by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, December 6.
- Scientists thought global warming would slow this year. It didn’t. (DISASTER. And the USA just elected a climate science DENIER as president. Total insanity.)
- Decline of Reflective Low Clouds May Have Contributed to Recent Record Heat
- Ukraine war briefing: Lavrov accused of ‘trying to rebuild the Russian empire’
- Tulsi Gabbard’s Own Ex-Staffers Expose Her as a Russian Stooge
- Tulsi Gabbard’s views on Russia shaped in part by Kremlin propaganda outlet, ex-aides say
- Senior Biden aide commits to giving Ukraine avalanche of military assistance (“White House games last-minute strategy to bolster Ukraine, including $20bn in loans and sweeping sanctions on Russia” Give Ukraine any/all frozen Russian assets, immediately!)
- Rebel advance in Syria threatens to unravel Putin’s previous triumph
- The truth about Biden’s aid to Africa is being lost on Republicans (“U.S. aid and investment in a rapidly growing continent is smart strategy.”)
- Emmanuel Macron struggles on in search for stable French government
- Trump picks David Perdue to be ambassador to China
- Trump heads to France as world leaders seek to curry favor (Ugh.)
- What if everyone had masked up? Analysis of app data has an answer (“Modelling study based on almost 250,000 positive COVID-19 tests in the United Kingdom shows that universal masking could have cut transmission markedly.”)
- Syrian Rebel Offensive Bolsters Turkey’s Geopolitical Influence
- Iran, Hezbollah aim to bolster Assad as rebels bear down on Homs
- Syrian rebel leader says goal is to ‘overthrow’ Assad regime
- Syrian insurgents enter 2 central towns, bringing them close to the city of Homs
- Thousands flee Syrian city of Homs as Islamist-led rebels advance further (“‘We could see the end of the Assad regime’ – international relations expert”)
- What to know about martial law and the effort to impeach South Korea’s president (He should be impeached IMMEDIATELY.)
- S Korea president ordered arrest of own party leader
- ‘Great danger’ to South Korea unless President Yoon suspended, says ruling party leader (“Head of the People Power party claims there is a significant risk that president could order ‘extreme actions’” Agreed – Yoon is completely unfit to be president. Just like Trump!)
- McKinsey paid $1.6m to ‘guide’ Australian climate policy despite working for fossil fuel companies (Disgusting.)
- Goodbye to the American Century? (In electing Trump, Americans signed our death warrant. Not only will Trump NOT make America “great again,” he will trash it.)
- Why 597 million chickens go missing from America’s food supply each year (“Chicken giants are pushing birds to their biological limits. A staggering number die but never make it to consumers’ plates.” The meat industry is a nightmare. Stop eating meat, obviously!)
- US Jobs Report to Show Hiring Rebounded After Storms and Strike
- Arctic Refuge Is One of Earth’s Last Truly Wild Places. Trump Calls it America’s “Biggest Oil Farm.” (Trump is disgusting.)
- Clean Energy Program Races to Finish Work Before Trump Takes Over
- John Roberts Has a Plan to Deny Transgender Rights
- Here’s What’s Been Going On at the Supreme Court While We’ve All Been Distracted
- The Supreme Court Just Showed Us What Contempt for Expertise Looks Like
- Trump could hobble renewed fight against domestic terrorism, analysts warn
- Biden Team Considers Blanket Pardons Before Trump’s Promised ‘Retribution’
- Trump’s F.B.I. Pick Has an Enemies List. Biden Should Pardon Everyone on It. (Definitely- do it!)
- Trump’s Fans Are Suffering From Tony Soprano Syndrome (“The collapse of trust in institutions is one of the stories of the past decade or so. But so is this moral degeneracy, motivated by the need to ideologically justify the place of a corrupt authoritarian strongman in the most powerful government in the world. What looks like declining media literacy may be something much worse—an affirmation of the underlying values in dystopian literature that inevitably lead to the dystopia itself.”)
- The ‘Mainstream Media’ Has Already Lost (“The newspapers and networks of the 20th century are ceding ground. And the people taking their place aren’t playing by the same rules.”)
- Donald Trump’s disdain for the transition process is ominous (“The president-elect has signaled his indifference to the critical infrastructure of government.” It’s actually FAR worse than just “indifference!”)
- A QAnon Enthusiast Leading the FBI: What Could Go Wrong? (“Kash Patel’s history of railing against the deep state says less about his outrageous fantasies than it does about his sinister opportunism.”)
- An architect of Project 2025 is pressuring Republican senators to confirm Pete Hegseth
- Hegseth says he won’t withdraw as he struggles as Trump’s Defense pick
- Senate GOP sees Hegseth nomination as likely doomed (As well he should be!)
