianism Looks Like
• Ron DeSantis’s repulsive war on Disney will soon face a reckoning
• Fox News Anchor Forced to Remind GOP Senator That Nord Stream 2 Isn’t Operational
• Biden Sees Rupert Murdoch as “Most Dangerous Man in the World”
• For Spanish speakers, far-right news site Tierra Pura opens the floodgates to American misinformation
• Fox News editor covering LGBTQ issues is a conversion therapy proponent who says “transgender identity is dangerous”
• Analysis: Tesla’s Musk may add to SEC ire with late report about Twitter stake
• Musk’s Twitter Investment Raises Red Flags for SEC (“The Tesla CEO has set the stage for a new fight with regulators, this time over how he disclosed his investment in the social-media platform.”)
• Why Elon Musk Is Buying into Twitter (“Like other billionaires, Musk can’t resist the siren call of owning big media.” This won’t end well.)
• Elon Musk asks Twitter users if they want an edit button; shares rise in premarket trading
• Trump upset with the state of his new social media site, eyes shakeup
• Report: Trump’s Truth Social Is an Even Bigger Humiliation Than His Other Business Failures
• Democrats must hit back hard at GOP book bans. Here’s a start. (“Someone needs to speak for the majority of Americans appalled by the conservative book-banning wave.”)
• Sarah Palin is back, for a GOP that was remade in her image
• This Republican about-face is so much worse than ‘cancel culture’
• Shooters still at large following mass killing in Sacramento
• Michigan GOP roils as Trump injects 2020 grievances into midterms
• Gov. Larry Hogan Approves New Maryland Congressional Map
• DirecTV to Drop One America News on Tuesday Despite Pressure
• Photos: Senators Mark Warner, Tim Kaine Meet with Supreme Court Nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson as She Nears Historic Confirmation Vote
• Rep. Luria: Jan. 6 committee has ‘responsibility’ to refer crimes to DOJ
• ‘Many, many issues’ — Spanberger reacts to report on I-95 traffic nightmare
• Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA08) Continues Opposition To Taxpayer-Funded Stadium Construction As Possible Legislation Looms In Richmond (“Super-rich sports team owners like Dan Snyder do not need” taxpayer support)
• Special Session: Governor Youngkin’s Incompetence Continues to Hurt the Commonwealth (“It is embarrassing and unprecedented for a Governor who has the majority in the House to still not have an agreement on the budget…”)
• ICYMI: Governor Youngkin Attacks Public Schools Again, Establishes Big Brother Watchdog Office (“Once again the Governor is attempting to bully our teachers”)
• Youngkin sends gas-tax holiday bills to legislature
• “Today, we return to Richmond to reaffirm and defend Virginia’s traditions of investing in our people and public servants in a fiscally conservative manner while balancing our budget instead of $3.2B of reckless tax cut gimmicks”
• House budget leader: Negotiators ‘aren’t that far apart’
• General Assembly begins special session, but has little to show for it
• Va. General Assembly makes brief return to Capitol amid budget impasse
• Thorny politics get in the way of filling Virginia Supreme Court vacancies
• Virginia 10-Day New COVID-19 Cases Down 96% Compared to 1/19; Hospitalizations Down to 230 From ~4,000 in January
• Governor Youngkin signs “beagle bills”
• ‘Good day to be a dog or cat’ as protections become Virginia law (Now do other animals…and not just at Envigo.)
• Full Disclosure Briefing: Virginia’s move to renewable energy
• Video: Far-Right VA Sen. Mark Peake (R) Apparently “Triggered” by Sen. Jennifer McClellan (D)’s Powerful Remarks About Martin Luther King, Jr., Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson (After McClellan’s speech, Peake rants about how Robert Bork, Clarence Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh were treated…)
• Collective Bargaining: Good For Falls Church Schools, And For All Virginia Localities!
• Video: On 54th Anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr’s Assassination, Del. Candi King (D-HD2) Says “the current social climate requires that we stay committed to his mission” (“Had Dr. King not been taken from us by white supremacy…would [it have taken] this long to see a Black woman ascend to our highest court?”)
• Sen. Reeves opposes Amazon data-centers site in Stevensburg, aims to preserve historic ‘treasures’
• D.C.-area forecast: Trending wetter and somewhat warmer the next few days