by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, April 7.
- Global Warming Could Drive Pulses of Ice Sheet Retreat Reaching 2,000 Feet Per Day (“New research of seafloor formations near Norway includes findings that keep climate scientists awake at night.” It should keep ALL of us awake at night!)
- Phaseout of coal power far too slow to avoid ‘climate chaos’, report finds (“World needs to stop building new plants and close existing ones at almost five times the current rate to meet Paris agreement goals.” Exactly – no more coal-fired power plants, period.)
- Coal burning capacity climbs worldwide despite pledges to reduce use (Ugh.)
- Death threats, trolling and sexist abuse: climate scientists report online attacks (Wildly unacceptable. Arrest the people making the threats.)
- The Ukraine war led to a head-spinning shift in European neutrality
- Suspicions Multiply as Nord Stream Sabotage Remains Unsolved (“Intelligence leaks surrounding the sabotage of the pipelines have provided more questions than answers. It may be in no one’s interest to reveal more.”)
- Putin’s Energy Offensive Has Failed
- How Putin Criminalized Journalism in Russia
- Russian Court to Hear Appeal on Detention of WSJ Reporter
- Ukrainian mother calls for her son’s death not to be in vain after his execution during grueling battle went viral
- The Arrest of Evan Gershkovich Is Further Evidence of Putin’s Brutality
- Ukraine war live updates: Secret Pentagon and NATO files leaked; Russians have reached center of Bakhmut, UK says
- Ukraine War Plans Leak Prompts Pentagon Investigation
- US opposes offering Ukraine a road map to Nato membership (We absolutely should offer Ukraine a path to NATO membership.)
- Macron urges Xi to bring Russia ‘back to reason’ over Ukraine (“French president makes plea as two leaders hold first of series of high-level meetings in Beijing”)
- With lavish treatment of Macron, China’s Xi woos France to “counter” U.S.
- Israel strikes Lebanon and Gaza after rockets fired; two killed in shooting attack
- China sanctions Reagan library, others over Tsai’s US trip
- China’s recovery is taking longer than expected, so Citi is pushing back its stock rebound forecasts
- China sanctions de facto US ambassador after president’s talks with House speaker
- Indian Textbooks Purged of Material Modi’s Party Finds Objectionable (This is what far-right extremists like Ron DeSantis want in this country too.)
- Biden review of chaotic Afghan withdrawal blames Trump
- Afghanistan evacuation should’ve happened sooner, White House concedes
- U.S. Jobs Report Expected to Show Signs of Cooling
- March Jobs Report to Show if Hiring Boom Is Cooling
- Wind and solar power generators wait in yearslong lines to put clean electricity on the grid, then face huge interconnection fees they can’t afford (This is a disaster that needs to be fixed, ASAP.)
- A new solar energy deal will bring power to 140,000 homes and businesses in 3 states
- Harris announces largest single investment in US solar power at Georgia plant
- EPA proposes strengthening mercury and air toxics standards for coal-fired power plants (“To meet the proposed standards, about 4,800 MW of coal-fired capacity would need to install pollution-control equipment and 500 MW would retire in 2028, EPA said. “)
- For the First Time in Nearly Two Decades, the EPA Announces New Rules to Limit Toxic Air Pollutants From Chemical and Plastics Plants
- This Dime-Sized Battery Is a Step Toward an EV With a 1,000-Mile Range (“Two Chicago-area institutions teamed up to develop a solid-state battery that packs a huge energy punch—one that could eventually even power airplanes.”)
- Is Clarence Thomas the Court’s Most Corrupt Justice?
- Clarence Thomas and the Ethical Disaster of the Supreme Court (“Undisclosed gifts from a billionaire won’t even embarrass the right.”)
- The new Clarence Thomas revelations are shocking. Democrats must act.
- Clarence Thomas Broke the Law and It Isn’t Even Close
- Los Angeles Times reported about Justice Thomas’ gifts 20 years ago. After that he stopped disclosing them (If Thomas broke the law, he should be charged with the crime or crimes. ASAP.)
- Lawmakers Call for Tighter Ethics Code After Revelations About Justice Thomas
- Clarence Thomas’s brazen violation of ethics rules, briefly explained
- Clarence Thomas is proof that the Supreme Court needs reform
- Lawmakers Call for Investigation and Ethics Reforms in Response to ProPublica Report on Clarence Thomas
- Biden Plan Allows Limits on Trans Athletes’ Participation in School Sports
- Supreme Court Lets Transgender Girl Stay on School Track Team (“Alito, Thomas dissent as court acts on issue for first time” Thomas shouldn’t be on the court.)
- Staring Down a Debt Crisis, McCarthy Toils to Navigate G.O.P. Divisions
- No One on the Right Seems Willing to Control the Violence
- The Conservative Youth Movement Is Still Going Strong—Except at the Polls (“Republicans seem to have staked their bets on young Americans becoming more conservative with age. But, as one pollster tells Vanity Fair, ‘that gamble has not proven to have been correct.'”)
- How Many More People Need to Get Death Threats Before Trump Is Gag-Ordered? (“Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg and Judge Juan Merchan have both reportedly received threats following Trump’s attacks, as has Merchan’s family.”)
- Trump might be spending time at a few more defense tables
- Revenge-Obsessed Donald Trump Is Pushing the Right to New Levels of Retribution Rage
- Trump Attacks Judge From Afar, But Turned Meek When He Was In The Same Room
- Americans divided over criminal charges against Trump – Reuters/Ipsos poll (“The survey found that 49% of all Americans think it was right for prosecutors to pursue the first criminal case against a U.S. president or former president.”)
