Friday News: “Reagan Wouldn’t Recognize the G.O.P. Discord Over Ukraine”; “GOP States Protect Kids from Ideas. And Lunch.”; WI Supreme Court Race “could wreck MAGA’s 2024 dreams”; “Irvo Otieno’s family reacts to video of fatal incident”

by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, March 17.

• Roundup, the World’s Favorite Weed Killer, Linked to Liver, Metabolic Diseases in Kids
• The plastic water bottle industry is booming. Here’s why that’s a huge problem
• The Strongest Evidence Yet That an Animal Started the Pandemic (“A new analysis of genetic samples from China appears to link the pandemic’s origin to raccoon dogs.”)
• New Data Links Pandemic’s Origins to Raccoon Dogs at Wuhan Market (That market was a HORROR SHOW – utterly appalling.)
• Another Chaotic Week for Banks Marks the End of an Era for the Global Economy
• ECB meets over banking stress as US rescue eases immediate fears
• Russia-Ukraine war live: Slovakia approves sending Mig-29 planes to Ukraine; Russia presents awards to Su-27 pilots over Black Sea drone incident
• Who Blew Up Nord Stream? Investigators Focus on Six Mysterious Passengers on a Yacht
• Poland to deliver fighter jets to Ukraine in major escalation of military backing (“Four Soviet-era MiG-29s to be sent as first instalment and could lead to other Nato members providing warplanes”)
• Ukraine won’t forget who backed us – foreign minister (“Ukraine’s foreign minister tells the BBC nations that don’t back Ukraine will be held to account.”)
• Poland becomes first to pledge fighter jets to Ukraine
• US Says Video of Drone Encounter Shows Russia ‘Flat-Out Lying’ (Flat-out lying is what Putin’s regime does.)
• Wagner’s convicts tell of horrors of Ukraine war and loyalty to their leader
• Ukraine demoted commander who gave interview about ill-trained troops
• Exclusive: Chinese-made drone, retrofitted and weaponized, downed in eastern Ukraine
• Reagan Wouldn’t Recognize the G.O.P. Discord Over Ukraine (Reagan would be 100% on the side of Ukraine.)
• China’s Xi to visit Moscow in show of support for Putin (That’s disgusting.)
• Chinese leader Xi will visit Russia next week (“The Chinese Foreign Ministry said Xi will meet with Russian President Putin, his first visit to Russia since the invasion of Ukraine”)
• Governments around the world have moved to ban or restrict TikTok amid security fears
• How China is heralding the beginnings of a multipolar Middle East
• Protests erupt as French government forces through higher retirement age
• Macron, Risking Backlash, Pushes Through Law Raising Retirement Age
• How China is heralding the beginnings of a multipolar Middle East
• Key Senator Wants Biden to Get Tough on Netanyahu, Floats Conditioning Israel Aid (Hard to argue with that.)
• 20 years after U.S. invasion, young Iraqis see signs of hope
• SVB Collapse Turns Bankers’ Island Retreat Into Lobbying Blitz
• I Was an S.V.B. Client. I Blame the Venture Capitalists.
• Wall Street rides to the rescue as 11 banks pledge $30 billion to First Republic Bank
• Janet Yellen Leaves The Door Open On Reviving Depression-Era Bank Law
• Markets on alert after US banks join forces to rescue First Republic – business live
• Bank Failures, Like Earlier Shocks, Raise Recession Odds
• Biden faces massive political risks from banking turmoil
• How broadcast TV news covered environmental justice in 2022 (“Corporate broadcast TV news coverage of environmental justice dipped in both quality and quantity in 2022 compared to 2021. And like in previous years, last year’s coverage missed multiple opportunities to apply an environmental justice lens to key national stories that demanded more context about the complex harms that racism, economic exploitation, and environmental injustice have on vulnerable communities. Even the segments told through an environmental justice framework often failed to demand accountability for the public officials and industries responsible for environmental degradation or highlight solutions that exist to mitigate these harms.”)
