Friday News: “Biden Casts Russia, Hamas as Parallel Threats to Democracy”; “Republicans keep House in chaos”; “Sidney Powell’s Plea Deal Is So, So Bad for Donald Trump”; “Major US Muslim group cancels Virginia banquet over bomb and death threats”

by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, October 20.

• Impact of farming on climate crisis will be a key Cop topic – finally
• ‘The anti-livestock people are a pest’: how UN food body played down role of farming in climate change (“Ex-officials at the Food and Agriculture Organization say its leadership censored and undermined them when they highlighted how livestock methane is a major greenhouse gas” Utterly appalling. In fact, meat production is a climate disaster.)
• Climate Change Means Hurricanes Get Worse Faster, Study Says
• Migrant workers toil in perilous heat to prepare for Cop28 climate talks in UAE
• Wild birds gain immunity to avian flu in ‘encouraging sign’ amid deadly outbreak (“Scientists find antibodies in Scottish populations of northern gannets and shags as poultry infections in Britain fall dramatically”)
• Ukraine Targets Russia’s Big Guns to Blast a Path Forward
• Putin locked up Alexei Navalny. Now, he is going after the lawyers.
• Biden draws direct link between Putin and Hamas as he urges aid for Israel and Ukraine (“US president said Americans must not walk away from their role as a ‘beacon to the world’ in rare Oval Office address”)
• Full Transcript: Biden’s Speech on Israel-Hamas and Russia-Ukraine Wars
• The number one takeaway from Biden’s address (“But the most profound takeaway from what was only his second Oval Office address was this: While Biden scheduled the appearance to discuss two nations fighting for their survival against outside attack, his real topic was America itself – and perceived threats to its foundational values in a volatile political age.”)
• Biden Casts Russia, Hamas as Parallel Threats to Democracy
• Israel Latest: Strikes on Gaza and Hezbollah as Tensions Spread
• Scoop: Biden to seek billions for border security alongside Israel-Ukraine aid
• Biden seeks ‘vital’ war aid for Israel and Ukraine
• Where countries stand on the Israel-Hamas war
• More Than 400 Capitol Hill Staffers Call For Cease-Fire In Gaza
• Israel pounds Gaza and evacuates town near Lebanon ahead of expected ground offensive against Hamas
• Hamas’s Hostage-Taking Handbook Says to ‘Kill the Difficult Ones’ and Use Hostages as ‘Human Shields’
• Israeli leaders rally troops at border as Gaza awaits supplies
• Polls show Americans agree with Biden on US foreign policy on Israel (“Just 13% of registered voters answered that their sympathies lie more with the Palestinians than the Israelis based on what they know about the Middle East. Sixty-one percent said their sympathies lie with Israel, which was the highest amount of support Israel had received on this question since Quinnipiac first started asking it in 2001. It’s up considerably from 41% back in 2021…”)
• The Devastation of Be’eri (“In one day, Hamas militants massacred, tortured, and abducted residents of a kibbutz, leaving their homes charred and their community in ruins.”)
• Ruins and memories of a paradise lost in an Israeli village where attackers killed and kidnapped dozens
• UN: Time running out to get aid into Gaza ‘hellhole’
• The Chaotic Urban Hellscape That Awaits Israel in a Gaza Invasion
• Is Hamas winning the war? (“The terrorist group is achieving its political aims, while the Netanyahu government seems not to have a clear political goal. Here’s how it could make a start.”)
• How the West—and Israel Itself—Inadvertently Funded Hamas (“The Islamist organization diverted humanitarian assistance and levied taxes after the blockade of Gaza was eased.”)
• Israeli community frozen as Hamas atrocities continue to emerge
• First on CNN: US Navy warship near Yemen intercepts multiple missiles, US officials say
• Saudi, UAE Leaders Hold Rare Talks as Israel-Hamas War Escalates
• China’s Stance on Hamas Key Point of Division, US Envoy Says
• China is set to dominate the deep sea and its wealth of rare metals
• China expanding nuclear arsenal much faster than predicted, US report says
• ‘A lot of pain’: Europe’s Jews fear rising antisemitism after Hamas attack
• Poland rises against authoritarianism, reshaping the European picture
• Poland offers hope for reclaiming democracy
• Italy PM splits from partner after his sexist TV comments
• Britain’s Labour deals big by-election blows to PM Sunak
• Canada’s historic wildfire season abates after 45.7 million acres razed
• Utilities Have Been Lying to us About Gas Stoves Since the 1970s (“They took a page out of Big Tobacco’s playbook, a new investigation confirms.”)
• Research by Public Health Experts Shows ‘Damning’ Evidence on the Harms of Fracking
• Economists Boost US Growth Projections, Reduce Recession Odds
• Powell says inflation is still too high and lower economic growth is likely needed to bring it down
• Jerome Powell Is Still Puzzling Over the Strength of the U.S. Economy (“Even as the Fed chair and his colleagues have raised interest rates to bring down inflation, spending and hiring have picked up recently, and G.D.P. growth looks strong.”)
