by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Saturday, June 18.
- UN Chief: Fossil Fuel Companies “Have Humanity by the Throat” (“António Guterres likens their climate inaction to Big Tobacco’s denial of smoking-cancer links.”)
- Western Europeans wilt in early summer heatwave, compounding climate change fears
- French Nuclear Power Crisis Frustrates Europe’s Push to Quit Russian Energy
- She Spoke Out Against Vietnam’s Plans for Coal. Then She Was Arrested.
- The Crypto Party Is Over (“The cryptocurrency industry was built on swagger, enthusiasm and optimism. All three are in short supply these days, as losses and layoffs mount.”)
- Bitcoin Falls Below $20,000 for the First Time Since 2020
- Why cryptocurrencies have gone from the next hot thing to a full-on meltdown
- U.S. hopes arms surge will sap Putin’s will
- Losing Troops in Ukraine, Russia Grapples With Its Manpower Problem (“Moscow’s recent battlefield gains have put its forces closer to Ukrainian strongholds, but a dearth of troops to break through Ukrainian lines is slowing their advance, say analysts.”)
- Ukraine gets major boost from European Union as war rages on
- Ukraine’s War Dead: A Special Report
- Russia’s Putin lashes out over Western sanctions ‘blitzkrieg,’ claims Ukraine invasion was forced (Classic abuser language, as in “why did you make me hit you?”)
- Russian Escalations in Syria Risk Direct Conflict With U.S., Military Officials Warn
- Russians Breached This City, Not With Troops, but Propaganda
- U.S. ambassador to Ukraine: ‘It’s going to be a long, grinding, tough war’
- Ukraine gets possible path to EU, aid pledges from Britain
- Russia frees captive medic who filmed Mariupol’s horror
- Russia’s Putin condemns ‘mad and thoughtless’ Western sanctions (In other words, they’re hurting Putin, so keep them up and even intensify them!)
- Remains of UK journalist Phillips identified in Brazil
- Brazil Indigenous expert was ‘bigger target’ in recent years (This is largely Bolsonaro’s fault.)
- Journalist who chronicled Amazon deforestation for The Post, Guardian and others is dead at 57
- 18 dead in India, Bangladesh floods; millions without homes
- Xi Says China’s Corruption Still Severe and Complicated
- Biden Team Negotiates Fresh Economic Plan as Inflation Antidote
- Newspaper coverage of record gas prices is missing important context: Big Oil’s record profits
- What if We Had Spent the Money on Climate? (We absolutely should have done so.)
- What gas prices do — and don’t — tell us about the economy (“Gas prices are high. But this isn’t the 1970s.”)
- Republicans Will Do It Again (“They have not been chastened by the revelations of the January 6 committee.”)
- The Jan. 6 Hearings Are Really An Inquest Into The ‘Big Lie’
- Proud Boys Led Major Breaches of Capitol on Jan. 6, Video Investigation Finds
- Stunning Trump revelations raise fears of a dark, violent future
- Trump hits Pence over Jan. 6 role as possible GOP 2024 hopefuls gather
- Amid Jan. 6 Revelations, Election Lies Still Dominate the G.O.P.
- A Day After a Portrait of Pence in Danger, Trump Attacks Him Again
- Jan. 6 was Mike Pence’s proudest day. He should own it.
- Trump’s pressure campaign on Pence was more vindictive than anyone imagined
- Pence skips Faith & Freedom conference. Is attacked by Trump anyways.
- There were no heroes in the Trump administration on Jan. 6
- Thomas Zimmer on the “Clear and Present Danger” of the Trumpified, Anti-Democracy GOP: “most Republicans are united in their quest to install authoritarian rule by a reactionary minority” (The 1/6 committee needs to focus attention on the “continuing assault on the democratic system that the Republican Party has fully embraced.”)
- The Biggest Surprises of the Jan. 6 Hearings So Far
- House Democrat calls for Clarence Thomas to resign following report of wife’s email with Eastman
- Jan. 6 witnesses push Trump stalwarts back to rabbit hole
- The ‘big rip-off’: how Trump exploited his fans with ‘election defense’ fund
- Trump says he would look ‘very, very seriously’ at pardons for Jan 6 defendants if reelected
- Trump Says He’ll Look ‘Very Seriously’ At Pardoning Jan. 6 Defendants If Reelected
- Trump calls the Capitol riot a ‘simple protest that got out of hand’ and then brags about his Jan. 6 crowd size
- A Fox host who apparently helped mastermind John Eastman’s coup plot was the only one talking about it in prime time (“The only mentions of that conspiracy during Fox’s prime-time block Thursday night came from Fox host Mark Levin – who apparently worked with Eastman to develop the plot and spoke out on Thursday in support of it.”)
- Cowboys for Trump founder Couy Griffin sentenced for Jan. 6 trespassing
- The Ginni Thomas Saga Keeps Getting Weirder
- Ginni Thomas-tied Facebook group ‘FrontLiners for Liberty’ could be a new focus in Jan. 6 investigation
- Raffensperger, Sterling will headline Tuesday’s Jan. 6 hearings
- The Money Behind January 6 Is Flowing into the 2022 Elections
- White nationalists are getting bolder. Enforcement must, too.
