by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Monday, October 23.
- Ukrainian spies with deep ties to CIA wage shadow war against Russia
- Putin Launches ‘New Evil Empire’ With North Korea and Hamas (“Vladimir Putin’s pals have been boasting about Russia’s backing of Hamas; critics say they are one of a number of notorious anti-Western allies being used to distract from Ukraine.”)
- Mitch McConnell backs Biden’s $106bn aid request for Israel and Ukraine (I know it’s hard to believe, but…yep, Mitch McConnell NAILED IT on this.)
- Biden Talks With Allies to Stop Israel-Hamas War Spreading
- Israelis feel abandoned by Netanyahu after October 7 (“A recent poll shows high support for a ground invasion in Gaza but dismal numbers for the prime minister.”)
- The New York Times has published an editors’ note about its early coverage of an explosion at a hospital in Gaza City. (“Given the sensitive nature of the news during a widening conflict, and the prominent promotion it received, Times editors should have taken more care with the initial presentation, and been more explicit about what information could be verified. Newsroom leaders continue to examine procedures around the biggest breaking news events — including for the use of the largest headlines in the digital report — to determine what additional safeguards may be warranted.” MASSIVE f’up – and a damaging one, too – by the NY Times on this.)
- Israel hits Gaza with one of deadliest bombings so far in war against Hamas
- Pressure grows on Israel to negotiate release of Gaza hostages (“Families given glimmer of hope by release of two US citizens, but fear time is running out before ground invasion”)
- IDF claims hundreds of strikes in Gaza as U.S. braces for regional escalation
- Kibbutz Survivor Recounts Hiding With Daughters as Husband Fought Hamas
- ‘An atmosphere of fear’: free speech under threat in Israel, activists say (“Jewish and Arab Israelis detained, fired from jobs and even attacked for expressing sentiments interpreted as pro-Hamas”)
- US Push for Release of Hostages May Delay Israeli Ground War, But Won’t Stop It
- Israel Launches Intense Strikes on Gaza as U.S. Leads Diplomatic Effort
- Don’t Blame Gazans for Hamas (“The terrorist group has never been very popular among the people it rules”)
- Biden and Netanyahu agree to a ‘continued flow’ of humanitarian aid to Gaza
- Second aid convoy reaches Gaza as Israel attacks targets in Syria and occupied West Bank
- Herzog confirms Israel found Hamas files with instructions for making chemical weapons
- Israel Says Hezbollah Dragging Lebanon Toward War as Towns Empty
- Surging renewable energy sees record supply to Australia’s electricity grid (“At one point in September nearly 100% of eastern Australia’s demand could have been met by renewables, says energy operator Aemo.”)
- Massa Gains Upper Hand Over Milei as Argentina Heads to Runoff
- Argentina’s Peronists soar in election to seal run-off with radical Milei
- Argentina presidential election: Javier Milei and Sergio Massa head for run-off vote
- Venezuela’s Machado Headed for Victory in Opposition Primary (“Candidate supports market-friendly policies, oil privatization.”)
- Help is on the way for Haiti. But the U.S. still holds the key. (BTW, it’s good to see the author of this piece, Lee Hockstader, back to being a foreign correspondent and not attempting to say anything that makes sense about Virginia, which he almost never managed to do over nearly 20 years…)
- ‘Carbon mega bomb’: climate experts urge Biden to block gas export hub
- The People Who Broke the House (They’re called Republicans.)
- G.O.P. Grapples With Being Speakerless, but Effectively Leaderless, Too (“With a fight in the House, an aging Senate leader and a 2024 front-runner who has the party in a vise grip, Republicans worry about long-term effects.”)
- Republicans worry key McCarthy spending promise is unraveling amid Speaker’s fight
- GOP senators pressure House to solve Speaker drama
- House GOP circus embarrasses senior party leaders as the country and the world wait for Republicans to pick a speaker (“The most obvious representative of this style of stunt politics Republicanism is Trump – who, despite being impeached twice, falsely claiming the 2020 election was stolen and facing four criminal trials, is the runaway front-runner for the GOP’s 2024 presidential nomination.”)
