by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Saturday, December 10.
- Animals Are Running Out of Places to Live (“Talks in Montreal this month could be pivotal for the planet’s wildlife. Meet some of the species that are losing habitat fast.”)
- Big Oil has engaged in a long-running climate disinformation campaign while raking in record profits, lawmakers find
- What Did the Big Oil Know About Its Products’ Climate Risks—and When?
- The Oil Industry Is Only Pretending to Help(“A new House report exposes the ways that they talk a good game while doing business as usual.”)
- Russia is expanding and modernizing its nuclear arsenal, defense secretary says
- Spat Over Patriot Missiles Reveals Deepening Rifts in Europe Over Ukraine (“Relations between Germany and Poland, never warm, have deteriorated since the start of the Ukraine war, damaging unity in both NATO and the E.U.”)
- A Chatty Putin’s Underlying Message: I’m Still in Charge
- Putin Says Russia May Add Nuclear First Strike to Strategy (Totally irresponsible and dangerous.)
- Ukraine war: US says Iran now Russia’s ‘top military backer’
- Russia Launches New Drone Attacks as Partnership With Iran Deepens (“Iranian drones have been crucial to Russia’s attacks on Ukraine; White House has said Russia and Iran are considering joint drone production”)
- Ukraine utility crews adapt, overcome after Russian strikes
- Russia grinds on in eastern Ukraine; Bakhmut ‘destroyed’
- In freeing Griner, Biden faced resistance abroad and at home
- Russia demanded that a spy held in Germany be freed in exchange for Paul Whelan
- Right-wing media echo Russian state TV in attacks on Brittney Griner (“The conservative media echo chamber and Russian TV both said Griner was released only because she is a Black lesbian”)
- Following Brittney Griner’s release from Russian detainment, right-wing media figures blast her with racist attacks
- Putin: More prisoner swaps with U.S. “possible” after Griner-Bout exchange
- Goldman’s Waldron Says ‘Bumpy’ China Reopening a Growth Risk
- Spiraling costs and crumbling public services leave millions in Britain struggling to live (In other words, “Brexit” worked out just how many people had warned it would – disastrously.)
- Sports Writer Grant Wahl Dies at World Cup Match in Qatar
- It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Another COVID Surge (Get your booster!)
- Attacks on Pacific north-west power stations raise fears for US electric grid (Treat it as domestic terrorism.)
- Leaders Back Away From Raising Debt Ceiling, Punting Clash to New Congress (Ugh, not good at all.)
- Wholesale prices rose 0.3% in November, more than expected, despite hopes that inflation is cooling
- This Case Should Never Have Made It to the Supreme Court
- Dark money groups pump nearly $90 million into “independent state legislature” case
- U.S. judge won’t hold Trump’s office in contempt, people familiar say (How on earth is Trump NOT in contempt of court?!?)
- Judge declines DOJ request to hold Trump team in contempt over classified documents: Sources
- Kanye, Elon, Trump: Why the News Cycle Is Trapped in a Narcissist Vortex (“Is there any way to escape the attention-seekers dining in Mar-a-Lago or the one heading to Mars?”)
- Emails Bare RNC Member Fury At Silence On Trump’s Mar-A-Lago Dinner: Report
- Don’t worry, be a majority: Dems shrug off Sinema’s switch (“Hours after Kyrsten Sinema publicly declared she’d switch her party to Independent, Democrats were already back to feeling reassured in their 51-seat majority.”)
- Kyrsten Sinema’s surprise switch is an epic gamble (“It also puts an important Democratic trend at greater risk.”)
- Kyrsten Sinema Kicks Off 2024’s First Big Mess
- Why Kyrsten Sinema Left The Democratic Party
- Sinema Faced an Uphill Battle. So She Decided to Skip It. (“The Arizona senator has always been a party of one.”)
- Progressives fume over party switch: ‘Typical Sinema’
- Kyrsten Sinema Is Playing Chicken
- What happens now that Arizona’s Kyrsten Sinema is no longer a Democrat
- Top progressive firm drops Sinema as a client
- Sinema’s decision to quit the Democratic Party jolts Arizona 2024 Senate race
- Kyrsten Sinema and the Politics of Narcissism
- We Found the Guys Behind the Hunter Biden Porn That Elon Musk Won’t Shut Up About (“This is not a First Amendment thing.”)
- Elon Musk’s Twitter Files Are Bait (“He doesn’t actually want transparency on the social-media platform.”)
- ‘Duct Tape and Band-Aids’: Inside Herschel Walker’s Campaign Collapse (And yet he still somehow came within three points of winning. That really says a lot about the vast majority of white voters in Georgia.)
- Florida GOP donor, DeSantis ally under ‘active investigation’ weeks before death, authorities say
- Charges from DeSantis’ election crimes office keep falling apart
- Kari Lake, Mark Finchem formally contest Arizona election results (These extremists were, and are, totally unfit for public office. They should have gotten ZERO votes.)
- Smooth sailing for Metro, for now, as storm clouds gather
- Who will fill McEachin’s 4th District seat?
- Glenn Youngkin Has Lowest Net Approval Rating, Highest Disapproval Rating (by Far) Than His Three Predecessors at This Point in Their Terms (Youngkin’s net approval rating is also faaar lower than Governors George Allen, Jim Gilmore, Mark Warner and Tim Kaine)
- School boards to adopt policies that notify parents of sexually explicit content
- Inspector general says tourism ad didn’t violate procurement laws (“Del. Don Scott (D-Portsmouth), the top Democrat in Virginia’s House of Delegates, noted in a tweet that Westfall serves at the pleasure of the governor. He said the investigation ‘answered none of the questions we asked about undue influence from @GovernorVA for giving over 250k to his political consultant.'”)
- Lawyers representing youth in Virginia climate change lawsuit say they’ll appeal
- Virginia Republican Proposes Total Abortion Ban for State to Consider in January
- SD7 GOP Nominee Praised Post (“Brilliantly Truthful!”) by Anti-Abortion Extremist Roy Moore Which Said That People Are “Too Soft To Place A Killer In A Well Deserved Tomb, But Brave Enough To Kill A Baby Before He Leaves The Womb” (This guy also volunteered at a “crisis pregnancy center” “run by anti-abortion activists”…)
- Virginia officials say more than 10,500 felons remained on voter rolls after re-offending
- The battle over single-family zoning is also a fight over what to call it (“End single-family zoning? Legalize ‘missing middle’ housing? What to call the policy being considered in Arlington, and elsewhere, depends on whom you ask.”)
- The Conservation Fund acquires 1,000-acre Fones Cliffs property at auction for $8.1M
- Miyares selects California firm to investigate UVA shooting
- Racist imagery on Patrick County GOP website ‘a mistake,’ Republican leaders say
- Loudoun County School Board holds emergency meeting for superintendent vacancy
- Woman testifies Virginia Beach CEO sexually assaulted her in his office
- D.C.-area forecast: A chilly Saturday, with a shower possible tonight
