by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Saturday, February 4.
- World’s biggest investment fund warns directors to tackle climate crisis or face sack
- EU agrees price caps on Russian oil products (“Ambassadors to impose a $100-a-barrel cap on diesel and a $45 cap on low-end products”)
- This Is Not 1943 (“How Putin twists the history of World War II” Putin is seriously deranged.)
- American killed in Ukraine was working as humanitarian medic
- Russia’s Casualties in Ukraine Near 200,000
- Zelensky urges E.U. to send weapons faster as Russians close grip on Bakhmut
- Dozens of soldiers freed in Russia-Ukraine prisoner swap
- Trump Says He Knows How to “Immediately” End the War in Ukraine but Must Keep It to Himself (Complete clown.)
- Tearing up the fabric of nuclear arms control is good for no one
- Chinese spy balloon could ‘cause civilian injuries or deaths’ or ‘significant’ damage if shot down, Pentagon says
- The balloon thing is a bad sign for US-China relations
- U.S.-China Tensions Rise Over Suspected Spy Balloon
- High-Flying Balloon Seen as Part of Broader Chinese Spy Program
- China rushes to cap damage as Blinken delays trip (“The balloon incident is a setback to recent Chinese efforts to repair relations with the United States and revive its economy.”)
- A balloon upended Blinken’s trip to China. That could be a good thing. (“As one former official puts it, China’s ‘a little bit on the back foot.'”)
- CIA chief warns against underestimating Xi’s ambitions toward Taiwan
- U.S. Weighs Sanctions for Chinese Firms Over Iran Surveillance Buildup
- China’s alleged spy balloon is the perfect symbol of its clumsiness
- GOP Rep Warns That Chinese Balloon May Have ‘Bioweapons’ From ‘Wuhan’ (The GOP is the tinfoil-hat, John Birch Society party at this point.)
- Second spy balloon spotted over Latin America, says Pentagon, as Blinken postpones China trip (“Secretary of state calls the incident in US airspace a ‘clear violation of US sovereignty and international law’”)
- H5N1 Bird Flu is Causing Alarm. Here’s Why We Must Act.
- This winter’s U.S. COVID surge is fading fast, likely thanks to a ‘wall’ of immunity
- What Is Permitting Reform? Here’s a Primer on the Drive to Fast Track Energy Projects—Both Clean and Fossil Fuel (“It’s a return to Washington’s biggest energy debate, with Democrats and climate advocates divided among themselves, and mostly at odds with Republicans.”)
- Dark Money Is Fueling Climate Denial and Delaying Action, Watchdogs Warn
- “Democrats Deliver Jobs”; “We have, in fact, been experiencing a…Biden Boom”; Last Time Unemployment Was This Low, “Woodstock was still in the future”
- U.S. reports blowout job growth; unemployment rate lowest since 1969
- U.S. employers added a whopping 517,000 jobs in January
- Job Growth Is a Boost for Biden as He Bets on a Lasting Turnaround
- What we learned about the US economy this past week (All very good news!)
- Jobs blowout: What the employment report means for Biden and Powell
- The new House majority uses the levers of power to stoke paranoia
- Gun-Nut GOP Lawmakers Commemorate Gun Violence Survivors’ Awareness Week With AR-15 Paraphernalia
- “We’re Going to See Benghazi 2.0” (“Hive minds Bess Levin and Abigail Tracy analyze the GOP’s House, afire with chaos and investigations, and why a DeSantis presidency is just as scary as a Trump redux.”)
- 5th Circuit Court Rejects Concept of Progress
- Republican Lawmakers Overheard Calling Omar Decision the ‘Stupidest Vote in the World’
- Jordan subpoenas Garland, Wray over school board memo (Insurrectionist scumbags like “Gym” Jordan shouldn’t even be in Congress, let alone issuing subpoenas.)
- Democrats, Seeing a Weaker Trump, Are Falling in Line Behind Biden (“Concerns about the president’s age are being overcome by enthusiasm about his record so far, optimism about the G.O.P. field — and the absence of better options.”)
