by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Monday, August 7.
- As the Planet Bakes, Big Oil’s Support for Clean Energy Is Still Well Short of What’s Needed
- Is the Collapse of a Critical Atlantic Current Really Imminent? (“The jury is out. But if we don’t rein in warming, we’re in deep trouble.”)
- What climate change deniers get totally wrong about the Little Ice Age (“What does a regional period of mid-millennial cooling have to do with today’s climate disasters? Absolutely nothing”)
- Is the climate crisis finally catching up with Antarctica? Finding the answer has never been more pressing
- Solar power to the rescue as Europe’s energy system weathers extreme heat
- Siemens Energy CEO on $2.4 billion wind turbine hit: We were ‘going too fast’ with new products
- U.S. scientists hit new fusion energy milestone (“U.S. scientists at the federal Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California announced Sunday that they achieved net energy gain in a nuclear fusion reaction for a second time — this time with a higher energy yield.” Good, but “there’s still a long way to go in overcoming further scientific, technical and financial hurdles for it to become a commercial power supply.”)
- Ukraine says U.S and German air defence systems ‘highly effective’
- ‘It’s Not a Sprint,’ Ukraine’s Marines Insist. ‘It’s a Marathon.’
- Woman detained in connection to plot to assassinate Zelensky, Ukraine security service says
- The Death of a Ukrainian Writer (“Victoria Amelina was a gifted novelist who put fiction aside to devote herself to documenting the atrocities of Putin’s war.”)
- Exclusive: North Korean hackers breached top Russian missile maker
- Xi Remade China’s Military to His Liking. Now a Purge Threatens Its Image.
- U.S. imports from China plummet as relations remain tense
- Netanyahu Says Bet on Israel and Saudi Arabia Deepening Ties
- Netanyahu Seeks to Change How Judges Are Named, Then Stop Revamp
- Democrat calls on Biden to stop ‘racists’ in Israeli government from ‘land grab’ (“Senator Chris Van Hollen says president should reassess military aid to Israel in light of extreme rightward tilt of government”)
- Niger coup: Junta shuts airspace citing military intervention threat (“The West African group of countries, Ecowas, had earlier warned it could use force if President Mohamed Bazoum was not reinstated by 23:00 GMT on Sunday.”)
- Niger awaits West African bloc’s response after junta rejects ultimatum
- How Manipur violence is challenging India’s politics
- After Cambodia’s sham election, a chance for a reset (“Cambodia might be getting its first new prime minister in nearly 40 years — and with him a reason to hope for a more open, less repressive future.”)
- US utilities oppose Biden efforts to make gas power plants cleaner (F*** them.)
- The EPA’s ambitious plan to cut auto emissions to slow climate change runs into skepticism (“The U.S. government’s most ambitious plan ever to slash planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions from passenger vehicles faces skepticism both about how realistic it is and whether it goes far enough.”)
- Opinion: The US has always made good on its debt. There’s no reason to think that will change (“Generation Z will be the last generation of Americans with a white majority, according to census data. The nation’s so-called majority minority arrived with Generation Alpha, those born since about 2010. Barely two decades from now, around 2045, non-Hispanic white people will fall below half as a share of the overall U.S. population. “)
- America’s white majority is aging out
- Over 120 million people in Eastern US are at risk for severe storms that could bring large hail and damaging winds
- Attacks at US medical centers show why health care is one of the nation’s most violent fields (Horrible and unacceptable.)
- ‘I look over my shoulder a little more’: LGBTQ+ people on surviving hostile laws in US south (“Legislators have recently passed numerous anti-LGBTQ+ laws, but embattled activists are buckling down and not giving in”)
- Why the Populist Right Hates Universities (“American conservatives are taking cues from Hungary’s Viktor Orbán because elite education is a convenient enemy for authoritarian populists.”)
- Enough With the False Narrative About Trump’s Rise (“What exactly does David Brooks want ‘anti-Trumpers’ to do?” David Brooks is an idiot.)
- New charges against Trump focus on lies. Scholars see an authoritarian playbook
- Legal experts predict Supreme Court won’t spare Trump from trial and verdict
- Trump Flips Out In Hellishly Bizarre New Social Media Meltdown: ‘I Wasn’t Scared’
- Trump seeks to destroy credibility of his election subversion trial (“The former president and his legal team are escalating efforts to discredit and delay a trial over his alleged attempt to overturn the 2020 election”)
- Trump Calls for Recusal of Judge as His Lawyer Denies Pence’s 2020 Claims
- CBS News poll finds after latest Trump indictment, many Americans see implications for democracy. For some, it’s personal
- If Trump committed ‘a technical violation of the Constitution,’ it’s not a crime, his lawyer says (In fact, Trump likely committed many VERY serious crimes.)