- The GOP Civil War That’s Already Making 2024 Awkward (“Conservative group Club for Growth doesn’t seem to want anything to do with Trump, and Trump certainly doesn’t want anything to do with them.”)
- Democrats allege Comer has withheld evidence, misrepresented witnesses
- A momentous political showdown in Tennessee lays bare a new chapter in US politics (I usually like Stephen Collinson, but this is totally “both sides,” “polarization,” false-equivalence b.s.)
- Tennessee House Goes Full Authoritarian, Expels 2 Black Lawmakers for Protesting Gun Violence (This Vanity Fair article also nails it.)
- The Tennessee Expulsion Is a Glimpse of the Future (Yeah, it’s not about a “legislative supermajority,” it’s about Republicans acting like authoritarian goons.)
- The Future of Republican Governance is on Display in Tennessee (“Republicans seem newly committed to removing their opponents from office under even the thinnest of pretenses.” THIS article in Slate nails it.)
- House, Senate Democrats rally behind expelled Tennessee lawmakers: ‘We all lost today’
- Statement from President Joe Biden on Expulsion of Tennessee Lawmakers for Acting on Gun Safety
- Congressional Black Caucus heaps criticism on Tennessee lawmakers for expelling Black lawmakers
- GOP expels Democratic Reps. Justin Jones, Justin Pearson from House over gun-control protest (These racist, overwhelmingly White Tennessee Republicans expelled to African Americans but did NOT expel the White representative.)
- Expelled Tenn. Democrat Slams GOP: ‘We Can Never Normalize The Ending Of Democracy
- Advocates Worry New Kansas Anti-Trans Law Might Lead To Genital Inspections Of Children (“The right-wing majority in the state legislature overrode the Democratic governor’s veto and enacted the terrifying ban this week.”)
- Idaho Criminalizes Helping a Minor Get an Abortion Without Parental Consent—Even If That Minor Was Raped by Their Parent (“The new law is exactly as monstrous as it sounds”)
- 13-year-old son of Rebekah Jones, whistleblower who clashed with DeSantis, arrested over memes
- Teen suspected of planning to ‘shoot up’ multiple Colorado Springs area schools and churches arrested
- Elon Musk says NPR’s ‘state-affiliated media’ label might not have been accurate (“In a series of emails with an NPR reporter, the CEO of Twitter suggested that the designation is being re-examined, but it has not yet been removed.” Musk is a f’ing idiot.)
- Before meeting with Elon Musk, top advertisers privately debate his “racist rhetoric” (Musk is definitely a racist. And an authoritarian. And many other bad things.)
- Special Report: Tesla workers shared sensitive images recorded by customer cars
- No More Hush Money at National Enquirer, Its New Owner Says
- On Facebook, right-leaning pages are leading the conversation about Trump’s arraignment (Facebook is trash.)
- Kansas approves bill to end gender-affirming care for minors
- Right-wing media predict doom after Chicago elects progressive Brandon Johnson as mayor (Of course they do.)
- Vulnerable Jen Kiggans Refuses to Part with Donald Trump and Condemn His Calls for Defunding Law Enforcement (“Voters deserve better than a MAGA rubber stamp like Kiggans.”)
- Prepare for Extradition: Red-State Anti-Reproductive-Freedom Laws Aren’t Staying in Red States! (“With North Carolina’s newly-minted and traitorous GOP legislative supermajority, Virginia could well be the last redoubt of life-saving abortion medical care in the South.”)
- Editorial: Virginia says no to the proposed withdrawal from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (“In public comments, Virginians overwhelmingly rejected Gov. Youngkin’s scheme to withdraw Virginia from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.”)
- WaPo/Schar Poll: Youngkin’s Net Approval of +13 Much Lower Than Several Other Governors; Only 17% Want Stricter Abortion Laws; Just 31% Think Youngkin Would Be a Good President (Bob McDonnell was +38 pts 1 year 5 months into his term; Tim Kaine’s was +38 pts 1 year 10 months into his term)
- New poll: Youngkin is out of step with Virginia voters on cultural issues
- Virginia voters divided on direction of the state, Post-Schar poll finds
- Pope & Schapiro: State lawmakers to consider amendments next week
- Emmett Hanger, another Senate leader, to retire rather than move
- Special elections won’t be held to replace two former delegates in Hampton Roads
- Former Fairfax County School Board Member Ryan McElveen Announces He Will Run Again
- Broadband marks a major milestone in central Virginia
- Fairfax must stop undervaluing its workforce (“For Fairfax to compete and maintain a qualified workforce with high morale, it must value its employees.”)
- William & Mary unveils details of plan to replace Virginia Coastal Policy Center
- Co-op hopes to sell Halifax plant’s renewable energy credits in Virginia
- Hampton leaders disappointed, irked by police chief’s departure to Norfolk
- EXCLUSIVE: Abrar Omeish bows out of school board race to work with youth-focused legal nonprofit
- Former inmate sues Youngkin over rights restoration change
- Abducted woman killed after police chase, shootout on I-95, authorities say
- Traffic changes announced for Something in the Water festival, as Virginia Beach prepares for large crowds
- Three more Democrats file to run for Charlottesville City Council
- D.C.-area forecast: Cooler, breezy and mostly cloudy through tomorrow
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