by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Saturday, December 14.
- For Wild Animals, the Bird Flu Disaster Is Already Here (“Scientists are concerned that the H5N1 virus could set off another human pandemic. But it is already putting species under pressure in the wild.” UGH.)
- ‘Everyone’s demoralized.’ Trump’s climate threats rattle world’s biggest science meeting
- ‘Amazon of the Seas’ Threatened by Oil and Gas Developments (“A new report warns fossil fuel developments in the Coral Triangle pose increased risks for ecological disaster in the ocean.”)
- Big Oil Is Urging Trump Not to Pull Out of the Paris Accord (“In short: reputation and profits.”)
- Russian Gas Giant Given Access to Global LNG Summit Alongside German Government (“The decision to allow Novatek to attend the flagship conference was described as ‘disappointing’ and ‘disturbing’ by campaigners.”)
- Climate and environment updates: Geothermal could meet 15% of global energy demand
- Trump team in talks with Biden and Ukrainian officials about ending war with Russia
- Cajole, Plead and Flatter: Ukraine Makes Its Case to Trump (“Using diplomacy, flattery and the occasional shot in the dark, Ukraine is doing everything it can to win over President-elect Donald J. Trump to its side.”)
- How will Russia’s war in Ukraine end? The good, the bad, and the ugly scenarios
- Russia launches massive attack on Ukraine’s energy sector, minister says
- Russian missiles batter Ukraine’s embattled power grid
- Thousands of Syrians Gather for First Friday Prayers Since Fall of Assad
- Why Israel captured Syria’s tallest mountain just hours after Assad fell (“This is the highest place in the region, looking upon Lebanon, upon Syria, Israel…Until Sunday, the summit was demilitarized and patrolled by UN peacekeepers – their highest permanent position in the world.”)
- ‘I felt like a breathing corpse’: Stories from people freed from Syria torture prison
- Images appear to show Russia dismantling military equipment in Syria (“Russian army convoys were also seen crossing Syria, suggesting Russia may be preparing for a military drawdown after ally Bashar Al-Assad was overthrown by Syrian rebels last week.”)
- American citizen Travis Timmerman is now with U.S. forces after being found in Syria
- Syria Shudders as Bashar al-Assad’s Prison Atrocities Come Into the Light
- Antony Blinken Meeting Arab Ministers Amid Uncertainty Over Syria Transition
- South Korea’s Yoon defiant after impeachment over martial law bid
- How the President Alienated South Korea, One Group at a Time
- Jubilation in Seoul as president Yoon Suk Yeol impeached
- South Korea’s parliament votes to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol over his martial law order
- South Korea’s President Yoon suspended after MPs vote to impeach him (This is what should have happened in the US after 1/6/21. But thanks to Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans, it didn’t. Disastrous.)
- Ex-soccer player Kavelashvili becomes Georgia’s president in a blow to its EU aspirations
- Georgian lawmakers elect far-right, anti-west hardliner as new president (“Constitutional crisis deepens as opposition denounces move by Georgian Dream party as ‘illegitimate'”)
- A New Risk for Employers: Losing Millions of Migrants With Temporary Work Permits
- Expect Pricier EVs, Solar Panels, and Heat Pumps as a Result of Trump’s Tariffs (“The clean-energy tools consumers enjoy will be less affordable if he keeps his promises.” Insanity.)
- Trump Is About to Betray His Rural Supporters (“Small-town America voted heavily in his favor—but the policies he’s pledged won’t reward that faith.” Of course.)
- Momentum builds around Social Security reforms ahead of Senate vote (“Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) caught some senators by surprise this week when he took the first step to set up consideration of the Social Security Fairness Act, announcing plans to bring up the bill for a vote next week.”)
- Revoke the Polio Vaccine??? (“This is going to get people killed.”)
- When depicting the government as bad is more important than stopping polio
- Mitch McConnell Decries ‘Dangerous’ Push Against Polio Vaccine After RFK Jr. Report
- Are Childhood Vaccines ‘Overloading’ the Immune System? No.
- Polio survivor Mitch McConnell criticizes efforts to undermine vaccine
- McConnell Defends Polio Vaccine, an Apparent Warning to Kennedy
- Survey: Most voters disapprove of RFK Jr.’s nomination after learning his views
- Half of Americans have no confidence in Trump’s Cabinet picks: Poll
- Trump may be moving GOP senators on Hegseth, but he’s not swaying Americans
- Musk, Vance seize on Jan. 6 report debunking FBI claims as proof of conspiracy (Deranged and dangerous.)
