by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, March 15.
- Putin Puts Clash With West at Center of Presidential Election
- As Putin Pitches His Vision, Russian Voters Avert Their Gaze From the War (Disgusting.)
- Putin Digs In to Divide World Order as He Conquers at Home (“Russia’s longest-serving leader since Stalin is all but certain to win another term as president this weekend just as the war in Ukraine turns in his favor.”)
- Russians begin voting in election Putin is bound to win (It’s not in any way/shape/form a free or fair – or legitimate – election.)
- Using coercion, Russia has successfully imposed its citizenship in Ukraine’s occupied territories
- Putin is in it to win it in Ukraine. Are we?
- Opposition urges Russians to fulfill Navalny’s ‘last wish’
- Don’t lose sight of the other Navalnys
- Israel faces crisis of its own making as chaos and hunger engulf Gaza (“The crisis in northern Gaza, current and former officials say, stems from Israel’s failure to develop a workable postwar strategy, or to plan for the consequences of an open-ended military occupation.”)
- Schumer’s anti-Netanyahu speech stuns Israel (Not sure why it would “stun” them – Netanyahu is very unpopular, for good reason.)
- Scoop: Israel assures U.S. weapons used in Gaza according to international law
- A speech that sent shockwaves from Washington to Jerusalem
- Aid ship carrying 200 tons of food supplies arrives off the coast of Gaza
- The first ship to use a new sea route approaches Gaza with 200 tons of aid
- Israel downplays truce prospects after Hamas response
- Little Is Expected of the New Palestinian Prime Minister
- Morning Report — Schumer sparks uproar with Israel critique
- Hamas presents ceasefire proposal detailing exchange of hostages, prisoners
- With Schumer’s Israel remarks, the American gloves are off
- Why Chuck Schumer’s Break With Netanyahu Seems Like a Turning Point in the U.S. Relationship With Israel
- The battle between farmers in West Bank pitting Israel against the US (“The US has announced sanctions against three more Israeli settlers in the West Bank.”)
- Hezbollah tells Iran it would fight alone in any war with Israel
- Biden is coming out in opposition to plans to sell US Steel to a Japanese company
- China Signals Opposition to Forced Sale of TikTok in the U.S.
- Giorgia Meloni’s plan to run Europe — and befriend Donald Trump (“The Italian prime minister is courting Trump and preparing to tilt European policy her way.” Nightmare.)
- Coal Power Plunged Again in 2023 and Is Fading Away in the U.S. So What Replaces It? (“Natural gas has filled most of the void left by the decline of U.S. coal power, but that’s not a long-term solution.”)
- Supreme Betrayal — A requiem for Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment
- At Abortion Clinic Visit, Harris Says U.S. Is Confronting ‘Health Care Crisis’
- Harris visits Planned Parenthood clinic: ‘We have to be a nation that trusts women’
- Harris’s dogged fight for abortion rights should scare Republicans
- Republicans want to stay away from the IVF issue. Abortion foes won’t let them.
- Mitch McConnell Urges Courts To Ignore New Rules Meant To Prevent ‘Judge-Shopping’ (McConnell is evil.)
- Republicans take aim at new move by judiciary to curb ‘judge-shopping’ (Republicans have zero respect for the rule of law; they want to handpick the judges who hear their cases.)
- The Courts Let Trump Run Out The Clock When He Was President. They’re Doing It Again. (“When Trump was in office, the federal judiciary failed to handle cases that involved him in a timely fashion. It’s happening again with his criminal trials.”)
- Trump’s Manhattan Criminal Trial May Be Delayed by at Least One Month as He Continues Multidecade Streak of Never Being Held Accountable for Anything
- Voters don’t have a clue about how much worse Trump’s second term would be
- Trump makes radical overhaul of RNC at furious pace
- RNC Hires Prominent 2020 Election Denier as Its “Election Integrity” Lawyer (“Former OAN reporter Christina Bobb was involved in the fake elector scheme—and so much more.”)
- I Listened to Trump’s Rambling, Unhinged, Vituperative Georgia Rally—and So Should You (“The ex-President is building a whole new edifice of lies for 2024.”)
- Opinion: Trump’s praise of dictators tells us all we need to know
- Trump goes on a weird riff about acid — again
- “Experts are desperate to warn the public”: Hundreds sign Dr. John Gartner’s Trump dementia petition
- “That is frightening”: Legal analyst thinks Judge Cannon signaling she may “get rid” of Trump case
- Judge rejects bid by Donald Trump to throw out classified documents case on constitutional grounds
- Judge denies one of Trump’s motions to dismiss classified documents case
- Manhattan D.A. Offers to Delay Trump Hush-Money Trial for Review of Records
- Ruling Expected Friday on Effort to Disqualify Trump Prosecutors in Georgia
- The Christian Right’s Imaginary Nation
- A rhetoric expert on how Biden can hit Trump where it hurts (“‘Biden’s base wants a competent leader; Trump’s base wants a strong man authoritarian. Trump is neither,’ Jennifer Mercieca says.”)
