Wednesday News: “Global warming set to break key 1.5C limit for first time”; “Debt-Limit Talks to Intensify as Biden Set to Depart for Japan”; “When a Shitposter Runs a Social Media Platform”; NC GOP Demonstrates “The National Model for How to Lose Elections”

by Lowell

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

• Flirting with climate danger: UN forecasts 2 in 3 chance of briefly hitting key heat limit soon
• Global warming set to break key 1.5C limit for first time
• As the wind power industry looks to super-sized turbines, disruptors are betting on radical designs
• G-20 Countries Avoid Climate Backslide Despite Rush for Energy
• UN Agency Provides Path to 80 Percent Reduction in Plastic Waste. Recycling Alone Won’t Cut It (“As the benefits of recycling are called into question, the United Nations Environment Program counts 13,000 chemicals in plastic, many of them toxic, and offers a challenging, multifaceted action plan to sharply reduce plastic waste by 2040.”)
• G-7 leaders likely to focus on the war in Ukraine and tensions in Asia at summit in Hiroshima
• It’s the G-7 Versus China and Russia in the Struggle for Global Influence
• Quad Leaders to Meet on G-7 Sidelines in Japan After Biden Shortens Asia Visit
• Gains Near Bakhmut Raise Ukraine’s Hopes of a Turning Tide
• The chief of Ukraine’s Supreme Court has been detained and accused of taking a $2.7 million bribe. (We should do the same for Clarence Thomas!)
• Zelensky renews plea for air defenses after Russia damages Patriot system
• China dominates the solar power industry. The EU wants to change that
• Thai vote shows deep desire for change — if the generals will allow it
• The cancelled Quad summit is a win for China and a self-inflicted blow to the US’s Pacific standing (Qevin McCarthy and Qompany are damaging U.S. national security.)
• Hopes for historic Pacific visit dashed after Biden cancels trip to Papua New Guinea (This is House Republicans’ fault.)
• Biden to cut Asia trip short to return and negotiate debt ceiling
• Senators dismiss happy talk after Biden-McCarthy debt sitdown
• Why Biden Caved (“The president said he would not negotiate with Republicans on the debt ceiling. But that’s exactly what he’s now doing.”)
• Debt-Limit Talks to Intensify as Biden Set to Depart for Japan
• Republicans say they want to cut debt, but tax plans say the opposite
• Jittery Democrats worried about Biden debt ceiling concessions
• How to Use the Debt Ceiling to Inflict Cruelty on the Poor
• How Biden Blew It on the Debt Ceiling (“What were they thinking? How can they have been caught so off-guard by something that everyone who’s paying attention saw coming?…I don’t see any way to regard this whole episode as anything but a disastrous failure to face up to the reality of an opposition party controlled by extremists.” – Paul Krugman)
• Our new AI overlord just charmed Congress
• AI threatens humanity’s future, 61% of Americans say: Reuters/Ipsos poll
• Is This the End of Recycling? (“Americans are consuming more and more stuff. Now that other countries won’t take our papers and plastics, they’re ending up in the trash.”)
• Fossil Fuel Companies and Cement Manufacturers Could Be to Blame for a More Than a Third of West’s Wildfires (“A new study from the Union of Concerned Scientists links emissions from the world’s largest carbon producers to nearly 20 million acres of forests burning in Western North America since 1986.”)
• Rooftop Solar Panels Could Power a Third of U.S. Manufacturing, Study Finds
• Here’s how North America’s first utility-scale solar recycling plant is ramping up for the clean energy boom
• Biden administration announces $11 bln for rural clean energy projects
• Thomas Zimmer: “All strands of the Right…are openly and aggressively embracing rightwing vigilante violence against ‘the Left’” (After Obama was elected president, “the idea that more drastic action was urgently needed was spreading fast into the center of conservative politics”)
• Black victims of violent crime disproportionately denied aid in many states
• Donald Trump’s Election Lies Are His Superpower in the GOP Primary (“At least in the GOP primary. Come the general, though, they could very well prove to be his kryptonite.”)
• Biden maintains edge over Trump in 2024 US election -Reuters/Ipsos poll
• Obama grapples with America’s “different realities”: “How can we have a common set of facts?”
• Durham’s investigation reveals nothing except a broken process (“The report is an example of how special counsels overspend and overreach.” It’s not a problem with special counsels in general, it’s a problem with DURHAM specifically. As for this “report,” in air quotes, it’s a complete farce and disgrace.)
• The failure of the Durham report (“Durham tried to prove a Democratic plot to frame Trump. He couldn’t.”)
• The Durham investigation was a flop. But it’s a propaganda triumph. (If so, it’s in large part due to yet ANOTHER failure by the “mainstream media”)
• Intrusion at national security adviser’s home under investigation
• Editorial: At last, EPA oversight coming for states to curb Chesapeake Bay pollution (“Settlement of two lawsuits should result in greater federal oversight for states required to meet Chesapeake Bay pollution goals.”)
• Statement from White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on North Carolina’s Abortion Ban
• N.C. legislature bans abortion past 12 weeks, overriding governor’s veto
• “The National Model for How to Lose Elections”: North Carolina Republicans Pass 12-Week Abortion Ban, Overriding Governor’s Veto (“The vote, the final scene of a clash between the Democrat Gov. Roy Cooper and the state’s conservative supermajority in the legislature, has re-emboldened Democrats’ intentions of making North Carolina a battleground in 2024.”)
