by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, December 16.
- World leaders are racing to protect nature — but the definition of one word is tripping them up (“Want to protect the planet? First, we need to agree on what ‘conservation’ means.”)
- Whales can have an important but overlooked role in tackling the climate crisis, researchers say
- Australia backs $2.7bn of big batteries to narrow gap to 100 pct renewables
- War in Ukraine has decimated a once-feared Russian brigade
- A Biden admin official recently told members of Congress Ukraine has the military capability to take back Crimea(“No offensive is imminent, but officials worry that a large-scale attack that threatens Russia’s hold on the peninsula could push Putin to use nuclear weapons.”)
- A looming Russian offensive
- Russia: US air defense systems could be targets in Ukraine
- Russia launches another major missile attack on Ukraine
- US Patriots could protect Ukraine’s power grid; Russia threatens ‘unpredictable consequences’
- Exclusive: FIFA rebuffs Zelensky’s request to share message of peace at World Cup final
- China’s sudden ‘reopening’ reveals new challenges as infections soar
- Israel’s Netanyahu urges US to reaffirm commitment to Saudi Arabia – Al Arabiya
- What in the World Is Happening in Israel? (Abe Foxman, former head of the ADL: ““If Israel ceases to be an open democracy, I won’t be able to support it. If Israel becomes a fundamentalist religious state, a theocratic nationalism state, it will cut Israel off from 70 percent of world Jewry.” Agreed.)
- Pacifist Japan unveils biggest military build-up since World War Two
- Japan approves long-range weapons to counter growing threats from rivals
- Huge cylindrical aquarium housing 1,500 exotic fish bursts in Berlin
- Trump, covid slowed down immigration. Now employers can’t find workers.
- Fed’s High Inflation Forecast Baffles Wall Street After Soft CPI
- Investors See Fed Policy Mistake Driving Hard Landing, BofA Says
- More parents say they are against school vaccine requirements, as CDC director warns about public health threat
- Falling inflation rates are great news — unless you’re a GOP politician (“It seems Republicans are losing the one real issue they had.”)
- Senate Passes One-Week Spending Bill to Avert Saturday Shutdown (“The Senate rejected two Republican amendments.”)
- Senate Passes $858 Billion Defense Bill
- Senate passes defense bill that arms U.S. allies, ends vaccine mandate
- Energy & Environment — Senate rejects Manchin permitting amendment
- Climate Defenders Celebrate as Manchin’s Dirty Deal Defeated a Third Time
- Here Is What Is Really Strangling the Energy Transition (“As the climate crisis worsens and our goals for limiting the damage slip farther out of reach, citizens need to show up and make clear to the utilities and their regulators that they want action now.”)
- The untimely, infuriating death of the deal to save 2 million ‘dreamers’
- McCarthy’s ongoing speaker battle paralyzes House (“Kevin McCarthy’s imperiled speakership bid is threatening to incapacitate Republicans during a crucial planning period, virtually guaranteeing a sluggish start for the new House majority.”)
- Moderate Republicans weigh hardball tactics to counter anti-McCarthy crew
- Lawmakers Could Actually Safeguard Against Another January 6 — Will They Do It?
- Republicans have a new version of ‘Lock her up!’ (“No matter the controversy, these days the right will demand that those they disagree with be prosecuted and imprisoned.” Fascism.)
- Trump and his movement are symptoms of America’s profound disorder — but not the cause (“In a culture of pathological distraction where half the population is semi-literate, this isn’t a huge surprise” Idiocracy!)
- Trump lashes out at polls showing Ron DeSantis with a big lead in the 2024 GOP primary
- ‘Losing the plot’: Trump mocked after announcing superhero card collection
- Trump’s Trading Card Grift is Worse than You Think
- Donald Trump’s ‘Major Announcement’ Is Grifty NFT Project
- Donald Trump’s NFT Sale Is the Weirdest Thing on Social Media Today
- Trump’s “Major Announcement”: NFTs of His Face
- ‘Surreal spectacle’: US botched 35% of execution attempts this year (“Annual review reveals that seven of the 20 execution attempts carried out this year were visibly problematic”)
- Thousands of JFK assassination files released
- ‘He ultimately was a child’: Pelosi, Schumer describe dealing with Trump in exclusive joint sit-down interview
- A Proper Sendoff for the Legendary Nancy Pelosi (“The House Speaker should be remembered as Trump’s most formidable adversary.”)
- Pelosi prepares for her exit — but her work will endure
- How a small group of Democrats won the culture wars (“The lesson is clear: Democrats must fight back against the GOP’s attacks.”)
- Americans Pessimistic About Prospects for the Economy in 2023, WSJ Poll Finds
- Fox News Poll: Americans are down on the economy but hopeful for the country (“A 53% majority is hopeful about the future of the country, up from the 43% who felt that way one year ago”)
- Top Republicans try to tank new ESG rule (These people really really suck.)
