by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Thursday, April 11.
- Sick, hot world: Climate change favors disease vectors, threatening to unleash more pandemics (“Ticks, mosquitos, viruses and fungi all thrive as we cook the planet. Here’s how we can stop their spread”)
- World’s coal power capacity rises despite climate warnings (“Increase of 2% last year driven by plant expansion in China and slowdown in US and Europe closures” Ugh, horrible.)
- Ocean Heat Has Shattered Records for More Than a Year. What’s Happening?
- Climate Ruling by European Court Sharpens Paris Agreement’s Teeth
- The Vatican’s new statement on trans rights undercuts its attempts at inclusion (“This is the Newsmax version of Catholic theology.”)
- The Other Russian Dissident Putting His Life on the Line (“Vladimir Kara-Murza, a journalist-turned-political operative, concluded that sacrificing himself would be the price he would have to pay to galvanize opposition to President Vladimir Putin.”)
- Russian strikes hit Odesa on city’s liberation day
- Without More Aid, Ukraine Could Lose the War, U.S. General Says
- Ukraine’s parliament passes a controversial law to boost much-needed conscripts and fill army ranks
- The Very High Stakes of Failing to Help Ukraine
- Russian air strikes destroy major Kyiv power plant, damage other stations (This is partly House Republicans’ and Trump’s fault.)
- Walls close in on Netanyahu over Rafah invasion (“The walls are closing in around Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is under immense pressure from the U.S. to avoid a civilian catastrophe in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah, but is under threat from far-right members of his coalition, who want a decisive offensive against Hamas in its final stronghold. “)
- Israeli Rage Reaches New Levels (“Protesters believe they cannot change Hamas, but they might be able to change their own government.”)
- US Sees Imminent Missile Strike on Israel by Iran, Proxies (“The potential assault, possibly using high-precision missiles, may happen in the coming days.”)
- Famine Has Begun in Northern Gaza, U.S. Official Says
- Hamas says it doesn’t have 40 living hostages matching criteria for deal with Israel, sources say
- US vows support for Israel amid Iran attack fears
- Tim Kaine: Biden knows Netanyahu ‘played’ him in early months of Gaza war (“I think he is enormously frustrated that he’s been trying to give advice, not like a foe would give it – ‘I think this is better for you if you listen to me. I’m not just saying this is better for me; I’m saying this will be better for you.’”)
- US Ramps Up Ties With Japan, Philippines to Counter China at Sea
- Biden and Kishida Agree to Tighten Military and Economic Ties to Counter China
- Japan Gives Washington 250 Cherry Trees as Replacements (“The trees will replace 140 that will be torn up as part of a restoration project. The capital’s first Japanese cherry trees were a gift from the mayor of Tokyo in 1912.”)
- South Korea’s opposition wins in landslide parliamentary elections
- The ‘supercore’ inflation measure shows Fed may have a real problem on its hands
- Biden races to commit billions to climate action as election looms
- Utilities Use Customers’ Money to Advance Fossil Fuels. This Coalition Aims to Stop Them.
- America’s 806 Billionaires Are Now Richer Than Half the Population Combined—a Lot Richer (We need much more progressive taxation.)
- Trump Allies Try to Convince Supreme Court He’d Never Order Hit on Rival
- Trump faces do-or-die moment with hush money trial
- Trump loses third bid this week to delay hush money trial
- What to know about Trump’s New York charges — and any potential sentence
- U.S. voters take Trump’s hush money charges seriously: Poll
- Donald Trump’s first criminal trial is nearly here — and he’s already starting to melt down
- Former Trump executive Allen Weisselberg sentenced to 5 months in jail for lying in civil fraud case (The Trump Organization is a massive criminal enterprise.)
- Trump Media director accused of ‘hacking’ files in attempted corporate ‘coup’: lawsuit
- Trump can’t escape the firestorm over abortion rights — just like Joe Biden hoped
- Arizona’s abortion ban is a political nightmare for Republicans in the 2024 election
- How Biden’s campaign plans to pummel Trump on abortion (“The reelect is going to spend the next half year publicizing the testimonials of those affected by harsh new state abortion laws.”)
- How Florida and Arizona Supreme Court rulings change the abortion access map
- Arizona pushes abortion to centre stage of 2024
- Trump’s conflicting abortion stances are coming back to haunt him – and his party (Look at his ACTIONS, including nominating Supreme Court justices who voted to overturn Roe v Wade)
- Trump, GOP scramble to contain abortion ‘earthquake’
- Kari Lake and her fellow Republicans can’t run from Arizona’s draconian abortion ban (“Pretending to be moderate is a lot harder when Democrats can just roll tape showcasing Christian right radicalism”)
- Religious Right Takes Aim at Public Education, with Implications Nationwide (Including in Virginia) (“At the very least, the Church should fix its own house before it asks taxpayers to build it an annex.”)
