by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Thursday, December 8.
- UN Environment Chief Warns of a Biodiversity Apocalypse (“‘We are at war with nature,’ Inger Andersen says as Cop15 delegates gather in Montreal.”)
- Tiny Vanuatu Uses Its ‘Unimportance’ to Launch Big Climate Ideas
- Democratic senators warn UN secretary general of eroding public trust in Cop (“Letter urges sponsors provide ‘corporate climate political influencing statements’ after 630 lobbyists attend Cop27”)
- Out of the Public Eye, a Debate Is Raging Over a Postwar Ukraine Economy (“Beyond the enormous cost of rebuilding the country are difficult and delicate choices about how to best connect the nation to the European economy.”)
- Putin: Nuclear risk is rising, but we are not mad
- Ukraine used home-modified drones to strike Russian bases
- Exclusive: Biden administration weighs Ukrainian requests for access to US stockpile of controversial cluster munitions
- As Ukraine and Russia step up prisoner exchanges, scarred POWs tell of abuse
- Scholz: Nuclear risk from Russia has lessened
- The Ruse That Could Dupe Putin Into Another Crushing Ambush (“The element of surprise has been used to knock out Russian forces before. Kyiv might be at it again.”)
- Russia attacks in east Ukraine as Putin celebrates land grab
- “An Abyss of Fear and Wild Lawlessness” (“Inside Russia’s brutal occupation of Ukraine’s Kherson region.”)
- China’s looser anti-COVID measures met with relief, caution
- China Scraps Most Covid Testing, Quarantine Requirements in Policy Pivot
- ‘Zero Covid,’ Once Ubiquitous, Vanishes in China’s Messy Pivot
- How Will China Turn Its Economy Back On? The World Is About to Find Out.
- Xi Loosens Up. It Won’t Be Enough.
- Xi Jinping visits Saudi Arabia as China looks to grow its Mideast footprint
- Scoop: CIA warns Turkey that strikes in Syria endanger U.S. troops
- U.S. Rivals Are Facing Unrest. Is It Due to Luck or Skill?
- Peru’s President Tried to Dissolve Congress. By Day’s End, He Was Arrested. (It should have been the same in the US – “by day’s end” January 6, 2021, Trump and his co-conspirators should all have been arrested. Why can Peru handle this but not the U.S.???)
- Dina Boluarte becomes Peru’s 1st woman president as Castillo arrested
- Iran executes man arrested in Tehran demonstrations
- Iran carries out first execution over anti-government protests
- Taliban carry out first public execution since returning to power in Afghanistan
- Democrats Want Answers About Jared Kushner’s Very Shady Middle East Deal (No, Not the Saudi One!) (“This is the one involving a miraculous financial bailout for his family, Qatar, and his White House work in the Middle East.”)
- The Federal Reserve Is Deflating Financial Bubbles, Without a Crash
- U.S. Gas Prices Are Now Lower Than a Year Ago (And Republicans who falsely blamed Biden for “high gas prices” are TOTALLY now praising him for low gas prices. Haha – NOT!)
- Defense bill includes years-long proposal to combat sexual assault in military
- Bill protecting same-sex, interracial unions set for passage
- Prominent Gay Republicans Helped Smooth the Way for the Marriage Bill
- Nancy Pelosi: I’m proud to protect marriage as one of my last acts as speaker (Greatest. Speaker. Ever.)
- The Supreme Court’s Most Conservative Justices Got Humiliated on Wednesday (“Great lawyering—and, surprisingly, Amy Coney Barrett—debunked a legal theory designed to subvert democracy.”)
- Amy Coney Barrett appears likely to block the GOP’s latest attack on democracy (“Moore v. Harper, one of the scariest election cases in the Supreme Court’s modern history, probably won’t end in catastrophe.”)
- Supreme Court Justices Appear Split Over Fringe Election Theory That Could Upend U.S. Democracy
- It Looks Like the Supreme Court Will Not Blow Up Our Democracy (for Now)
- Republicans Want the Supreme Court to “Rewrite History” So They Can Hijack Elections (“During the Moore v. Harper arguments, a majority of justices expressed skepticism about the radical ‘independent state legislature’ theory.”)
- Headed Toward a Middle Ground? Today’s Argument in Moore v. Harper
- Trump isn’t the only thing that could rock American democracy
- Supreme Court Examines Election ‘Blast Radius’
- Donald Trump and His Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad 3 Weeks
- Everywhere Trump turns, prosecutors seem to be breathing down his neck
- Trump hosts event featuring QAnon, ‘Pizzagate’ conspiracy theorist at Mar-a-Lago (Will Republicans like Youngkin condemn this insanity? Or will we yet again hear nothing but crickets quietly chirping?)
- Trump’s Reckoning With the Rule of Law (“His company now has criminal convictions, and his effort to seek political immunity is looking shaky.”)
- Trump’s Jewish Allies Are ‘Begging’ Him to Condemn Kanye. He’s Refusing (If you’re Jewish and a Trump “ally,” just WTF???)
- The GOP has a big problem beyond Trump: It lacks compelling alternatives (“There are no rising stars in the GOP.”)
- Trump lawyers find two more classified documents at Florida storage unit
- Report: Trump Had Even More Classified Documents Stashed in a Storage Facility Next to “Swords and Wrestling Belts”
- Jan. 6 committee’s referrals may ‘stiffen the spine’ of prosecutors
- Classified Documents Found in Trump Search of Storage Site
- Jan. 6 panel eyeing Dec. 21 to release final report, chairman says
- Trump told crowd to ‘fight like hell’ before riot. Can he be sued?
