by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Thursday, January 8.
- World breaches 1.5C warming threshold for full year (We need to get off of fossil fuels – ASAP!)
- The problem with social media is that it exists at all (“The world would be a better place without social media.”)
- Ukraine Worries About Losing Its Biggest Weapon: U.S. Military Aid
- Putin challenger barred from Russia’s election (“Russia’s election commission has rejected anti-war challenger Boris Nadezhdin as a presidential candidate.” F’ing joke.)
- Why the Kremlin Opened Its Doors to Tucker Carlson (“The former Fox News host has spent nearly the past two years defending Vladimir Putin and souring Republican support for Ukraine.”)
- Front-line Ukrainian infantry units report acute shortage of soldiers
- Putin interview with Tucker Carlson shows Kremlin outreach to Trump’s GOP (No patriotic American should vote for the Trump GOP – they’re a bunch of traitors.)
- Russia Is Boosting Calls for ‘Civil War’ Over Texas Border Crisis (Putin wants to destroy America, and he’s got some allies in the US – overwhelmingly on the far right, MAGA/Trump side…)
- Schumer gives Senate GOP “the night” to decide on Ukraine aid
- The Senate eyes new plan on Ukraine, Israel aid after collapse of border package (Republicans shouldn’t have blocked Ukraine aid – or tied it to the border – in the first place!)
- Senate GOP blocks border deal; future of Ukraine, Israel aid unclear
- Senate Republicans officially block foreign aid bill with border changes
- US Senate to vote on standalone foreign aid package including Ukraine (“After failure of previous bill that also included border security measures, new bill focuses on military assistance for Ukraine and Israel and humanitarian funds for Gaza and West Bank”)
- Benjamin Netanyahu Says Israeli Military Will Push Into Crowded Area in Gaza
- Blinken ends latest Mideast mission after new Israeli snub of proposed Gaza ceasefire plan
- Guarding the Middle East’s most dangerous border (“Clashes between Israel and Hezbollah are intensifying as the risk of a wider regional conflict grows.”)
- ‘The destruction is massive … It’s a disaster area’: Israeli soldiers speak about fighting in Gaza
- Iraq condemns drone strike on militant commander blamed for planning attacks on U.S. forces
- U.S. Kills Militia Leader Behind Drone Attack (“A U.S. drone strike killed a senior commander of the Iran-backed group Kataib Hezbollah that was responsible for the attack on a U.S. base in Jordan”)
- Iraq issues warning to US after drone strike kills militia commander in Baghdad
- In China, Deflation Tightens Its Grip
- Pakistan Suspends Cellphone Service as Voting Begins in Turbulent Election
- Monarch butterfly numbers dip to second lowest level in Mexico wintering grounds (“Experts say the endangered insect numbers fell by 59% this year, blaming pesticide use and climate change for the reduction” UGH.)
- Immigration to Boost US GDP by $7 Trillion Over Decade, CBO Says
- Republicans kill border bill in a sign of Trump’s strength and McConnell’s waning influence
- The Biden administration is considering executive action to deter illegal migration at the southern border
- EPA Reports “Widespread Noncompliance” With the Nation’s First Regulations on Toxic Coal Ash
- Biden sets tighter standards for deadly soot pollution from tailpipes, smokestacks
- Mike Johnson’s Spectacular Day of Failure (The guy’s a wacko, extremist, incompetent buffoon. The quintessential Trump Republican, in other words!)
- Morning Report — Can Republicans clean up after their ‘mess’?
- GOP airing frustrations in wake of embarrassing defeats
- Johnson Stumbles, Deepening Republican Disarray and His Own Challenges
- GOP leaders face unrest amid chaotic, bungled votes
- Speaker Johnson: We Were Counting on Democrat to Be In Emergency Surgery During Impeachment Vote (Pathetic.)
- House Republicans Suddenly Miss Kevin McCarthy After All That Losing
- Biden’s unlikely Republican surrogates (“The Biden campaign is strategically harnessing sound bites from top Republicans in Congress — some seething, some celebrating — to bolster its arguments about the collapse of the Senate’s border bill”)
- What to expect when Supreme Court weighs whether to disqualify Trump from office
- US supreme court hearing focuses on Trump’s eligibility for 2024 election
- SCOTUS may not escape Trump case unscathed
- The Supreme Court hears landmark election case seeking to kick Trump off ballot over Capitol attack
- Trump’s Supreme Court Ballot Argument Posits That Jefferson Davis Wasn’t an Insurrectionist Either (This crap needs to be laughed out of court – literally LAUGHED out of the damn courtroom!)
- Trump hopes semantics will save him at the Supreme Court
- Of course Trump’s Supreme Court lawyer is the same guy behind Texas’ sadistic abortion ban (“For Jonathan Mitchell, gutting democracy is the means, but controlling women is the motive”)
- The Trump Ballot Case Is This Generation’s Brown v. Board of Education
- Why Trump 2.0 could be a ‘death knell’ for wind power (“Eric Beightel, one of the Biden administration’s top infrastructure officials, worries that the ex-president’s return would be “catastrophic” for clean energy projects — especially offshore wind.”)
