Friday News: “Trump is already flexing strongman power in the GOP”; “Crime is a feature, not a bug” of Trumpism; “Senate GOP gripped by discord over Trump-maligned border talks”; “As Youngkin takes an axe to the deep state, what could possibly go wrong?”

by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, January 26.

• Massive Global Study Shows “Rapid and Accelerating” Groundwater Loss (“Which begs the question: ‘Why are we raising very water-intensive crops’ in arid regions?” Greed, stupidity, etc.)
• A dry Panama Canal shows how climate change will scramble globalization
• A Titanic Geopolitical Struggle Is Underway
• Cheap but lethally accurate: how drones froze Ukraine’s frontlines (“Breakthrough for either side is almost impossible, say those in pulverised Kupiansk area”)
• Trump’s Momentum Has World Bracing for Round Two (The world – and US democracy – definitely can’t survive another Trump presidency.)
• Why are European defence leaders talking about war? (“Intractable combat in Ukraine and Middle East has planners fearing the worst, but a returning President Trump would add to the volatility”)
• US ‘disappointed’ that Hungary taking so long to approve Sweden joining Nato (“Washington’s ambassador says Budapest is ‘really alone’ and describes its foreign policy as a ‘fantasy’”)
• Biden to deploy CIA director to help broker major Gaza deal
• The top UN court is set to issue a preliminary ruling in South Africa’s genocide case against Israel (“Israel is set to hear whether the United Nations’ top court will order it to end its military offensive in Gaza during a case filed by South Africa accusing Israel of genocide.”)
• Israel braces for World Court ruling, focuses attack on south Gaza
• Friendly fire and accidents have killed a lot of Israeli soldiers in Gaza. Here’s why (“Nearly 1 in 5 Israeli casualties since the invasion of Gaza were caused by friendly fire or accidents. Experts say it’s one of the highest such percentages in recent military history.”)
• Netanyahu must be removed, top former Israeli national security officials say (Yep, he’s a DISASTER.)
• Israel’s War With Hamas Has No End in Sight
• Scoop: Biden tells Bibi he’s not in it for a year of war in Gaza
• Exclusive: China presses Iran to rein in Houthi attacks in Red Sea, sources say (“Chinese officials have asked their Iranian counterparts to help rein in attacks on ships in the Red Sea by the Iran-backed Houthis, or risk harming business relations with Beijing, four Iranian sources and a diplomat familiar with the matter said.”)
• U.S. Secretly Alerted Iran Ahead of Islamic State Terrorist Attack
• Voting begins in tiny Tuvalu in election that reverberates from China to Australia
• China Signals More Targeted Stimulus to Come
• US Extends Lead Over China in Race for World’s Biggest Economy
• Canadian tar sands pollution is up to 6,300% higher than reported, study finds (“Call for companies to ‘clean up their mess’ as Athabasca oil sands emissions vastly exceed industry-reported levels”)
• EU slams Alabama for nitrogen gas execution
• JN.1 takes over as the most prevalent COVID-19 variant. Here’s what you need to know
• Larry Kudlow Agrees Biden Economy ‘Not as Bad’ as He’s Been Saying (Translation: the Biden econopmy is doing great, but right wingers are desperate not to say so.)
• Biden Freezes Approvals to Export Gas, Imperiling Major Projects
• Biden hits pause on natural gas projects amid thread of carbon ‘mega bombs’
• Almost every kind of energy is booming. Why won’t politicians brag about it?
• It Could Soon Get a Whole Lot Easier to Build Solar in The Western US (“The Biden administration has outlined a plan to streamline the development of solar projects on 22 million acres of land managed by the federal government. It’s part of a series of reforms of BLM management of public lands.”)
• By attacking Biden on climate, the far left risks true disaster with a Trump win (Bingo.)
• The duty to intervene: What news organizations need to do in 2024
• Bidencare Is a Really Big Deal
• Biden Can—and Should—Take Over the Texas National Guard
• Eagle Pass is today’s Fort Sumter. Biden must federalize the Texas National Guard.
• Speaker Johnson backs Abbott’s border ‘invasion’ decree
• Right-wing media escalate civil war rhetoric after Supreme Court rules against Texas in razor wire case
• Trump Strengthens Grip on Capitol Hill as He Presses Toward Nomination
• Trump is already flexing strongman power in the GOP (“Trump’s brisk assertion of his growing power as the likely nominee is a characteristic dismantling of constraints that echoes his behavior in office. He was twice impeached in his single term, which ended after he tried to overturn an election in which voters ejected him from office. It is consistent with Trump’s self-created persona as the strongest person in every room that sustained him through a life in business, reality television and as an ex-president.”)
• McConnell dispels doubts about his commitment to a border-Ukraine deal
• Senate GOP gripped by discord over Trump-maligned border talks
• Republicans Flail On Bipartisan Border Deal After Trump Orders Them To Reject It (“The bill will be ready for a Senate vote as early as next week. The GOP has to decide: obey Trump or tackle the border crisis they’ve been screaming about.”)
• GOP senators seethe as Trump blows up delicate immigration compromise (They need to do a lot more than “seethe!”)
