Saturday News: “Netanyahu Faces Protests After Israel Mistakenly Kills Hostages”; “Democracy is a culture — and Trump is destroying it”; “Giuliani Is Absolutely F–ked”; “Caps, Wizards complex in Virginia could get largest arena subsidy ever”

by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Saturday, December 16.

• The Climate Villain You’ve Probably Never Thought About (“Since the 1990s, up to 15 million acres of tropical forest have been wiped out—for rubber.”)
• What Would It Mean to Treat Animals Fairly? (#1: abolish factory farming)
• Asked about Trump, top Kremlin aide says Putin wants a president who is ‘more constructive’ toward Russia (That says it all!)
• Where is Alexei Navalny, and why has he disappeared?
• Hungary blocks €50bn of EU funding for Ukraine (Time to boot Hungary from the EU)
• Ukraine shoots downs 30 Russian drones over 11 regions -air force
• Hungary’s Viktor Orban: Is one man blackmailing the EU? (“The EU is already preparing to work around a Hungarian veto if necessary, for example by letting all EU countries except Hungary provide bilateral funding to Ukraine in 2024 outside the EU budget.”)
• Zelenskiy Feels the Chill From Ukraine’s Allies in a Very Tough Week
• Is Netanyahu putting his own political future ahead of the good of Israel? (He’s been doing that for a LONG time.)
• Israel is testing out flooding the Hamas tunnels. Here’s what it could look like scaled up
• Netanyahu Faces Protests After Israel Mistakenly Kills Hostages
• 3 Israeli hostages mistakenly killed by Israeli troops in Gaza, military says
• US wants shakeup of Palestinian Authority to run Gaza after Hamas
• Israel Found the Hamas Money Machine Years Ago. Nobody Turned It Off.
• There will be a day after in Gaza. Here’s what it can look like.
• Israel tempers claims of imminent Hamas defeat as both sides seem set on long war (“The militant group’s ideology and its complex tunnel network means it is no ordinary enemy”)
• U.S. national security adviser says a negotiated outcome is the best way to end Lebanon-Israel tension
• Biden’s Smart Strategy for Outmaneuvering Bibi (“Netanyahu has deftly navigated multiple Democratic presidents. Biden is trying to change that.”)
• Scoop: Israel’s Mossad chief expected to meet Qatari PM to resume hostage talks
• Gaza-Israel crossing reopens to allow more aid
• Senators Hold Up 43 Biden Diplomatic Nominees as Crises Roil World (Disgraceful.)
• Biden weighs a “shocking” revival of Trump’s immigration agenda (“The White House is reportedly open to making concessions to Republicans in its negotiations over aid to Ukraine and Israel that go far beyond border security.”)
• Kuwait monarch Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah dies at 86
• In Paris, the Krispy Kreme craze can’t mask Donald Trump’s menace
• The Federal Reserve Is Trying to Catch Up with Falling Inflation
• Dow, Nasdaq close higher Friday, extending rally to a seventh winning week
• As Student Loan Collections Restart, Millions Are Not Yet Paying (“After a pandemic freeze, 22 million people received their first bill in years in October — and around 60 percent paid, the government said.”)
• US Homelessness Soars To Highest Reported Level As Rents Soar
• The Most Interesting Part of the New York Times’ Scoop on the Fall of Roe (“The famously secretive court’s operations get a close look.”)
• Worst. Congress. Ever. (“The new House Republican majority produced the most ineffective session of Congress in nearly a century — and quite possibly in all of U.S. history.”)
• ‘The venom of our age’: James Carville on the danger of Mike Johnson’s Christian nationalism
• GOP pushes Speaker Johnson to start picking sides in its endless battles
• Material From Russia Investigation Went Missing as Trump Left Office (LOCK HIM UP!)
• The Conservative Coterie Behind Trump’s Second-Term Agenda (“A small group of loyalists is influencing his campaign policy plans, as many past top aides have broken with the former president” Really, really disturbing.)
• Trump plots his return: Pardons, payoffs and payback (“Donald Trump had made crime a form of politics”)
• Why Trump Won’t Win (“His threats to democracy make him dangerous. They also make him a weak candidate.”)
• What Trump has already taken from us (“Democracy is a culture — and Trump is destroying it.”)
• ‘Good one, Donald’: Biden flaunts stock market record highs, mocks Trump for predicting ‘collapse’
• Melania Trump Welcomes You to America, for Some Reason
• What’s Driving Former Progressives to the Right? (“For some celebrity defectors, the impetus seems clear enough: They lurched right after a cancellation or public humiliation…The right has an advantage in appealing to dislocated and atomized people: It doesn’t have to provide a compelling view of the future. All it needs is a romantic conception of the past, to which it can offer the false promise of return.”)
