Friday News: Trumpist/Extremist Supreme Court “a threat to the world”; Congress Can/Must Rein In SCOTUS; “Republicans are now a coalition of crazies and cowards”; “America’s Post-Roe Chaos Is Here”; “Youngkin dodges questions on abortion ban at conception”

by Lowell

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

• Factory growth feeble in June, feeding global recession fears
• Biden’s answer to Russia is a new, improved NATO
• Russian missiles kill at least 19 in Ukraine’s Odesa region
• Trial for US basketball star begins in Moscow-area court
• Putin’s week: Facing NATO expansion, West’s unity on Ukraine
• How a thaw with Turkey could help Ukraine win the war
• Erdoğan warns Turkey could still block Finland and Sweden’s accession to Nato (“Turkish president stressed the countries must meet Ankara’s demand to extradite terror suspects”)
• Xi defends vision of Hong Kong as 25-year anniversary marked
• Cups, straws, spoons: India starts on single-use plastic ban
• Five takeaways from Biden’s trip to attend G-7, NATO meetings
• Special Report: Dozens of Russian weapons tycoons have faced no Western sanctions
• Is Biden Handling Putin Better Than He’s Handling Trump? (“Facing down the threats that the two men pose to democracy has become the defining challenge of Biden’s Presidency.” It’s actually not about facing down Trump as an individual, it’s about facing down the threat of TrumpISM, aka far-right “populism,” which is much broader than Trump himself.)
• How an ‘inflammatory’ Facebook post led to a killing and sectarian tension in India
• Euro zone inflation hits record as European Central Bank prepares for first rate hike in 11 years
• Mike Tidwell column: Giving up on climate is a white flag for the planet
• The Court vs. the Climate (“The Supreme Court seems unconcerned with climate change.”)
• “I Cannot Think of Many Things More Frightening”: The Supreme Court Has Declared War on Governing
• The Supreme Court hands Biden the smallest possible victory in its “Remain in Mexico” case (“The Biden v. Texas decision rejects a Trump judge’s absurd reading of federal law, then sends the case right back to that same judge.”)
• A new Supreme Court case is the biggest threat to US democracy since January 6 (“Moore v. Harper is a grave threat to US democracy, and the fate of that democracy probably comes down to Amy Coney Barrett.”)
• Analysis: After abortion, conservative U.S. justices take aim at other precedents
• The Supreme Court Is the Final Word on Nothing (“Congress can strip the court of its ability to hear certain cases, or it can mandate new rules for how the court decides cases where it has appellate jurisdiction. And as I recently mentioned, it can even tell the court that it needs a supermajority of justices to declare a federal law or previous decision unconstitutional.”)
• E.P.A. Ruling Is a Milestone in the Pushback Against Regulating Business (Completely nuts.)
• As Federal Climate-Fighting Tools Are Taken Away, Cities and States Step Up
• The planet is baking. But what’s reality to this Supreme Court? (“Nothing forced the justices to rule against a set of climate change regulations that had already become moot.”)
• The Supreme Court’s fleeting gift to the coal industry (“The Supreme Court has limited the EPA’s ability to address climate change. That still won’t save faltering coal plants.”)
• The Supreme Court ends a disastrous term by gutting climate change rules
• The Supreme Court’s EPA ruling isn’t the only legal attack on the environment (“West Virginia v. EPA is part of a bigger legal crusade to destroy environmental protections.”)
• The Supreme Court Tries to Overrule the Climate (“A destructive decision in West Virginia v. E.P.A.”)
• Supreme Court Ends Term by Sabotaging Fight Against Climate Change (“The finale to this devastating term was a landmark decision by conservative justices limiting the EPA’s ability to regulate greenhouse-gas emissions.” These people are truly scum.)
