by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, April 26.
- Deadly Dubai floods made worse by climate change
- Can Corals Be Saved? (“As record ocean heat threatens corals off Florida and across the globe, conservationists are shifting their strategy”)
- US preparing to announce $6B in weapons contracts for Ukraine (“The package could be finalized and announced as soon as Friday, and will include Patriot systems.” Give them everything they need to defeat Putin!)
- Arrest of Russian defence minister’s deputy may be strike by rival ‘clan’
- Gaza-based militants attack Israeli forces preparing for US pier (So, these militants don’t want aid to reach Gaza?)
- Share of college students blaming Hamas for Oct. 7 attack on Israel declines in new poll (That’s seriously f’ed up.)
- Egypt sends delegation to Israel, its latest effort to broker a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas
- Egypt Sends Negotiators to Israel, Fearing Time Is Running Out for Rafah
- Mass graves at two hospitals are the latest horrors from Gaza (Horrible.)
- China and US should be partners, not rivals, Xi tells Blinken
- China’s Xi says the U.S. needs to accept Beijing’s rise for bilateral relations to improve
- Choose between stability and ‘downward spiral’ China tells Blinken during Beijing trip
- The US and China spar with warnings about misunderstandings and miscalculations
- Exclusive: ByteDance prefers TikTok shutdown in US if legal options fail, sources say (Sounds like Sen. Mark Warner’s been right all along about ByteDance, TikTok and China.)
- Sudan’s second year of war brings little hope. The world should keep trying anyway. (Why is Sudan getting so much less attention than Israel/Gaza?)
- New rule compels US coal-fired power plants to capture emissions – or shut down (“New EPA directive will cut pollution equivalent to the emissions of 328m cars, but industry group decries it as a ‘reckless plan’” Industry is full of sh**)
- Five Major Climate Policies Trump Would Probably Reverse if Elected (“He has called for increased oil production and said that electric vehicles will result in an ‘assassination’ of jobs.”)
- Trump will dismantle key US weather and science agency, climate experts fear (A Trump presidency would be an unmitigated disaster in every way.)
- Trump Allies Draw Up Plans to Blunt Fed’s Independence (That would also be disastrous.)
- The Supreme Court is playing a dangerous game with women’s health
- SCOTUS majority abandons conservative principles to mount bizarre defense of Trump’s immunity claim (” Elect a president and a congress that are committed to changing the Court before it’s too late. “)
- The Constitution Won’t Save Us From Trump (Nor will our institutions, and anyone who thinks that is terminally naive, clueless, etc.)
- This Whole King Trump Thing Is Getting Awfully Literal
- The wild past 24 hours of Trump legal news, explained (“Trump allies newly indicted in Arizona, testimony continuing in New York, and the Supreme Court hearing arguments in DC.”)
- Donald Trump had a fantastic day in the Supreme Court today (“It’s unclear if the Court will explicitly hold that Trump could commit crimes with impunity, or if they’ll just delay his trial so long that it doesn’t matter.”)
- We’ve Been Entertaining an Illusion About the Supreme Court. It’s Finally Been Shattered.
- Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito Argues Presidents Must Be Allowed to Commit Federal Crimes or Democracy as We Know It Will Be Over
- Oral argument on immunity hints at another Trump trial — but not soon
- King Donald’s Day at the Supreme Court (“A political hit job? A military coup? Trump’s lawyer tests the boundaries of a truly imperial Presidency.”)
- Harvard Law Professor Offers Scathing Summary Of SCOTUS-Trump Arguments (“Laurence Tribe pulled no punches over what he described as a ‘shameful performance by the court.'”)
- Trump Lawyer Argues He Could Legally Order Assassination Of Political Rival
- Trump Lawyer Tells SCOTUS That Even A Military Coup Order Would Be Immune From Prosecution
- Supreme Court Conservatives Likely To Give Trump What He Wants In Immunity Case: Further Delay (“The justices seemed to focus more on hypothetical future cases rather than the case immediately before them.” They suck SO badly.)
- Trump immunity case suggests new role for supreme court: kingmaker
- The Supreme Court Took Up the Question of Whether Staging a Coup Counts as an “Official” Act
- The Supreme Court Goes Through the Looking Glass on Presidential Immunity (Alito and Thomas, in particular, are completely unhinged and have no business being on the US Supreme Court – or ANY court.)
- Supreme Court appears open to some presidential immunity for Trump, risking delays (A sane court would have thrown this out 9-0, immediately.)