- ‘At any age’: Donald Trump pushes the GOP towards targeting transgender adults
- Durham’s dud is worse than it looks — and now Trump suddenly doesn’t want to talk witch hunts (“Trump’s attempt to bring disrepute to the Mueller report just backfired spectacularly”)
- Trump Likened to Mob Boss John Gotti in Ex-Prosecutor’s New Book
- NYC Prosecutors Had to Prove ‘Trump Was Not Legally Insane’
- Jamie Raskin on why Trump charges are ‘almost inevitable’
- South Carolina Expected to Get First Slot on Democrats’ Primary Calendar
- Democrats set to shake up start of 2024 presidential primary
- Where American Democracy Isn’t Very Democratic
- Fox News is rapidly escalating its anti-offshore wind campaign
- Americano Media wants to be the Spanish-language Fox News. Here’s what you need to know about it.
- Williams: A ‘new Massive Resistance’ is the real political agenda in education (“Youngkin, widely viewed as a presidential aspirant, is using a lower-octane approach and gaining less mileage from it. But from Day 1 as governor, he came out against critical race theory, which has become a shorthand for classroom discussions of systemic racism.”)
- Sorry, not sorry: Some 1/6 rioters change tune after apology
- Judge demands answers after Jan. 6 defendant recants guilt
- George Santos Produced Broadway’s Ill-Fated Spider-Man Musical. At Least, He Claims He Did
- George Santos may owe thousands for traffic violations in two states
- Republicans aim to decimate abortion access in post-Roe haven states (“GOP hard-liners seek new restrictions in states including North Carolina, Florida and Nebraska.”)
- Jury: Musk didn’t defraud investors with 2018 Tesla tweets
- The coldest air in the Northern Hemisphere is invading New England
- 6th officer fired after beating death of Tyre Nichols
- Metro workers grapple with safety after recent shootings
- Can the GOP Win a Senate Seat in Virginia? (“Undeterred by his failed bid for a House seat, Hung Cao considers jumping into an even tougher race.”)
- Sen. Tim Kaine invites UMWA leader from Bristol to attend State of the Union
- Virginia lawmakers react to Chinese balloon floating in US airspace
- Senate Democrats kill Youngkin-backed bill on school awards
- Virginia Senate Democrats Kill Youngkin-Backed Bill on School Awards
- Board of Education splits vote on latest history standards draft (“All five Youngkin appointees voted to advance the January draft. But this third draft is also drawing the criticism of multiple experts in social studies and history curriculum — many of whom shared concerns on Thursday.”)
- Republicans Double Down on Bill to Outlaw Abortion At Conception (“Republicans stand with MAGA extremists, not Virginia Women”)
- VA Senate Democrats Pass Legislation to Lower Prescription Drug Costs
- Virginia electric utility regulation bill takes different form in House
- A bill protecting bus drivers advances to the Virginia Senate (“Mandatory minimum sentences have been controversial for years, and Democrats have tried to give judges more autonomy to make decisions about individual cases. But there’s at least one area where Democrats want mandatory minimum sentences.”)
- Senate OKs drug affordability board bill opposed by Youngkin administration
- Surprising trends in Virginia’s population
- Virginia could end solitary confinement thanks to unlikely duo of lawmakers
- Schapiro: Not your grandfather’s Capitol press corps. Or your father’s.
- Police Announce Arrest in Wakefield High School Trespassing
- ‘A Crisis’: Wakefield High School in Arlington Cancels Classes After Lockdown, Student Overdose (“’Where’s the accountability for what happened? Do better. Stop celebrating yourself and talk to the community, talk to parents, talk to students,’ Arlington PTSA president Judith Davis said”)
- D.C.-area forecast: Still cold today, but back above average for Sunday (“The worst of the Arctic blast has come and gone. By tomorrow we’re moving back into the 50s.”)
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