• The Crazy Conservative Scheme to Make Trump Look Normal: Rehabilitate Nixon
• Rudy Giuliani ordered to pay $148 million for false 2020 election claims
• $148M Verdict in Giuliani Case: “This is a jury inflicting a punishment really for the first time…for lies about the election in furtherance of Donald Trump trying to stay in power”
• What is Rudy Giuliani’s net worth in 2023? Here’s a look into his assets amid defamation trial.
• Watching Rudy Giuliani Self-Destruct at a Defamation Trial
• Rudy Giuliani Is Absolutely F–ked, Must Pay $148 Million to the Election Workers He Defamed (“Oh, and he could be going to prison next.”)
• ‘I Don’t Regret a Damn Thing,’ Says Giuliani After Major Defamation Loss (What happened to Rudy Giuliani? How did he go completely off the deep end, lose his mind, etc? It’s really bizarre.)
• Will the Georgia election workers see any of the $148 million award from Rudy Giuliani?
• Judges dubious of Mark Meadows’ bid to avoid facing charges in Georgia state court
• GOP baffled that ‘We Don’t Care if You Die’ is not a winning slogan
• Ron DeSantis Finally Admits Trump Lies About Elections
• ‘I’m not a progressive’: Fetterman breaks with the left, showing a maverick side
• House GOP reeling after a top recruit blasts Trump on tape (“Republican strategists don’t believe Majewski can win a general election against Kaptur, given his record and how purple the district is. Yet the audio of Riedel may have tanked his chances of defeating Majewski.”)
• Two-month battle to replace ex-Rep. George Santos could cost $20 million
• Stefanik urges ethics investigation into judge linked to Trump, Jan. 6 cases (Stefanik is evil, a fascist, etc. and should always be written about as such. But of course, the media doesn’t do that, because…yeah, that’s how they roll.)
• Florida GOP Ready to Boot Ziegler: ‘He’s Not Donald Trump’
• Florida sex scandal tarnishes GOP power couple and party’s credibility
• Bridget and Christian Ziegler: Everything We Know About the MAGA-Couple Scandal Involving Threesomes, an Alleged Payout, a Rape Accusation, and the Height of Republican Hypocrisy
• Kanye West Goes On Unhinged Rant, ‘Jesus Christ, Hitler, Ye! Sponsor That!!’
• Appeals court rules against Alex Jones, upholding $75K fine after missed deposition
• Mayim Bialik says she’s out as a host of TV quiz show ‘Jeopardy!’ (Good; she was AWFUL – robotic, zero spontaneity, etc, etc. – at this job.)
• Could Wizards, Caps move to Va. provide boost for Metro?
• Caps, Wizards complex in Virginia could get largest arena subsidy ever (“Total of $1.35 billion in public contributions would require $300 million in existing taxpayer funds, according to state financing study.”)
• A plan to move the Capitals, Wizards to Virginia leaves fans reeling, D.C. lawmakers scrambling
• Schapiro: Youngkin’s dream was Wilder’s nightmare
• Race to replace Rep. Jennifer Wexton in Northern Virginia gets crowded (“So far, 11 Democrats and two Republicans are seeking their party’s nomination after Wexton announced she won’t seek reelection due to health reasons.”)
• Meet the 5 GOP presidential candidates who will be on Virginia ballot in March
• Youngkin pledges to seek mental health legislation in honor of Irvo Otieno
• Youngkin wants more mental health funding, social media restrictions
• Virginia to close four prisons and take control of Lawrenceville
• Virginia to close four prisons, reassume control of sole private prison
• Youngkin calls for $500 million boost in natural resources spending
• Virginia delegate warned to stop bypassing metal detectors at school board meetings says he shouldn’t have to go through security (“Del. A.C. Cordoza was put on notice by the Hampton School Board this fall to stop bypassing metal detectors to enter school buildings or he would be denied entry. The Republican delegate said he never brought a gun into a school building but felt he shouldn’t have had to go through security.” What a jerk.)
• Sen. Ruff to resign for health reasons; Youngkin sets special election for Jan. 9 (Best wishes to Sen. Ruff with his fight against cancer!)
• Mother of 6-year-old who shot teacher in Virginia gets 2 years in prison for child neglect
• Some Fairfax School Board members sworn in on banned books
• Police, NAACP establish reward fund for missing Petersburg woman
• Virginia Beach, Richmond, Fairfax receive millions for trails and road safety improvements
• Passing coastal storm to bring another windy, rainy Sunday to much of Virginia (“The storm doesn’t have enough cold air to cause a winter storm but will bring down some colder air behind it to briefly chill what would otherwise be a mild pre-Christmas week.”)
• D.C.-area forecast: Today’s the pick of the weekend with rain on tap Sunday