by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Thursday, December 21.
- As the Climate Crisis Deepens, High-Polluting Nations Must Start Paying Reparations
- COP28 Is Over. But Climate Pledges Are Still Emerging in the Final Days of 2023 (“The U.N. climate talks ended with mixed reviews, with many advocates wanting more ambition. A slew of national pledges this week could provide renewed hope going into 2024.”)
- Coal Is the Climate Scourge That Just Won’t Go Away
- Ukraine Ends Year Disappointed And Anxious By Stalemate With Russia
- A warning to the West: Appease Putin, and you will lose your freedom
- Israel-Gaza war live: prospects for hostage exchange deal uncertain amid reports talks with Hamas in Egypt ended ‘without results’
- House Democrats write Biden urging ‘immediate and significant shift’ of Israeli military strategy (Rep. Abigail Spanberger signed on to this.)
- Quinnipiac: Support for Israel down as Gaza war rages on (“While the poll found that Republicans are still in favor of more assistance for Israel’s war effort, and a majority of voters still generally say that supporting Israel is in the interest of the U.S., 58 percent of Democrats and 48 percent of independents said they opposed aid for Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. Sixty percent of Hispanic and 56 percent of Black voters also disapprove of more military aid to Israel, according to the poll.”)
- The Gaza war inches toward the day before ‘the day after’
- U.S. Relationship With Netanyahu Government Has Turned Toxic
- Israel uncovers major Hamas command center in Gaza City as cease-fire talks gain momentum
- Gazans Are Starting to Blame Hamas for Wartime Suffering (“Criticism of the militant group is spreading, with more Gazans holding it responsible for provoking Israel’s wrath and failing to shield the population from a humanitarian crisis.”)
- US says ‘serious negotiations’ taking place on new Gaza truce
- US intelligence analysis warns Hamas’ influence has grown since its attack on Israel
- Fighting terrorism did not mean Israel had to ‘flatten Gaza’, says Emmanuel Macron (“French president calls on Israel ‘to stop this response because it is not appropriate’ as he repeats ceasefire demand”)
- U.S. charges Hezbollah operative who allegedly planned 1994 Argentina bombing that killed 85
- German Wind Power Hits Record as Storms Batter North Europe
- Xi Jinping Is Fighting a Culture War at Home (“The Chinese leader seeks to restore an earlier era of ideological indoctrination and national unity—whether his society wants it or not.”)
- Biden Explores Raising Tariffs on Chinese EVs
- U.S. to free ally of Venezuela’s Maduro in exchange for 36 prisoners -source
- Statement from President Joe Biden on Securing the Release of Americans Detained in Venezuela
- Milei Issues Sweeping Decree to Privatize Argentina’s State-Run Companies
- Climate change is a focus for Energy Department appliance efficiency standards
- After a brutal 2023, offshore wind looks to overcome growing pains
- How the markets and the economy surprised investors and economists in 2023, by the numbers
- More US auto buyers are turning to hybrids as sales of electric vehicles slow
- Speaker Mike Johnson and daughter were profiled attending ‘purity ball’ in 2015 German TV news segment
- Mike Johnson owes “the secretive networks that form the backbone of the American Right” big time (“Inside the Christian supremacy movement that propelled Johnson to the top” Really, REALLY disturbing)
- Misinformer of the Year: Legacy news keep downplaying Trump’s incendiary remarks and hazardous policies
- Conservative media falsely attack the Colorado Supreme Court ruling as “undemocratic” and “the ultimate election interference”
- GOP voter-fraud crackdown overwhelmingly targets minorities, Democrats (Duh, ya think?!?)
- 120 Reasons to Vote Against Donald Trump…and a Bunch of Reasons to Vote FOR Joe Biden
- Biden says it’s ‘self-evident’ that Trump is an insurrectionist
- Yes, it’s okay to compare Trump to Hitler. Don’t let me stop you. (Mike Godwin: “My very minor status as an authority on Adolf Hitler comparisons stems from having coined ‘Godwin’s Law’ about three decades ago.”)
- Trump Vows to Amp Up the Hitler Talk
- The Supreme Court should toss the Colorado case (Including this garbage article just to remind everyone that many of the WaPo’s editorial page writers, including this one, is really stupid.)
- Supreme Court showdown with Trump
- ‘The Opposite of Politics’: A Conservative Legal Scholar Says Kicking Trump Off the Ballot Is ‘Unassailable’
- Everything you need to know about the court order removing Trump from the ballot (“The Colorado Supreme Court’s decision is unlikely to be upheld by the US Supreme Court, but this issue is not going away.”)
- Trump lashes out after Colorado ruling removing him from ballot (“Predictably, the ex-president took to his social media site to condemn the decision – and to raise funds”)
- Why Clarence Thomas Must Recuse Himself from the Trump Cases
- In deciding Trump’s ballot eligibility, the Supreme Court should apply the law without fear or favor
- The Supreme Court Did This to Itself
- Media must stick to the facts about Colorado Supreme Court decision to ban Trump from the ballot (“Conservatives were behind the legal challenge, due process was provided during the trial, and finding Trump ineligible for the presidency does not require a conviction for insurrection”)
- What’s next after Colorado? Here’s where other challenges to Trump’s candidacy stand (“Lawsuits in more than a dozen states are looking to follow a Colorado court’s lead in declaring former president Donald Trump ineligible for election in 2024 due to his role in the Jan. 6 attack.” Only a dozen states? And how about others involved in the attempted coup d’etat leading up to and during January 2021?)