- Fact check: Republican congressman falsely claims Democratic congresswoman said pedophilia isn’t a crime
- Rep. Adam Kinzinger in final House floor speech says ‘limited government’ for GOP now means ‘inciting violence against government officials’
- Musk suspends journalists from Twitter, claims ‘assassination’ danger
- Is Elon Musk Setting Himself Up to Lose Tesla? (“The hidden danger of selling off the true source of his wealth and power.”)
- Blue Bird vs. Cash Cow (“Elon Musk’s Twitter purchase has become a big problem for Tesla.”)
- Musk’s ‘Twitter files’ are an exercise in hypocrisy
- Twitter suspends journalist accounts without explanation, angering lawmakers and those affected
- Twitter Suspends Reporters From WashPost, NYT, Others Who Wrote About Elon Musk (“Free speech absolutist,” huh?)
- Twitter suspends journalists who have been covering Elon Musk and the company
- Democrats criticize Elon Musk for suspending journalists covering Twitter
- Yes, my Twitter account was permanently suspended (“And I don’t know why”)
- Tucker Carlson gave an interview to a college student. Now, that student is organizing “Students for Ye,” a group promoted by white nationalists
- California Slashes Rooftop Solar Incentives in Blow to Industry
- Gov. DeSantis ‘ready to sign’ abortion ‘heartbeat bill’
- Opinion | The Slow-Motion Self-Demolition of Washington Post Publisher Fred Ryan
- NCAA Announces Governor Charlie Baker to be Next President
- Let’s Hope Charlie Baker Can Bring to Bear All His Skills to Drive the NCAA into the Ground (“Because what the NCAA really needs is that corporate touch.”)
- Kyrsten Sinema Files Paperwork for 2024 Senate Candidacy as Independent
- Yes, that really is Kyrsten Sinema selling designer clothes and bike gear on Facebook
- Three men sentenced to prison in Whitmer kidnapping plot
- ‘A door that can lead to corruption’: Sen. Kaine delivers Mountain Valley Pipeline speech
- Departing US Congress, Elaine Luria accuses colleagues of peddling antisemitic trope (“Jewish lawmaker from Virginia rails at ‘claims of dual loyalty’ leveled at supporters of Israel, in apparent shot at fellow Democrats Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib”)
- Virginia Dems squeeze House special election into one breakneck week (“The race hinges on a Tuesday ‘firehouse primary’ and includes a controversial and outsize character in Virginia politics.”)
- Virginia Democrats are vying to win a congressional race in only 7 days
- BREAKING: Del. Lamont Bagby Dropping Out of VA04 Democratic Nomination Race, Endorsing Jennifer McClellan
- EMILY’s List Endorses State Sen. Jennifer McClellan for Congress (EMILY’s List is “the nation’s largest resource for women in politics [which] works to elect Democratic pro-choice women up and down the ballot”)
- VA Senate Dems: Youngkin Budget “gives major corporations and the top 1% massive tax cuts at the expense of those who need it most”
- ‘Buckle up’: Youngkin budget proposal includes another $1B in tax cuts
- Youngkin budget pitches more than $1 billion in new tax cuts
- Youngkin proposes $1 billion in tax cuts, higher spending in budget plan
- “Buckle up,” Youngkin says in budget presentation
- Youngkin wants to transform Va.’s struggling behavioral health system
- Youngkin on going 5 for 15 in midterm campaigning: ‘we picked hard races’ (Hahahahaha, so THAT’s how Youngkin’s rationalizing it. Amazing.)
- State report says Virginia’s mental health bed registry is out-of-date and unusable
- Dominion Energy’s Offshore Wind Project Proceeds with Strong Customer Safeguards (“Dominion’s 100% utility-owned model essentially places all of the financial risk on customers, making strong consumer protections critical…”)
- Virginia regulators approve offshore wind settlement
- Dominion wind farm off Virginia Beach coast gains critical approval from state regulators (“It is fuel free, emissions free, diversifies our energy mix and is a transformative economic development opportunity for Hampton Roads and Virginia.”)
- Youngkin administration settles with parents over masking for disabled students
- Va. students with disabilities win legal right to request masking in class
- Virginia governor asks for inquiry into hiring of ‘catfishing’ cop who killed 3 in California
- Editorial: A need for answers in Virginia Beach (“Numerous resignations and roadblocks threaten the ability of the Virginia Beach mass shooting commission to deliver answers that the community needs.”)
- Amid effort to remove 2 Portsmouth leaders, City Council wants to change how elected officials are recalled
- Richmond schools, unionized staff reach agreement on raises
- D.C.-area forecast: Mainly bright skies but also chilly the next few days
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