by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Wednesday, November 20.
- Group of Nations Make COP29 Pledge on No New Unabated Coal Power
- Rio Chaos Shows World Untethered Even Before Trump’s Return (“The G-20 Leaders’ Summit showed how quickly the guardrails are coming off the international rules-based order.”)
- Five firms in plastic pollution alliance ‘made 1,000 times more plastic than they cleaned up’ (“Exclusive: Five oil and chemical companies which promised to divert plastic from environment produced 132m tonnes of it, analysis finds”)
- Eight times more children will face extreme heatwaves by 2050s, Unicef says (“Without action on climate crisis, far greater numbers will also experience floods, wildfires and droughts, according to report” DISASTROUS.)
- The climate crisis in charts: how 2024 has set unwanted new records (“Data tracks how Earth’s heating has led to rising sea levels and extreme weather – yet there is no sign of emissions slowing”)
- Cop29 live: call to block Azerbaijan president from talks to allow negotiators to work
- Almost 120 countries vowed to triple renewables by 2030 – how is it going? (BTW, make sure you read and support “The Guardian,” which provides WAY more climate news – and much better US political reporting – than pretty much any US “news” outlet.)
- Climate change is increasing hurricane wind speeds, study finds
- Every hurricane this season was turbocharged and made more intense than it should have been, study finds
- Exclusive: Putin, ascendant in Ukraine, eyes contours of a Trump peace deal
- US and Europe fear escalation of Russian
hybrid warfare amid Ukraine missile attacks - Russia Stirs Ukraine Truce Speculation With Eye on Trump
- Ukraine has seen success in building clean energy, which is harder for Russia to destroy (“Whatever the future, the decentralized nature of some clean energies, in particular wind and solar, has allowed Ukraine to quickly restore power in ways that would be impossible with Ukraine’s more traditional energy sources, such as coal-fired power plants.”)
- The Kremlin has revised its nuclear policy. Does that make the use of atomic weapons more likely?
- Western embassies in Kyiv shut due to Russian air attack threat after Biden policy shift
- Macron urges Putin to ‘be reasonable’ on nuclear weapons
- Biden approves antipersonnel mines for Ukraine, undoing his own policy
- Zelensky says Ukraine will lose war if US cuts funding
- Russian gains accelerate as Ukraine’s Kursk gamble falters
- World Leaders Seek Stability With China as President Biden Exits the Stage
- US envoy says Israel-Hezbollah truce is ‘within our grasp’ as Gaza food crisis worsens after looting
- Italian village offers $1 homes to Americans upset by the US election result
- Team Trump Wants the Poor to Suffer to Fund His Tax Cuts for the Rich
- Trump ignores transition rules. It’s a ‘hostile takeover,’ ally says.
- The rule of law is already being undermined in the presidential transition
- Trump’s cabinet picks are agents of his contempt, rage and vengeance
- Trump loyalist Kash Patel in contention to be named FBI director (That’s completely insane.)
- Don’t Let These Crazy Appointments Distract You from Trump’s Even More Nefarious Plans (“Like, say, finding a loophole in the Posse Comitatus Act to use troops to deport people.”)
- Trump Is Filling His White House With Men Accused Of Sexual Misconduct (“At least four of Trump’s nominations have been accused of sexual misconduct ranging from harassment to assault and rape.”)
- How Mike Johnson’s Christian “morality” provides cover for Matt Gaetz (“Shielding Matt Gaetz fits with the long religious right tradition of defending bad men at women’s expense”)
- “The Bizarro Presidency” (“If Trump’s nominations were not so deadly serious, they would qualify as parody bordering on slapstick. On Tuesday, Trump nominated as the head of Medicare a T.V. doctor who promoted hydroxychloroquine as a cure for Covid and who supports privatizing Medicare. The world is upside down.”)
- Vance says Trump is interviewing FBI director replacements
- What Going ‘Wild on Health’ Looks Like (“The potential consequences of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s most troubling ideas”)
- Yes, the FDA needs an overhaul. But RFK Jr. isn’t the answer.
- Vaccines Have Saved Millions of Lives. Kennedy Threatens That Success.
- Trump picks Dr. Oz to run Medicare and Medicaid, Linda McMahon for Education, Lutnick for Commerce (More horrendous picks that make a complete mockery of expertise and good government.)
- Trump to Pick Howard Lutnick as Commerce Secretary
- Trump expected to pick Linda McMahon, former wrestling executive, to head Department of Education, sources say
- Linda McMahon expected to be named Education secretary, sources say
- Trump has called for dismantling the Education Department. Here’s what that would mean
- Trump’s corruption of the DOJ goes much deeper than Gaetz (“It’s John Yoos all the way down.”)