- Mike Johnson, the First Proudly Trumpian Speaker (“Though he has adopted a ‘nerd constitutional-law guy’ persona, he is in lockstep with the law-flouting former President.”)
- Trump sneakers and the MAGA uniform: Merchandising fascism to the mainstream (“MAGA merchandise is a way of creating meaning among the faithful just as the walls close in on Donald Trump”)
- Ex-Trump White House official convicted of contempt must report to prison, appeals court finds
- No Labels announces committee to select presidential candidate (These people can seriously f*** themselves.)
- Don’t Think of It as a Contest Between Biden and Trump (“We already know that Donald Trump’s main targets for his second term are American democracy and the American constitutional order. For Trump, the basics of American governance — separation of powers, an independent civil service and the popular selection of elected officials — are a direct obstacle to his desire to protect himself, enrich himself and extend his personalized rule as far over the country as possible.”)
- A House Divided: House Republicans Retreat From GOP Retreat
- Biden’s budget calls the bluff of supposed GOP budget hawks
- Anti-LGBTQ Senate Candidate Faces GOP Worries That He Could Be Linked To Adult Website Profile (“Bernie Moreno — who has shifted from a public supporter of LGBTQ rights to a hardline opponent — vaulted into the top tier with a Donald Trump endorsement.”)
- GOP nominee to run North Carolina public schools called for violence against Democrats, including executing Obama and Biden (Many Republicans seem to glorify and advocate for violence. Disturbing.)
- Rep. Matt Gaetz subpoenaed in defamation suit by woman he allegedly had sex with as minor: Sources
- Is There Something More Radical than MAGA? J.D. Vance Is Dreaming It. (Vance is definitely a fascist; the question is, why on earth did Ohio voters elect him???)
- RFK Jr. and Aaron Rodgers: How con artists exploit male insecurity for political gain (“Voting for muscle-bound conspiracy theorists will not quell the nagging fear of mediocrity” Totally f’ed-up people who desperately need psychological help.)
- Aaron Rodgers, RFK Jr.’s Potential VP Pick, Allegedly Said Sandy Hook Was a Hoax (Insane person.)
- X Removes Graphic Video Elon Musk Shared Over Rules Violation
- Father of school gunman convicted of manslaughter (“For the first time parents are convicted of manslaughter over their child’s role in a shooting in the US.”)
- Video: Sen. Mark Warner Says Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu “was not shy about trying to interfere in American politics” (“…if an election were held, I don’t think Prime Minister Netanyahu would be returned to power.”)
- Youngkin slams Democrats on taxes, arena, even as he asks for dialogue (How do you work with someone like this nasty, dishonest slimeball?)
- Youngkin says he won’t support a budget proposal that increases taxes (Youngkin himself had proposed a significant sales tax increase. Now he’s changed his tune?)
- Youngkin won’t rule out budget veto
- Trump-Endorsing Right-Wingnut Glenn Youngkin Announces Vetoes on 20 Democratic Bills That Would Have Made Things Better for Virginians (Because…”reasons”)
- Gov. Youngkin vetoes bill mandating state environmental justice council vacancies be filled
- VPAP’s 2024 Virginia General Assembly “Batting Averages”…Presented with the Usual Slew of Caveats (Overwhelmingly, the highest “batting averages” this year were by Dems, with some truly abysmal performances by some of the most hard-right/MAGA Republicans.)
- After WaPo Article on Potomac Yard Arena Assumptions of $75 Parking, $731-Per-Night Hotel Rooms, etc. Sen. Louise Lucas Says She’s “flabbergasted” at This “bad deal for Virginia” (“No-brainer and anybody with 2 cents worth of common sense would agree.” – Sen. Lucas)
- Q&A: Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin says he’s ‘working on’ resurrecting Wizards, Capitals arena plan in budget (“I do have the ability to reintroduce the bill as part of the budget process. And we’ll work on getting ready to do that before the legislative session.”)
- $730 rooms, $75 parking: Youngkin’s own report calls arena forecasts rosy
- Editorial: Marijuana market legislation should earn Gov. Youngkin’s signature
- $7 million in federal funding for Coalfields Expressway project is well-timed, official says
- FOIA Friday: Costs of withheld UVA shooting report and reflections on Virginia FOIA’s evolution
- Democratic legislators oppose Dominion’s proposed Chesterfield natural gas plant
- In landmark vote, Loudoun County rejects data center proposal citing energy concerns
- Friends of Chesterfield Praises Central Virginia Delegation for Opposition to Dominion’s Proposed Gas Plant
- How a Virginia company is helping homeowners navigate energy efficiency – and add up the rewards (“Pearl Certification, known for its green seal of approval for energy efficient homes, has released a free calculator to help homeowners navigate Inflation Reduction Act tax credits and rebates.”)
- Contempt case against Norfolk Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi dismissed after apology to judge
- Norfolk’s shortage of affordable housing is growing. Study recommends trust fund.
- Entanglement of Indigenous people, settlers being reassessed at Jamestown (“Virginia tribal members seeking more control over artifacts.”)
- D.C.-area forecast: Warm with showers and storms likely later today
********************************************************
Sign up for the Blue Virginia weekly newsletter
