by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Wednesday, May 8.
- “I could not feel greater despair”: World’s top climate scientists expect global heating to blast past 1.5C target
- Renewable energy passes 30% of world’s electricity supply (“Report says humans may be on brink of cutting fossil fuel generation, even as demand for electricity rises”)
- UN expert attacks ‘exploitative’ world economy in fight to save planet (“Outgoing special rapporteur David Boyd says ‘there’s something wrong with our brains that we can’t understand how grave this is’”)
- Venezuela loses its last glacier as it shrinks down to an ice field (“Scientists reclassify Humboldt glacier, also known as La Corona, after it melted faster than expected”)
- RFK Jr’s ‘history lesson’ on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine flunks the fact test (RFK Jr. is a disgrace to the Kennedy family…and really to humanity in general.)
- GOP senators warn Speaker to stand firm on Greene’s Ukraine demand
- Russian court says US soldier charged with theft causing ‘significant’ damage
- Russia’s biggest airstrike in weeks piles pressure on Ukraine power grid
- Israel reopens key crossing for aid to enter Gaza that was closed over weekend rocket attack
- US concerns over Israel’s Gaza policy led to weapons holdup
- U.S. pauses Israel arms shipment over Rafah assault fears as Biden pushes for a cease-fire deal
- With a Gaza Cease-Fire in the Balance, Netanyahu Maneuvers to Keep Power
- Three Reasons the Campus Protests Are Part of the Problem (“I find the whole thing very troubling, because the dominant messages from the loudest voices and many placards reject important truths about how this latest Gaza war started and what will be required to bring it to a fair and sustainable conclusion…they are virtually all about stopping Israel’s shameful behavior in killing so many Palestinian civilians in its pursuit of Hamas fighters, while giving a free pass to Hamas’s shameful breaking of the cease-fire that existed on Oct. 7… when people chant slogans like ‘liberate Palestine’ and ‘from the river to the sea,’ they are essentially calling for the erasure of the state of Israel, not a two-state solution…The third reason that these protests have become part of the problem is that they ignore the view of many Palestinians in Gaza who detest Hamas’s autocracy.”)
- Going to the extreme: Inside Germany’s far right
- ‘They tortured us’: Rohingya survivors of fatal capsize say captain raped girls, purposely sank boat
- TikTok sues US to block law that could ban the social media platform (“TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance are suing the U.S. over a law that would ban the popular video-sharing app unless it’s sold to another company, arguing that it vaguely paints it as a threat to national security to get around the First Amendment.”)
- Giant Batteries Are Transforming the Way the U.S. Uses Electricity (“They’re delivering solar power after dark in California and helping to stabilize grids in other states. And the technology is expanding rapidly.” So yeah, the fossil fuel industry hacks and “useful idiots” were wrong when they claimed that wind and solar couldn’t provide power when it wasn’t windy or when it was cloudy.)
- Trump’s inflation bomb (Trump’s “second-term plans could make inflation worse.”)
- How Originalism Ate the Law (“America is captive to a legal theory that dictates our laws on guns, abortion, and so much more. We need to act.”)
- Ketanji Brown Jackson Joined the Supreme Court With a Big Idea (“But her attempt to reclaim originalism from conservatives isn’t working.”)
- The Politics of Fear Itself (“Fear is not what’s driving Americans to support Trump—it is, instead, how many justify their support.”)
- “He was bigger and blocking the way”: Stormy Daniels takes the stand and reminds people who Trump is (“Daniels tells a story that echoes what E. Jean Carroll told the jury in Trump’s sexual assault trial”)
- Judge was alarmed by Trump’s response to Daniels testimony, transcripts show (“Justice Juan Merchan called Donald Trump’s lawyer to a sidebar during a break to say that Trump was ‘cursing audibly’ and possibly intimidating Stormy Daniels, who had begun testifying, according to a transcript.”)
- Trump’s trial paints him as a clown — but MAGA sees a boss (“Donald Trump contains multitudes and none of them are good”)
- The Stormy Daniels Testimony Spotlights Trump’s Misogyny (“It’s not that Trump bore any malice toward Daniels; it’s that she mattered to him only as a vehicle to sex.”)
- Stormy Daniels testifies, Trump curses in an angry day in court
- Trump faces jail threat over gag order as prosecutors zero in on transactions at heart of the case
- Opinion: Stormy Daniels clears up hush money events for jury while clouding Trump’s defense
- Stormy Daniels Goes Into Detail, Great Detail, at Donald Trump’s Trial
- Trump’s Mistrial Demand Denied After Stormy Daniels Graphically Details Alleged Stomach-Churning Sex With Him (“I was staring at the ceiling. I didn’t know how I got there.”)
