Thursday News: “As Climate Talks Near, Calls Mount for a ‘Phaseout’ of Fossil Fuels”; “Biden Says Israel, Hamas Should ‘Pause’ for Hostage Release”; “Mike Johnson is a pro-gun Christian nationalist. Yes, be afraid.”; “Obama jumps into key Virginia legislative races”

by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Thursday, November 2.

• “Carbon Bomb” Financiers Threaten World’s Ability to Curb Warming (“US banks alone have invested more than $500 billion in megapolluting firms.” Totally unacceptable.)
• Global heating is accelerating, warns scientist who sounded climate alarm in the 80s (“The Earth’s climate is more sensitive to human-caused changes than scientists have realized until now, meaning that a “dangerous” burst of heating will be unleashed that will push the world to be 1.5C hotter than it was, on average, in pre-industrial times within the 2020s and 2C hotter by 2050, the paper published on Thursday predicts.”)
• Flash droughts are likely to become increasingly common, say researchers (“Scientists have been studying the increasingly common phenomenon, which can intensify wildfires and affect crop yields”)
• Concrete Has a Big Carbon Footprint. Can Green Tech Fix It?
• U.S. and Other Rich Nations Are Cutting Climate Aid, Even as Risks Grow
• Developing countries need more money to protect themselves from climate change
• As climate disasters mount, the world isn’t spending nearly enough to adapt
• As Climate Talks Near, Calls Mount for a ‘Phaseout’ of Fossil Fuels
• Putin revokes Russia’s ratification of nuclear test ban treaty (Putin is a disaster.)
• Risk of a Wider Middle East War Threatens a ‘Fragile’ World Economy
• Biden Says Israel, Hamas Should ‘Pause’ for Hostage Release
• Netanyahu may not last, Biden and aides increasingly believe (Good; “Bibi” is a basically unmitigated DISASTER.)
• Americans among those departing Gaza, White House confirms
• Hamas Official Ghazi Hamad: We Will Repeat The October 7 Attack, Time And Again, Until Israel Is Annihilated; We Are Victims – Everything We Do Is Justified (Pure evil; Hamas is a disaster in every way/shape/form.)
• U.S. discussing peacekeeping force for Gaza after Hamas falls, senators say
• After Years of Vowing to Destroy Israel, Iran Faces a Dilemma
• Diplomacy to pause fighting and ease siege intensifies as Israeli ground troops advance on Gaza City
• Israel’s Dangerous Delusion (“No third party will step in to govern Gaza.”)
• A War to End All Wars Between Israel and Palestine (“As bad as things are, I resist giving in to despair.”)
• Second Israeli airstrike in two days hits Gaza refugee camp
• Hamas is hoarding vast amounts of fuel as hospitals in Gaza run low, U.S. officials say
• Israeli strikes on Gaza refugee camp offer glimpse of war’s destruction
• It looks inevitable that the war in Gaza will spread. Is it?
• How Israel Is Splitting the Democrats
• What I saw when I watched videos of the Hamas attack (“The video record of Hamas’s rampage on Oct. 7 shows how helpless men, women and children died — and how their murderers celebrated.”)
• Israel’s crackdown on dissent will only hurt it (“Silencing criticism makes it harder for Israel’s leaders to think clearly.”)
• Opposition mounts in Arab countries that normalized relations with Israel
• Israeli envoy to Russia says Tel Aviv passengers hid from weekend airport riot in terminal (It wasn’t really a “riot,” it was an attempted pogrom.)
• China Is Winning in Solar Power, but Its Coal Use Is Raising Alarms
• China and US reportedly agree to rare nuclear arms control talks (“Talks expected on Monday would be first since Obama administration and follow visit to Washington by Wang Yi, Chinese foreign minister”)
• Scoop: Yellen’s stage-setter for the Biden-Xi meeting
• China’s Male Leaders Signal to Women That Their Place Is in the Home (“The Communist Party’s solution to the country’s demographic crisis and a slowing economy is to push women back into traditional roles.”)
• Labour infighting over Israel suddenly clouds Keir Starmer’s path
• Storm Ciaran lashes northern Europe with strong winds and rain, one killed in France
• Powell Hints Fed Is Done With Hikes in Pivot Cheered by Markets
• Key Takeaways From Fed’s Decision to Leave Rates Unchanged
• Higher Rates for Longer Can Be Good News for the Economy (“With chances of a recession receding, Federal Reserve officials see a more resilient economy.”)
• UAW Beat Detroit but Tesla Will Be a Different Beast (“A victorious Shawn Fain is considering expanding the union’s ranks to include nonunionized carmakers.”)
• Are Republicans “tough on crime”? That was always a myth — now it’s dangerous (“Most Americans still buy the myth that Republicans are strong on crime. That was never true, even before Trump” It’s astounding that anyone believes crap like this. I heavily blame the media.)
• A constant threat of MAGA-on-Republican violence: The GOP’s devotion to Trump has sabotaged Congress (“Conservatives are imperiling themselves when they unleash violence against their perceived enemies on the left”)
• What Is Happening With Mike Johnson’s Money?
• Speaker Johnson tells Senate GOP he backs Ukraine aid, funding path through Jan. 15
• Trumpworld Is Already Suspicious of New Speaker Mike Johnson (“Ukraine, Israel, Critical Race Theory, and a Ron DeSantis-aligned hire—Mike Johnson is already testing the far right’s patience.”)
• Mike Johnson is a pro-gun Christian nationalist. Yes, be afraid.