- GOP Reps Have a Familiar Strategy for Trump Trial: Whatabout Hunter Biden? (Yep, “whataboutism”)
- The Media Did Not Make Up Trump’s Russia Scandal (“Liberal bias mostly exists outside politics coverage.” When it comes to politics, the media overwhelming is biased towards Republicans, given its “both sides”/false equivalence b.s. “journalism”)
- GOP rages over FISA as deadline inches closer
- Johnson stares down a serious threat to his speakership (“Johnson has made plans to trek down to Mar-a-Lago on Friday to appear at a joint news conference with Trump”)
- Crenshaw says Greene’s expulsion threat for ‘attention,’ doesn’t have much support
- Marjorie Taylor Greene’s GOP Colleagues Wish She Would STFU About Ousting Mike Johnson (“Nobody cares what Marjorie Taylor Greene says or thinks.”)
- Marjorie Taylor Greene stands by threat to oust Johnson after “passionate” meeting
- Mike Johnson to hold “election integrity” presser with Trump (Mike Johnson has ZERO business being Speaker.)
- Team Biden-Harris Launches Out for Biden-Harris; “LGBTQ+ rights are human rights, and we’re going to keep fighting for equality and justice for all people.”
- President Biden Speaks Directly with Latino Community in Univision Interview (“Latinos have a fighter in [Joe Biden].”)
- What Is RFK Jr. After, Really? (“The 2024 independent presidential hopeful, whose rhetoric and campaign keeps on getting Trumpier, has long been accused of playing spoiler.”)
- Nebraska Republicans float special session to revive Trump-backed election rule change
- How the G.O.P. Molded the Arizona Court That Upheld the Abortion Ban
- Shouts of ‘Shame! Shame!’ erupt in Arizona House as fight over abortion ban engulfs lawmakers
- Arizona Democrats Tried To Repeal 1864 Abortion Ban, But Were Shot Down By GOP (“By their actions, the message from this chamber is that they are so pro-life they will kill you”)
- Arizona Republicans Thwart Attempts to Repeal 1864 Abortion Ban
- Fox News buries court decision implementing a near-total abortion ban in Arizona
- Police Report: Trump County Chair Threatened To Rape Boss’s Wife, Then Kill Him
- North Carolina 2024: Trump On Upside Of Too-Close-To-Call Race, Quinnipiac University North Carolina Poll Finds; Governor’s Race: Stein Leads Robinson 52% – 44%
- ‘Save Democracy’ Democrats Look to Win Primaries on Anti-Trump Sentiment (“In the next three months, voting in three Mid-Atlantic House districts will test the strength of Jan. 6 memories and whether the battle cry will be enough.” That includes VA07.)
- Shooting at Ramadan event in West Philadelphia leaves 3 injured, 5 in custody, police say
- The D.C. region needs to build 87 new homes per day. It’s not close. (“Fairfax County, the most populous jurisdiction in the region, is on pace to build only 36 percent of its target.” Yikes, that’s really bad.)
- How one city pulled public transit from the brink — and what the rest of the country can learn from it (“WMATA’s strategy has been successful so far: In February, ridership across the system was at 83 percent of pre-pandemic levels, and DC has now seen a faster transit recovery than any other major metro area with a comparable public transportation network.”)
- Longtime McAuliffe aide to lead Biden campaign in Virginia
- Biden-Harris Campaign Picks “uber-caffeinated, highly organized ‘happy warrior’” Jake Rubenstein as 2024 Virginia Campaign Manager (Along with Tyee Mallory and Tonya James, this team shows President Biden’s “commitment to winning Virginia”)
- Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-VA02), VA07 GOP Candidate Derrick Anderson Stand With Those Responsible For Arizona Abortion Ban (Do Kiggans or Anderson “think an 1864 abortion ban makes the country better? Women in Virginian certainly do not. “)
- CASEY: Bizarre MAGA-fealty battle brews in Virginia congressional primary contest
- “What was thought to be a pledge of extra funding from Richmond for Metro essentially was taken back [by Youngkin]” (VA Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell: “If the Governor truly cares about attracting and keeping high paying jobs in Virginia, funding WMATA needs to be a Commonwealth priority.”)
- State lawmakers are working to reorganize Virginia’s workforce development efforts
- Governor amends, vetoes and signs energy, environment bills
- Here are the places that would be banned from ‘skill’ games under Youngkin’s amendment (“The governor proposes a 35-mile exclusion zone around existing gaming facilities. That bans games in most of the state’s metro areas except for Lynchburg, Charlottesville and the Shenandoah Valley.”)
- Editorial: Virginia’s worst-in-the-nation mail service demands remedies, accountability
- Youngkin gets mixed reviews on final criminal justice reform actions of 2024 session
- Birth control access bill ‘gutted’ by Youngkin, Hampton Roads delegate says
- UVA conference to address health risks linked to hotter weather
- As Virginia Muslims celebrate Eid, Henrico announces holiday leave flexibility
- ‘Shocking’ failures led to shooting of Richneck teacher by 6-year-old
- Richneck shooting probe: Boy’s gun jammed; deputies were unable to enter building; child left in reception area
- Every seat on Richmond City Council is up for grabs in November
- Danny Avula announces run for Richmond mayor
- D.C.-area forecast: Gusty downpours today and staying windy into the weekend
