by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Saturday, May 20.
- Half of Humanity Eats Rice. And Climate Change Is Wrecking It. (“From the Mississippi to the Mekong, farmers and researchers are finding creative fixes for the threats of global warming, extreme rains and sea-level rise.”)
- Cleaning Up After the North Sea Oil Industry Will Cost Billions – But Nobody Wants to Pay
- Orcas have sunk 3 boats in Europe and appear to be teaching others to do the same. But why?
- ‘Approaching. Move In.’ How Ukraine Reversed the Momentum in Bakhmut.
- G-7 Leaders Agree to Set Up ‘Hiroshima Process’ to Govern AI
- Ukraine’s Zelenskyy arrives in Hiroshima for G7 summit as world leaders sanction Russia
- It’s Not Enough for Ukraine to Win. Russia Has to Lose.
- Biden meets G-7 leaders in Japan as Zelensky lands in Hiroshima
- The Alarming Reality of a Coming Nuclear Arms Race (“Japan told world leaders to work for “a world without nuclear weapons” at the G7—but the tide is turning in the opposite direction.”)
- U.S. and allies plan to provide Ukrainian pilots with F-16 fighter jets, official says
- In a Sharp Reversal, Biden Opens a Path for Ukraine to Get Fighter Jets
- At G7 Summit, Leaders Wrangle on Coal, Natural Gas and Climate
- Zelenskiy Meets With India’s Modi on Sidelines Of G-7 Summit
- Russia’s Rogue Commander Is Playing With Fire
- G-7 Seeks Stable China Ties While ‘De-risking,’ Communique Says
- China Blasts G-7’s New Joint Effort Against Economic Coercion
- Elections in UK and US at risk from AI-driven disinformation, say experts (“False news stories, images, video and audio could be tailored to audiences and created at scale by next spring”)
- Syria: Dismay and fear as Bashar al-Assad returns to Arab fold (Appalling.)
- Iran says it executes leader of women trafficking network
- Air strikes hit Khartoum’s outskirts as Sudan’s war enters sixth week
- ‘No one saw this level of devastation coming’: climate crisis worsens in Somalia
- Debt ceiling talks resume despite GOP frustrations
- Biden’s 14th Amendment message to progressives: It ain’t gonna happen
- What a debt default could mean for America’s superpower status
- National security adviser: Biden ‘has expressed confidence’ at G7 that US won’t default
- White House optimistic about path forward despite ‘serious differences’ on budget talks
- Kevin McCarthy: What, exactly, was Democrats’ strategy here?
- Debt ceiling talks end after briefly resuming, McCarthy’s top negotiator says
- Debt-Limit Talks Resume After Optimism Curbed by GOP Walk-Out
- White House, Republican team say no progress in debt ceiling talks
- Debt ceiling talks have stalled — but a discharge petition isn’t likely to save us
- Fed Chair Powell says rates may not have to rise as much as expected to curb inflation
- NASA picks Bezos’s Blue Origin to develop Artemis V moon lander
- Biden Administration Seeks to Curb Misleading Use of Recycling Logo (“Environmentalists view ‘chasing arrows’ symbol as a greenwashing tool.”)
- Justice Gorsuch says COVID emergency orders among ‘greatest intrusions on civil liberties’ (Gorsuch has no business being on ANY court, let alone the Supreme Court. Total nutjob.)
- White Supremacy Is a Dangerous Threat Because Republicans Use It (“Horrifying developments in the week since Biden’s warning have vindicated it.”)
- I’m Starting to Think Republican Concerns Over Election Integrity May Not Be Entirely Sincere
- The Republican War on Alejandro Mayorkas—the Man With the Most Impossible Job in DC
- Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis Are Going to Have a Lot of Company in the GOP Primary (“Tim Scott has officially thrown his hat in the ring, joining Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy, and Asa Hutchinson. Meanwhile, formal announcements from Chris Sununu, Mike Pence, and Chris Christie are still in the offing.”)
