by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, July 21.
- Vegan diet massively cuts environmental damage, study shows (“Detailed analysis finds plant diets lead to 75% less climate-heating emissions, water pollution and land use than meat-rich ones”)
- Editorial: Hoping fossil fuel giants will see the light on climate hasn’t worked. Change only comes with mandates and force
- She’s on a Mission From God: Suing Big Oil for Climate Damages
- Are the current heatwaves evidence that climate change is speeding up? (“All sorts of records are being broken in all sorts of places”)
- Leading Nasa climate expert says July likely to be hottest month on record (“Gavin Schmidt of Goddard Institute for Space Studies warns of likelihood of new high as heatwave bakes large parts of planet”)
- Climate Collapse Could Happen Fast (“As temperature and weather records fall, Earth may be nearing so-called tipping points.”)
- Rampant heatwaves threaten food security of entire planet, scientists warn (“After hottest day ever, researchers say global heating may mean future of crop failures on land and ‘silent dying’ in the oceans”)
- Around the Globe, Searing Heat With No Sign of Relief (Broken record alert: we need to get off of fossil fuels on an emergency basis.)
- Missiles Hit Ukrainian Port City as U.N. Is Set to Discuss Russia’s Blockade
- Even with new armored vehicles from the US, progress is hard won on Ukraine’s southern front
- CIA: Putin ‘trying to buy time’ with Wagner deal (“Video may show Prigozhin is in Belarus, Bill Burns said, adding that the Wagner chief may not escape ‘further retribution’ from Putin”)
- Weakened Putin bides his time to take revenge on mutinous mercenary leader, CIA chief says
- US confirms its cluster bombs are in use in Ukraine
- By pulling out of the Ukrainian grain deal, Russia risks alienating its few remaining partners
- Three killed, Chinese consulate damaged in Russian attack on Ukraine’s port cities
- Opinion: In tough times, Russia turns to a Cold War comrade
- Zelenskiy sacks Ukraine’s ambassador to UK after criticism
- Russia Seeks to Divert Ukrainian Forces Away From Counteroffensive
- U.S. Ambassador to China Hacked in China-Linked Spying Operation
- China is serious about winning the new space race
- Afghanistan may have $1 trillion worth of electric-vehicle metals. U.S. rivals are angling to exploit them.
- India’s Modi breaks silence on ethnic violence in Manipur after video shows women being paraded naked (“The violence depicted in the video was emblematic of the near-civil war in the northeastern state, where more than 130 people have died since mobs rampaged through villages in May.”)
- Sunak Eyes November 2024 as Preferred General Election Timing
- Labour and Lib Dems celebrate big by-election wins in Tory safe seats
- U.K. Voters Hand Sunak’s Party Two Defeats and a Win in By-elections
- Muslim-majority nations express outrage and plan street protests over Quran desecration in Sweden
- In Spain’s Election, Left and Right Answer for the Company They Keep (“Ahead of Sunday’s vote, a focus on the leading parties’ allies has dominated the campaign — and obscured debate about more fundamental issues.”)
- The threat from far-right populism hasn’t gone away (“If I had to point to one issue, however, it is the one that has always been at the heart of the rise of modern far-right populism: immigration.”)
- US Recession Becomes Closer Call as Economists Rethink Forecasts (What’s the joke, that economists predicted 12 of the last 5 recessions? LOL)
- Top AI companies agree to work together toward transparency and safety, White House says
- How Biden plans to handle a series of possible labor strikes across the country
- 206 House Republicans vote to prevent FAA from studying climate change (Appalling by Republicans.)
- Chart: Wind and solar are outperforming coal on US grid this year
- When Is It Too Hot to Keep Working? In Most States, Companies Decide. (“Advocates are seeking mandated breaks and access to water, while businesses say regulations are burdensome.” And yes, this is a great example of why we NEED REGULATIONS.)
- Americans Want the Supreme Court to Stop Behaving Like This
- Senate Judiciary moves SCOTUS ethics bill forward — toward a dim future
- Finally, the Trump Case We’ve Been Waiting For (“But, with 2024 looming, is it already too late?”)
- Special counsel continues to schedule witness interviews even as potential Trump indictment looms
- Fulton county prosecutors prepare racketeering charges in Trump inquiry (“Exclusive: racketeering charges based on influencing witnesses and computer trespass, sources say”)
- “An inner drive for self-destruction”: Psychoanalyst on Trump’s cycle of crimes and confessions (“Donald Trump is becoming more and more afraid”)
- Judge scolds Jack Smith’s team for causing delay in unrelated Jan. 6 verdict
- Trump’s Lawyers Just Argued That Paying Hush Money to Stormy Daniels Was All Part of the Job
- No one wants to talk about Trump in Aspen
- A Lesson About Pain and Power (“For Republicans, the time to ditch Trump is always tomorrow.”)