• The Supreme Court’s EPA ruling is a major blow for climate action. Here’s how national TV news should cover it
• The Supreme Court’s conservative majority is a threat to the world
• The Supreme Court’s EPA Ruling Is Going to Be Very, Very Expensive (“The agency can still regulate carbon pollution, just not in the most efficient, system-wide ways.” How about if the EPA tells the Supreme Court where to shove their bulls**t ruling?)
• The Real Target of the Supreme Court’s EPA Decision
• Supreme Court Rules 6-3 That the Planet Should Burn
• Why Today Felt Like the Most Hopeless Day of the SCOTUS Term
• The Supreme Court’s EPA decision could have been much, much worse
• Democrats Must Reform the Supreme Court to Save It (“Republicans won control of the Court playing by the rules. The rules are bad.”)
• SCOTUS ruling ups pressure on Schumer to strike climate deal with Manchin
• Ketanji Brown Jackson sworn in as Supreme Court justice
• Justice Thomas cites debunked claim that Covid vaccines are made with cells from ‘aborted children’
• How the Supreme Court could radically reshape elections for president and Congress
• Supreme Court will hear NC case with 2024 presidential election implications (This could effectively be the end of our democracy.)
• ‘Calm down,’ libs! A look back at select pieces of Roe commentary (Anyone who was telling us to “calm down” about the Supreme Court, or the 2020 election, has zero credibility on anything.)
• McConnell warns Dems of fallout for reviving Biden bill (Screw him.)
• Is Biden a Man Out of Time? (“Democrats have a growing sense of panic about conservative advances but are not seeing a president who shares their urgency.”)
• Put a Fork in Donald Trump—the Ex-President Is Done (“As bad as his political position looks today, it is only likely to get worse—and his imminent announcement of a presidential campaign is just another sign of his collapse.”)
• Trump faces new danger in subpoena of White House counsel
• Liz “Showtime” Cheney Is Dropping Beguiling Hints About Another Potential Jan. 6 Bombshell(“Rudy Giuliani + Roger Stone + Oath Keepers + Proud Boys + a mystery phone call = ?”)
• Hutchinson’s testimony shatters any Trump defense of no criminal intent
• How Trump World pressures witnesses to deny his possible wrongdoing
• A Potential Criminal Prosecution of Donald Trump Is Growing Closer
• Trump Group Pays for Jan. 6 Lawyers, Raising Concerns of Witness Pressure
• New details of Jan. 6 panel’s mystery messages emerge
• Hutchinson’s testimony raises fresh questions about Secret Service’s handling of Jan. 6
• Mark Meadows’ associate threatened ex-White House aide before her testimony (That’s a serious crime.)
• Meadows brought fraud allegation to Barr the day after 2020 election, records show
• Anthony Ornato has repeatedly disputed key White House conversations
• Crazies, Cowards and the Trump Coup (“I still see some people comparing this scandal to Watergate. That’s like comparing assault and battery to a traffic violation. Trump’s actions were by far the worst thing any American president has ever done… If the Democrats are a coalition of interest groups, Republicans are now a coalition of crazies and cowards. And it’s hard to say which Republicans present the greater danger.”)
• How the Right-Wing Media Went After Cassidy Hutchinson (“When they could no longer ignore the Jan. 6 hearings, they had another playbook ready.” Evil.)
• Election deniers have taken their fraud theories on tour — to nearly every state
• Anti-abortion movement achieved goal of reversing Roe – but it is far from done
• America’s Post-Roe Chaos Is Here
• A list of Fox hosts and personalities who have pushed the “great replacement” theory
• Abortion, women’s rights grow as priorities: AP-NORC pol
• An analysis claiming one million voters switched to the GOP last year was fatally flawed
• Democrats’ polling has improved since Dobbs. But how long will it last?
• Americans’ Views On Abortion Are Pretty Stagnant. Their Views On The Supreme Court Are Not.
