by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Thursday, February 23.
- Consider these 4 inconvenient questions as the Ukraine war moves forward
- Why Ukrainians should remain hopeful
- Vladimir Putin’s Inhumane Blueprint to Terrorize Civilians in Chechnya, Syria—And Now Ukraine (Putin is pure evil.)
- Analysis: Why public health officials are not panicked about bird flu
- Ukraine defends front line, Putin talks up nuclear arsenal on war anniversary eve
- How the West Finds Supplies for Ukraine’s Soviet-Era Arsenal
- Why Can’t Russia Figure Out How to Win?
- Putin vows to strengthen Russia’s nuclear forces after suspending role in key treaty
- What to expect in the second year of the Russia-Ukraine war (In fact, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine started years ago in Crimea and the Donbass.)
- EU states urge crackdown on Russia over sanctions-evading arms ploy
- Russian invasion ‘an affront’, says UN chief, as assembly meets on Ukraine
- UN expected to endorse demand for Russia to leave Ukraine
- One year on: How Putin rationalized his war on Ukraine
- Russian Support for Putin’s War in Ukraine Is Hardening (“Putin maintains the image that the war is far away — and so far, the message seems to be working.”)
- Ukraine braced for attacks on eve of war anniversary
- Global divide on the Ukraine war is deepening (The world SHOULD be coming together on this.)
- Ukraine appears to attack deep into Russian-occupied territory.
- Russian Wagner chief Prigozhin blames ammunition shortage for high deaths
- Biden to Muir on Putin suspending nuclear treaty with US: ‘Big mistake’ and ‘not very responsible’
- ‘Never saw such hell’: Russian soldiers in Ukraine call home
- Right-wing conspiracy theory claims Kyiv air raid sirens were staged during President Biden’s visit (Alrighty then…)
- Ukraine war: China’s claim to neutrality fades with Moscow visit
- U.S. Considers Release of Intelligence on China’s Potential Arms Transfer to Russia
- Close-up photo of Chinese spy balloon in flight released by US military
- Taiwan frustrated by weapons delays, key lawmaker finds in stealth visit
- Mexico Hobbles Election Agency That Helped End One-Party Rule (Very bad.)
- Exclusive: Arms sales under Biden to get stricter human rights review, officials say
- Inside Israel’s failed Ukraine-Russia mediation efforts
- Bird flu kills 11-year-old girl in Cambodia, officials say (Uh oh…)
- Turkish Builders Are Under Intense Scrutiny Over Shoddy Construction (Erdogan and his cronies should be “under intense scrutiny” as well)
- Turkey slashes policy rate by 50 basis points as country continues to reel from earthquake
- More than 850,000 power outages reported in cross-country winter storm, with more snow, icing and blizzard conditions ahead
- “Massive” winter storm to impact entire Lower 48
- Axios-Ipsos poll: Politics drive public health fears
- US adults identifying as LGBTQ double in a decade: Gallup poll (Hence the panic on the right.)
- Young people are more likely to accept gay couples — and to identify as gay (“Nearly 20 percent of Generation Z adults — 19.7 percent — said they identified as LGBTQ in 2022, while 11.2 percent of millennials said the same.”)
- US mass killings linked to extremism spiked over last decade (AP means RIGHT-WING extremism, but for some reason don’t say so in the headline.)
- NTSB set to release preliminary report on Ohio train derailment
- Trump Forgets to Mention the Train Safety Regulations He Gutted During Visit to East Palestine, Ohio
- White House blames Trump administration and Republicans over East Palestine, Ohio spill
- Trump’s environmental rollbacks in focus on visit to Ohio toxic train site
- Trump, Who Deregulated the Railroad Industry, Lies to the People of Ohio in His Visit
- Donald Trump, who rolled back rail safety regulations and slashed environmental protections, donates Trump-branded water to East Palestine residents
- Railroad pushback to safety regulations scrutinized amid East Palestine disaster
- A Norfolk Southern Policy Lets Officials Order Crews to Ignore Safety Alerts
- Norfolk Southern is paying $6.5 million to derailment victims. Meanwhile, it’s shelling out $7.5 billion for shareholders
- Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump Subpoenaed in Jan. 6 Investigation
- Georgia juror unsettles Trump investigation with revealing interviews
- What the Hell Is the Trump Georgia Jury Forewoman Thinking? (“Emily Kohrs has been on a full-blown media tour that legal experts fear could jeopardize indictments from the Fulton County DA’s office.”)