• Donald Trump Hath Provoked the Ire of the Village People
• House GOP leaders reassure their Santos critics after Dems launch expulsion push
• Republicans Question Officials Who Cast Doubt on Hunter Biden Laptop Contents (What a joke.)
• CNN’s CEO stands by Trump town hall but acknowledges production weaknesses, sources say (This guy’s an imbecile.)
• Elon Musk Cooks Up Unbelievable Claim About Swastika-Tattooed Texas Mall Shooter
• When a Shitposter Runs a Social Media Platform
• Musk says George Soros ‘hates humanity,’ compares him to Jewish supervillain
• Elon Musk Among the Anti-Semites
• Elon Musk Says George Soros, Who Just Dumped His Tesla Stock, ‘Hates Humanity’
• No need to shoot The Messenger: Its muddled ideas are doing the job
• With a Softball Interview of Trump, “The Messenger” Launches by Legitimizing Extremism
• The Sheepdog Defense (“A killer’s military service endears him to the right wing”)
• Conservative pundits are increasingly open about who they think should be killed
• Fox Corp. presentation to media buyers featured some of Fox News’ most dishonest personalities (“Greg Gutfeld’s joke about the WGA strike reportedly fell flat among the crowd, among other flubs”)
• Court rules Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes must go to prison while she appeals against sentence
• Feinstein responds to questions about her absence from Washington
• Democrat Donna Deegan becomes first female mayor of Jacksonville
• Florida Democrats flip the Jacksonville mayor’s office in a major upset
• Trump-backed Daniel Cameron to face Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear in November
• Rudy Giuliani Accused of Being a Rapist, Racist, and Really Bad Lawyer (“The former Trump attorney has been sued by Noelle Dunphy for horrific acts. She also claims in the suit he offered presidential pardons for $2 million a pop—among other things.”)
• Living like Rudy: Giuliani is the face of MAGA “freedom” (“Shielding debauched racists is exactly why there’s so much right-wing whining about ‘cancel culture'”)
• Cherelle Parker beats back progressive challenge in Philadelphia mayoral primary
• Lauren Boebert files for divorce from her husband
• Disney Argues New Florida Law Nullifies DeSantis-Backed Suit
• Epstein Assisted Chomsky, Botstein With Financial Transactions (Chomsky is a nutjob.)
• His name is Kennedy. His campaign is pure Trump.
• Texas passes bill stripping authority from cities (Of course they did.)
• Montana GOP Just Passed an Aggressive Law to Thwart Climate Science (“Several state lawmakers have close ties to the fossil fuel industry.” Pure evil.)
• Virginia man who attacked a congressional staff office faces hate crime charge (Rep. Connolly: “I have no reason to believe that his motivation was politically motivated, but it is possible that the sort of toxic political environment we all live in, you know, set him off, and I would just hope all of us would take a little more time to be careful about what we say and how we say it”)
• Virginia Is Now Only One Of A Few Southern States Where The GOP Hasn’t Banned Abortion (“It’s more important than ever that we retake the House of Delegates and defend our majority in the State Senate to protect the rights of Virginia women.”)
• Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia Statement on Passage of North Carolina ‘Monster Abortion Ban’ (“Virginia becomes one of the last states in the South without an extreme abortion ban on the books”)
• The fastest growing democratic reform comes to Virginia (“Ranked choice voting is the fastest growing democracy reform in the country”)
• Though critiques persist, many agree Virginia’s new political maps are ‘quite balanced’ (“Bottom line is: It looks pretty fair”)
• 10,683 Early Votes Cast So Far in Dem VA Senate Primaries; Hottest Races Are Joe Morrissey vs. Lashrecse Aird, Creigh Deeds vs. Sally Hudson, Louise Lucas vs. Lionell Spruill… (Just 4,007 votes cast in Republican Senate primaries so far…)
• VMI graduates destined for ‘paths that not many will travel,’ governor says
• Prospectus for Commanders’ Likely New Owner “believes Virginia will offer the best incentive package — potentially up to $1.5 billion” for New Stadium. Hell No. (Ideally, any new stadium should be built without public subsidies, near Metro and in the region’s “urban core” (aka, the RFK site))
• Video: Freedom Virginia Launches Second Digital Ad Holding Sen. Siobhan Dunnavant (R) Accountable for Voting Against Lower Prescription Drug Prices (“This Ad is the Second in a Five-Figure Digital Buy Running in the New SD-16”)
• A guide to the 2023 Arlington Democratic primary election
• Dels. March and Williams have already faced each other in court. Now they face off in a primary.
• State Sen. Locke responds to Youngkin removing her from Southern Regional Education Board (“State Senator Mamie Locke, who represents parts of Hampton Roads in the 2nd District, served on the board for 10 years.”)
• Hampton Roads again leads Virginia metro areas in vehicle crashes
• Racist email sent to Fairfax Co. cheer coach prompts investigation
• Norfolk schools’ proposed new sex-ed program receives national attention, topics to include gender identity (“The Norfolk School Board is set to vote on a new sexual education curriculum, which includes sexuality and gender identity concepts in its instruction, during its Wednesday meeting .The Get Real curriculum for grades 6 through 12 up for approval updates the division’s family life education.”)
• D.C.-area forecast: Sunny and seasonably cool through tomorrow