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by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, August 4.
P.S. h/t to Memeorandum for today’s cover image.
- July blows away temperature records, testing key climate threshold
- The world just got its first real taste of what life is like at 1.5 degrees Celsius
- Bird Flu Has Never Done This Before (“Experts worry that H5N1 avian influenza is now endemic in North America.”)
- Russian warship appears damaged in Ukrainian sea drone attack on navy base
- Russia accuses Ukraine of attacking Black Sea navy base and Crimea with drones
- The Strategic Importance of the Russia-Controlled Land Bridge in Ukraine (“Kyiv aims to sever the heavily fortified Russian line guarding the link between Crimea and Russia.”)
- Videos Show Russia Is Lying About Ukraine’s Secret Attack on its Ship (“Footage appears to show a TNT-packed marine drone slamming into the side of a Russian ship. Other videos show how much damage was done.”)
- Why China Is Crucial to What Happens in the War in Ukraine (“The peace talks happening this weekend are more important than you might think.”)
- Two U.S. Navy Sailors Charged With Helping Chinese
- The Chinese town engulfed by a flood to save Beijing
- ISIS says its leader was killed by militants in Syria and names successor
- Brazil Reports a Big Decline in Amazon Deforestation Last Month (Good. What’s needed next is REforestation!)
- Niger Coup Leaders End Military Cooperation With France
- President of Niger: My country is under attack and I’ve been taken hostage (“The world must help us stop the military seizure of power in the African nation.”)
- Niger’s ousted president warns of ‘devastating’ coup impact, growing Russian influence
- The Western hemisphere’s poorest nation sees a glimmer of hope (“Kenya’s government has offered to lead a U.N.-sanctioned peacekeeping mission to stabilize Haiti.”)
- South Korea spends millions to rescue World Scout Jamboree amid scorching heatwave
- Rahul Gandhi set to return to parliament as India’s Supreme Court suspends conviction
- U.S. to Place Armed Sailors, Marines on Tankers to Stop Iran’s Attacks
- Romanian court releases influencer Andrew Tate from house arrest pending trial (The fact that this sociopath, misogynist and criminal is an “influencer” is really disturbing.)
- Myanmar’s military said it bombed ‘terrorists.’ It killed children. (“At least 157 people were killed, according to two local groups, in the single deadliest attack by the military since it took control from a civilian government.” Pure evil.)
- Three years after Beirut’s apocalypse, no one is accountable
- Biden asylum restrictions at border can remain for now, appeals court rules
- After helping prevent extinctions for 50 years, the Endangered Species Act itself may be in peril (“Fifty years after the US Endangered Species Act took effect, officials say 99% of the animals and plants it protects have survived.”)
- Slowing US Wage Growth to Set Stage for End of Fed Tightening
- U.S. Job Growth Expected to Remain Sturdy in July Report
- Hiring Has Stayed Strong. Here’s Where to Look for Signs of Cooling. (“Economists estimate that U.S. employers added 200,000 jobs in July and that unemployment held steady at 3.6%.”)
- ‘Halliburton Loophole’ Allows Fracking Companies to Avoid Chemical Regulation
- Labor and Environmental Groups Have Learned to Get Along. Here’s the Organization in the Middle (“The leader of BlueGreen Alliance talks about what brings his members together and some of the big challenges.”)
- ‘Ethical Crisis’: Senate Democrats Urge Justice Roberts To Address Alito Controversy (“The lawmakers urged the U.S. Supreme Court chief justice to ensure that Samuel Alito recuses himself from cases involving regulation of the court.”)
- Coup Indictment: Here’s Why Trump’s Usual Defenses Won’t Work
- Donald Trump Pleads Not Guilty to Trying to Overturn the Election, Despite Us All Witnessing Him Trying to Overturn the Election
- Trump’s “delusion” defense
- Inside the courtroom: Donald Trump, Jack Smith and a historic glance (“The former president sat at the very same courtroom table that has been occupied by Jan. 6 defendants who stormed the Capitol in his name.”)
- Trump plans to use charges to revisit 2020 election, a fraught topic for GOP
- Judge warns Trump against bribing or influencing witnesses
- The GOP’s New Trump Standard: You Can Only Prosecute Him In Red Areas (“Any request to move the former president’s trial will face a steep challenge, but that’s not stopping Republicans from demanding it.”)
- Trump’s Jan. 6 defense strategy: “Flood the zone with sh*t”
- Among MAGA extremists, former president’s charges draw big talk, small crowds
- Exclusive: About half of US Republicans could spurn Trump if he is convicted, Reuters/Ipsos poll shows
- ‘The Worst Trump Could’ve Got’: Lawyers Spill on His Jan. 6 Judge
- Prosecutors Took Cautious Path in Connecting Trump to Jan. 6 Violence
- John Eastman, the architect of plan to keep Trump in power, will not cooperate with prosecutors, his lawyer says.
- Exclusive: Barr obliterates Trump’s defense: ‘He knew well that he had lost the election’
- Is Trump running for president mostly to avoid prison?
