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by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, January 10.
- 2024 was Earth’s hottest year on record, exceeding Paris target
- Hottest year on record sent planet past 1.5C of heating for first time in 2024 (“Highest recorded temperatures supercharged extreme weather – with worse to come, EU data shows” GET OFF OF FOSSIL FUELS ASAP!)m
- 2024 Brought the World to a Dangerous Warming Threshold. Now What?
- Do Russians Really Support the War in Ukraine? (“A group of sociologists found that few Russians were steadfast supporters of the war. Most had something more complicated to say”)
- Trump revives 19th-century imperialism. Make Russia great again! (“Calling the U.S.-Canada border ‘artificial’ is what Putin says about Russia and Ukraine.”)
- South Korea’s acting leader accepts resignation of presidential security chief (“It wasn’t immediately clear how Park’s resignation and Choi’s call for an independent investigation to take over the probe on Yoon would affect the push to bring Yoon into custody.”)
- Danes struggle with response to Trump Greenland threat (“Copenhagen’s grey winter skies match the mood among politicians and business leaders in the face of a crisis.”)
- Donald Trump Jr.’s Ridiculous Greenland Trip Just Took a Dark Turn
- Donald Trump Jr.’s visit was ‘staged,’ says Greenland lawmaker
- Ontario leader warns of ‘pain’ for US if Trump moves forward with tariffs on Canada
- Venezuelan opposition leader is arrested after a protest against Maduro
- Venezuela’s Maduro to be sworn in for third term as opposition leader vows to return (Maduro BADLY lost the presidential election and obviously should NOT be president.)
- Another Polar Vortex Is Blasting the U.S. With Harsh Winter Weather. So How Is Climate Change Involved?
- Economy
Friday’s jobs report could present a mixed view of the labor market. Here’s what to expect - Slow, steady US job growth seen in December
- Inside Trump’s Search for a Health Threat to Justify His Immigration Crackdown
- The Supreme Court hands Trump a loss in his bid for legal immunity (“The Court’s order is exceedingly narrow, but it is still a loss for Trump.”)
- A Rebuke to Trump Provides a Telling Portrait of a Divided Supreme Court
- Trump to endure embarrassment of criminal sentencing after last-ditch Supreme Court appeal fails
- Donald Trump can be sentenced Friday in hush money case, Supreme Court says in 5-4 ruling (This should have been 9-0. The fact that 4 Justices voted to let Trump skate by without sentencing shows how corrupt they are.)
- Supreme Court refuses to delay Trump’s hush money sentencing
- Supreme Court allows Trump’s sentencing in New York hush money case
- Appeals court muddles timing of release for Jack Smith’s final report
- Appeals court allows special counsel’s report about Trump’s election interference case to be released to public
- Supreme Court to Hear Challenge to Law That Could Shut Down TikTok
- Think the TikTok Ban Won’t Happen? Think Again.
- Federal judge strikes down Biden Title IX rules
- Judge Rejects Biden’s Title IX Rules, Scrapping Protections for Trans Students (Appointed by George W. Bush.)
- DOGE is dispatching agents across U.S. government (“Federal officials are already dealing with surrogates from Elon Musk’s and Vivek Ramaswamy’s nongovernmental body before Donald Trump is sworn in again.” UGH.)
- The Tragedy of Joe Biden
- Biden’s Tarnished Legacy (“He failed to grasp both the political moment and the essential mission of his presidency.” Agreed.)
- Why ‘Late Regime’ Presidencies Fail (“The coalition collapse that doomed Biden follows a grim precedent set by another Democratic leader: Jimmy Carter.”)
- Trump Recaps ‘Friendly’ Chat With Obama at Carter’s Funeral (“I said, ‘Boy, they look like two people who like each other,’” Trump told reporters after seeing video of their exchange. “We probably do.”)
- Barack Obama and Donald Trump Looked Unsettlingly Friendly at Jimmy Carter’s State Funeral (“The former president and once-again-future president, who are historically something less than besties, chatted it up before the service began. (Michelle Obama was not in attendance.)” WTF?)
- Democrats and the Ruthless Aggression Era
- Democrats Are About to Surrender to Trump in a Hugely Damaging Way
- Laken Riley Act overwhelmingly clears first hurdle in Senate with help from Democrats
- What does the Laken Riley Act have to do with Laken Riley? Almost nothing. (“This is a terrible, demagogic bill that exploits a horrendous murder.”)