- Trump says GOP will push to eliminate daylight saving time
- Patel Distorts Justice Dept. Benghazi Inquiry, Inflating His Role
- You Should Worry About Kash Patel Running the FBI
- Ex-FBI officials worry that Kash Patel as director may wield unlimited power (“Trump’s pick, who has gained key support, could open investigations unilaterally or influence background checks”)
- Elon Musk Doesn’t Want Tesla to Have to Do Car-Crash Reporting, and—What Do You Know—the Trump Transition Agrees
- Exclusive: Trump transition wants to scrap crash reporting requirement opposed by Tesla
- The Memo: Trump revels as establishment figures pay homage at home and abroad
- In Display of Fealty, Tech Industry Curries Favor With Trump
- Trump to Dine With Apple’s Tim Cook at Mar-A-Lago Friday
- Trump’s Transition Business Largely Happens After Night Falls
- Trump calls for mystery drones to be shot down (Uh, what if they’re passenger airplanes???)
- The Government Should Probably Tell Us What These Things in the Sky Are, Huh?
- New Jersey needs to get a grip. But our drone defenses need work. (“There’s no need to panic about drones.”)
- Aggrieved white men are a threat to democracy — history tells us we can’t ignore them
- Democrats need to change their approach to Trump’s second term, top Kamala Harris pollster says (“A pollster to Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign told top Democratic Party officials on Friday that they must confront President-elect Donald Trump far differently than they did during his first term, urgently pressing them not to focus on every outrage but instead argue that he is hurting voters’ pocketbooks.”)
- Pelosi Hospitalized in Luxembourg After Falling
- Harris to Deliver Speech Urging Young People to Stay Civically Engaged
- Biden granted clemency to the ‘kids-for-cash’ judge. The White House didn’t consider the case specifics.
- Mom’s Outrage Over Biden’s Clemency For Corrupt Judge
- Texas files first lawsuit against out-of-state abortion provider
- Texas Attorney General Sues New York Doctor for Mailing Abortion Pills
- Texas’ abortion pill lawsuit against New York doctor marks new challenge to interstate telemedicine
- Biden Administration Is Said to Allow California to Ban New Gas-Powered Cars
- Two Virginia women who came to Congress on a mission prepare to leave at a critical moment
- 10 Thoughts/Observations on a Potential Abigail Spanberger vs. Bobby Scott 2025 Virginia Democratic Gubernatorial Primary
- Rep. Bobby Scott considers challenging Spanberger in Va. governor primary (“Scott’s declaration tossed a bundle of political dynamite into the Democrats’ so far sleepy gubernatorial primary contest.”)
- Bobby Scott explores Virginia gubernatorial run
- SD10 Republicans Nominate “YakAttack” Founder Luther Cifers, Who Believes “life begins at conception. No exceptions.” to Replace John McGuire in the VA State Senate. (On his website, Cifers has a bunch of falsehoods and hard-right statements.)
- Republicans nominate Cifers for state Senate seat that McGuire is vacating (“Amanda Chase’s comeback bid in a different district fell short as a political newcomer was chosen on the third ballot.” Basically nothing in this article about Cifers’ hard-right positions on the issues – overwhelmingly “horse race” coverage.)
- Cifers triumphs in multi-round vote to represent GOP in state Senate District 10 special election (Nothing in this article about Cifers’ hard-right positions on the issues – all “horse race”)
- Outsider Luther Cifers wins GOP nomination for McGuire’s Senate seat (The Richmond Times-Dispatch stresses that Cifers is an “outsider,” but doesn’t say anything in the headline about his hard-right positions on the issues. Sensing a pattern here by the media?)
- Lucas looks for tax relief, but no ‘sanctuary city’ ban
- Who’s afraid of a public library? (“A cramped view imperils Virginia’s library of the year.”)
- Former Richmond judge sought improper relationships, commission says
- Large drone spotted in Virginia Beach near military installation
- Loudoun Co. teacher under fire for having high schoolers handle cotton during history lesson
- D.C. area forecast and updates: Cold with sun today. Some could see wintry mix on Sunday.