• Jim Jordan and Donald Trump’s embarrassing week reminds us: MAGA “tough guys” are cowards at heart (“Trump’s efforts at witness intimidation fall flat, while Jordan fails to bully his way to power”)
• Stonewall Jordan marches Republicans into the wilderness
• Jim Jordan to hold press conference amid Speaker vote chaos
• Speaker stalemate options narrow as GOP swats down off-ramp
• Republicans keep House in chaos as Jordan schedules third vote and interim speaker plan fails
• Jordan presses ahead with speaker fight despite growing pressure to drop out
• Jordan and the GOP find a new low point in speaker mess
• Three speakers at once, yet House Republicans lack one with real power (“Kevin McCarthy, Jim Jordan and Patrick McHenry all hold part of the same title, demonstrating how dysfunctional the House GOP has become”)
• Republicans reject expanding interim speaker power as Jordan backtracks
• The Inside Story of How Jim Jordan Broke the Model, Didn’t Become Speaker and Decided That was Fine
• House GOP drowning as crisis reaches breaking point
• House GOP abandons plan to empower temp speaker
• Republican Tempers Flare as Speaker Fight Continues, Paralyzing the House
• In the latest sign of House chaos, the temporary speaker is threatening to quit
• Rep. Bacon says his wife slept with loaded gun after ‘ugly phone calls’ over his Speaker vote
• Speaker Saga: House GOP Can’t Even Agree on Not Agreeing
• Jim Jordan Somehow Still Thinks He Has a Shot
• GOP Lawmaker Estimates Two-Thirds Oppose Plan to Make McHenry Temporary Speaker
• If You Vote to Put Republicans in Charge, THIS Is What You’ll Get – Chaos, Extremism, Threats of Violence, Insurrection. The Answer: Vote DEMOCRATIC, in EVERY Election! (“So in truth, blame the entire Republican Party”; They “don’t even seem to have any stupid ideas”)
• The Fulton County question that should keep Trump up at night
• Well, Well, Well, Sidney Powell Has Flipped
• Sidney Powell’s Plea Deal Is Terrible News for Trump (“Sidney Powell has flipped on Donald Trump and all the others accused of helping the 2020 MAGA coup attempt. Experts say she only got a sweetheart plea deal for a good reason.”)
• Sidney Powell’s Plea Deal Is So, So Bad for Donald Trump
• What Sidney Powell’s Deal Could Mean for the Fulton County Case Against Trump (“I think there are a lot of people who are in more trouble than they were before.”)
• Donald Trump is dominating the GOP primary and settling into a new role: Defendant
• Jack Smith Slams Trump’s Bid to Dismiss Jan. 6 Charges: ‘The Defendant Is Not Above The Law’
• Special counsel urges judge to deny Trump’s Jan. 6 claim of immunity
• Trump Is About to Be Ripped to Shreds by New York Judge
• Trump co-defendant Kenneth Chesebro rejected plea offer from Georgia prosecutors
• Texas City Settles Lawsuit With Biden Bus Passenger Who Says Police Ignored Calls About Trump Supporters
• Mitt Romney criticizes Fox News and right-wing media for warping Republican Party (No doubt about it, right-wing media has had a VERY negative, destructive, even disastrous impact on America.)
• Can Twitter, uh, X, Survive Elon Musk? (“It takes a lot to destroy a well-established nexus, but it seems increasingly likely that Elon Musk is up to the job.”)
• Elon Musk’s X removes the New York Times’ verification badge (“The unexplained decision removes the only symbol distinguishing the news organization from impostors and comes amid a flood of false information related to the Israel-Gaza war, some of which Musk has personally endorsed.” Musk is: a) nuts; b) a fascist.)
• Laphonza Butler Will Not Run for Senate in 2024 (Surprising.)
• Republican White House hopefuls embrace killing criminals to fight crime (Stoking fear of crime has been one of the GOP’s bread-and-butter strategies for decades.)
• ‘We need to do our job’: Virginia senators push House to act on aid package
• Video: Sen. Mark Warner Says “while we condemn the awfulness and atrocities committed by Hamas in Israel, we also should not fail to call out the atrocities committed by Russia against the Ukrainian people” (Sen. Warner: “this was an errant missile from another jihadist group in Gaza. But in this world that we live, where even political figures in America seem to ignore facts, it’s a dangerous time.”)
• Senators Warner, Kaine Announce Over $71 Million to Improve Electric Grid Resiliency, Reduce Power Outages and Integrate Clean Energy Sources in Virginia (Note that *every single Virginia Republican* in the US House voted NO on this!)
• Filler-Corn faces pushback from a committee chair over congressional announcement
• Glenn Youngkin’s Pitch to Paint Virginia Red (No, thanks!)
• Gov. Youngkin’s political retreat in Hampton Roads courts Republican donors ahead of statehouse election
• Pope & Schapiro: Campaign cash, the House Speaker, and a 2024 announcement
• How Virginia redistricts election maps: A 2023 VPM voter guide
• Major US Muslim group cancels Virginia banquet over bomb and death threats (“The Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, canceled plans to hold its 29th annual banquet on Saturday at the Marriott Crystal Gateway in Arlington, just across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. The group, who has used the hotel for a decade, will move the banquet to an undisclosed location with heightened security, the group’s statement said.”)
• Two Hampton Roads districts are key to control of the House
• Republicans in two key Virginia Senate races voted against laws to help constituents (“State Sen. Siobhan Dunnavant and Del. Emily Brewer opposed Medicaid expansion, living wages, and budgets that funded schools and public safety.”)
• Del. Karen Greenhalgh and Michael Feggans vying to represent House District 97
• Senate District 27 race: Republican Durant vs. Democrat Griffin vs. Independent Gary
• FOIA Friday: State scrutiny of failed VCU deal and Va. NAACP’s rights restoration lawsuit
• Guns, abortion and the car tax take center stage at 4th District candidate forum (“Sen. David Suetterlein and Trish White-Boyd, a member of the Roanoke City Council, are competing in the new 4th Senate District. They met on stage Thursday night at a forum sponsored by Cardinal News.”)
• Lawsuit dropped after school board changes course, adopts Youngkin’s transgender student policy
• Virginia GOP candidate hopes AR-15 giveaway offer kickstarts write-in race
• Arlington County ‘missing middle’ housing lawsuit will head to trial
• RPS attorney called union resolutions ‘inflammatory’
• D.C.-area forecast: Another warm day with showers mainly waiting until late