- Colorado, the 14th Amendment, and the right’s January 6 revisionism
- Top Senate GOP leaders silent on decision to boot Trump from Colorado ballot
- The Constitution’s Insurrection Clause Threatens Trump’s Campaign. Here Is How That Is Playing Out
- A Need for Speed: SCOTUS Should Move Fast on Trump Immunity Claim
- Booting Trump off the ballot isn’t just legally correct — it’s the smart move for the Supreme Court
- Colorado Supreme Court justices face a flood of threats after disqualifying Trump from the ballot (Arrest those making the threats.)
- Colorado GOP threatens to withdraw from or ignore state’s presidential primary if Trump isn’t on the ballot
- Colorado Secretary Of State ‘Extremely Concerned’ About Pro-Trump Violence
- President Biden, in wake of Colorado ruling, says Trump ‘no question’ supported an insurrection (Yep, there’s literally zero doubt about this.)
- Biden campaign compares Trump to Hitler in quotes graphic (Accurate.)
- 4 takeaways from the Colorado Supreme Court’s disqualifying Trump
- The Colorado Ruling Calls the Originalists’ Bluff
- The Colorado Ruling Changed My Mind (“The strongest argument for throwing Trump off the ballot is the weakness of the counterarguments.”)
- Trump’s creating just the kind of legal chaos he wants for 2024
- Robert De Niro’s Number One Priority Is Getting Rid of Trump
- The Pitch for a Unity Ticket in 2024 Keeps Getting Weaker (“As it seemingly embraces a 15-week abortion ban, No Labels, the group pitching a third-party alternative, increasingly looks like a Joe Biden spoiler.”)
- Judge says Rudy Giuliani must pay $148 million judgment immediately
- Jan. 6 rioter nabbed in Bumble dating app sting pleads guilty to assaulting officers
- Colorado court’s Trump decision risks blunting Haley momentum (Such a shame, lol.)
- Texas begins flying migrants from southern border to Chicago. The first plane carried over 120 people (Texas is governed by nutjobs.)
- Texas Lt. Gov. Floats Removing Biden From State Ballot in Response to Colorado Dumping Trump (There’s zero legal or constitutional basis to do this.)
- California Lieutenant Guv Eyes Bid to Keep Trump Off State Ballot
- Federal judge blocks California law that would have banned carrying firearms in most public places
- X Suffers Biggest Outage Since Musk’s Takeover
- Harvard Finds More Instances of ‘Duplicative Language’ in President’s Work
- Local forests are failing to produce the next generation of trees
- Warner and Kaine disappointed with end of year in Congress
- Sen. Warner continues push to send more aid to Ukraine, saying the support is ‘absolutely essential’
- Video: Sen. Mark Warner Comments on Ukraine Aid, Immigration Reforms, AI, Metro, the Colorado Supreme Court Ruling on Trump, the Proposed Wizards/Caps Arena, etc.
- Editorial: Northern Virginia arena proposal will succeed or fail on the specifics
- Schapiro: Governor begins long-overdue conversation that’s short on details
- Why Virginia must spend millions on water quality
- Video: Youngkin Presents a Regressive, Harmful Budget, Which Hopefully VA Senate and House Dems Will Treat Accordingly (As Del. Alfonso Lopez puts it, “Budgets are moral documents”; this one by Youngkin really shows his priorities and values.)
- Youngkin budget plan cuts income tax, raises other taxes (He cuts the progressive tax, increases the REGRESSIVE tax. Greeeaaaat.)
- Youngkin exploring repeal of ‘hated’ car tax (So…less money for public education, more money for subsidizing cars?)
- Del. Marcus Simon (D-Falls Church): “Youngkin Ruins Christmas” (“Now, Streaming! Now, Downloads! Now, Sales Tax and More! On, Software! On, Services! Tax them, I implore!”)
- Youngkin proposes Virginia budget that cuts income tax, raises sales tax (This should be dead on arrival.)
- Extreme GOP Bills Demonstrate Why We’re *Really* Fortunate That Glenn Youngkin Didn’t Get a Governing “Trifecta”
- Republican delegate preserves victory in recount of Va. House district
- Republican Kim Taylor wins 82nd district race after recount, Democrats maintain majority in Va. House of Delegates (“Taylor led by 78 votes, out of nearly 29,000 ballots cast, before the recount. The recount narrowed Taylor’s winning margin by 25 votes, according to the Virginia Department of Elections.”)
- Families of executed prisoners want death penalty tapes made public
- Expert: ‘It’s difficult to call Natural Bridge Zoo a zoo’
- Roanoke Mayor Sherman Lea will not run for reelection
- Mulchi and Younger to face off for Southside Virginia Senate seat (Mulchi is a Trump supporter and apparently pals with insurrectionist/extremist John McGuire. Horrible.)
- Confederate memorial removed from Arlington National Cemetery (This is really upsetting far-right Republicans like Glen Sturtevant. Sad!)
- Hospital that initially treated Otieno didn’t meet care standards, investigation says
- D.C.-area forecast: Sunny and cool today with some modest warming into Christmas Day