- Pete Hegseth and His ‘Battle Cry’ for a New Christian Crusade
- Trump announces ICE veteran Caleb Vitello as his pick to lead agency
- Trump names his own pick for IRS commissioner, breaking from tradition (Unacceptable.)
- He Promised Huge Tax Refunds. Now Donald Trump Wants Him to Lead the I.R.S. (“Since leaving Congress in 2023, Billy Long has peddled a pandemic-era tax credit that the I.R.S. has warned is a magnet for fraud.”)
- Trump Names Top Silicon Valley Conservative to Oversee Crypto and A.I. (David Sacks is HORRIBLE.)
- Elon Musk spent a quarter-billion dollars electing Trump, including financing mysterious ‘RBG PAC’ (Unlimited money from wealthy individuals, “Citizens United,” etc. have played a major role in destroying our democracy. Great job, Supreme Court!)
- Musk, on Capitol Hill, says ‘get rid of all credits’ (Musk should have ZERO influence or role in formulating US public policy.)
- Trump Brings His Fox Hires to an Even Dozen (This is going to be a combination of kleptocracy and kakistocracy – rule by the corrupt and the worst!)
- House Republicans vote to block release of Gaetz ethics report (Of COURSE they did!)
- 5 Takeaways From the 2024 Elections Now That They’re Finally Over (“…total GOP control of the federal government probably won’t last more than two years, and there are no particular signs of an electoral realignment down ballot. Republican triumphalism and Democratic despair are equally unmerited from the perspective of the election itself.”)
- Trump-district Democrats put speakership in reach for Hakeem Jeffries
- John Fetterman says Hunter Biden, Trump both deserve pardons after ‘politically motivated’ trials (What a bizarre dude.)
- Explosive exchange about 9/11 happens at Secret Service hearing
- Why I Just Resigned From The Los Angeles Times (Many other journalists should join Harry Litman and resign.)
- Jeff Bezos is optimistic about working with a ‘calmer’ Trump (Bezos has no business owning the Washington Post, and no serious journalist should want to work for him.)
- Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield calls off surgery anesthesia cap
- Torrent of Hate for Health Insurance Industry Follows C.E.O.’s Killing (I totally get the anger at health insurance companies/executives, but this reaction is really disturbing.)
- The People Cheering the UnitedHealthcare CEO Shooting (“A cold-blooded murder has become, to many, an opportunity to vent.”)
- The ‘Chilling’ Fatal Shooting of a C.E.O. Has Business Leaders on Edge
- Words found on shell casings where UnitedHealthcare CEO was shot dead, senior law enforcement official says
- Video: Sen. Mark Warner Comments on Trump’s Across-the-Board Tariffs as Taxes That Will Sharply Raise Prices; the Crucial Importance of Nonpoliticization of the Military; Musk/Ramaswamy Attacking the Federal Workforce; etc.
- Virginia senators weigh in on Loudoun Sheriff Chapman’s qualifications for DEA leadership
- Youngkin issues directive to build on bay restoration progress
- Editorial: Virginia needs Youngkin to oppose plans to gut the civil service (“Gov. Glenn Youngkin is Virginia’s most prominent advocate, and he should stand up and oppose plans that would harm Virginia workers and the commonwealth economy.”)
- RELEASE: Ahead of Majority-Making 1/7/25 Special Elections in Virginia, DLCC Announces Spotlight Candidates (These “two must-win” special elections “will be the first major test of voters’ mood following the federal red wave in the 2024 elections”)
- National Democratic group boosts Srinivassan, Singh in upcoming Virginia special elections
- Pope & Schapiro: A pardon, the transition, and an advance
- As Va.’s health department repairs financial crisis, state board is encouraged
- Cost of Mountain Valley Pipeline continues to climb (Massive waste of money. Actually, it’s worse than a waste, because it’s actually harmful.)
- Data center fever ahead of Virginia’s 2025 legislative session
- FOIA Friday: Records show protests led to policy changes at Va. colleges
- Virginia members of Congress anticipate Helene aid to be taken up before holidays
- Dec. 19 date set for Roanoke mayor’s race recount
- Calls grow for new Red Onion State Prison investigation
- Spotsylvania superintendent condemns racist, hateful messages received during first months on the job
- As population and revenues slide, and controversies mount, the Giles County town of Glen Lyn will vote Tuesday on whether to disband (“The town’s main employer is gone, and the mayor of 40 years is under federal indictment.”)
- Arlington Animal Control looks for owner of emaciated dog found in the cold (Whoever is responsible for this needs to be arrested and charged with severe animal cruelty.)
- D.C. area forecast and updates: Bitter wind chills today but turning milder this weekend
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