by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Wednesday, June 14.
- Battle Lines Harden Over Big Oil’s Role at Climate Talks in Dubai (“The hosts of the United Nations global climate summit later this year aim to give fossil fuel companies a bigger voice, despite loud objections.”)
- Oil Demand Peak Near in Shift to EVs, IEA Says (“High prices and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine speed the transition from fossil fuels.” Although right now, oil prices are relatively low.)
- Global inequality at lowest level in nearly 150 years
- Record 110 million people forcibly displaced worldwide, UN says
- As Kyiv’s counteroffensive heats up, Washington holds its breath (“After 16 months of war, and with tens of billions of dollars of advanced weapons sent, Western backers need Ukraine’s forces to show dramatic gains against Russian occupiers.”)
- The Ukrainian Dam Explosion Is So Much Worse Than It Seems
- Allies Pressure Biden to Hasten NATO Membership for Ukraine
- Belarus starts taking delivery of Russian nuclear weapons
- Erdogan Says Sweden’s Anti-Terror Law Not Enough for NATO Bid
- Turkey’s Leader Hosts Talks on Sweden’s NATO Membership (“Members are meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, hoping to get him to drop his opposition to Sweden’s membership in the alliance.”)
- Exclusive: US pushing India to seal big armed drone buy for Modi visit
- US Inflation Report Suggests Fed Rate Pause Will Become a Full Stop
- Fed to Pause and Keep Option to Raise Rates in July
- John Authers: The Great Inflation Scare Reaches Its Final Phase (“The US appears to be in the last lap, but how long will it take to run? Certainly not as long as the UK. “)
- ‘I’m a prisoner in my own home,’ asthma sufferer, 15, tells landmark US climate trial (“Montana teen Mica is one of 16 plaintiffs in historic trial, alleging state has violated residents’ right to healthy environment”)
- Why MAGA didn’t riot at Trump’s arrest: Republicans in Congress vow to wage a civil war from within (“Why break windows when J.D. Vance’s plan to block DOJ nominees will do more to destroy the country?”)
- The Republican road map to punishing the Justice Department (Wildly irresponsible and very dangerous.)
- Republicans Have Made Their Choice (“Most Republicans won’t condemn Trump. There are his millions of ultra-loyal voters, yes. And there are the challenges associated with breaking from the consensus of your political party, yes. But there is also the reality that Trump is the apotheosis of a propensity for lawlessness within the Republican Party. He is what the party and its most prominent figures have been building toward for nearly half a century. I think he knows it and I think they do too.”)
- How Trump Keeps Getting Away With It (“So he keeps pushing and pushing our system to its breaking point — where rules are for suckers, norms are for fools, basic truths are malleable and men and women of high character are banished. This is exactly what would-be dictators try to do: Flood the zone with lies so the people trust only them and the truth is only what they say it is.It is impossible to exaggerate what a dangerous moment this is for our country.”)
- Fact check: Trump makes numerous false claims in speech after court appearance
- Donald Trump Advisers Worry Over Legal Team Civil War: “It’s All Coming to a Head” (“Some in Trumpworld are blaming Boris Epshteyn for dysfunction that could hamper the former president’s defense.”)
- Trump’s post-indictment speech was a master class in alternative facts and false victim narratives (“Trump’s mantra is persecution over prosecution.”)
- Trump’s Post-Arraignment Speech Was a Preview of the Rest of His Campaign. Oh God.
- Trump’s main 2024 election goal is now to save himself (Trump’s “remarks were among the most chilling and demagogic ever uttered by a major figure in modern American history. And on a somber day in the nation’s story, they said everything about the former president and the divisive spectacle ahead as he runs for the White House under the shadow of two criminal indictments to which he has pleaded not guilty – with more possibly to come.”)
- What Actually Happened at Trump’s Arraignment?