- Mike Pence does not rule out being witness for Trump’s prosecution
- Pence says Trump’s lawyers asked him to “reject votes outright”
- Trump Lawyer: Mike Pence Will Be “One of Our Best Witnesses” (“In a series of interviews Sunday, the former president’s lawyer outlines his legal strategy. Puzzlingly, it seems to hinge on former VP Mike Pence.”)
- Pence Avoids Saying Whether He Would Support Trump As 2024 GOP Nominee
- There’s a Good Reason Trump Aides Don’t Think the New Indictment Is a Joke
- Opinion: Trump’s indictment hat trick takes America to the brink
- Why leftists should work their hearts out for Biden in 2024
- Kamala Harris Takes on a Forceful New Role in the 2024 Campaign
- Evangelical Leader Rips Trump, Says Supporters Now ‘Looking For Another Candidate’
- Indictment ignored, Trump barely a mention, as GOP candidates pitch Iowa voters to challenge him
- She’s a Prophet. She’s a Theocrat. She’s the Most Powerful Lobbyist You’ve Never Heard Of. (“The Christian far right has a road map—and one woman’s at the wheel.”)
- DeSantis Camp Hit by Gloom as Aides Worry Race Is Slipping Away
- ‘Of course he lost’: Ron DeSantis rejects Trump’s 2020 election claims (“In an exclusive interview with NBC News, the Florida governor made his most definitive comments that Trump did not win in 2020. ‘Joe Biden’s the president,’ he said.”)
- Florida bans AP psychology classes, proving Ron DeSantis wants a return to the pre-Stonewall days (“Over 30,000 students are losing college credit-level classes, because they teach being gay is normal”)
- Nikki Haley Fights to Stay Competitive in a One-Sided G.O.P. Primary
- A new memo shows how Democrats plan to beat vulnerable Republicans (“the 18 Republicans who come from districts that President Biden won 2020: Arizona’s 1st and 6th; California’s 13th, 22nd, 27th, 40th and 45th; Nebraska’s 2nd, New Jersey’s 7th; New York’s 1st, 3rd, 4th, 17th, 19th and 22nd; Oregon’s 5th; Pennsylvania’s 1st; and Virginia’s 2nd.” Hopefully, bye bye Jen Kiggans!)
- Everything You Need To Know About The Ohio Ballot Measure That Could Block Abortion Rights
- Abortion Rights and Democracy Are Being Put to the Test in Ohio
- Musk says MMA fight will be streamed on X; Zuckerberg says, ‘I’m ready (“The grudge match between the titans of U.S. social media may be headed for the real world as both men say they’ve been training for victory.”)
- The future is uncertain for the U.S. after crashing out of the Women’s World Cup
- Federal workers returning to office would be welcome boost for businesses in downtown DC
- Video: Former Rep. Denver Riggleman (R-VA05) Says “I think we should all applaud Mark Meadows, because I think he’s going to be the MVP of this investigation” (On GOP presidential candidates who say the’d pardon Trump: “Those are just cynical individuals… They don’t care about Americans; they care about getting to the nomination”)
- Audio: One of the Far-Right Rs Running to Take on Sen. Tim Kaine in 2024 Gives Unhinged Interview Ranting About Trump Possibly Facing the Death Penalty, Justifying the Motivations of the 1/6/21 Insurrectionists, etc.
- Virginia lawmakers redefined ‘sexual conduct’ to exclude homosexuality (“They stripped the term from a list of of illegal acts that is used in a number of laws.”)
- Chesapeake Regional, Cigna reach deal in rate reimbursement fight
- Quest for rare earth elements and critical minerals in Central Appalachia gets new boost
- ‘Reclining Liberty’ takes a rest — and raises questions — in Arlington
- How Amazon’s HQ2 pushes the (building) envelope on embodied carbon (“The U.S. Green Building Council is expected to incorporate innovations from Amazon’s new Virginia headquarters into the next iteration of its LEED building standard.”)
- D.C.-area forecast: Severe storms are serious concern later today