- Values-based politics are winning politics for Democrats
- Walker’s loss in Ga. spurs GOP hand-wringing, calls for new strategy
- What the Georgia Runoff Revealed (“Democrats hold a key advantage in the five states that will decide the next presidential election.”)
- Republicans Don’t Know Who to Blame for Herschel Walker’s Loss (“From Donald Trump to RNC chair Ronna McDaniel, right-wing pundits and politicians have put forth a slate of possible culprits. But few have entertained the notion that the scandal-scarred loser might have only himself to blame.”)
- With Herschel Walker’s runoff defeat, it’s time to point and laugh at Sean Hannity
- How the Pandemic Swung Key Races for Democrats (“Republicans are suffering from demographic shifts fueled by Covid.”)
- GOP leaders rethink Trump strategy after midterms (“Republican fury over the failure to retake the Senate is growing, with one senator saying the ‘Trump obsession is very bad’ for the party”)
- An 88-Year First: Democrats Defend All Their Senate Seats While Holding White House
- Frustration swirls in House GOP over McCarthy Speakership opposition
- Musk boosts Twitter’s right-wing appeal with moderation changes, ‘Twitter Files’
- House Democrats Press Elon Musk on His Plans to Combat Hate Speech on Twitter
- Herschel Walker Lost, But It’s a Very Bad Sign That He Had Any Chance at All (“There was a shark in the pool and nobody got bit. But why were so many people cheering for the shark in the pool?”)
- Inside the turmoil roiling No Labels’ unity ticket presidential campaign (“No Labels” is one of the stupidest things in American politics.)
- “I Did What I Had To Do”: Christian Walker Opened Up About How He Helped Bring Down His Dad’s Campaign
- ‘These F*cking People’: Barstool Star and Fox News Regular Caught on Hot Mic Destroying Network, Its Audience, and Tucker
- It’s official: Kari Lake, Kelli Ward and the Arizona GOP have lost their minds (“We’ve known that for a long time.)
- Fox News Host Mark Levin’s War on ‘Imbecile’ Far-Right Congressmen Just Got Uglier
- Over 1,100 New York Times staffers to walk out after union talks fail
- Sen. Mark Warner Applauds Inclusion of Key Priorities in Draft of Annual Defense Bill (The bill “will help bolster our military readiness, support critical Virginia jobs, tackle the needs of military families, and reinforce our commitment to Ukraine in its fight against authoritarianism.”)
- Remembering Rep. Donald McEachin: ‘I can’t believe he’s gone’
- Va. Rep. McEachin laid to rest; Pelosi, other dignitaries honored him
- Rep. Spanberger calls on Pres. Biden to declare pediatric health emergency
- Dems Won In Georgia, Which Is Great News! “Now let’s bring our focus back to Virginia,” Including the Crucial Special Election for State Senate on January 10, 2023!
- Youngkin’s Anti-Environment Air Pollution Control Board Votes to “imperiously shred standing law,” for “deliberate Trump-style chaos…aimed at a popular program like RGGI” (Public comments were OVERWHELMINGLY against pulling out of RGGI, but obviously Youngkin doesn’t care what the public thinks.)
- Youngkin’s Air Board Action Endangers Virginia’s Climate Progress (Absolutely bonkers by Youngkin.)
- Virginia begins official withdrawal from regional carbon market
- Schapiro: Fuss over legislature’s calendar could make for long days
- Youngkin moves toward reimbursements for ‘unjust’ COVID-19 fines in Virginia (Ridiculous.)
- Youngkin vows to reimburse shutdown violators who paid ‘unjust’ fines
- Editorial: Youngkin’s education dept. could have avoided this do-over (“Balow’s apology serves as a reminder that in 2021, when the Youngkin appointee still served as Superintendent of Public Instruction in Wyoming, the conservative, education-focused Thomas B. Fordham Institute released a report granting Wyoming an ‘F’ in civics and history. ‘Wyoming’s civics and U.S. History standards are inadequate, failing to offer even a basic outline of essential content,’ the report said.”)
- Report on Virginia jail fees hindered by spotty data, redacted contracts
- Schools await details on Youngkin’s plan to boost dual enrollment
- Virginia regulators enter into agreement with menhaden fishery
- Virginia Beach sheriff faces lawsuit: Ex-sergeant alleges political motivations for his termination (“William Fowler, a former sergeant in the Virginia Beach Sheriff’s Office, is suing Sheriff Ken Stolle alleging unlawful termination and retaliation against him due to the political activities of his wife, Del. Kelly Convirs-Fowler.”)
- “Community leader, environmental advocate and life-long Democrat” Andres Jimenez Announces Candidacy For Mason District (Fairfax County) Supervisor (Yesterday, long-time Supervisor Penny Gross (D) announced her retirement after 27 years on the Board.)
- Following Release of Grand Jury Report, Loudoun4All Responds to the Firing of LCPS Superintendent Dr. Scott Ziegler and Calls for the Resignation of Loudoun Sheriff Michael Chapman
- Another employee warned Walmart about shooter’s behavior, suit claims
- Opinion/Editorial: New police chief should be tough, but compassionate
- Loudoun Co. leaders approve plan to study the impacts of illegal segregation
- NCAA granting Virginia football players who were in their final seasons of eligibility additional year of eligibility
- D.C.-area forecast: A break in showers today, but weekend looks cool, damp