- After more legal trouble, Trump follows a familiar playbook: Play the victim
- A silent and sullen Trump goes before judge in Miami – amid din outside (“Ex-president sat quietly during the 45-minute hearing, folding his arms and clenching his fingers, and occasionally grimacing”)
- Trump pleads not guilty to 37 federal criminal counts in Mar-a-Lago case
- The Impossible Task of Defending Donald Trump
- Aileen Cannon should not preside over the Trump trial (“A judge whose credibility is shot cannot handle the most important trial in U.S. history.”)
- Is Donald Trump Scared? (“At the former President’s indictment in Miami, it was impossible to say whether his fate was more likely to be a return to the White House—or prison.”)
- Trump reacts with showmanship and bluster in bid to upstage charges
- Trump claims ‘political persecution’ in speech after arraignment (Of course he does; he has nothing else but threats, misdirection, lying and playing the victim.)
- Keeping cameras out of court denied the public the sight of Trump at bay
- The next steps after Trump’s classified documents indictment, explained
- Biden orders DNC and reelect to remain silent about Trump’s indictment
- Rubio was right about Trump in ways he doesn’t want to talk about (So were Ted Cruz, Lindsey Graham, etc.)
- House GOP leaders defend Trump on day of arraignment: ‘A dark day for our country’ (These people have it completely backwards.)
- Trump Wanted Courthouse Protests but Instead Got MAGA Misfits
- Trump has legal options in the case, but they might face challenges.
- Trump greets arraignment with showmanship in bid to upstage charges
- After Trump’s 2nd Indictment, His 2024 Presidential Campaign Trudges On
- Our country needs cameras in the courtroom during Donald Trump’s federal trial
- Trump Pleads Not Guilty. Then It’s Off to Little Havana.
- ‘Food for everyone.’ Trump detours to Versailles to court Hispanic voters after arraignment
- Trump Misses the Point (“Instead of engaging with the substance of the charges he faces, the former president opted for grievance and misdirection.”)
- Trump turns his day in court into a campaign event despite serious political and legal threats
- Republicans privately acknowledge Trump’s legal woes are serious this time (Say it PUBLICLY.)
- GOP fears Trump legal woes will boomerang on them (They should boomerang on any Republican who defends Trump or claims the prosecution of Trump is a “dark day in America” or whatever bullshit.)
- Ex-Federal Prosecutor Says Trump’s Big Speech Was ‘Just A Straight-Out Confession’
- Donald Trump Arrested, Again (“Two history-making surrenders in a little over two months.”)
- Mike Pence Admits He Can’t Defend ‘Very Serious’ Allegations Against Donald Trump (“But the former vice president said he’d reserve full judgment until the former president brings his defense.” LOL)
- Biden Gets Big Laughs As He Shades Trump Without Even Using His Name
- Judge allows E. Jean Carroll to amend her defamation lawsuit to seek more damages against Trump
- Kevin McCarthy’s Success Now Sets Up His Final Failure Later
- Republicans Side with Venture Capitalists and Ultra-Wealthy to Block Targeted Relief to Small Businesses
- After Brinkmanship Over Debt, House GOP Tees Up Potentially $1 Trillion In Tax Cuts
- No Labels, the Scammy ‘Centrist’ Group, Has Plans to Run a Candidate If Trump Is the Nominee (“No Labels” is really “No Ethics,” “No Clue,” etc.)
- There is no savior who can be drafted to be your party’s nominee
- Why 2024 Is Shaping Up To Be The Most Online Election Ever (And that is NOT a good thing.)
- The Daily Wire’s authoritarian vision for increasing state-sanctioned violence against oppressed communities
- Fox News welcomes swastika-wielding teacher as the latest anti-trans culture warrior
- An Appalling Moment, Even by Fox News’ Standards (“With its coverage of Trump’s post-arrest speech, Rupert Murdoch’s network sunk to a shocking new low.”)
- White House Condemns ‘Disrespectful’ Trans Model for Baring Breasts at White House Pride Event
- Cormac McCarthy, Novelist of a Darker America, Is Dead at 89 (“’All the Pretty Horses,’ ‘The Road’ and ‘No Country for Old Men’ were among his acclaimed books that explore a bleak world of violence and outsider”)
- Environmentalists may challenge Congress on clearance for the Mountain Valley Pipeline (“Builders of the MVP immediately asked judges to throw out pending lawsuits that could have stopped the project – and environmentalists have until Thursday to object. Sandy Hausman reports on why they might prevail.” What Congress did may be unconstitutional under the separation of powers clause.)