- Biden: Trump Is An ‘Existential Threat’ To America (100% accurate.)
- Trump plans to press immunity defense in classified documents case despite defeat in appeals court
- Judge denies Trump’s motion for mistrial in E. Jean Carroll defamation case
- Judge denies Trump’s motion for mistrial
- Bill that could ban Trump from Hawaii ballot passes first test
- Welcome Back to the Chaos of the Trump Era (“Yesterday provided a small glimpse of the madness to come.”)
- Domination or Dissolution, Rule or Ruin
- House Democrats prepare to fight GOP encore on Mayorkas impeachment (The media continues to fail on this story; they should point out in EVERY headline that the Mayorkas impeachment is TOTAL BULLSHIT by far-right Republicans. That’s just reality.)
- ‘Ironic’: Haley Criticizes Trump for Engineering a Skewed Primary Process
- Loyalty is a one-way street in Donald Trump’s GOP. Just ask Ronna McDaniel
- Special counsel Robert Hur has completed report on Biden’s handling of classified documents, Garland says
- Biden Aides Rush Back to Michigan as Supporters Fume Over Gaza Deaths
- Marianne Williamson suspends her presidential campaign, ending long-shot primary challenge to Biden (Bye!)
- Gaetz ousted McCarthy. Now he’s moving on to another House GOP target.
- After Libs of TikTok posted, at least 21 bomb threats followed (Stochastic terrorism.)
- Florida School Requires Permission Slip for Kids to Participate in Black History Month Events, Citing Ron DeSantis’s “Parents’ Bill of Rights”
- Florida Supreme Court hears arguments over an abortion rights ballot measure
- Sen. Mark Warner: “Today’s vote begs the question: are there any serious Republican legislators left?” (“It is preposterous that my colleagues on the other side of the aisle would vote against bipartisan legislation to address the situation at the southern border – the very issue they’ve obsessed over for months.”)
- Video: Far-Right-Extremist US Senate Candidate in Virginia, Scott Parkinson, Falsely Claims the “Plus” in LGBTQ+ Stands For “Minor-Attracted People – Pedophiles”
- Prince William County Supervisor Andrea Bailey Announces Candidacy to Succeed Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA07); Endorsed by Former Gov. Ralph Northam (Bailey joins Briana Sewell, Eugene Vindman, Elizabeth Guzman and Margaret Angela Franklin in the Dem primary)
- In Virginia, 15 candidates are vying to succeed Spanberger in Congress (“More than four months out from the primary, the contest to succeed Rep. Abigail Spanberger in Virginia’s 7th Congressional District is getting awfully crowded.”)
- Schapiro: Primaries within primaries decide nominations (“Fully underway are the important preliminaries for settling the Democratic and Republican nominations for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general.”)
- Lawsuit over Virginia’s departure from RGGI can continue, court rules (“More than $827M in RGGI proceeds have been used to fund energy efficiency and flood preparedness programs in Virginia.”)
- An assault weapons ban likely headed to the governor’s desk
- Major Gun Violence Prevention Legislation Passes in Senate and House of Delegates (Bills Would Ban Assault Weapons, Auto Sears, and Ghost Guns; Require Secure Firearm Storage; Protect Victims of Domestic Violence, and More)
- House panel rejects 2 measures to restrict abortion access
- Virginia House Democrats block laws that would limit abortion
- Virginia Senate considers bill to limit some local authority to regulate short-term rentals
- Female workers sue Virginia prison agency, claiming body searches discriminate against women
- Virginia ban on ‘addictive feeds’ advances over industry pushback
- Legislation cracking down on noisy leaf blowers is dead for this session (They’re not just “noisy,” they’re highly polluting and environmentally damaging in other ways.)
- Virginia lawmakers seek to end tax break for Confederate heritage group
- A safer Virginia Capitol and a stronger democracy: progress that needs protection
- Va. commission to review mandatory insurance coverage for “devastating” childhood disease
- In 2024, will Virginia finally address its poor outcomes for children in foster care?
- Virginia inmate continues 44-day hunger strike to protest solitary confinement
- Fairfax County police to use Spider-Man-like lassos to subdue suspects (“The county is giving all its patrol officers access to BolaWraps, which shoot Kevlar lassos to wrap up unruly subjects.”)
- Virginia Union receives $42M to help develop Northside housing
- Four young elk were killed on a new highway. Virginia is trying to help the growing herd.
- Youngkin administration play to change policy for transgender high school athletes falls short in Charlottesville
- Norfolk airport planning nearly $700 million in construction projects after record-breaking 2023
- Editorial: Withholding details about fishing pier crash doesn’t serve public’s interest
- D.C.-area forecast: A strong warming trend into the weekend (“Temperatures could top 60 Friday through Sunday.”)
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