- The soul-crushing lot of a Supreme Court liberal
- The Southwest’s unchecked thirst for Colorado River water could prove devastating upstream
- Anti-LGBTQ+ attacks by US extremist groups surge as right spews vitriol (“Anti-trans politics spurred by lawmakers and far-right news outlets has renewed fears over community’s safety”)
- A dark money-fueled conservative group rebranded its effort to infiltrate local politics — and some local media outlets are falling for it (“The Center Square publishes misleading stories with a heavy right-wing bent. As Watchdog.org, the organization was known for propagating misinformation and lies that benefited Republican politicians.”)
- A Moms for Liberty leader threatens gun violence against librarians in newly leaked audio
- Gun Sellers’ Message to Americans: Man Up (“As the number of firearms in the U.S. outpaces the population, the gun industry is targeting buyers by stoking fear, machismo and defiance.”)
- A new ‘National Conservative’ manifesto sounds a lot like fascism
- Caught between an A+ NRA rating and a nation reeling from shootings, John Cornyn is key to whether gun safety deal advances
- John Cornyn, top Republican negotiator on gun package, booed at Texas GOP convention
- Elon Musk had a bad week (Musk is a nutjob and white supremacist, among his many other fine qualities.)
- Uvalde Officer Passed Up Shot at Gunman for Fear of Hitting Children
- Uvalde Hires Private Law Firm to Argue It Doesn’t Have to Release School Shooting Public Records
- Uvalde police agree to cooperate with probe of response to school shooting, Texas lawmaker says
- Leaked Audio From 80 Internal TikTok Meetings Shows That US User Data Has Been Repeatedly Accessed From China
- 7 arrested in House office building linked to Colbert show
- New Mexico county commissioner who refuses to certify recent election results sentenced for role in January 6 attack
- New Mexico county certifies election results, bowing to court order
- Montana governor was vacationing in Italy when his state was flooded
- After public pressure, Florida allows pediatricians to order vaccines for very young children.
- Gov. Ron DeSantis abandons Florida children
- Infighting Overshadows Big Plans at The Washington Post (“The aim of Sally Buzbee, The Post’s editor, is to broaden the newspaper’s reach. A year into the job, she’s dealing with internal tumult over some longstanding grievances.”)
- Virginia Democrats explain their positions on gun policies
- Video: VA House Dems Leader Don Scott Rips Youngkin’s Budget Amendments as “all about restricting people’s freedoms”; Says Youngkin “just doesn’t get it” (Del. Scott: “I know [Youngkin’s] focused on curriculum and CRT and divisive concepts, but that’s not what those children in Uvalde died from.)
- Virginia House Democrats Denounce Governor Youngkin’s Actions During Special Session (“In his short time as governor, Glenn Youngkin has made sowing division his top priority.”)
- Governor Youngkin’s Cruel and Discriminatory Budget Amendment Fails; Would Have Forced Low-Income Virginians to Carry Pregnancies with Severe Fetal Diagnoses
(Youngkin’s Amendment 30 “not adopted thanks to Senate Democrats”) - Virginia General Assembly gives Youngkin mixed results on budget
- General Assembly hands Youngkin wins, losses on budget amendments (“After months of bargaining and debate, Virginia’s budget is done”)
- Video: Del. Candi King Rips Youngkin’s Anti-Abortion Amendment, Vows “we will not back down, bow down or shut up while you endanger the lives of women!” (Del. Mark Sickles adds that this is a rare procedure among “poor women who do not have insurance…who could die from this, their fetus WILL die”)
- General Assembly rejects gas tax reprieve but extends lab school status (“Of Youngkin’s 35 budget amendments, 24 find support in the legislature.”)
- Governor Youngkin Takes First Steps to Criminalize Abortion in Commonwealth (“This vile amendment will disproportionately impact low-income Virginians, people of color, and women across the Commonwealth from receiving life-saving health care”)
- Senate deals blows to Youngkin on gas tax, abortion funding; he gets partial win on lab schools
- Re: Youngkin’s Budget Amendments, VA Legislative Black Caucus Vows to Work at “blocking the administration’s damaging efforts to roll back the progress we’ve made over the past two years”
- General Assembly elects two Supreme Court justices
- Youngkin administration is asking college presidents to reverse their tuition hikes
- “FAQs” Document by LEGO Specifically Cited Virginia’s “100 percent carbon neutrality commitment” (which Youngkin OPPOSES!) as Important Reason for Building $1 Billion Factory Here (LEGO also wrote, “As we’ve said previously, we stand against racism and inequality””)
- Lego prepared for questions on Youngkin and critical race theory in Va.
- Don’t let the door hit you on the way out, NRA
- Virginia 10-Day New COVID-19 Cases Down 86% Compared to 1/19; Hospitalizations Down to 536 From ~4,000 in January; Both Up From a Couple Months Ago
- Schapiro: Fight over education becoming schoolyard brawl
- Virginia’s new economic engine: an affordable drug hub
- Fairfax County School Board Prohibits Guns at Non-Instructional Facilities
- Several thousand without power in Roanoke and New River valleys after gusty winds
- Fairfax leans toward route numbers in renaming roads honoring Confederacy
- Book challenges in Virginia Beach should be dismissed, Barnes & Noble, authors say
- D.C.-area forecast: A stunning June weekend, with a side of breeziness