- Trump State Department appointee found guilty of seven felonies in Jan. 6 case
- Scoop: Abortion threatens House spending fights
- GOP centrists pan Trump impeachment erasure as McCarthy denies any deal (Flat-out lie by Politico. In fact, there are ZERO House Republican “centrists” – far from it!)
- Will Kevin McCarthy Ever Stop Kissing Trump’s Ass? (“Has he signed an official document committing to the expungement of the ex-president’s impeachments? No. Does he 100% support the idea of doing so? Hell yes.”)
- The White House plan to sell Bidenomics: Hit the road, ignore the polls
- House GOP squeezes McCarthy on “World War III”-level spending fight
- ‘This Is a Really Big Deal’: How College Towns Are Decimating the GOP (“Growing population in America’s highly educated enclaves has led to huge gains for the Democratic Party. And it’s changing the electoral map going into 2024.”)
- Marjorie Taylor Greene May Have Sent Hunter Biden Nudes to a Bunch of Minors (That’s illegal.)
- Marjorie Taylor Greene uses taxpayer dollars to email explicit images of Hunter Biden (Lock. Her. Up.)
- In rare move, Grassley releases unverified FBI source report alleging Biden involvement in bribe (Grassley is heinous.)
- New Florida standards teach that Black people benefited from slavery because it taught useful skills (Wildly false and wildly racist.)
- DeSantis calls for state investment manager to consider action against Bud Light’s parent company (Disgusting.)
- Cries of cronyism as DeSantis bids to place rightwing ally at top university (“Florida Atlantic’s search for new president halted by state officials after ‘war on woke’ Republican Randy Fine omitted from shortlist”)
- Ron DeSantis is really bad at running for president
- Ron DeSantis is planning a campaign reboot as he struggles to close the gap with Trump
- ‘I Have Never Been Anti-Vax,’ Says Lead Anti-Vaxxer RFK Jr (So, RFK Jr. lied under oath to Congress. Now what happens? Let me guess – nothing?)
- Fact check: RFK Jr. claimed he’s never told people to avoid vaccination. He did – less than two years ago
- As Republicans elevate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., his polls sour
- The Strange Unseriousness of No Labels
- Texas jettisons bipartisan voter list program ERIC (Just like f’ing Youngkin did.)
- Alabama GOP refuses to draw second Black district, despite Supreme Court order (Lawless Republicans.)
- The grim history of the courthouse in Jason Aldean’s new music video (“The music video for Aldean’s song ‘Try That in a Small Town’ features the site of a Black teen’s lynching in 1927.” Horrific.)
- Jason Aldean cashes in on the right-wing fantasy of violent retribution
- Metro’s countdown to fiasco is underway in the D.C. area (“As the area’s transit system approaches an unprecedented financial crisis, inertia besets the governors of Virginia and Maryland and the District’s mayor.”)
- Investigation finds Commanders hid revenue, Snyder harassed team employee (“Snyder will pay $60 million to the NFL after the 17-month investigation overseen by attorney Mary Jo White.”)
- NFL owners unanimously approve the $6.05B sale of the Commanders from Snyder to Harris group
- The Commanders are ushering in a new era for a new generation of football fans
- Video: Sen. Mark Warner Says Virginia Should Use “one-time money that came from the federal government from COVID relief” to Invest in Education (On a lighter note, Sen. Warner says, “I’m just going to politically punt and say I’m in support of both the ‘Barbie’ film and the ‘Oppenheimer’ film”)
- Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-VA02) to New York Times: Abortion is “Elective Surgery” (Democrats badly need to win back this seat next year!)
- Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA11) Slams GOP Crackpot Witnesses in Advance of Select Subcommittee Hearing (For starters, RFJ Jr. “holds beliefs that are vile, disgusting, racist, bigoted, antisemitic, anti-gay, anti-science and riddled with conspiracy theories.”)
- “The Majority Project”: VA Dems Unveil the Biggest, Earliest Voter Turnout Project Ever (“We’ve already got people hitting the doors everyday hearing from Virginians which issues matter most to them, and we’re going to keep up that work and win in November.”)
- Va. Democrats launch ‘Majority Project’ ahead of crucial elections
- Trans rights, free speech advocates respond to new education policies
- Commentary: Virginia must overhaul K-12 school funding
- Pope & Schapiro: Money and controversial guidance for local schools
- FOIA Friday: What Virginia officials withheld or disclosed, July 14–July 21, 2023
- Child care crisis: Richmond-area parents feel the pressure of waitlists, high prices
- Child care crisis: Richmond-area parents feel the pressure of waitlists, high prices
- As Youngkin’s polices for transgender youth takes effect, schools review impact
- When flooding is a normal part of life in Hampton Roads, so are the damages
- Virginia Beach Convention Center is losing more than $2 million per year. Here’s what likely contributed to the loss.
- Investigators return to scene of Fairfax County crash that killed teen, critically injured three others
- D.C.-area forecast: Morning raindrops exit; chance of afternoon storm
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