by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Tuesday, December 17.
- International Court of Justice Hears Climate Pleas Ahead of Issuing an Advisory Opinion (“Developing countries are asking 15 international judges to clarify the legal obligations of rich nations whose high emissions have driven the greatest warming.”)
- Seven quiet breakthroughs for climate and nature in 2024 you might have missed
- Bomb Kills General Who Led Russia’s Nuclear Defense Force (“A Ukrainian official said Kyiv was responsible for the assassination of Igor Kirillov, the head of Russia’s radioactive, chemical and biological defense forces.”)
- A Russian general was killed by a bomb in Moscow. Ukraine official says secret service was behind it (“A senior Russian general has been killed by a bomb hidden in a scooter outside his apartment building in Moscow.”)
- Ukraine says it killed senior Russian general who died in scooter blast in Moscow (“On Monday, Kirillov was charged in Kyiv for the use of banned chemical weapons in Ukraine…Kirillov had already been sanctioned by the UK, and others, for his role in Russia’s use of chemical weapons”)
- Igor Kirillov: Russia’s chemical weapons chief and mouthpiece killed in Moscow (The dude sounds like he as pure evil.)
- First reported deaths of North Korean soldiers fighting against Ukraine (“White House says North Koreans are on the ‘front lines’ of Russia’s war after Ukraine’s claim of fatalities among the estimated 12,000 troops sent over by Kim Jong-un” And what the hell are we DOING about this???)
- Why political chaos in Germany threatens a wobbly world (“The collapse of the Berlin government is superficially about Germany’s shaky economy. But it’s the whole world that is shaky.”)
- Germany’s Scholz loses a confidence vote, setting up an early election in February
- How China could try to strangle Taiwan without firing a shot (“The Taiwan invasion everyone fears might never happen. Here’s what could take place instead.”)
- Japan targets 40-50% power supply from renewables by 2040 (“Japan targets 40-50% renewable energy by 2040; Nuclear power to account for 20% of Japan’s 2040 energy supply; Thermal power to decrease to 30-40% by 2040, focus on LNG”)
- Inside the Russian airbase in Syria where troops form fragile truce with rebels they once bombed
- Syrian HTS leader says rebel factions that overthrew Assad will be ‘disbanded’ (“HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa says fighters will all be ‘subject to the law’ as he sought to emphasise need for unity in post-war Syria”)
- CNN Under Fire for Sketchy Syrian Prisoner Story (That’s really, really bad by Clarissa Ward/CNN.)
- Assad’s Fall Upends the Middle East’s Largest Drug Empire (“Captagon helped sustain the Syrian regime, and fueled war and addiction across the region”)
- Fear of a reckoning simmers in Assad’s Alawite heartland
- U.S. Fears Military Buildup by Turkey Signals Preparations for Incursion Into Syria (“Kurdish officials are urging Donald Trump to press Ankara to head off an invasion.”)
- Israeli negotiators head to Qatar as hopes rise for Gaza hostage deal (“Optimism over ceasefire-for-hostages deal as Trump says there ‘will be hell to pay’ if captives not released”)
- Middle East crisis live: Israel says it will maintain ‘security control’ of Gaza after war
- Trudeau considering his options as leader after Freeland quits cabinet, sources say
- Top Canada Minister Resigns, Threatening Trudeau’s Hold on Power
- Trudeau Teeters in Canada After Deputy’s Scathing Resignation
- Japan’s SoftBank plans to invest $100 billion in US projects over the next four years.
- Masayoshi Son and the Art of the Fake Deal (“The investment Trump is touting is fake on multiple levels”)
- Trump and SoftBank CEO Announce $100 Billion Investment in US Projects
- High on Hope, Wall St. Hears What It Wants From Trump
- Giant Companies Took Secret Payments to Allow Free Flow of Opioids (“Drugmakers including Purdue Pharma paid pharmacy benefit managers not to restrict painkiller prescriptions, a New York Times investigation found.”)
- ABC Blinks (“The curious case of ABC News agreeing to pay $15 million toward the Trump library to settle a defamation case.”)
- A low, low point for ABC News
- Questions ABC News Should Answer Following the $16 Million Trump Settlement
- Why ABC News settled with Donald Trump for $15 million
- Oh, Never Mind (“Do you remember when candidate Donald Trump said, “Grocery prices have skyrocketed. How can a family afford that? So, when I win, I will immediately bring prices down.” That was at a rally in August”)
- Trump Plays Chicken With the Madman Theory (“The incoming president’s deliberate craziness will be a study in chaos — not strength.”)
- The Great Capitulation
- Trump allies float extreme ideas, including Trump third term, at gala (“Radical suggestions come from Steve Bannon and indicate most polarizing proposals will be up for consideration”)
- Trump will destroy the government agencies that most help working people (“For all its supposed ‘populism’, the new administration will probably target offices that protect consumers”)
- Bipartisan bill to avert government shutdown appears to hit snags (“Competing demands over RFK Stadium and farm assistance have weighed down negotiations over a bipartisan framework to stop the government from shutting down Saturday.”)
- Trump’s First Press Conference as President-Elect Went Exactly How You’d Expect (“It’s going to be a long four years.”)