• Surprise: Mike Johnson Once Worked With a Conversion Therapy Group That Claimed It Could Turn Gay People Straight (“He also blamed the fall of the Roman Empire on ‘rampant homosexual behavior.'” Why is Johnson so obessed with gay sex?)
• McConnell, Speaker Johnson divide sharply on year-end strategy
• Raj Shah, Fox exec exposed in Dominion lawsuit, to lead House GOP comms
• I Grew Up in Mike Johnson’s District, Where Kindness Can Mask Cruelty
• Court fights to prevent Trump from running again for the White House turn to Minnesota
• A judge could toss Trump in jail. The question is whether one dares.
• Trump fights loom large for a Supreme Court that has tried to ignore him
• Trump 14th Amendment Disqualification Trial Can Continue, Judge Rules
• Trump’s Florida case timeline may need to be pushed back, Cannon says (Cannon is a right-wing hack who has ZERO business being a judge.)
• Trump Jr distances himself from documents at center of fraud trial: ‘I don’t recall’
• Don Jr. Has a Conveniently Fuzzy Memory of Trump Org Finances: “I Leave It to My CPAs”
• Donald Trump Jr’s courtroom debut: Chuckles, smiles and mispronunciation (Psychopath.)
• ‘This is outrageous’: Pentagon officials furious over Tuberville holds after top Marine hospitalized (Tuberville is treasonous scum.)
• The Chief of the Marines Was Hospitalized Without a Number Two in Command
• Senate Republicans erupt in anger over Tuberville’s military freeze (Their anger is useless unless they vote to waive the rule that allows Tuberville to do this.)
• GOP senators push back but can’t get past Tuberville on military blockade
• 2024 Presidential Race Stays Static In The Face Of Major Events
• Inside the White House’s No Labels strategy (Seriously, screw “No Labels”)
• Cornell cancels classes amid ‘extraordinary stress’ after violent antisemitic threats led to the arrest of a student
• Second effort to expel George Santos from House fails (It’s better for Dems if Santos runs for reelection next year…and gets his pathetic ASS kicked by whoever Dems nominate!)
• Democrats scrap plans to vote on Greene censure resolution
• Republicans help torpedo resolution to censure Tlaib over Israel criticism
• GOP senators told that Peter Meijer will launch a Michigan Senate bid
• G.O.P.’s Buck Won’t Seek Re-Election, Citing His Party’s Election Denialism
• An Ohio amendment serves as a testing ground for statewide abortion fights expected in 2024
• Sen. Mark Warner, Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA08), Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA11) Rip House GOP’s “extraordinarily cynical,” “stupid” Bill Screwing Over Ukraine, Increasing the Deficit, and Helping Wealthy Tax Cheats
• Senators Mark Warner, Tim Kaine, and Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA03) Applaud Approval of Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Project and Over $39 Million in Federal Funding to Support Project
• More than half of school divisions sent ‘ALL In VA’ plans to the state
• ‘Back to normal’: Next Va. budget faces big bills for Medicaid, education
• Obama jumps into key Virginia legislative races (“The former president has recorded robocalls” – click here to listen.)
• More than half a million Virginians have voted early. Here’s how you can, too
• Virginia Erroneously Purged Nearly 3400 From State’s Voter Rolls
• Voting rights advocates blast Youngkin admin over error affecting 3,400
• Virginia admits thousands of voters wrongly purged days before election
• Six things we don’t know about the election (yet)
• Marine Corps veteran among those caught in voter purge
• Could Glenn Youngkin run for president so late? It wouldn’t be easy. (The WaPo is obsessed with Youngkin running for president. To put it mildly, there are FAR more important things they should be using their resources to cover.)
• Suburban women in Virginia likely to decide control of General Assembly
• CAUGHT ON TAPE: Virginia MAGA Republicans Reveal Extreme Anti-Abortion Agendas (Youngkin: “Any bill that comes to my desk I will sign happily and gleefully in order to protect life”)
• Virginia’s state-run health insurance marketplace is live for the first time
• Miyares sends tactical gear, donated by Va. law enforcement, to Israel
• After opening probe of pro-Palestinian group, Virginia AG sends supplies to Israel
• DLCC Details Virginia MAGA Extremist Candidates’ Insurrectionist, Anti-Democracy, Election Denial Comments and Actions (The thought of these people holding public office is disturbing.)
• Dominion preps grid for renewables, surging electric demand
• Early voting is heating up across Northern Virginia, including in battleground Prince William County
• A Virginia GOP State Rep. Built Her Political Career On A Story That Doesn’t Add Up
• Virginia Senate candidate’s DC restaurant was cited by health department for rodents (“Republican Juan Pablo Segura co-founded a chain of donut shops in Washington, D.C.”)
• HuffPo Scoop: Police Reports, Audio Show SD27 Republican Nominee Tara Durant “instigated a confrontation with [peaceful] protesters” and “tried to hit them with her car as they stood in a crosswalk” (Needless to say, someone like this should NOT hold public office!)
• Youngkin issues executive order after unprecedented series of fentanyl-related overdoses at Northern Va. school
• Energy tech testbed to develop projects on 65K acres in Virginia’s Wise Co.
• No site has been selected for a small nuclear reactor
• Cancer-fighting companies win chance to innovate in Southwest Virginia
• Pro-Palestinian rally held in downtown Roanoke
• Voters in Hanover remain divided over school board elections
• A Virginia school district battled Glenn Youngkin’s policies. Now it faces a test with voters. (“Fairfax County Public Schools pushed back on Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s conservative policies.”)
• As Chesapeake farmland is harvested for developments, the city grapples with legal loopholes
• UVa withholds report on deadly 2022 shooting
• D.C.-area forecast: Cool today but warming through the weekend