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by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, May 19.
- Incredible shrinking lakes: Humans, climate change, diversion costs trillions of gallons annually
- The world’s largest lakes are shrinking dramatically, and scientists say they have figured out why
- Warming and Drying Climate Puts Many of the World’s Biggest Lakes in Peril
- A New Battery Intended to Power Passenger Airplanes and EVs, Explained
- World watches in disbelief and horror as U.S. nears possible default (Thanks a LOT, Republicans!)
- G7 leaders confront spectre of nuclear conflict on visit to Hiroshima memorial
- Biden Pushes Momentum in Debt Talks as He Begins Summit in Japan
- G7 summit: Why there are eight more seats at the table this year (“Mr Kishida, who is seeking a more global rather than Western coalition, has extended the table to accommodate Australia, India, Brazil, South Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia, Comoros (representing the African Union) and the Cook Islands (representing the Pacific Islands Forum).”)
- G7 agree to ‘starve the Russian war machine’
- Why Ukraine’s spring offensive still hasn’t begun — with summer just weeks away
- Zelenskyy to attend G7 summit Sunday as world leaders tighten sanctions against Russia over Ukraine
- US signals to allies it won’t block their export of F-16 jets to Ukraine
- Ukraine Leader Zelenskiy to Visit Hiroshima G-7 in Person
- Zelensky Is Expected to Travel to Japan for G7, Seeking Arms and Aid
- Accounting Error Leaves Pentagon With $3 Billion More in Arms for Ukraine, U.S. Says
- Russian forces dig in at Ukrainian nuclear plant, witnesses say
- Ukraine Races to Forge New Army Ahead of Offensive
- To Counter China, G7 Countries Borrow Its Economic Playbook (“A centerpiece of the talks will be how to speed up investment in a climate-friendly energy economy, while reducing reliance on Chinese manufacturing.”)
- China’s Xi unveils grand development plan for Central Asia
- Turkey points to a global trend: Free and unfair elections
- Italy’s deadly floods just latest example of climate change’s all-or-nothing weather extremes
- Italy’s disasters suggest the climate crisis is at the gates of Europe
- What Israel Can Teach the U.S. About Confronting a Constitutional Crisis
- As debt ceiling fight rages, Democrats bring up an old idea: Abolish it
- Biden Must Consider All The Laws—Not Just The Debt-Ceiling—As ‘X Date’ Approaches
- McCarthy and Schumer optimistic about the state of debt talks
- The US debt ceiling crisis is more proof of Republicans’ cynicism and bad faith (“Republicans want to force spending cuts by threat instead of legislating – and the cuts they’re asking for are appalling”)
- House Freedom Caucus calls on McCarthy to suspend debt ceiling negotiations
- Scoop: Yellen’s private warning to Wall Street
- Here’s How the Debt-Limit Deal Is Looking as Talks Go Down to the Wire
- Democrats, worried about a Biden-McCarthy deal, push a back up plan to avoid default (“Progressive Democratic lawmakers raised the alarm over comments Biden made earlier this week suggesting he’s entertaining possible changes to federal safety net programs.”)
- “Debt-Limit Terror” Is No Way to Run a Superpower (“On the latest round of the Republicans’ dangerous game.”)
- Will The U.S. Economy Pull Off a ‘Soft Landing’? And When Will We Know? (Excellent article by Paul Krugman!)
- As Trump’s legal woes mount, Republicans prep with a new talking point: Jury verdicts don’t count (“John Durham’s report cements the new GOP line of attack on democracy: Rejecting the legitimacy of jury trials”)
- The Four Freedoms, According to Republicans (“freedom to control — to restrict the bodily autonomy of women and repress the existence of anyone who does not conform to traditional gender roles… freedom to exploit — to allow the owners of business and capital to weaken labor and take advantage of workers as they see fit….freedom to censor — to suppress ideas that challenge and threaten the ideologies of the ruling class…freedom to menace — to carry weapons wherever you please, to brandish them in public, to turn the right of self-defense into a right to threaten other people.”)
- The Supreme Court decides not to break the internet (“Clarence Thomas did something right, for a change.”)
- Two GOP senators smear a witness to defend Clarence Thomas
- Essay: Why Even The Most Progressive Cities Are Failing Their Car-Free Residents
- Office Workers Don’t Hate the Office. They Hate the Commute.
- Republicans abandoned urban America, and they’re paying the price
- Anti-Trump Republicans increasingly desperate to shake up race
- Why Outspoken Women Scare Trump (“Mocking the sexual-harassment reckoning is a feature of Donald Trump’s political persona.”)
- Pence’s prepared speech lifted words directly from Trump
- Bill Barr says Trump’s classified documents case is his biggest legal risk: “I don’t think that argument’s gonna fly”
- GOP witnesses undermined Jan. 6 cases with conspiracy theories, FBI says
- Key exchanges highlight dicey GOP ‘weaponization’ hearing
- Conspiracy theorists to address US House subcommittee, watchdog warns (“Gym” Jordan is an ongoing disgrace to Congress and to America.)