- Republicans fume as GOP absences help Democrats move judicial nominees
- GOP No-Shows Help Dems Approve Judicial Nominees Against Trump’s Wishes
- Harris lost to Trump. She may have one last chance to defy him. (“The vice president is prepared to provide tie-breaking votes in critical judicial appointments as Biden works to push through confirmations”)
- Weak turnout in key cities hurt Harris in the ‘blue wall’ states
- Why Trump wants the world’s richest man by his side (“Musk is becoming a vocal ally for the president-elect as the budding alliance between the two grows”)
- Donald and Elon can’t get enough of each other (“Elon is probably the only other man in the world who can truly relate to President Trump”)
- This Election’s Surprising Bright Spot for Progressives Is a Very Big Deal (“Across the country, voters also elected liberal justices to their state Supreme Courts, which function as a key backstop for civil rights and democracy as federal courts lurch rightward. Progressives didn’t win a clean sweep, but they emerged with an impressive scorecard, carrying seats in battlegrounds like Michigan and safely red states like Kentucky and Montana.”)
- Donald Trump Has NOT Won a Majority of the Votes Cast for President
- The Media and Trump: Not Resistance, But Not Acceptance (“An increasingly accommodationist press spells danger for American democracy.”)
- I Never Panic. I’m Panicking Now. (“Early signs make it likely that his second term will make his first look like child’s play. With control of Congress and a conservative supermajority on the Supreme Court, there is little holding back his darkest impulses to punish his enemies and reward his friends. He seems determined to take his slender victory and treat it like a historic mandate to reshape American life in profound ways. No matter how you voted, we are all about to find out precisely how vulnerable we really are.”)
- “Pro-LGBTQ” Republican launches vicious attack on first trans Congresswoman
- Nancy Mace defends anti-trans bathroom bill, says it ‘absolutely’ targets Sarah McBride
- House Republicans signal support for proposal to ban bathroom access for first transgender member (Utterly ridiculous and unnecessary.)
- Rep. Mace introduces measure to ban trans women from Capitol’s female bathrooms
- MTG threatens to fight transgender woman (MTG=trash.)
- Far-right militia targets US military over baseless hurricane ‘weather weapon’ claims (“Veterans on Patrol believes government caused Helene with weather manipulation tech, Telegram chats reveal” WTF???)
- Truth Social investors hoped to get ‘very rich’ after Trump’s win. Not quite.
- Fetterman opens door to supporting ex-rival Oz as CMS administrator (That’s asinine.)
- The North Carolina GOP Snuck an Outrageous Antidemocratic Power Grab Into a Hurricane Relief Bill
- Texas Education Board Backs Curriculum With Lessons Drawn From Bible (That’s a clear violation of the separation of church and state.)
- Morning Joe suffers ratings nosedive after hosts met Trump at Mar-a-Lago (Nobody should ever watch “Morning Joe” again. F*** them. Also, no Democrats should go on that show.)
- Trump, Republicans Jeopardize the Health Care of Nearly 2 Million Virginians By Putting Medicaid on the Chopping Block to Fund Tax Breaks for Their Wealthy Friends (“We cannot let them rip away our health care.”)
- Trump’s victory sets the stage for high-stakes Virginia elections in 2025 (“As the next president is poised to reshape the political landscape, Democrats and Republicans gear up for pivotal battles over the governorship and control of the legislature.”)
- Harris carried 7 House of Delegates districts now represented by Republicans
- Now That It’s All But Certain Winsome Sears Will Be the 2025 VA GOP’s Nominee for Governor, Here Are 30 Stories That Help Understand Where She’s Coming From (Let’s just make damn sure we elect Abigail Spanberger next November!)
- Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin of Virginia says with Trump’s election, ‘we’ve got a friend in the White House’ (Youngkin is a sick dude with zero moral core whatsoever.)
- Schapiro: Running for reelection – and against history
- State senators press Department of Corrections for answers
- Dominion requests bill hikes to cover offshore wind, early SMR costs (Reminder: energy efficiency is far, FAR less expensive than SMRs.)
- To ease the housing crisis, Virginia wants builders to consider 3D printing homes
- Statewide Poll Results Show Virginia Voters Favor Government Action to Limit Insurance Prior Authorization Policies, Support COPN (“Virginia hospitals are viewed favorably by a 5-to-1 margin”)
- Northern Va. school board chairs ask state to delay new accountability measures (“The chairs of eight Northern Virginia school boards are asking the state’s Education Department to delay implementation of the new accountability system.”)
- Va. lawmakers will consider teacher compact to stem shortage
- Bill to address food insecurity on Virginia’s college campuses likely headed to 2025 session
- Localities, state rake in casino revenues, but they can’t be sole economic strategy
- Editorial: Incumbent wins in local races can help strengthen regional partnerships (“Victories in mayoral races throughout Hampton Roads should open the door to more, and stronger, partnerships among our region’s communities.”)
- How much did the 2024 elections shake up Hampton Roads leadership?
- Arlington County Board votes to appeal judge’s decision to limit multi-family housing
- D.C.-area forecast: Gusty showers this evening, then a hint of winter with flakes possible
********************************************************
Sign up for the Blue Virginia weekly newsletter
