by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Saturday, December 21.
- Wells Fargo departs climate banking group in another high-profile exit after Goldman (So much for corporations being heroes.)
- Russia Taps Soviet-Era Stockpiles as Armored-Vehicle Supply Dwindles (“Moscow has stepped up efforts to refurbish old equipment, including decades-old tanks used as props in films, after losing an estimated 11,000 armored combat vehicles in the Ukraine war.”)
- Ukraine faces difficult decisions over acute shortage of frontline troops
- What if Russia wins in Ukraine? We can already see the shadows of a dark 2025 (“Instability is growing, Putin’s hybrid war in Europe is heating up and for fear of escalation we have encouraged global nuclear proliferation”)
- Tel Aviv hit by missile fired from Yemen, Israel and Houthis say
- For Syria’s Economy, the Way Forward Starts With Sanctions Relief
- In Search of Loved Ones, Syrian Women Face Horror of Assad’s Regime
- Outrage as Elon Musk claims ‘only AfD can save Germany’ (“German health minister calls US billionaire’s intervention weeks before election ‘undignified and problematic’”)
- Elon Musk Boosting German Fascists, What Could Possibly Go Wrong
- Elon Musk Applauds the German Neo-Nazi Party
- Backlash builds as Elon Musk endorses Germany’s far right (“‘Only the AfD can save Germany,’ said the key Donald Trump ally.”)
- Elon Musk endorses far-right Alternative for Germany party in upcoming election
- Vehicle plows into crowded Christmas market in Germany, killing at least 5 and injuring 200 (“Police have arrested a suspect, identified as a doctor from Saudi Arabia who lived in Germany. They have not cited a possible motive for the attack.”)
- Canada PM Trudeau looks set to lose power after key ally vows to topple him (“New Democratic Party leader Jagmeet Singh, who has been helping keep Trudeau in office, said he would present a formal motion of no-confidence after Jan. 27.”)
- Faced with turmoil, a defiant Trudeau hangs on – for now
- The economy returns to a new (old) normal, leaving Trump fewer options (“The pandemic-era inflation is mostly under control. But we still haven’t returned to the pre-pandemic normal.”)
- Trump was poised to inherit a strong economy. Then things got rocky and he added to the uncertainty (From the same media which wouldn’t say BEFORE the election that Biden’s economy was strong. Pathetic.)
- The Democrats Have a Crime Problem. Blame the Media. (Yet another MASSIVE media failure.)
- Joe Biden Just Beat Donald Trump On This Extremely Important Metric (“The Senate on Friday confirmed Biden’s 235th lifetime federal judge — one more than Trump appointed during his first term in office.”)
- Senate confirms 2 Biden judicial nominees, boosting total over Trump
- Senate confirms Biden’s 235th judge, beating Trump’s record (“It’s an important milestone for Joe Biden as he tops his predecessor Donald Trump’s total number of judicial nominees confirmed before handing the White House back over to him.”)
- Senate Democrats render a verdict on Supreme Court ethics (“Sen. Dick Durbin says justices have lost the trust of American people by failing to disclose gifts and other ethical lapses.”)
- Trump Moves to Replace Officials Whom New Presidents Traditionally Leave Alone
- Republicans Are Plotting $2.5 Trillion in Spending Cuts. Yes, Including Entitlements.
- ‘It Will Be a More Robust Check on Trump Than the G.O.P. Congress’: Three Legal Experts on Trump 2.0
- Courage is in short supply among Democrats and the media
- Congress averts shutdown after House GOP drops Trump’s debt limit demand
- The Budget Crisis Chaos Is Just a Hint of What’s to Come
- Fox News correspondent: Democrats “saved the day” on “every single major fiscal vote this Congress” despite Republican House majority
- Shutdown chaos has Republicans worried about moving Trump agenda
- Government funding bill clears Congress and heads to President Biden, averting a shutdown
- House Republicans just exposed the limits of Trump’s power
- Trump and Musk have ‘Art of the Deal’-ed themselves (“Do Donald Trump and Elon Musk realize they’ve blindsided their own party?”)
- Trump Gets Lump of Coal From Republicans as Shutdown Averted
- Mike Johnson’s magic debt ceiling promise
- Musk Shows Trump That He’s the New Chaos in Town
- Elon Musk’s X Endgame (“The world’s richest man has become a new kind of oligarch.”)
- We Just Got a Taste of What Elon Musk Will Do When Trump’s in Office
- Bannon: Kash Patel Will Absolutely Investigate the People Named in His Book
- Congress passes RFK bill in surprise move, giving D.C. control of stadium site
- The Politics Hour: U.S. Senator Tim Kaine and D.C. Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie
- Senators Warner, Kaine “Relieved” at Congressional Passage of Legislation to Keep Government Funded Until March 14 (Shutdown “would have had disastrous consequences for federal employees, government contractors, and millions of Americans who rely on government services.”)
- Rep. Wexton, Senators Kaine and Warner Applaud Senate Passage of Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act 2.0 (“The legislation is named in honor of Gabriella Miller, who lived in Virginia’s 10th District and was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor and passed away in 2013 at the age of 10.”)
- U.S. Senate Passes Spanberger-Graves Social Security Fairness Act to…Provide Long-Overdue Fairness to Police Officers, Firefighters, Educators, Federal Workers & Local Government Employees
- VA Dems Call Out VA GOP For Absurdly Claiming “No such thing as a government shutdown, only a slowdown” (“The Virginia GOP thinks that playing with Virginians’ paychecks so billionaires can get richer is totally fine.”)
- Virginia House speaker: Trump downsizing may send Virginia unemployment surging higher (Exactly!)
- For Virginia immigrants — with papers or not — a worrying time
- Kavanaugh steps down as U.S. attorney for Western Virginia
- Three Black men were lynched. A rural Virginia county has cleared their names.
- Recount upholds Democrat Joe Cobb as Roanoke mayor-elect; Bowers concedes
- Richmond janitors file federal complaints alleging discrimination and retaliation
- Former top Virginia Beach official should reimburse city $10K in expenses, audit finds
- After fire rips through vacant Virginia Intermont campus, officials say city of Bristol likely to bear cost of cleanup
- D.C. area forecast and updates: Gusts today usher in midwinter chill that lasts through Monday
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