- DeSantis’ weakness as Trump slayer has GOP rivals smelling blood
- The revenge of Chris Christie? How he could take it to Trump
- DeSantis says ‘zero’ chance he will back down from dispute with Disney
- DeSantis’s feud with Disney is costing Florida — and possibly his 2024 campaign
- DeSantis’ deal with the devil: Chasing the Christian right won’t help him (“DeSantis’ chances of winning the election once the country learns of his radical record are worse than Trump’s”)
- FBI misused surveillance tool on Jan. 6 suspects, BLM arrestees and others
- How GOP attacks on ‘wokeism’ helped lead the Pentagon to abandon its effort to combat extremism in the military (That’s a huge mistake.)
- Marjorie Taylor Greene’s impeachment stunt wrecks a big MAGA myth (“This disconnect captures a truth about today’s MAGA-fied GOP: The idea that our border is under perpetual siege isn’t intended as an empirical declaration about a concrete challenge facing the country. Rather, it’s a kind of animating myth, one manufactured to mobilize political energy. In this, it’s essential to MAGA’s identity.”)
- Judge orders Rudy Giuliani to detail finances in election defamation suit
- Rudy Giuliani’s raw reaction to sexual assault suit by employee he ‘dated’ was quietly edited, and the truth may be even stranger
- Ted Cruz Launches Investigation Into Bud Light for Ad Featuring Transgender Influencer, Because No, He Doesn’t Have Anything Better to Do (“Cruz thinks Dylan Mulvaney is the biggest problem facing Texas.”)
- This Was A Very Bad Week For Abortion Rights And Democracy (“Republican lawmakers in Nebraska, North Carolina and South Carolina all found ways to revive restrictive abortion bans in their states.”)
- Nebraska passes 12-week abortion, gender-affirming care for minors ban
- Gun and abortion laws have made Texas a woman’s nightmare
- For one family, Florida abortion law made a devastating loss into ‘torture’
- Fox News Just Axed Its Investigative Unit, Sources Say (In no way is Fox “News” about actual news.)
- George Santos Appoints Himself as His Own Campaign Treasurer
- Texas militia member sentenced to nearly 5 years in prison for attacking police during Capitol riot (Why only five years?)
- Chesapeake’s crab numbers rebound, but regulators still cautious
- Police called 25 times to address of suspect in attack on Connolly staffers (“Fairfax County police did not offer details of the calls, including whether they were directly tied to the suspect and what officials did in response.”)
- Glenn Youngkin Said Far-Right Ron DeSantis Was His Role-Model Governor. Now, Both Have Driven Away Billions in Investment and Thousands of Jobs in Their States.
- Schapiro: Next-door neighbors but worlds apart (“North Carolina’s move — it joins more than two dozen of the 50 states and Washington, D.C., to sharply limit or effectively ban abortion since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year — means that Virginia becomes the South’s safe house of abortion rights.”)
- With Just Over Four Weeks Until Virginia Primaries on 6/20, Here Are Sam Shirazi’s Thoughts and Predictions – and Mine as Well. (H/t Chaz Nuttycombe, CNalysis)
- Timeline of Virginia’s Clean Car law and what to expect
- What to know about Virginia judge’s ruling on young gun-buyers
- VSP allowed to investigate itself through agreement with watchdog
- Two incumbents, Lucas v. Spruill, equals one hot primary
- Former VA House Democratic Leader David Toscano: “Why?—My Take On Senator Deeds Reelection Bid”
- Buckingham GOP nominates recently fired registrar for seat on elections board (Craaaazy.)
- Potomac Yard Metro station, decades in the making, opens in Alexandria (It takes this country WAAAAYYYY too long to build important infrastructure projects. It also costs too much, compared to other countries.)
- D.C.-area forecast: Somewhat unsettled today, and near-perfect Sunday