- From ‘Mr President’ to ‘Mr’: strongman Donald Trump cut down to size in court (“Trump has always loved beating his chest, but away from the TV cameras, the former president appeared meek and shrunken”)
- Trump’s Subdued Courtroom Appearance (“At his arraignment on Thursday, the former President sat fragile and meek in the defendant’s seat.”)
- Forced to wait by the judge, Trump is out of his comfort zone
- Trump’s surreal arraignment day in Washington augurs ominous days ahead (“America faces the prospect of an ex-president repeatedly going on trial in an election year in which he’s the GOP front-runner”)
- Dark and sinister rhetoric drenches right-wing media amid Trump indictments
- Trump was told not to talk to witnesses in 2020 election conspiracy case. That could be a challenge
- This Is the Most Frightening Part of the Trump Indictment (“We don’t know Trump’s exact plans for what he would have done if his schemes to overturn the election had been successful. We don’t even know if he had a plan. But the fact that he surrounded himself with people like Clark suggests that if Trump had actually stolen power, he might well have tried to use the Insurrection Act to suppress the inevitable protests and resistance, which could have killed hundreds (perhaps even thousands) of Americans in an attempt to secure his otherwise illegitimate hold on power.”)
- Opinion: How Trump’s indictment reverses a 50-year precedent
- Chris Christie Says He Was ‘Honest’ When Questioned in Case Against Trump
- Pence Says Trump Pushed Him ‘Essentially to Overturn the Election’
- Mike Pence Has Reached His Fork in the Road (“The former vice president and Jan. 6 witness is campaigning to persuade voters. But is he also trying to warn them?”)
- Crowds gather under stormy skies for glimpse of Trump in court – again
- Trump arraignment key takeaways: four charges and a swift return date
- Exclusive: Trump documents case judge made multiple errors in earlier trial (Cannon is the dregs.)
- What if George Conway were Trump’s defense lawyer?
- Trump said ‘we should have one-day voting’ two days after joining RNC early voting drive
- House GOP worries that hardliners actually want a shutdown
- Trump treats his new indictment as armor. Republican rivals sputter to defend him
- DeSantis vows to ‘start slitting throats on day one’
- If RFK Jr. Wants To Be President, He’s Running In The Wrong Primary
- Trump’s latest indictment makes No Labels even more outlandish
- Andrew Yang’s New Party Is Already Lost. I Saw It From the Inside. (Yang’s a weird, weird dude.)
- DeSantis calls for ‘slitting throats’ in government, escalating rhetoric
- Republicans who fought Biden’s agenda now claim credit for it
- Devon Archer said the opposite of what Republicans claimed
- “Dark Brandon” is driving Biden’s campaign merch sales
- Body found at buoy barrier Texas set up on Rio Grande, Mexico says (Horrible.)
- Florida effectively bans AP Psychology course over LGBTQ content, College Board says (What are Ron DeSantis’ psychological conditions?)
- Tennessee Democrats expelled by GOP over protests win back their seats
- Joe Rogan Irresponsibly Suggests Kari Lake Has a Point About Election Fraud (Rogan is a horrible person.)
- US judge rejects challenge to Connecticut assault weapons ban
- Pro-Trump lawyer charged in Michigan voting machine tampering case
- America’s worst gerrymander may soon finally die (“The lawsuit seeking to transform Wisconsin into a democracy, explained.”)
- Kaine says talk of Trump pardon a disqualifier for GOP hopefuls (“I think anybody who’s talking about a pardon is disqualifying themselves from being president — not legally disqualifying themselves — but what it means is they think the behavior’s OK. Anybody who doesn’t have the backbone or judgment to criticize that behavior doesn’t deserve to be seriously considered for five seconds to be president of the United States.”)
- Audio: Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA07) Says Republicans Should Follow Mike Pence, Liz Cheney, Adam Kinzinger, etc. and Publicly Call Out Trump for the 1/6/21 Insurrection (Spanberger calls it “deeply disappointing” that some Rs who were horrified by 1/6/21 won’t speak out publicly.)
- Virginia National Guard returns from deployment along the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas (Did they have anything to do during that month?)
- FOIA Friday: Richmond schools’ secrecy over graduation shooting
- GOP megadonor Thomas Peterffy donates another $1 million to Glenn Youngkin’s PAC
- Virginians to miss tax-free school shopping as budget impasse drags on
- New report: Virginia’s prison population is growing older
- Pope & Schapiro: Budget negotiations, campaign cash, and college admissions
- Arlington Public Schools ahead of schedule in hiring teachers, but still has over 60 vacancies
- Richmond to relaunch bike share program
- Proposed hospitals could expand Hanover health care access
- Messy Bon Secours-Anthem dispute threatens to disrupt care for thousands of Virginians on Medicare
- Loudoun County’s Office Market Outperforming Region As New Silver Line Stations Drive Activity
- Plans progress for Chesapeake’s long-awaited first public pool
- Montpelier museum honors enslaved community at James Madison’s plantation (“The Montpelier museum will kick off a tribute that will include a memorial to the men, women and children who were enslaved by the nation’s fourth president.”)
- D.C.-area forecast: Mix of sun and clouds, with warmer days on the way (“Rain chances are low through the weekend. Strong to severe storms are possible Monday.”)