- More than 15,000 doctors sign letter urging Senate to reject RFK Jr. as health secretary
- Trump announces new ambassador, Justice Department, VA nominees
- Melania’s $40m Amazon deal: another sign Bezos is capitulating to Donald Trump
- Google searches for deleting Facebook, Instagram explode after Meta ends fact-checking
- ‘It’s Total Chaos Internally at Meta Right Now’: Employees Protest Zuckerberg’s Anti LGBTQ Changes
- Inside Meta’s dehumanizing new speech policies for trans people
- Meta never cared about factchecking. What it wants is friction-free oligarchy
- Misinformation Spreads Like Wildfire on the Internet While LA Neighborhoods Burn
- Biden says federal government to cover 100% of costs for initial LA fire recovery
- LA Fire Crews Make Strides in Fighting Blazes as Toll Climbs
- Right-wing media figures baselessly claim LA wildfires are burning out of control because the fire chief is an LGBTQ woman who supports DEI
- LA area’s 2 biggest blazes burn at least 10,000 structures, while new fire leads to more evacuations
- “DEI is deadly”: Fox News spin on California wildfires exposes MAGA’s total incoherence (“Jesse Watters implied women are too stupid to run fire departments — most LA fire department leaders are men”)
- It’s not really the typical time for nasty California fires. What changed that?
- US rightwing fans misinformation fires as firefighters battle Los Angeles blazes
- Elon Musk and Donald Trump spread disinformation as wildfires rage in the LA area
- Thousands of homes destroyed or damaged in Palisades firestorm, LAFD estimates
- Fetterman to be first sitting Democratic U.S. senator to visit Trump at Mar-a-Lago (I used to like Fetterman, but not anymore.)
- Anita Bryant, Singer and Crusader Against Gay Rights, Dies at 84 (Didn’t even realize this horrible person was still alive.)
- ‘Pizzagate’ gunman killed by police in North Carolina after traffic stop, authorities say (Least surprising news ever!)
- It’s Open Season on the Washington Post (“Rivals are swarming the paper for talent amid a crisis of confidence.”)
- New Emerson College Poll of 2025 Virginia Governor’s Race Shows Abigail Spanberger (D) Leading Winsome Earle-Sears (R) by Just 1 Point (42%-41%) (Big racial and gender gaps in this poll, along the lines of what we saw with Trump vs. Harris…)
- Another poll confirms tight Virginia Governor’s race between Spanberger and Earle-Sears
- Political analysts react to Emerson College Poll showing narrow gubernatorial lead for Spanberger
- Youngkin to meet with Trump at Mar-a-Lago (Yuuuuuck.)
- Sam Shirazi’s Virginia Special Election Takeaways: Loudoun Looking Up for Democrats, Central Virginia Opportunities, Clues for November (“It will not be November 2024 forever – and voters have a tendency to move on from the last election.”)
- Scott and Riggleman Float Virginia Governor Bids, But Face Long Odds
- Commentary: Data centers are driving Virginia’s economic growth
- Video: With a Dangerous Trump Presidency Looming, VA State Sen. Ghazala Hashmi and Del. Cia Price Explain the Urgency of Passing Their “Virginia Right to Contraception Act” This Year, and for Gov. Glenn Youngkin to Not Veto It This Time Around!
- Virginia Democrats fear Trump’s a threat to contraception, promise protection with new bill
- Pope & Schapiro: The start and stop General Assembly session
- Would-be Va. homebuyer rebuffed because of her race to tout housing rights in new campaign
- Appalachian Power customers could shop for electricity under proposed law
- Richmond water testing ongoing now that pressure has returned
- Avula gives detailed recap of water plant failures
- Richmond’s water system fully operational, boil advisory still in place (“Mayor Danny Avula said Thursday that the city’s reservoir is full and the water system is fully pressurized, but a boil advisory could be in place until Saturday.”)
- FOIA Friday: Inspection reports reveal past issues at Richmond utility amid water crisis
- Demolition of unstable buildings underway after fire at former Virginia Intermont campus in Bristol
- CWG Live updates: Light snow tonight could drop a coating to 1 or 2 inches
