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by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, November 22.
- Cop 29 live: call for $1.3tn in climate finance by 2035 in new draft text
- US and India lead G20 on climate action, report says (“Exclusive: world’s biggest emitters making most progress in introducing policies, study shows, but emissions still set to rise by 2.7C” That’s a disaster.)
- Agriculture and Food Get Their Day—Again—at the Annual UN Climate Summit (“Governments and advocacy groups are urgently pushing countries to address greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture, especially livestock production.”)
- ‘A blank piece of paper’: Here’s why the U.N. climate talks are in trouble (“A draft deal unveiled at the U.N. Climate Change Conference could disappoint many delegates from countries most vulnerable to the ravages of a warming world.”)
- How will China impact the future of climate change? You might be surprised
- Is the war in Ukraine escalating or headed toward an endgame? (“Allowing Ukraine to use US Atacms missiles for deep strikes may be worth the risk if it hastens negotiations”)
- Russia’s use of a nuclear-capable missile is a clear departure from Cold War doctrine of deterrence
- Ukraine’s double challenge: Russia’s advance and the return of Trump
- Steve Rosenberg: After days of escalation, what will Putin do next?
- Nato says it won’t be deterred from supporting Ukraine, as Russia deploys new weapon
- Putin touts Russia’s new missile and delivers a menacing warning to NATO (Of course, NATO is *far* stronger than Russia economically and militarily. If it weren’t for Russia having nuclear weapons, it would be a total joke, pretty much.)
- US intelligence warns defense companies of Russian sabotage threat
- US Sanctions Gazprombank to Squeeze Russian Gas Exports
- Russia-Ukraine war live: Kremlin says hypersonic missile strike on Ukraine was warning to the west
- Russian ballistic missile attack a ‘severe escalation’, says Zelenskyy (“Ukrainian president appeals for tough global response, as Nato accuses Vladimir Putin of trying to intimidate Kyiv’s allies”)
- Biden’s shift on missiles for Ukraine informed by North Korean troops in Kursk, Trump’s election victory
- ICC Issues War-Crimes Arrest Warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant Over Gaza War
- Analysis: ICC warrants ‘major blow to Israel’s standing’
- ‘This Helps Netanyahu’: Israelis Rally Around Netanyahu Over Warrant, for Now
- West Bank Settlement Supporters Have Big Hopes for Trump’s Presidency
- Brazilian police indict former President Bolsonaro and aides over alleged 2022 coup attempt (Trump should have been indicted/arrested back in early 2021, along with the rest of his accomplices. Why wasn’t he???)
- The Most Fatal Mistake of Biden’s Term (“The Biden administration’s aggressive economic recovery plan worked on paper, but high costs and bad vibes told a different story at the polls.” Also, picking Garland as AG?)
- A Trump Judge Just Nixed Overtime Pay for Millions—and Media Yawned (The media is so, so bad.)
- President-elect set to shape ‘Trump judiciary’ for next generation (This alone will screw the United States for decades to come.)
- Four ways Trump will undermine the authority of Congress (“The president-elect is setting the stage for a vast, dangerous and unconstitutional expansion of presidential power”)
- Trump’s transition team turns to Project 2025 after disavowing it during the campaign (“Transition officials have used Project 2025’s extensive personnel database for potential candidates to hire for the incoming administration, a person familiar the plans said.”)
- Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene tapped to work with Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy as new DOGE subcommittee chair (Insanity.)
- Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy Call for Five-Day In-Office Workweeks for Federal Employees (There’s absolutely no good reason to do that.)
- Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy’s Cutting Edge Idea for Shrinking the Budget: Fire Everyone Who Doesn’t Want to Work in the Office Five Days a Week
- HR 9495: Bill Threatening Nonprofits Passes House (WTF???)
- US House passes bill to punish non-profits deemed to support ‘terrorism’ (“Critics argue it would give Trump sweeping powers to crack down arbitrarily on his political opponents”)
- ‘I Think He’s Completely Unfit’: Michael Pollan on Why RFK Jr. Might Be Right about Processed Food But Wrong About Most Everything Else
- ‘Terrifying’: Ex-HHS Secretary calls RFK Jr. pick ‘life or death situation’
- RFK Jr. compared Trump to Hitler and praised descriptions of his supporters as ‘Nazis’
- RFK Jr. Compared Trump to Hitler Before He Was Promised a Cabinet Spot
- Chaos reigns supreme in Trump’s Washington (Why would anyone in their right mind have voted for four years of total chaos, corruption, incompetence, etc???)
- Trump’s First Defeat (“Matt Gaetz has officially withdrawn from being considered for attorney general.” It needs to be the first of MANY for this country to survive as a democracy with rule of law.)
- Trump Has Lost His Popular-Vote Majority (Trump is FAR from any sort of “mandate,” let alone a “powerful” or “unprecedented” one!)
- The ‘Landslide’ That Wasn’t: Trump and Allies Pump Up His Narrow Victory (“The latest count shows President-elect Trump won the popular vote by one of the smallest margins since the 19th century. But he claims a ‘powerful mandate.'”)