- Jordan’s implosion in House speaker bid lays bare GOP civil war
- If you have nine candidates for Speaker you have no candidates for speaker
- How each Speaker candidate voted in overturning 2020 election results
- House Republicans say the speaker race stalemate is ‘embarrassing’ for the GOP
- GOP fires starting gun on 3rd round of House speaker race
- Ex-GOP Congressman Delivers Damning News About Next House Speaker (“They’re all bad”)
- Jim Jordan’s Speakership Bid Collapses, Democracy Dodges a Bullet
- Listen: Billionaire Brags About Trump Sharing Secret Information With Him
- A President, a Billionaire and Questions About Access and National Security
- Trump: Sidney Powell Was ‘Never’ My Lawyer, But She’s Right About ‘Rigged’ Election (“Powell agreed to a plea deal with Georgia prosecutors and will provide evidence against Trump and co-conspirators in the Fulton County racketeering case.”)
- Why Did Sidney Powell Plead Guilty?
- Liz Cheney doesn’t rule out presidential bid, calls Donald Trump ‘the single most dangerous threat’
- Exclusive: New Hispanic Super PAC launches to elect Democrats to Congress
- How Third-Party Hopefuls Could Put Donald Trump Back in the White House (“Bidenworld is fretting over potential 2024 spoilers, from Cornel West to RFK Jr. to No Labels, and may need to hammer home the election’s stakes to keep people from, as one strategist put it, ‘essentially throwing their vote away.'”)
- Hey, right wing ghouls! Hands off the Scholastic book fair (“So much for ‘parents rights’ — now they’re preventing parents from buying books for their kids”)
- Wisconsin Dems’ big wins for the rule of law might be an inflection point (“The fate of the Republican plot might have been sealed after Vos convened a panel headed by former Wisconsin Supreme Court justice David Prosser to assess the matter, only to be told by Prosser that there was no basis for impeachment. Subsequent news reports indicated Vos lacked the Republican votes to pull off the stunt.”)
- Michigan State University ‘deeply sorry’ for Hitler image displayed on video boards before football game (“An unnamed employee was placed on paid leave after a photo of Hitler and a reference to his birthplace were broadcast on video boards as part of a pregame quiz.”)
- No evidence found linking synagogue president’s fatal stabbing to antisemitism, Detroit police chief says
- Warner, Kaine back giving McHenry temporary powers as work-through to Speaker vacancy
- Virginia Politics Insider: No regrets from Good, Gaetz
- Abortion is on the ballot in November. The outcome will shape 2024. (“Youngkin and anti-abortion groups are betting that if they can win in Virginia by running emphatically on a 15-week ban (they prefer the more euphemistic “15-week limit”), then Republicans nationwide should feel more confident adopting their playbook in 2024”)
- Report: Nearly two-thirds of Virginians were overweight or obese in 2021
- The Worst Scandal in American Higher Education Isn’t in the Ivy League (It’s Liberty “University,” in air quotes…)
- Cardinal Conversation: Some localities tapping the brakes on solar energy
- School board races are drawing write-in candidates, but history shows it’s almost impossible for them to win
- 7 sites were studied as potential locations for a small modular reactor in Southwest Virginia. Here’s a closer look.
- Hanover school board referendum is an opportunity to see democracy in action
- Endorsing Pat Herrity’s Reelection Is Another Piece of Evidence That the WaPo Editorial Board Has Sh*t for Brains (“The WAPO editorial staff also hasn’t looked carefully at Mr Herrity’s record…Herrity is an antigovernment and anti tax [and anti-enviro, anti-immigrant, anti-LGBTQ, etc.] Republican”)
- Two challenging incumbent for 28th District Senate seat in Virginia
- Your Voice Your Vote: District 36 House of delegates candidate’s view on key issues (“Democratic candidate, Randall Wolf is challenging Republican incumbent Ellen Campbell in the newly redrawn District 36 House of Delegates race.”)
- D.C.-area forecast: Big warmup this week with 80 possible by Friday