• GOP looks for Plan B on Ukraine with border bill looking DOA
• US border policy deal within reach despite efforts by Trump to derail it, senators say
• McConnell casts doubt on border and Ukraine aid deal as GOP fury threatens both
• Trump Is Setting Border Policy Now??
• A Democrat raised protecting Speaker Johnson in meeting with Biden and congressional leaders
• Trump Had a Very Good Reason to Take the Stand Against E. Jean Carroll
• Why Trump’s followers still love the boss: Crime is a feature, not a bug (“Trump’s true believers will never abandon him. They love his vicious, amoral behavior. It’s time to face that”)
• As 2024 race advances, Trump eyes a new priority: blacklisting
• A new lens into Trump’s legacy of adding to the federal debt
• RNC Moving to Declare Trump Its Presumptive Nominee (So much for democracy.)
• Vote for destruction in November (“The only way to save the GOP from itself? Deliver a crushing 2024 defeat.”)
• Cheney Says Haley Should Stay in G.O.P. Primary Through Super Tuesday
• The GOP primary that could have been (“GOP candidates failed to dislodge Trump from another run. It didn’t have to be this way.”)
• Never Trumpers Never Had a Chance
• Big money fails to stop Trump, prompting a donor reckoning
• Indictments fueled extremists’ support for Trump, survey finds (“Support for democratic norms has gone from ‘bad to worse’ as Trump’s attempt to twist messaging is working”)
• Trump White House official convicted of defying Jan. 6 congressional subpoena will be sentenced (“Trump White House official Peter Navarro, who was convicted of contempt of Congress for refusing to cooperate with a congressional investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, was sentenced on Thursday to four months behind bars.”)
• What are the best pollsters in America?
• Steve Bannon Admits Bank Account May Have Evidence of Fraud
• EXCLUSIVE: Willis, Wade and others expected to be subpoenaed for hearing on Fulton County DA affair allegations
• What Happened When Trump Wasn’t Allowed to Lie (“The former president was no match for a sitting judge.”)
• ‘Preposterous’: Federal judge decries efforts to downplay Jan. 6 violence, label perpetrators ‘hostages’ (“Judge Royce Lamberth, who has handled dozens of Jan. 6 cases, lamented the false rhetoric spread by Donald Trump and his allies”)
• Reagan-appointed judge warns GOP’s ‘preposterous’ claims about Jan. 6 could pose threat
• Scalise aide to Senate GOP: Border deal is dead on arrival in House
• Trump allies jockey to be VP: ‘There’s outright auditions happening’
• Elise Stefanik’s Trump Audition (“Her future now depends on Trump’s—and whether he rewards her loyalty with the prize she so clearly wants.”)
• Apparently the Trump White House Medical Unit Was Handing Pills Out Like Skittles (“A Defense Department report makes the previous administration’s clinic looks like a West Virginia drugstore.”)
• Matt Gaetz Privately Told Colleagues His Real Motivation for Kevin McCarthy Ouster Was Ethics Probe
• Elon Musk Is Spreading Election Misinformation, but X’s Fact Checkers Are Long Gone
• Alabama carries out first U.S. nitrogen gas execution
• House Ethics Committee drops its investigation of Rep. Jamaal Bowman
• Trump’s courtroom appearances force Arizona GOP to cancel ‘Freedom Fest’: report (Every time the right wing uses the word “Freedom,” by the way, they actually mean the exact opposite of freedom.)
• RFK Jr. praises Texas in battle with Biden over border (Of course he does.)
• Greg Abbott Said He’d “Eliminate Rape” to Justify an Abortion Ban. He’s Failed Horribly. (“Thanks to his ban, Texas leads the nation: 26,300 estimated pregnancies as a result of rape.” Abbott is evil.)
• Pennsylvania’s governor says he wants to ‘get s— done.’ He’s made it his slogan, profanity and all
• Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA08): This Morning’s “shockingly excellent” GDP Numbers “just the latest in a string of terrific news showing strong growth in the American economy to begin 2024” (“…policies championed by President Biden and congressional Democrats contributed directly to these positive trends.”)
• As Youngkin takes an axe to the deep state, what could possibly go wrong?
• Three interesting bills: medical debt, mobile home park tenant rights and state data breaches
• Va. Senate passes bill creating $500 fine for leaving handguns visible in vehicles
• FOIA Friday: What constitutes public business, Loudoun settlement disclosures
• Virginia’s new legislation to supercharge broadband availability
• Virginia NAACP Denounces the Rise of Racial Intimidation in Virginia (“[The Youngkin] administration has chosen to back away from the challenge of mitigating racism and inequity”)
• Dems advance bill for marijuana sales, but Youngkin opposes it (Of course he does.)
• Navy rolling out Wi-Fi to 4,000 sailors in pilot program at Norfolk, Portsmouth barracks
• Port of Virginia says it’s now using 100% clean energy
• Richmond saw increase in rapes, murders and domestic violence in 2023 (Overall, the country saw a sharp decline in violent crime in 2023.)
• Crime down in Norfolk in 2023: Chief sets goal of fewer than 40 homicides this year
• New questions raised about future of Patrick County hospital after property owner says it’s ‘considering all options’
• D.C.-area forecast: Unseasonably warm today ahead of more rain this weekend