- CNN Fact-Checker Flags ‘Most Dangerous Part’ Of Donald Trump’s News Conference (“Look, there is no link between vaccines and autism. This notion has been discredited by study after study over decades.”)
- Trump relishes wielding power without responsibility
- Judge Denies Trump’s Bid to Throw Out Conviction Over Immunity Ruling (“Justice Juan M. Merchan thwarted one of several attempts by Donald J. Trump to clear his record of 34 felonies before returning to the White House”)
- Trump’s Retribution Tour Begins
- Trump sues Des Moines Register, top pollster for ‘brazen election interference,’ fraud over Harris poll (WTF? Over a FUBAR poll??? This is pure intimidation of the news media by Trump.)
- Donald Trump Apparently Thinks Bad Polling Is Illegal (“He suggested Monday that he’s going to sue Iowa pollster Ann Selzer for wrongly putting Kamala Harris ahead of him in the state.”)
- 6 Questions for RFK Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard As They Descend on Capitol Hill
- Republicans see agriculture and abortion, not vaccines, as top Kennedy concerns
- Surprise: Trump’s Pick for CDC Chief Has Spread the Debunked Claim That Vaccines Can Cause Autism (“It’s not just Robert F. Kennedy Jr.”)
- Trump is surrounding himself with vaccine skeptics
- Trump passes over RFK Jr.’s daughter-in-law for CIA’s No. 2 job
- RFK Jr. has public health leaders quietly hopeful — and scared as hell (“Public health officials see promise in some of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s plans to prevent chronic disease but despair at his vaccine conspiracy theories.”)
- Trump seeks to smooth over concerns about RFK Jr.
- Hegseth’s Guard Left the Army After the Beating of a Civilian During Training
- Senate prepares for Kavanaugh 2.0 with Trump pick Hegseth
- “Everybody wants to be my friend,” Trump brags after tech CEOs seek audiences
- Trump transition launches DHS landing team full of first-term alums
- Republicans cry foul with some judges ‘unretiring’ before second Trump term
- Maybe Democrats Didn’t Do So Badly After All (“The party’s debate about reinventing itself after the election has gotten more complicated.”)
- The Ordinary Explanations Behind the Mysterious Lights in the Skies
- Senate Democrats push plan to abolish Electoral College (That’s going nowhere.)
- Statement from President Joe Biden on Shooting at Abundant Life Christian School in Wisconsin
- 3 dead, others injured in a shooting at a private Christian school in Wisconsin
- Meddling for MAGA (” Patrick Soon-Shiong, the owner of the Los Angeles Times, has dismayed staffers as he curtails critical coverage of Donald Trump. — Patrick Soon-Shiong’s meddling at the Los Angeles Times has grown more pervasive than previously realized.”)
- AOC Loses Committee Vote to 74-Year-Old Gerry Connolly (“The race has been part of a push by younger Democrats to oust veteran committee leaders”)
- AOC loses key vote in House Oversight race to Gerry Connolly
- AOC Should Win This Fight (“Nancy Pelosi is leading the charge to keep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez out of a key House position. It’s a bad move.”)
- Senior Democrat Gerry Connolly beats out AOC in key vote for top party post on Oversight panel
- Scoop: Top editors stiff the Washington Post (“The situation at the Washington Post is so dire that two candidates to run the paper — Cliff Levy of the New York Times and Meta’s Anne Kornblut, a former Post editor — both withdrew from consideration for the top newsroom job over the paper’s strategy, sources involved in the process say…The Post has announced no major shifts or innovations under the Lewis regime. Toss in a demoralized staff and invigorated labor unions, and you have a mighty challenge for the next top editor.”)
- Youngkin, Warner voice concerns over mystery drones: ‘There’s clearly something going on’
- Youngkin pitches ‘no tax on tips’ bill, Democrats push ‘momnibus’ to address maternal healthcare
- Youngkin takes aim at tax on tips in budget proposal (“Analysts say more equitable policies are on the table.”)
- Virginia Gov. Youngkin, echoing Trump, proposes no state tax on tips (“The proposal is part of a larger budget bill that Youngkin will unveil Wednesday to the General Assembly money committees.”)
- New Study Finds Faith-Based Property Ownership in Virginia a Potential Solution to the Affordable Housing Crisis (“Faith communities in Virginia own more than 74,000 acres of land across 22,000 parcels”)
- Commentary: Virginia’s economy is healthy, but the new year is filled with uncertainty
- ‘Momnibus’ package aims to close maternal health gaps across Virginia
- Virginia’s new corrections ombudsman to prioritize Red Onion prison probe
- Department of Corrections ombudsman will investigate Red Onion State Prison
- Richmond won’t choose Coliseum developer until after Stoney departs
- Arlington Pumping Up on Public EV Charging Stations (“A total of 31 charging stations have now been installed at County facilities and are operational, including six at the surface parking lot adjacent to the County’s Bozman Government Center in Courthouse. An additional 12 stations were installed recently at Central Library in Ballston-Virginia Square and will be operational pending activation by Dominion Energy.”)
- Michael Vick in talks to become Norfolk State’s head coach
- Montgomery County board censures one of its members for missed meetings
- D.C.-area forecast: Warm sunshine returns this afternoon, but rain is back late Wednesday
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