- Giving Jan. 6 Tapes to Carlson, McCarthy Keeps a Promise to the Hard Right
- Analysis: In Sharing Video With Fox Host, McCarthy Hits Rewind on Jan. 6 (McCarthy is a sick mother-you-know-what)
- Kevin McCarthy’s Jan. 6 footage stunt demands a real response
- Democrats are warning against the release of Jan. 6 tapes to a Fox News host
- Former Proud Boy Says Group Prepared for ‘All-Out Revolution’ on Jan. 6
- Jan. 6 rioter who assaulted officer and threatened AOC sentenced (They were insurrectionists not “rioters”…)
- The Southern Baptist Convention ousting female pastors shows the Christian right’s radicalization (“Showily booting the famous Saddleback Church is the latest example of why the church can’t keep young people around”)
- Scott Perry battles DoJ over work with Trump allies to overturn 2020 election (“The far-right congressman is invoking a constitutional clause that allows him to block access to his phone”)
- Greene stirs up political storm with ‘national divorce’ comments
- Former Arizona attorney general failed to release report disproving election fraud claims (Disgusting.)
- Spectrum News 13 crew member, 9-year-old girl killed in Pine Hills shootings (Horrifying and 100% unacceptable.)
- ‘Every Reporter’s Worst Nightmare’: Florida Journalist Sheds Tear After Shooting (“A Spectrum News journalist was shot and killed in the Florida community prior to the local NBC reporter’s taping on Wednesday.”)
- Wisconsin Voters Have a Chance to Fix Their Court
- Wisconsin’s Supreme Court primary signals Democrats’ strength
- Abortion Is Turning Wisconsin Blue in a Critical Judicial Race
- Ron DeSantis’ Press Secretary Throws Hissy Fit at NBC, MSNBC
- Trump demonized the media. DeSantis wants to diminish them.
- DeSantis administration requires events at the Capitol ‘align’ with its mission (Authoritarian goon.)
- Florida School District Bans a Book on… Penguins (This is Ron DeSantis’ Florida.)
- Florida Legislator’s Defamation Bill Is a Shot at Long-Standing Media Protections
- Steve Bannon’s ex-lawyers sue him over nearly $500,000 in unpaid legal bills (Hahaha.)
- NPR says it’s cutting jobs by 10% as ad revenue drops
- The Corruption at Fox News Is Worse Than You Assumed (It’s not “News” and shouldn’t be treated as such.)
- What if the Dominion lawsuit is successful: Can Fox News ever be destroyed? (“Can there ever be a perfect world where Fox News ceases to exist?”)
- How The Cool Kid Of Progressive Politics Gambled It All Away (“Sean McElwee, the firm’s charismatic and occasionally controversial 30-year-old founder, had a habit of inviting a coterie of characters from outside the company into the Slack, including pollsters, political scientists and journalists.”)
- Sen. Mark Warner Presses Meta on Facebook’s Role in Inciting Violence, Spreading Misinformation Around the World (“Ultimately, the destabilizing impacts of your platform on fragile societies across the globe poses a set of regional – if not global – security risks”)
- VA Legislative Black Caucus Congratulates Congresswoman-Elect Jennifer McClellan (Sen. McClellan leaves a LONG list of impressive accomplishments from her time in the General Assembly!)
