Saturday News: “Speaker in Name Only”; “To save himself, McCarthy just destroyed the House”; “Biden marks Jan. 6 anniversary with emotional tributes, stark warnings”; “Youngkin administration posts new version of K-12 history standards”; “6-year-old suspected of shooting Newport News teacher”

by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Saturday, December 7.

• ‘Self-healing’ Roman concrete could aid modern construction, study suggests
• Time is not on Ukraine’s side (“The way to avoid confrontation with Russia in the future is to help Ukraine push back the invader now.”)
• Moscow’s war in Ukraine brought harsh tactics against gay Russians at home
• Ukraine hails U.S. military aid as cease-fire said to falter
• Putin praises Russian Orthodox Church for backing troops in Ukraine (In fact, backing this genocidal war removes any/all moral authority…)
• China suspends social media accounts of Covid policy critics
• Iran’s Supreme Leader Replaces Police Chief After Protests
• Iran hangs two more protesters
• Biden faces Israel quandary with new Netanyahu government
• Israel’s far right hits ground running, and ripple effects are already being felt (“Ultranationalist religious rulers sworn in last week have made explicit what was previously obscured: annexation”)
• Netanyahu’s Government Takes a Turn Toward Theocracy (Will American Jews support a far-right, theocratic, authoritarian Israel?)
• Judge halts extradition of El Chapo’s son to U.S.
• Canada and the U.S. both face labor shortages. One country is increasing immigration.
• U.S. economy maintained a strong pace of job growth in December
• Stocks stage first big rally of 2023 as hope grows that inflation will ease, Dow closes up 700 points
• U.S. adds 223,000 jobs in December, capping a strong year for the labor market
• FDA grants fast-track approval to experimental Alzheimer’s drug
• RSV recedes and flu peaks as a new COVID variant shoots ‘up like a rocket’
• In Further Trump Reversal, White House Moves To Put Climate Back In Infrastructure Equation
• Biden readies ’24 campaign launch
• Biden marks Jan. 6 anniversary with emotional tributes, stark warnings
• Kevin McCarthy elected U.S. House speaker, but at a cost
• Analysis: Kevin McCarthy has effectively agreed to let the far right disrupt the workings of the House.
• House Speaker Fight Shows Election Deniers Who Tried to Overthrow Democracy Still Control GOP
• 2 Years After Jan. 6 Insurrection, New GOP Chaos Roils The U.S. Capitol
• Speaker McCarthy has arrived. Now what?
• The Kevin McCarthy Mess Is Peak Trumpism
• To save himself, McCarthy just destroyed the House
• McCarthy concessions to win Speakership raise eyebrows
• McCarthy Wins the Speakership After Incredible Floor Drama (“McCarthy’s path to the speakership wasn’t always clear, but he got the gavel by giving away everything he could.”)
• McCarthy Deal With Rebels Would Heighten Risk of Debt Standoff
• GOP Chaos Spotlights Identity Crisis Bedeviling Party Into 2024
• McCarthy elected House speaker in rowdy post-midnight vote
• Speaker in Name Only (“Kevin McCarthy finally has the job he always wanted. What did he sacrifice to get it?”)
• How Kevin McCarthy got the votes for speaker — and why it could haunt him
• Kevin McCarthy finally became Speaker of the House after one last shocking meltdown. Here’s how it all happened.
• Speaker Quest Reveals McCarthy’s Tenuous Grip on an Unruly Majority
• Sex Trafficking Row Helped Fuel Gaetz’s Hatred for McCarthy
• One vote shy and the near-brawl that followed
• Speaker Fight Could Preview Months of Turmoil in Congress
• McCarthy’s Speaker Deal Could Stymie Defense Spending Next Year
• Gingrich and Pelosi Agree: The GOP Is Rudderless
• Kevin McCarthy Won the Battle, But Definitely Not the War
• Some Democrats fear a mass shooting on House floor — by a QAnon-Republican
• McCarthy praises Trump, Gaetz for helping secure Speakership (Disgusting.)
• Democrats commemorate January 6 attack with tears and silence at US Capitol (And Republicans?!?)
• Jan. 6 insurrection was ‘logical outcome’ of extremism
• Trump Ally and Sexual Harassment Dismisser Accused of Groping GOP Staffer’s Crotch
• Conservative leader Matt Schlapp is accused of fondling a male campaign staffer in Georgia
• John Bolton announces he WILL run for the White House in 2024 against former boss Donald Trump as he blasts the ex-president’s ‘terminal decline’ (What a joke.)
• George Santos sworn into Congress as investigations mount
• Federal judges strike down SC’s 1st Congressional District as racial gerrymandering
• US appeals court blocks ban on rapid-fire ‘bump stocks’
• Why is America addicted to this violent and brutal game?
• The horrifying revelations of the Idaho student murders
• Katie Porter weighs Senate bid launch as Feinstein stays mum
• ‘Highly Unlikely’ Hector LaSalle Gets a Floor Vote, Say Senate Democrats
• 2 Men Accidentally Set Themselves on Fire Trying to Burn Down an Immigration Center
• On Musk’s Twitter, users looking to sell and trade child sex abuse material are still easily found
• DeSantis appoints anti-civil rights activist Chris Rufo to New College of Florida Board of Trustees
• Shootings Reported at Homes and Offices of 5 New Mexico Democrats
• “Today we mark the anniversary of one of the darkest days in the history of our democracy.” (Statements by Virginia Democratic elected officials on the 2-year anniversary of the 1/6/21 violent insurrection/coup attempt.)
• McCarthy is ‘one of the least worthy people’ to serve as House speaker, says former congresswoman Luria
• Bob Good: I’m One of the Last Holdouts Against Kevin McCarthy — and I Won’t Back Down
• Schapiro: Kaine silent for now on scaling Capitol Hill again (“A Kaine retirement would be a surprise. Soon to be 65, Kaine is going through the motions of a re-election bid — raising money, conducting polling, selecting a campaign manager and assisting other candidates, including Democrats running in special elections for the General Assembly and Congress.”)
• Panel that regulates utilities down to one member
• Draft K-12 history standards now in hands of Board of Education
• Virginia Dept. of Education announces completion of new draft of standards, one day after groups endorse alternative
• Youngkin administration posts new version of K-12 history standards
• Third version of Virginia history standards released for review
• State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow discusses the Youngkin administration’s revised draft of K-12 history standards
• Abortion at the forefront in special election for Virginia Senate seat
• Education savings accounts: Unpacking a new Republican-led bill
• Central Virginia delegates preview bills that could impact community in 2023 General Assembly
• On 1/6 Anniversary, VA Del. Dan Helmer Introduces Bill to Bar Insurrectionists From Serving in Positions of Public Trust (“The MAGA-backed attack against our democracy that we saw on January 6 can never happen again”)
• 6-year-old boy shoots teacher at Newport News elementary school, police say
• A 6-year-old shot a teacher in a Virginia classroom, police say
• 6-year-old in custody after Virginia teacher injured in elementary classroom shooting
• Democrat Jonathan Dromgoole Launches Arlington County Board Campaign (With Board members Katie Cristol and Christian Dorsey not running for reelection, there will be two vacancies up for grabs this year.)
• Study says Lynchburg can’t support an inland port but Bristol-to-Wytheville region might
• D.C.-area forecast: Feeling more like January, with a chance for snowflakes Sunday