- Trump Is Getting What He Wants
- Two Trump courtroom dramas could help shape the tone of a future presidency (Not just the “tone” – very much the SUBSTANCE, in potentially dangerous/disastrous ways.)
- It’s about time to hold Trump in contempt
- In Historic Vote, the FCC Reasserts Its Authority to Protect the Open Internet and Safeguard Online Users
- “Trump Owns This”: On the Airwaves, Women Slam Trump’s Attacks on Reproductive Health Care (“If this is not a topic that you think is going to touch you or doesn’t touch you currently, it absolutely will.”)
- Video: Donald Trump, Disgusting and Warped as Always, Calls August 2017 Neo-Nazi March in Charlottesville “a little peanut,” “nothing” (Tellingly, this pathetic excuse for a human being has been endorsed for president by Glenn Youngkin, Jen Kiggans, Jason Miyares, etc.)
- Trump: Charlottesville rally was a “little peanut” compared to pro-Palestinian protests
- The GOP’s “Election Integrity” Lawyer Was Just Indicted for Election Subversion
- CNN Poll: Few think Trump is being treated the same as other defendants
- Trump’s lawyers will grill ex-tabloid publisher as first week of hush money trial testimony wraps
- Fox News’ failed attempt to use Hunter Biden to gin up an impeachment of his father, by the numbers (“Fox mentioned Hunter Biden over 13,000 times in 16 months. Now the related impeachment probe is on life support.” This is how right-wing media works to create a narrative, even if it’s total nonsense – repetition, repetition, repetition.)
- Republicans Add Fuel to the Fire as Student Arrests Sweep College Campuses
- As some universities negotiate with pro-Palestinian protesters, others quickly call the police
- The Campus-Left Occupation That Broke Higher Education (“Elite colleges are now reaping the consequences of promoting a pedagogy that trashed the postwar ideal of the liberal university.”)
- Trump VP contender Kristi Noem writes of killing dog – and goat – in new book (Noem is a horrible, horrible person.)
- The 10 Thirstiest Members of Congress
- DeSantis: Florida ‘will not comply’ with new Biden Title IX rules (DeSantis is Youngkin’s role-model governor; don’t ever forget that.)
- USC cancels ‘main stage’ commencement ceremony
- Bill that could lead to prosecution of librarians advances in Alabama House (Appalling.)
- Tennessee lawmakers OK bill criminalizing adults who help minors receive gender-affirming care (Totally f’ed up.)
- Texas prosecutor appeals ruling that tossed Crystal Mason’s voting fraud conviction (Disgusting, aimed at voter intimidation and suppression.)
- Ex-athletic director framed principal with AI-generated voice, police say (Very, very disturbing.)
- Metro’s board approves budget, averts disastrous service cuts
- Video and a Few Thoughts on Last Night’s VA07 Democratic Forum
- General Assembly updates relationships with federal Virginia Indian tribes
- Virginia Board of Education Announces 2023-2024 Exemplar Performance School Awards (37 schools earn the Highest Achievement Award; 27 schools earn the Continuous Improvement Award)
- FOIA Friday: Unsealed cannabis warrants and ‘highly variable’ transparency policies (“What Virginia officials withheld or disclosed, April 19–April 26, 2024 “)
- Virginia Board of Education approves $25.4M for six new lab schools
- More lab schools approved, but not without some controversy
- Pope & Schapiro: Primaries in the near and not-too-distant future
- Pro arena proposal was likely just a ‘bargaining chip’
- Editorial: Hampton, Newport News take aim at climate change and wealth inequality
- Roanoke named a ‘welcoming city’ for immigrants, 100 years after the U.S. tried to shut the doors to many
- Commentary: I voted for Youngkin. Now he has turned his back on my business.
- No more ‘Mason’ or ‘GMU’: George Mason University reveals new logo, branding (Uh, “GM” is General Motors.)
- Norfolk cruise center getting multiple upgrades ahead of year-round traffic
- Before picking Cordish casino, Petersburg letter said city preferred Bally’s (Seems totally on the up-and-up, huh?)
- Parents, teachers beg Russell County not to close 2 elementary schools during emotional public hearing (The headline should read, “During emotional hearing, parents, teachers beg…”)
- D.C.-area forecast: Cool for next couple of days before a taste of summer (“On Sunday, we transition from below-average to above-average temperatures.”)
********************************************************
Sign up for the Blue Virginia weekly newsletter
