Sunday News: Xi Follows “In Mao’s Footsteps”; “How Republicans became the party of hate”; “Media isn’t doing nearly enough to defend democracy — but it’s not too late to change”; “Half of Virginia high school out with ‘flu-like’ symptoms”

by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Sunday, October 23.

• A city in China is planning an offshore wind farm so big that it could power all of Norway
• Global Climate Summit Is Heading for a Geopolitical Hurricane
• Climate change poses ‘growing threat’ to health in UK, says expert
• The US May Have Scored a Climate Victory in Congress, but It Will Be in the Hot Seat With Other Major Emitters at UN Climate Talks (“A year of floods, drought and other events linked to global warming have galvanized developing nations to demand redress for their losses. After years of frustration, they will also seek stronger commitments from colossal polluters to slash fossil fuel emissions and avert further damage.”)
• Russian strikes cause blackouts in much of Ukraine, more flee Kherson
• ‘Total darkness and cold are coming’: Massive strikes hit Ukraine electrical grid
• Russia’s destroying infrastructure in Ukraine, and the consequences are dire (“Moscow’s next target may be a massive dam in Kherson.”)
• Support for Ukraine is shifting among the GOP
• Fears over Russian threat to Norway’s energy infrastructure
• Military think tank: Russia withdraws officers from Kherson
• Xi Jinping secures 3rd term as Chinese Communist Party leader
• China’s Communist Party hands Xi Jinping an endless rule for flexing power
• Xi Jinping enters third term as China’s most powerful leader in decades surrounded by loyalists
• Analysis: Xi Jinping is ruling inside of an echo chamber
• Xi Jinping chooses ‘yes men’ over economic growth in politburo purge (“China’s president doubles down on ruling for life, excluding potential future leaders or factional rivals” Pathetic.)
• China’s Xi expands powers, promotes allies
• The Seven Men Who Will Lead China Into Xi’s Third Term
• As China’s Xi extends his rule, his predecessor makes an unusual exit
• What the Hell Just Happened to Hu Jintao?
• China’s Premier Li Keqiang dropped in leadership shuffle
• Former Chinese leader Hu Jintao unexpectedly led out of room as Party Congress comes to a close
• Hu Jintao’s Exit Was Mysterious. Xi Jinping’s Power Play Is Not.
• Xi Allies Fill China’s Top Jobs in Move Toward One-Man Rule
• Xi Jinping’s party is just getting started
• China congress: Xi cements power by packing top team with loyalists
• As Xi emerges with potential for lifelong rule, protests spread
• In Mao’s footsteps: Xi Jinping puts himself at core of China’s government
• Rishi Sunak Announces Bid to Be UK’s Next Prime Minister
• Boris Johnson battling to win support for fresh prime minister bid
• Not-So-Great Britain’s Conservative Crackup
• Far-right leader Giorgia Meloni sworn in as Italy’s prime minister (Bad, bad, bad.)
• Hurricane Roslyn, now a Category 4 storm, to hit Mexico’s west coast
• Why false claims about Brazil’s election are spreading in far-right U.S. circles
• U.S. CDC director tests positive for COVID-19, experiencing mild symptoms
• White House urges borrowers to apply for student debt relief despite court order
• Media isn’t doing nearly enough to defend democracy — but it’s not too late to change (“We face a choice between democracy and fascism. Time for media to treat elections as more important than sports” The political media in this country is, by and large, utterly abysmal.)
• America’s religious divide isn’t really about religion
• Democrats fear the midterm map is slipping away
• US politics’ post-shame era: how Republicans became the party of hate (“Far from entering the midterms as the party of tolerance, diversity and sincerity, critics say, the Republican party has shown itself to be the opposite”)
• Debt ceiling showdowns are ready for comeback with GOP majority (Why in hell would ANYONE vote for this chaos???)
• Donald Trump Harrumphs It Would Be “Very Disloyal” if Cabinet Members Ran for President in 2024
• Trump Organization to face criminal tax fraud charges in New York court on Monday (“Former CFO is expected to testify about off-the-books compensation scheme to evade paying payroll taxes”)
• Opinion/Editorial: Losers who won’t accept evidence are midterm threat
• For Trump’s Backers in Congress, ‘Devil Terms’ Help Rally Voters (Very disturbing.)
• 6 Stressful Factors Clouding the Midterms
• Early voter turnout for 2022 midterms on pace to meet record-setting 2018
• GOP voters told to hold onto mail ballots until Election Day
• Liberal parents are joining the school culture wars — but conservatives are way ahead (“Multiple progressive groups are campaigning for school board candidates and training parents to become activists, but conservatives have a head start.”)
• Washington Post columnist regurgitates nonsense about crime and “Democrat-run cities” (It’s inexcusable and unforgiveable that the Washington Post allows Marc Thiessen to spew outright lies in its pages. Why???)
• A guide to the election deniers in midterm races
• As Elon Musk expands his reach, Washington worries (“Many lawmakers see the billionaire as too powerful and increasingly reckless”)
• Elon Musk is no Steve Jobs
• In a Race Rife With Antisemitism Concerns, Mastriano Adviser Calls Shapiro ‘At Best a Secular Jew’
• The Times Endorses Kathy Hochul for Governor of New York
• Early voters in Georgia face obstacles under state’s new election law
• Editor: Walker using false statements about AJC to raise money
• Oz-Shapiro. Warnock-Kemp. Split-ticket voters loom large in midterms.
• Oz loans his Pennsylvania Senate campaign another $1 million
• “There Should Be Consequences for People Who Undermine Our Democracy and Peddle the Big Lie” (“Republicans rallied around Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto in criticizing her rival Adam Laxalt.”)
• Home-grown campaign has Democrats feeling resurgent against Sen. Grassley
• Cheri Beasley’s Shot at History
• Utah Senate race: Referendum on direction Trump has led GOP
• Kinzinger campaigns for McMullin in Utah: ‘I’m surrounded by cowards’ in Congress
• With Just 17 Days Until the Crucial Midterms, Here’s a Rundown of Why the Three Extremist Republicans Running in VA02, VA07 and VA10 All Badly Need to LOSE on 11/8!
• Virginia’s board of education delays review of social science standards
• Friday Night Update from the ER in Arlington, VA: “During my last shift, I had kids infected with COVID, influenza, and RSV”
• Editorial: Youngkin’s nuclear pledge to Southwest Virginia — full of potential or just empty? (Completely empty – not going to happen.)
• Half of Virginia high school out with ‘flu-like’ symptoms
• Nearly half the students at a Virginia high school are absent with flu-like symptoms, district says
• Fairfax Co. school board member apologizes after using slur in hot mic moment
• Editorial: Is Spotsy a blueprint for ending public ed?
• D.C.-area forecast: Mild through midweek, with clouds and a stray shower today