- Several of Trump’s Cabinet picks — and Trump himself — have been accused of sexual misconduct
- Police report reveals assault allegations against Hegseth, Trump’s pick for defense secretary
- ‘Profound fear and anxiety among women in uniform’: Pentagon reacts to allegations against Hegseth
- Trump’s Pentagon pick Hegseth wrote of US military taking sides in ‘civil war’ (“Defense secretary pick said in 2020 that should Democrats win election the military ‘will be forced to make a choice’”)
- Matt Gaetz, Trump’s uniquely unqualified pick for attorney general, withdraws
- Botched Gaetz Nomination Shows Limits of Trump’s Hold Over GOP
- Trump doubles down for next Cabinet fight (“Trump chooses another loyalist who will alarm DC’s establishment and be dedicated to doing the boss’ work”)
- Trump chooses loyalist Pam Bondi for attorney general pick after Matt Gaetz withdraws
- Pam Bondi, Trump’s pick for attorney general, is a longtime loyalist
- Pam Bondi has been quietly by Donald Trump’s side this whole time (“When Donald Trump has faced threats to his political career, Pam Bondi has been there to defend him.”)
- Trump names Pam Bondi as attorney general pick after Gaetz steps aside (“Ex-Florida attorney general is longtime Trump ally and was one of his lawyers during first impeachment trial”)
- Resistance is not futile: Matt Gaetz’s implosion shows how MAGA’s chaos can be turned against Trump (“Trump’s first nominations reveal the serious fractures in his coalition — which can be used to weaken him”)
- Trump announces Pam Bondi as new attorney general pick hours after Matt Gaetz withdraws (Bondi is HORRIBLE and absolutely should NOT be confirmed!)
- Historically brief, but Gaetz’s Cabinet bid still did a lot of damage
- Gaetz is out. But hold the celebration.
- Trump Allies Were Worried Gaetz Would Be ‘Most Blackmail-able’ AG Ever
- ‘You Don’t Have the Votes’: How Trump Barred the Gaetz
- EXCLUSIVE: Ethics committee told of second sexual encounter between Matt Gaetz and 17-year-old at party, sources say
- ‘Black mark’: Lawmakers seethe over Ethics’ Gaetz report imbroglio
- The Matt Gaetz Nomination Farce is Mercifully Over
- Donald Trump’s Education Secretary Pick Is Named in Sexual Abuse Lawsuit
- Schumer explains reported GOP deal on judges (“The office of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is defending a reported deal where Democrats ceded four appeals court nominations in favor of confirming more of President Joe Biden’s lower-level federal judicial appointees.”)
- Elon Musk has cozied into Trump’s White House. How long will this bromance last? (“The absurd Musk-Trump pact might have a silver lining: their relationship, like Trump’s coalition at large, is fragile”)
- Senator Bob Casey Concedes to David McCormick in Pennsylvania (How the hell did Casey lose this race???)
- The Long, Slow Defeat of Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey (“‘Goldilocks Republican’ hedge fund exec Dave McCormick successfully occupied a strategic middle in Trump’s party.”)
- “Morning Joe” has got to go (“Kissing Donald Trump’s ring should cost MSNBC”)
- Ambulances were at Mar-a-Lago for Vance motorcade, not for Trump | Fact check
- Ellen DeGeneres Has Moved to Great Britain, Lists Montecito Estate: ‘Never Coming Back’ to the United States | Exclusive
- Labor unions prepare for battle against Trump’s federal workforce plans
- How Virginia’s Latinos voted in the 2024 election
- Commentary: Now more than ever, Virginia must protect reproductive rights
- 2025 Virginia House of Delegates Election Preview (“There are 48 seats where Harris won by at least 10 points, meaning that Democrats would need just three more seats to get a majority.”)
- VPAP Analysis of 2024 Presidential Election: Dems Can Gain House of Delegates Majority in November 2025 By Simply Winning Harris +8% Seats (If Democrats carry all House of Delegates seats Harris won, they could get to a 57-43 margin.)
- 6 Republicans, 1 Democrat vie for McGuire’s state Senate seat (“State Sen. John McGuire, who was elected to Congress, has not yet resigned from his seat, but that hasn’t stopped seven hopefuls from launching their campaigns to replace him.”)
- Ousted Virginia legislators run for new seats (Yep, AmanDUH Chase is baaaaack!)
- Democratic primary set for Virginia Del. Srinivasan’s Loudoun-based seat (“Saturday’s election is part of a flurry of nominating contests set in motion when state Sen. Suhas Subramanyam (D-Loudoun) won the 10th Congressional District seat.”)
- Pope & Schapiro: 2025 candidates, RGGI, and a big budget surplus
- Virginia joins push to break Google’s search monopoly (“Attorney General Jason Miyares backs sweeping remedies to restore competition, including browser divestiture and consumer education campaign.” Wow, I might actually agree with Miyares on something for once???)
- Bowers seeks recount in Roanoke mayoral election (“Republican candidate David Bowers lost by 59 votes after holding an initial slim lead on election night. Democrat Joe Cobb surpassed his vote total once all provisional ballots were counted.”)
- FOIA Friday: Louisa resident wants more county government meetings advertised
- Dominion cancels Tazewell pump storage project (“A spokesperson for Dominion Energy cited several reasons, including the project’s $2 billion price tag and the utility’s focus on wind, solar, nuclear and other forms of power generation.” It’s PUMPED storage, btw, not “pump storage”)
- Video shows ‘physical altercation’ between Loudoun County School Board member and activist
- WATCH: Police investigate altercation at Loudoun Co. meeting between woman, school board member
- Virginia Beach and Something in the Water contract includes $500K support, dependent on transparency
- D.C.-area forecast: Blustery and showery with a mix of snow and rain today (“The likelihood of snow accumulating around town is low, but a dusting on grassy areas is possible north and northwest of the Beltway.”)
