Saturday News: “Warnings of attack on Ukraine nuclear plant set the world on edge”; “Post-Roe, the human tragedies mount”; “For the MAGA Right, Democracy Itself Is a Fraud”; “Republicans Appear to be Realizing All Their Candidates Are Dangerous Weirdos” (Like Tudor Dixon!)

by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Saturday, August 20.

MAGA nominee for MI Governor Tudor Dixon is asked why she is against a 14 year-old rape victim being allowed to get an abortion. She says the bond that rape victims will have with their babies will help them heal. pic.twitter.com/6ajtBp1JNi

— Ron Filipkowski 🇺🇦 (@RonFilipkowski) August 19, 2022

• The world’s rivers are drying up from extreme weather. See how 6 look from space (Crazy. Get off of fossil fuels ASAP!)
• The World’s Cotton Supply Keeps Shrinking, Hit by Drought, Heat (This is the climate crisis.)
• West Africa Is Drowning in Plastic. Who Is Responsible?
• Germany Sees Solar Power Soar as It Works to Wean Off Russian Gas (“In the first half of 2022, Germany installed 3.8 gigawatts of solar power, up from 2.75 gigawatts installed in the first half of 2021, PV Magazine reported. The country is roughly on pace to match the record growth seen between 2010 and 2012…Now, the government is looking to further speed the buildout of renewables to curb Germany’s reliance on Russian natural gas. Last month, Germany set a goal of drawing 80 percent of its power from renewables by 2030, up from its prior target of 65 percent.”)
• Horn of Africa drought places 22 million people at risk of starvation, says UN (“Four years of failed rains in Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia have left the region facing catastrophe this year”)
• Warnings of attack on Ukraine nuclear plant set the world on edge
• Ukraine adopted a new strategy of striking logistical targets in Russian-held territory. It may be slowing its opponent’s advance.
• Russia Shakes Up Black Sea Fleet Command
• Crimea fightback having ‘psychological impact’ on Russia
• More drone attacks against Russia in Crimea – reports
• U.S. announces $775 million in new military aid for Ukraine
• In Russia, Far-Right Nationalists Offer Rare Criticism of Kremlin’s War Effort
• Pro-Ukrainian saboteurs are behind blasts at Russian military sites, Ukrainian official says
• Ukraine’s soldiers have rockets and drones, but are running low in boots and T-shirts
• Mexico’s ex-attorney general arrested over disappearance of 43 students in 2014 (“Jesús Murillo held on charges of forced disappearance, torture and obstruction of justice in notorious Guerrero case”)
• Iran drops key ‘red line’ demand as progress on a revived nuclear deal edges forward
• Chinese leader asked Biden to prevent Pelosi from visiting Taiwan
• How China weaponizes psychiatry against dissent
• A Famous Walrus Is Killed, and Norwegians Are Divided (“The killing of Freya has polarized Oslo and threatens to blight the image of a country more commonly associated with diplomatic good deeds than mob-like hits.”)
• Finland asks: Can a prime minister party like a rock star?
• Trudeau nominates Indigenous woman to Canada’s supreme court
• Greece’s exit from enhanced EU scrutiny ends 12 years of pain, prime minister says
• It’s on: U.S. enters the ring to battle China on clean energy
• After Signing Climate Bill, Biden Prepares More Actions to Cut Emissions (“Regulations from the E.P.A. and elsewhere will help the president meet his aggressive climate goals, administration officials say.”)
• Energy Projects Needed Across U.S. Face Local Hurdles
• New study suggests covid increases risks of brain disorders
• Over half of people infected with the omicron variant didn’t know it, a study finds
• ‘Most have thrown their hands up’: has the US forgotten about Covid? (“As Americans go about their daily lives, severely affected Covid patients are wondering if others are moving too quickly from the worst days of the pandemic”)
• Republicans call it an ‘army’ but IRS hires will replace retirees, do IT, says Treasury (Wildly irresponsible lying by Republicans.)
• Post-Roe, the human tragedies mount
• Supreme Court issues rare emergency order favoring voters challenging elections rules
• For the MAGA Right, Democracy Itself Is a Fraud (“Trump’s movement is the logical successor to past conservatives who believed their views shouldn’t be subject to electoral majorities.”)
• Trump calls the presidency ‘hell.’ As legal woes mount, allies say he’s more determined than ever to win it back.
• White House officials privately express concern about classified information taken to Mar-a-Lago
• Trump thinks the Mar-a-Lago search will help him in 2024. Some allies aren’t so sure.
• ‘I don’t say his name, ever’: Vulnerable Republicans seek to avoid Trump in 2022 midterms
• Newly unsealed documents from the FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago put Trump in even worse legal peril, experts say
• Colbert I. King: Voters tell us who they are by who they vote for