- The staggering fine print of Texas and Florida’s new anti-trans bills (How on earth is this crap constitutional?!?
- Ron DeSantis’s big idea: Make Florida students ignorant
- Disney Pulls $1 Billion Investment From Florida, Asks Ron DeSantis If He’s Thirsty for More. (“The Florida theme park is not f–king around”)
- Tampa pride event cancelled after DeSantis signs ‘anti-drag’ bill
- Disney Pulls Plug on $1 Billion Development in Florida
- Disney CEO Wasn’t Bluffing: Robert Iger Cancels Plans for $1 Billion Office Complex in Orlando
- America’s Leading Republican Pipsqueak Has a New Book on How to Fix Men. It’s a Hoot. (Josh Hawley – lol.)
- Feinstein Suffered More Complications From Illness Than Were Publicly Disclosed
- Robert Kennedy Jr. names Dennis Kucinich as 2024 campaign manager (LOL, perfect – two utter crackpots!)
- Everyone Apparently Knew About the Accused Pentagon Leaker’s Mishandling of Classified Intelligence—Including Jack Teixeira Himself (Lots of heads should roll…)
- Fox News’s ‘vitriolic lies’ present clear threat to US democracy, top expert warns (“Exclusive: Nina Jankowicz, suing rightwing network over campaign of falsehoods, says ‘if Fox isn’t brought to account, it will not stop’”)
- WSJ News Exclusive | ESPN Plans to Stream Flagship Channel, Eyeing Cable TV’s Demise
- Christiane Amanpour Just Put CNN On Notice (“To put it lightly, she wasn’t a fan of that town hall with Trump.” CNN under Chris Licht is an utter disgrace.)
- Kaine says negotiations on debt ceiling going in right direction
- Sen. Tim Kaine proposes bill to guarantee paid sick leave for American workers
- DCCC Launches “GOPVotedToDefault.Com,” Highlighting Painful Impacts of Jen Kiggans’s Extreme ‘Default on America Act’ (“Virginians will hold Kiggans accountable for these disastrous cuts to programs veterans and seniors depend on, and the shameless mistruths she has been telling her constituents.”)
- Youngkin feeds 2024 presidential buzz with ad linking him to Reagan (This headline should say something like, “with ad ABSURDLY linking him to Reagan”)
- Social media video from Governor Glenn Youngkin stirs up presidential bid speculation
- Pope & Schapiro: Virginia fears of a national default
- In Slick, Smarmy, Vapid New Video, Youngkin “speaks for a minute but doesn’t say a thing” (While Making It Clear He’s Still VERY Much Interested in Being President)
- Republicans and Democrats are confused by one Youngkin veto
- FOIA Friday: What Virginia officials withheld or disclosed, May 12-19, 2023
- In FOIA case, Va. Supreme Court draws ‘bright line’ upholding open meetings
- Video: In New Ad, Democratic VA Senate Candidate Stella Pekarsky Stresses That She (Unlike Her Opponent) Is a Fighter Against “Gov. Youngkin’s Extreme Agenda”
- State budget talks hinge on US debt limit standoff
- Youngkin urges GMU grads to ‘become builders’; some remind him of DEI
- Governor Youngkin reacts after George Mason students protest his commencement speech
- As questions swirl, agreement that allows Virginia State Police to investigate themselves comes to light
- Loudoun Commonwealth’s Attorney Buta Biberaj Urges Her Democratic Primary Opponent, Elizabeth Lancaster, “to Participate in Three Local Forums, Not Just Right-Wing Sinclair Events” (Biberaj notes that in 2021, “blatantly MAGA” Sinclair “attacked Sam Rasoul’s Muslim faith in its last Virginia debate”)
- Rising Republican star and former NASCAR driver collide in Senate primary in Southside (“Del. Emily Brewer of Suffolk and Hermie Sadler of Emporia are both running in the 17th state Senate District June 20 primary.”)
- Most General Assembly races this fall won’t be competitive. Here’s where the competitive ones are. (“No more than 17 seats in the House of Delegates and eight in the state Senate are likely to be competitive in November. Most of those competitive districts also won’t have incumbents running.”)
- Ranking candidates will improve Virginia’s primaries
- Director of Virginia higher education council to step down after 12 years
- Potomac Yard Metro station, decades in the making, opens in Alexandria (“The new stop on the Blue and Yellow lines is Metro’s 98th station, located between the Reagan National Airport and Braddock Road stations.”)
- Want to walk to DCA? Plans for pedestrian airport bridge move forward. (“Arlington County Board members signed off on a basic design for CC2DCA, which would connect Reagan National Airport with the Crystal City neighborhood.”)
- Arlington Co. to outfit jail inmates with biometric wrist monitors
- D.C.-area forecast: A few clouds and breezes, but pleasant warmth returns today