• How Big of a Climate Betrayal Is the Willow Oil Project? (“The risk is that left to its own devices, the market won’t actually retire fossil fuels — at least not fast enough.” Exactly – the issue isn’t whether we’re eventually going to transition to clean energy, but whether we do so FAST ENOUGH.)
• Wind can now power a third of US homes (“Texas and the Great Plains have built the greatest capacity”)
• Treasury Department guidance urgently needed to tap IRA’s clean energy ‘gold mine,’ analysts say
• Biden uses the budget to bludgeon Republicans (“…the White House in essence dares Republicans to dig their own graves with unpopular spending cuts.”)
• Will anybody stop that Trump judge from banning abortion pills? (“The federal courts are dominated by Republicans, so the appeals process could be rough.”)
• How a far-right think tank made everything “woke” (“However racist you thought the ‘woke banks’ talking point was, somehow it’s even worse”)
• The Federalist Society Isn’t Quite Sure About Democracy Anymore (The “Federalist Society” is a very dangerous, extremist organization.)
• Election officials confront a fractured future (“Organizations that once fostered quiet, apolitical cooperation in the past have increasingly been thrust into the spotlight, risking upending the backbone of American elections.” They haven’t just been “thrust into the spotlight,” they’ve been falsely and viciously attacked by the right wing. So of course, the article’s headline and subheader don’t say that, because…Politico and the mainstream media in general suck.)
• More than a quarter of Republicans approve of Capitol attack, poll shows (Really, really sick.)
• Mike Pence Doubles Down On Homophobic Joke About Pete Buttigieg
• Pence defends joke about Buttigieg ‘maternity leave’ (Pence is scum.)
• Asked If Trump ‘Incited an Insurrection,’ Pence Says ‘There Were Many Causes’ (Pence is an utter disgrace.)
• Pence on whether Trump should bow out if indicted: It’s up to him (Weak, pathetic by Pence as usual.)
• As a Possible Indictment Looms, Trump’s Team Plans to Attack (Yep, that’s what Trump always does.)
• EXCLUSIVE: Dozens of Mar-a-Lago staff, from servers to aides, are subpoenaed in classified documents probe
• Investigators seek to question attorney about phone call with Trump in classified docs probe: Sources
• GOP States Protect Kids from Ideas. And Lunch.
• A Pro-Trump Social Network Wants to Corner the Anti-Vax ‘Jizz Market’ (Alrighty then…)
• Trump Was Calling Georgia Officials After the Election Like They Were Customer Service
• More Damning Evidence Against Trump (“Fulton County prosecutors have another recording of the former president pressuring a Georgia official to overturn the 2020 election.”)
• DeSantis Will Betray Ukraine for MAGA Votes
• The Republicans Have A DeSantis Problem
• In Ron DeSantis’s Florida, a Textbook Publisher Deleted Any Mention of Race in the Story of Rosa Parks
• Ron DeSantis Ate Chocolate Pudding … With Three Fingers?
• This Image of Ron DeSantis Eating Chocolate Pudding Will Haunt Your Dreams
• The Media Better Be Smart and Get Wise to DeSantis’ Bad-Faith Press Operation (“If a reporter can’t recognize propaganda and call it out when he sees it, then what’s even the point?” Axios is a joke, by the way, and shouldn’t be treated seriously.)
• Marianne Williamson’s ‘abusive’ treatment of 2020 campaign staff, revealed (She’s awful in pretty much every way.)
• George Santos refuses to quit Congress, brazenly says ‘truth still matters’
• Steve Bannon Is Neck-Deep in Guo Wengui’s Allegedly Fraudulent Business Empire (Why isn’t Bannon in prison yet?)
• Utah governor signs bill banning abortion clinics across the state
• Florida beaches brace for 5,000-mile blob of seaweed to deposit rotting goop (A great metaphor for what Ron DeSantis and the right-wing legislature are doing to the state.)
• Federal appeals court blocks enforcement of Florida ‘Stop W.O.K.E. Act’
• Florida Republican’s Bill Would Ban Young Girls From Discussing Their Periods In School
• This sleeper race could wreck MAGA’s 2024 dreams (“…a race for Wisconsin state Supreme Court — Election Day is April 4 — has extraordinarily high stakes. A Democratic win would deal a big blow to the MAGA movement’s 2024 hopes, underscoring its dramatically weakened hold on must-win territory once dominated by Trump. That outcome would give liberals a 4-3 majority on a court that could thwart any rerun of Trump’s 2020 effort to overturn his loss by legal chicanery.”)