• Donald Trump Is Going After One of the Most Conservative Institutions in the U.S. Government
• We Don’t Need a Trump-Inspired Civil War for Things to Get Real Bad, Real Fast
• Trump’s next Mar-a-Lago move will escalate his supporters’ rage
• Mitch McConnell’s Terrible Candidates Are His Own Fault (“This happened because the GOP decided not to confront Trump’s election lies”)
• Far-right wins in blue states threaten GOP hopes in November
• Trump’s picks won in 94 percent of GOP primaries. So, does he own the party?
• Republicans Are Getting Nervous About Their Senate Chances – and They Should Be!
• Republicans Appear to be Realizing All Their Candidates Are Dangerous Weirdos
• ‘It’s a rip-off’: GOP spending under fire as Senate hopefuls seek rescue
• Tucker Carlson instructs Republicans to run on replacement theory in the midterms (Fox “News” is racist, as is any Republican who runs on racist “replacement theory”)
• Sen. Lindsey Graham loses bid to delay testifying in Georgia Trump probe
• Liz Cheney Says Kevin McCarthy Lacks The Knowledge To Be House Speaker (“The Trump loyalist does not understand his oath of office, the Wyoming Republican said.”)
• Liz Cheney to ABC News on Pence testifying: ‘I would hope that he will do that’
• Joe Manchin swipes at Kyrsten Sinema, arguing she ‘made us wait two years’ to pass prescription drug reform (“We had a senator from Arizona who basically didn’t let us go as far as we needed to go”)
• Kyrsten Sinema Has Made Sure the New Tax Bill Doesn’t Go Near the Wealthy
• TikTok Browser Can Track Users’ Keystrokes, According to New Research
• Russia probe memo wrongly withheld under Barr, court rules
• Black couple says they ‘whitewashed’ home and value rose nearly $300K
• GOP Senate nominee Ted Budd sided with banks as they poured money into his campaigns
• WaPo quietly suspended one of its top reporters last spring
• Louisiana’s Abortion Law Sows Confusion and Fear
• In Deep Red Texas, Beto O’Rourke Takes on Guns and Abortion
• Republican says comment Garland should be executed was ‘facetious’ (“Carl Paladino, a Republican candidate for Congress in New York, recently caused controversy when he praised Adolf Hitler” THIS is today’s Republican Party – a bunch of extremists and freaks.)
• Herschel Walker declines invitation to debate Senator Warnock in Macon
• Ron DeSantis Wants To Fake His Way To The Presidency, And It Could Work
• DeSantis stumps for Mastriano in key battleground state
• ‘How did I commit fraud?’ Ex-felon voters confused by arrests, DeSantis’ announcement (DeSantis is evil.)
• Arrested Orange voters said they were told rights had been restored, affidavits show
• Arizona GOP candidate melts down after being confronted for endorsing lawmaker who says ‘Jews will go to hell’
• Judge grants preliminary injunction on Michigan abortion ban
• NEW: DPVA Releases “Why Yesli Vega is Is Too Extreme for Virginia” (Among other things, Vega applauded the Supreme Court overturning Roe and “doubted the likelihood that women who are raped could become pregnant.”)
• Video: Glenn Youngkin’s Ridiculous, Smarmy, Dishonest, Fox “News”-Style Speech to the VA House, Senate “Money Committees” (Sen. Louise Lucas: “A picture will do better than words to describe what I thought about @GovernorVA’s presentation to us this morning.”)
• Video: VA Senate Dems Hold Press Conference Pushing Back Against Glenn Youngkin’s “attempt to whitewash the history our children learn at school,” Relentless Attacks on Public Education (Sen. Hashmi: “What is the purpose of adding the Fordham Institute at this post-midnight hour, when the work of developing our standards is complete?”)
• With unexpectedly high state revenues, Youngkin calls for more tax relief (“Some Democrats say money should go toward state needs like worker salaries and school construction”)
• With state finances ‘strong,’ Youngkin wants more tax cuts
• Youngkin seeks nearly $400M in tax cuts, takes swipes at Washington (The WaPo gets this one right on the “tax cuts” language, because that’s neutral language, as opposed to the right-wing framing of “tax relief.”)
• Del. Eileen Filler-Corn and Del. Delores McQuinn Kick Off Virginia Interfaith Coalition In Support of Reproductive Liberty and Opposed to Proposed Abortion Bans
• Friday Virginia COVID-19 Stats: 10-Day New Cases at 26,529; Hospitalizations at 796 (Near Highest Level Since Early March)
• Virginia recognizes the promise of Indigenous-led conservation
• Two Virginia state Sens. – Lucas and Spruill – face off in a new district
• Teen works with Del. Don Scott to close tax exemption for Daughters of the Confederacy
• ‘Clearly a breach of trust’ — Fairfax Co. superintendent after firing of convicted counselor
• City worker says he was in Capitol for Jan. 6 riot — and keeps his job (“The mayor of Charlottesville, Va., says the city can’t fire IT worker Allen Groat because he hasn’t been charged with any crimes.”)
• D.C.-area forecast: Warm and sunny today, then cloudier with showers Sunday