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by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, December 27.
- Climate crisis exposed people to extra six weeks of dangerous heat in 2024 (“Analysis shows fossil fuels are supercharging heatwaves, leaving millions prone to deadly temperatures”)
- A DeSmog Guide to How the World Changed in 2024 (“A resurgence of old-school climate denial”; “Polluting industries’ new front against nature protection”; “Far-right parties gaining a new foothold”; “Astroturfing and disinformation campaign”)
- ‘Dangerous new era’: Climate change spurs disaster in 2024
- Finland Suspects Russian ‘Shadow Fleet’ Vessel Cut Undersea Power Cable
- Ukraine Slows Firing of Missiles Into Russia as Trump Prepares to Take Office (Ugh.)
- Nasa makes history with closest-ever approach to Sun
- Trump’s Tariff Threats Are Setting Off a Global Supply Chain ‘Freakout’
- Ukraine’s military intelligence says North Korean troops are suffering heavy battlefield losses
- Breaking news. Exclusive: Preliminary investigation confirms Russian missile caused Azerbaijan Airlines crash
- Plane crash probe in Kazakhstan underway as speculation mounts about possible Russian involvement
- An altercation erupts at a high-level meeting of a Russia-dominated economic union
- China to build world’s largest hydropower dam in Tibet (“The project has stoked concerns about displacement and environmental impact downstream in India and Bangladesh.”)
- China’s Xi orders a stop to a spree of mass killings known as ‘revenge on society crimes’
- South Korean Lawmakers Vote to Impeach Acting President as Crisis Deepens (“The vote was the second major impeachment in two weeks after President Yoon’s ill-fated martial law bid set off turmoil. The country’s currency has plunged.”)
- Head of WHO was in Yemen airport during Israeli air strikes, with crew member injured
- Israeli airstrike hits Sana’a, Hodeidah airports during Houthi leader’s ‘victory’ speech
- Syria’s Alawite Minority, Favored by al-Assad, Looks Nervously to the Future
- Israel Hits the Houthis in Yemen After Their Slow Escalation
- The US says it pushed retraction of a famine warning for north Gaza. Aid groups express concern
- At least 69 dead after boat sinks in Morocco waters
- ‘Tears of joy’ – Sudan capital gets first aid convoy since war began
- German president dissolves parliament to pave way for February 23 snap elections
- ‘Nothing to talk about’: Panama president dismisses Trump’s threats over canal (“José Raúl Mulino has ruled out discussing control of the Panama Canal with US president elect, and rejected claims Chinese soldiers are operating the strategic waterway”)
- Oops! Consumers finally realize that Trump could worsen inflation. (Duh.)
- Trump’s border plan is cruel. No one will be able to say we weren’t warned.
- Trump ‘Border Czar’ Plans to Separate Families or Let Them Leave Together
- Bird flu virus shows mutations in first severe human infection in US, CDC says
- ‘The dead zone is real’: why US farmers are embracing wildflowers (“Strips of native plants on as little as 10% of farmland can reduce soil erosion by up to 95%”)
- E.P.A. Promotes Toxic Fertilizer Whose Risks It Knew About Years Ago
- Americans are exhausted by political news. TV ratings and a new AP-NORC poll show they’re tuning out
- The Global Anti-Incumbent Bias Is Real. But America’s Is Worse. (“Yes, there was a political backlash to leaders around the world in 2024. But this has been true in the U.S. for many election cycles—and may last for many more.” So stupid. What it should be is if the incumbent is doing a good job, they should be reelected; if not, they shouldn’t be. But it doesn’t work that way, as we just saw in the US presidential and US Congressional elections.)
- The Weird New Normal of Donald Trump in 2024 (“Radical revisionism is a strong contender for the theme of this disruptive year, in which some unique property of political alchemy managed to transform a defeated and disgraced ex-President into a perfectly electable Republican candidate.”)
- Republicans Quietly Axed IRS Funding Amid Government Shutdown Chaos (How the hell did Democrats not catch that???)
- Former FBI and CIA head prods Senate to reject Patel, Gabbard
- Trump has pressed for voting changes. GOP majorities in Congress will try to make that happen
- Expect a quieter Jan. 6 this time around — as long as Republicans avert a looming speakership crisis
- Congress has the power to block Trump from taking office, but lawmakers must act now (“The Constitution provides that an oath-breaking insurrectionist is ineligible to be president. This is the plain wording of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution.” It’s not even ambiguous if you read it.)
- These MAGA farmers could be ruined if Trump follows through with mass deportations
- After backing Trump, low-income voters hope he doesn’t slash their benefits
- Trump’s DOGE Guy Sparks MAGA Civil War With Slam on American Culture (“Vivek Ramaswamy started an almost literal culture war as he prescribed early bed, science fairs, and a jock and prom-queen ban for America.”)
- Tradwives, incels and cat ladies: The year MAGA broke heterosexuality (“Republicans idealize ‘traditional’ marriage, but their actions make the straight life a bad prospect”)
- MAGA in Total Mayhem as Laura Loomer Goes to War With Elon Musk (“Right-wing influencer and Donald Trump gadfly Laura Loomer is attacking Elon Musk, seemingly over his desire for more immigrants to work and study in science and technology fields in the United States.”)
- Elon Musk’s ‘social experiment on humanity’: How X evolved in 2024
- ‘Should MAGA stay home in 2026?’ Laura Loomer wages ‘racist’ war against ‘tech bros’ over Indian migrants
- Musk, Ramaswamy defend Silicon Valley’s foreign-born hires
- Elon Musk reveals he’s taking drug for weight loss in bizarre ‘Ozempic Santa’ post
- Playbook: How Schumer is prepping for Trump 2.0
- Freedom Caucus chair: House GOP needs to consider if ‘current leadership is what we need’
- Marianne Williamson launches bid for DNC chair (LOL!)
- Subramanyam Readies for Work on Capitol Hill
- After Failing to Inform Its Readers in 2021 About Who Glenn Youngkin Was, the WaPo Appears Set to Do the Same Next Year in the Winsome Sears vs. Abigail Spanberger Race (The WaPo is now claiming, without evidence, that “Spanberger faces reckoning with left” and that “she’s in the middle of its soul-searching.”)
- Commentary: To grow Virginia’s tourism economy, invest in EV infrastructure
- Sen. Favola proposes Standards of Learning tests in other languages
- Pope & Schapiro: The fast-approaching General Assembly session
- The debate over Virginia’s car tax has gone on for years
- How four Northern Virginia school districts are restricting cellphones (“Around Virginia, school districts have adopted varying cellphone policies, some that follow the state’s guidance for bell to bell bans and others that do not.”)
- Welcome to the loneliest Metro stop (“Loudoun Gateway, the second-to-last station on the Silver Line, was envisioned as a thriving mixed-use stop. Instead, it’s anything but.”)
- Solar growth, nuclear plans and rising electric rates: A look back at the year in energy in Southwest and Southside
- D.C. area forecast and updates: Partly sunny today ahead of a wet weekend