• Wisconsin Supreme Court Backs GOP Scheme To Rob Dem Governor Of Appointment Powers (“In a 4-3 decision, the court’s conservative justices ruled that Fred Prehn, a GOP member of the Wisconsin Natural Resources Board, could remain in his position despite the fact that his term ended more than a year ago, simply because the state Senate has not yet confirmed the replacement appointed by Evers.” WTF???)
• Texas educator group proposes referring to slavery as “involuntary relocation” in second grade curriculum
• Some Texas schools may call slavery ‘involuntary relocation’ (Insane propaganda.)
• Judge says Florida’s 15-week abortion law is unconstitutional
• See for yourself: the slides shown to teachers during Florida’s civics training sessions
• Texas lunges into center of battles over personal freedom, starting with abortion and sodomy
• The Real Story Behind the “We Will Adopt Your Baby” Couple Is So Much Worse Than the Meme (“The couple, Neydy Casillas and Sebastián Schuff, are both lawyers who have dedicated much of their careers to conservative Christian legal fights. ” Yuck.)
• School’s out forever: Arizona moves “to kill public education” with new universal voucher law (“Families who bail on public school will get $7,000 per kid in GOP’s new scheme: ‘Every red state’ urged to follow”)
• Dan Snyder seems to think he won’t be held accountable. Congress should prove him wrong.
• Reps. Beyer, Connolly, Wexton, McEachin Rip “Outrageous” Decision by “Out of Control,” “Extreme Conservative Majority” on U.S. Supreme Court, Which Is “laying waste to public health and safety protections”
• Yesli Vega Is Hiding Her Extreme Positions on Abortion Bans in Cases of Rape, Incest, or Life-Threatening Pregnancies (Vega’s “radical comments and views are a danger to women across the Commonwealth.”)
• Rep. Gerry Connolly Addresses NATO Madrid Summit, Stresses Importance of Defending Democracy (“I say this with a healthy dose of humility as someone who was in the United States Capitol on January 6th as a violent insurrection raged at the doors to my House Chamber where I sat on the floor.”)
• Pope & Schapiro: Abortion takes center stage in Virginia politics
• Abortion will be at the forefront of next year’s General Assembly session
• Gov. Glenn Youngkin dodges questions on abortion ban at conception
• Virginia’s murder rate rises
• Video: Virginia’s First Jewish Speaker, Eileen Filler-Corn, Joins with Rabbis, Jewish Leaders, All of Whom Agree That Repeal of Roe is “in direct conflict with Jewish law and infringe[s] upon…religious liberty” (Jewish “tradition teaches us that…a fetus is not a child and that our priority must be to consider the well-being of existing human beings”)
• New Virginia laws going into effect July 1
• Youngkin appoints opponent of admissions changes at TJ to Va. Board of Education (“Governor’s picks also include the head of the state’s Council for Private Education and CEO of a charter school financing group”)
• Virginia 10-Day New COVID-19 Cases Down 86% Compared to 1/19; Hospitalizations Down to 603 From ~4,000 in January; Both Up From a Couple Months Ago
• Most Virginia colleges will freeze tuition, adhering to Youngkin’s request
• Editorial: Strengthening mass transit (“With gas prices so high, communities such as ours should be seeking ways to improve mass transit and bolster ridership.”)
• The Education of Glenn Youngkin (Generally a dumb article, with one paragraph – starting with “Youngkin’s ‘tip line’ has not led to a new era of teacher McCarthyism” – that’s just horrendously bad, followed by another paragraph that starts, “Youngkin’s position on masks had quickly become bipartisan and mainstream.”)
• Kitten rescue lawsuit fails to save Virginia’s charity poker industry
• Hampton Roads cannabis businesses branch out while awaiting legal retail sales, but future still hazy
• Nearly all the blue bins have been emptied, and Chesapeake’s recycling fiasco is coming to an end
• Youngkin appoints four new members to UVa’s Board of Visitors
• Ex-Newport News police officer acquitted in sexual assault case, daycare provider found not guilty on two counts
• D.C.-area forecast: Heat and humidity build, perfectly timed for July