• Michigan Democrats are getting their way for the first time in nearly 40 years
• Michigan Senate OKs proposals to expand gun safety measures in step forward for Democrats
• AT&T starts running ads on Fox News amid Dominion mess and DirecTV-Newsmax feud (Disgraceful.)
• N. Dakota Supreme Court Blocks Abortion Ban; Says Constitution Protects Procedure
• Kaine pushes to repeal Iraq war authorization
• The FBI’s new headquarters should be in Springfield (“By Glenn Youngkin, Tim Kaine and Mark R. Warner”)
• Virginia House and Senate VPAP “Party Unity in Floor Votes” Scores Show Parties Stayed Mostly Unified in 2023 Session, with Some Exceptions (The lowest “party unity on floor votes” scores were by insurrectionist Sen. Amanda Chase (53.8%), far-right Del. Nick Freitas (59.4%))
• Pope & Schapiro: The SCC, signs of a state budget, and saying goodbye to the Senate
• Column: Culture wars, right-wing experiments will damage schools (Yes, but the headline’s really bad – in fact, they’re not generic “culture wars,” they’re the right wing waging war on LGBTQ kids, the teaching of African-American history, etc.)
• Video: Former Teacher and School Board Member Amy Laufer (D) Tells VA Board Of Education “Our children aren’t political props the governor can use for his 2024 ambitions” (“The draft [history education standards document] is littered with historical inaccuracies, chronological confusion, and biased presentation of information.”)
• Virginia expanded dental coverage under Medicaid — but not enough dentists accept it
• Public hearing on carbon market withdrawal spurs sharp criticism
• Chase, Sturtevant, Ramirez bid for GOP primary voters at VCDL forum (This is a really bad headline, as almost nobody knows what the “VCDL is. The headline should clearly state that this is a far-right, any-gun-anywhere-anytime group.)
• Former CIA Officer, Prosecutor Russet Perry (D) Releases New Digital Introduction Vide (“This swing district…very well could be the Majority maker in 2023.”)
• 3 Virginia School Districts To Offer AP African American Studies Amid Youngkin Review
• 7 deputies and 3 others face murder charges in a Black man’s death at mental hospital
• 10 charged in Irvo Otieno’s death at mental hospital
• Irvo Otieno’s family reacts to video of fatal incident (Horrifying.)
• “This Was My Baby”: The Family of Black Man Killed By Cops While Experiencing Mental Crisis Speaks Out (“Mental Illness should not be your ticket to death.”)
• Video of Virginia man who died at hospital shows ‘absolute brutality’ by deputies, family says
• Video shows deputies smother Va. man for 11 minutes before death, family says
• Alexandria City School Board approves metal detector pilot program in schools
• In Roanoke, state officials hear concerns, praise of proposed history curriculum (Terrible headline; in fact, the VAST majority of comments have been AGAINST the proposed history curriculum. So of course the Roanoke Times “both sides” it. Ugh.)
• Editorial: Kids with guns (Really bad subheader on this one – in fact, it wasn’t the generic “General Assembly” that rejected “reasonable measures that would require gun owners to store their weapons in order to keep them away from children,” it was *100% Republicans* who opposed this. Why doesn’t the Virginian Pilot say that?!?)
• Virginia delegate says he’ll resign current seat to run for new one (That’s Del. Nadarius Clark.)
• Health advisory remains for Chesapeake waterway while officials plan to wait for leaked waste to dissipate
• To build more ‘missing middle’ housing, the devil is in the details (“Policies that roll back single-family zoning in principle get the most attention. But the fine print may have more of an impact.”)
• Teel: Virginia’s stunning NCAA demise a collective failure, not solely on Kihei Clark
• CNU men reach NCAA Division III basketball championship game for first time
• D.C.-area forecast: Spotty showers today ahead of a blustery weekend