- Youngkin tweet undermining the rule of law over Trump indictment betrayed his own winning formula (“I and many others hoped Youngkin’s victory was a template for a new, better and more honorable post-Trump GOP. The governor unraveled that Friday morning in just 73 words.” That was a completely naive, unrealistic, clueless hope, but…yeah, Youngkin absolutely did undermine the rule of law, as Bob Lewis writes.)
- “It’s a sad day for America” Gov. Youngkin reacts to former President Trump’s arraignment (It’s actually a GREAT day for America, because the rule of law is working. Youngkin is completely dishonest.)
- Virginia Democratic Party’s direction at stake in competing donations (“Clean Virginia Fund and Dominion Energy each steered big contributions to candidates in the June 20 primary election who support their vision.”)
- Virginia Democrats Have Fundraising Edge, Finance Reports Show, But Face More Primaries
- Graphics, Highlights of Virginia Final, Pre-6/20-Primary Reports (In the marquee SD13 Democratic primary battle between Sen. Joe Morrissey and former Del. Lashrecse Aird, it wasn’t even close, as Aird raised $815k (and had $101k cash on hand as of 6/8), while Morrissey raised just $98k (and had just $7.5k cash on hand as of 6/8).)
- Virginia’s June 20 legislative primaries draw millions in contributions
- This Democratic Primary Could Decide The Fate Of Abortion Rights In Virginia (“Morrissey’s views on abortion aren’t the only thing that has pushed many of his fellow Democrats to endorse Aird. The 65-year-old is a twice-disbarred defense attorney who resigned from the House of Delegates in 2014 after he was convicted of contributing to the delinquency of a minor following a sexual relationship with his 17-year-old law firm receptionist. Morrissey married the woman a few years later and has four children with her, but the two are currently embroiled in a very public divorce.”)
- Norment says political primaries are factor in Virginia’s unresolved budget impasse (“Some of the leaders have been distracted” Like George Barker, who is in serious jeopardy of losing next Tuesday to Stella Pekarsky. Go Stella!)
- Corporate Special Interests, Republican Megadonors Bankroll George Barker Campaign (“Barker’s largest individual donor, Dwight Schar, co-chaired a fundraiser for Donald Trump…also gave thousands to Glenn Youngkin’s PAC and Ron DeSantis.”)
- Video: Peter Read, Whose Daughter Was Killed in the Virginia Tech Massacre, Explains Why He’s Supporting Saddam Salim Over Sen. Chap Petersen in the 6/20 Dem Primary (Read says Sen. Petersen helped kill the assault weapons ban, then essentially argued, “I voted for it before I voted against it.”)
- Del. Williams outraises Del. March 6.5 to 1 in their House primary (March appears to be toast. Not that Williams is much better, but still, hopefully good riddance to one extremist/insurrectionist in the VA House of Delegates.)
- Ayala, Carroll Foy competing in bitter Virginia Senate contest
- Fire ants are marching westward in Virginia, driven by a changing climate
- Virginia Beach School Board approves LGBTQ resolution, votes down library policy changes
- Va. teacher shot by 6-year-old in class is no longer with school district (“Abigail Zwerner, who was shot and wounded in Newport News’s Richneck Elementary School, is no longer employed by the district, a school spokesperson said.”)
- Virginia dental clinics awarded $200,000 to address dentist shortages
- Loudoun commonwealth’s attorney challenger fined again for campaign finance violation (If you can’t/won’t even file your campaign finance reports on time, you certainly shouldn’t be elected, let alone to an important job like Commonwealth’s Attorney.)
- Richneck teacher Abigail Zwerner resigned — was not fired — Newport News school division says
- Lee County properties linked to West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice to be auctioned for unpaid taxes
- D.C.-area forecast: Showers possible today and Friday, otherwise not too hot or humid
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