- Trump’s Hush-Money Trial Day 150: Stormy Daniels’ Testimony Was So Raw Trump Asked For a Mistrial
- Hush money trial may be the only one for Trump before November (F’ing crazy. Massive failure by our justice system.)
- Takeaways from Stormy Daniels’ testimony at the Trump hush money trial
- The New York trial is wearing down Trump — and it shows
- Judge Cannon’s secret right-wing getaway: Why didn’t we know about this?
- Judge indefinitely delays Trump’s classified documents trial in Florida (Cannon is a far-right hack, not a serious judge, and definitely shouldn’t be on this case; why the f*** is she???)
- Ex-DOJ Official Shows How Postponing Trump’s Docs Trial May Actually Backfire (“Neal Katyal spotted one positive from the ‘atrocious’ development.”)
- Shameless Judge Cannon May Have Killed Trump’s Classified Docs Case
- Donald Trump to Attend Fundraiser on Day of Barron’s Graduation
- Trump privately urged Greene to drop push to oust Speaker Johnson
- The House GOP’s tenuous attempt to avoid chaos
- Just how low will Republican politicians stoop to be Trump’s running mate? (“The ‘veepstakes’ see prominent Republicans discarding any last shreds of integrity to impress Trump. It’s a grim omen”)
- Video, Transcript: At Holocaust Remembrance Ceremony, President Biden Says “Ferocious Surge of Anti-Semitism” Must Be Combatted; That Hamas’ Atrocities on 10/7 Must Not Be Forgotten (Biden reminds us: Hitler’s “rule didn’t begin with mass murder; it started slowly across economic, political, social and cultural life.”)
- Biden presses cash, staffing advantage against Trump
- “Ripped Apart”: New Biden-Harris 2024 Ad Slams Trump on Anniversary of His Family Separation Policy (“If Trump is reelected, the chaos and cruelty we saw in his first term is the floor: he’ll go even further to attack and demonize immigrants”)
- House Republicans turn to K-12 schools after months of rattling colleges (Republicans hate public education.)
- New York Times editor Joe Kahn says defending democracy is a partisan act and he won’t do it (Kahn is a disgrace to journalism.)
- Boy Scouts of America changing name to more inclusive Scouting America after years of woes
- Sixth victim’s body recovered at Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse site
- Police began clearing GWU protest encampment (“The move came as D.C.’s police chief and mayor are scheduled to testify on Capitol Hill about police’s previous refusal to move on the demonstrators.”)
- DC police clear out GW encampment site as Israel-Hamas protests reach 2-week mark
- Kaine, colleagues introduce bipartisan legislation to strengthen Taiwan defense ties
- Virginia attorney general joins efforts to fight back against Title IX changes (The downgrade in quality for Virginia AG, from the superb Mark Herring to the horrendously bad Jason Miyares, is truly eye-popping.)
- Editorial: The ongoing rise in antisemitism should rally Virginians to action
- General Assembly, Youngkin still have ‘work to do’ on budget compromise
- Balancing Virginia’s energy future: A holistic approach to powering data centers
- Virginia health officials launch ‘surveillance system’ for kids sickened by cannabis
- Virginia Dept. of Ed removes private university’s lab school application before committee review
- Lingering impacts of pandemic leads to higher tax rates in Northern Va. (“Northern Virginia localities have had to find ways to make up for the loss in commercial tax revenue while trying to maintain the quality of schools and other services.”)
- Report: Richmond eviction filings surpass pre-pandemic highs
- No one will take credit for calling state police on UVa campus protesters
- ‘It wasn’t about the tents’: UVa officials say outside agitators, aggressive behavior prompted state police crackdown on protesters (“UVa’s president and police chief say four men dressed in black, carrying backpacks and wearing helmets joined the encampment Friday night and prompted security concerns”)
- Hemp market collapses, frustrating network of Southwest Virginia growers
- Roanoke citizens, Del. Rasoul seek cease-fire for Gaza
- Mountain Valley Pipeline segment ruptures during test
- Agencies mum on Mountain Valley Pipeline’s burst pipe
- Virginia Beach beefs up its proposed $2.6 billion budget with last minute additions
- Russell County votes to close 2 schools to afford raises for teachers
- Retired Portsmouth officer acquitted twice of manslaughter charges sues for malicious prosecution
- D.C.-area forecast: Heating up today with a shower or storm, higher storm chances tomorrow
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