- Former Rep. Elaine Luria Continues Her Fight to “Defend Democracy” with Launch of PAC Aimed at Democrats Winning the VA Senate and House of Delegates
- CASEY: Some head-turning words by Rep. Morgan Griffith on the nature of ‘evidence’ (Griffith is a tinfoil-hat nutjob, so nothing he says is surprising.)
- Virginia Has Its Own Ron DeSantis, and He’s Taking Aim at African American Studies (“Glenn Youngkin wants to make sure your kids aren’t learning any ‘inherently divisive concepts.'” Glenn Youngkin and Ron DeSantis are themselves “inherently divisive!”)
- Near-record road deaths may compel Va. to spend 15% of highway safety dollars on walking and biking
- As fentanyl surges, Virginia lawmakers debate how far criminal penalties should go
- As session nears end, negotiations on Dominion rate review bill continue
- VA Senate President Pro Tem Louise Lucas Sets Special Election for Jennifer McClellan’s Senate Seat for March 28; Nominees to Be Chosen THIS Weekend
- Deadline to select candidates for McClellan’s seat quickly approaching: ‘Get ready to vote!’
- Now That VA Sen. Jennifer McClellan Has Been Elected to Congress, Del. Lamont Bagby Announces State Senate Run for the Seat (Two other Democrats – Alexsis Rodgers and Del. Dawn Adams – are also in the running for this deep-blue district.)
- House Republicans didn’t want to vote on abortion. A Democrat is forcing them to anyway. (“Republican leaders say they didn’t bring their measures up for a vote because they knew Democrats would kill them. A political scientist said it’s more likely Republicans didn’t want a controversial vote on the record during an election year.” Yep, the political scientist is 100% correct.)
- In texts, Youngkin appointee plots ‘battle royale for the soul of UVA’ (“Text messages from Bert Ellis offer a window into the thinking of the University of Virginia board newcomer who has voiced skepticism of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, been protective of the legacy of Thomas Jefferson and advocated for a new course for the flagship university” Ellis is a disaster in every way/shape/form.)
- Several Fairfax County School Board Members Call on Youngkin Administration to Promptly Approve AP African-American Studies Course (“Black History must merit more than an honorable mention every February.”)
- Another Democrat, Mary Barthelson, Throws Her Hat Into the Ring for the Seat of Retiring Del. Ken Plum (D-Fairfax)
- FEATURE: Game On! (“Though Griffin doesn’t have the early start Litchfield and Wright enjoy, he brings heavy-hitters to this game. State senators Scott Surovell and David Marsden, along with former House member Joshua Cole, were on hand to pump up the shoulder-to-shoulder crowd at Rebellion. And they made it clear Griffin was the candidate they had been awaiting.”)
- Democrat Paul Berry Announces Run for New, Open Seat in Virginia House of Delegates 7th District (Del. Ken Plum, who has served for more than 40 years, sent out an email this morning announcing his decision)
- Virginia group’s solar scorecard aims to quantify thorny nuance around development (“The Charlottesville-based Community Climate Collaborative recently introduced its Solar Climate Justice Scorecard, rating proposed projects on a variety of factors related to their social and environmental impacts.”)
- Editorial: The Amazon effect (“A new Virginia Tech building in Crystal City shows the commonwealth’s commitment to being a destination for high-tech jobs.”)
- Families of Virginia Beach shooting victims seek $40 million from state
- Del. Tim Anderson is not seeking reelection, but says he is ‘in a position to run for anything’ (Sure, but he never should actually be ELECTED to anything ever again.)
- City Council eyes acquisition of two historic Black cemeteries
- RPS says no insurance money taken off the table for Fox ES
- GOP in Richmond kills bill to raise Charlottesville-area sales tax, benefit schools
- Former Charlottesville Mayor David Brown drops out of state House race
- D.C.-area forecast: Record-challenging warmth followed by a brief cold push (“Highs today should be near 80; a few wet snowflakes are possible Saturday.”)
********************************************************
Sign up for the Blue Virginia weekly newsletter
