by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, January 3.
- Banks Celebrate the New Year by Quitting Their Climate Pledges
- Trump’s strength and unpredictability can help end the war with Russia, Ukraine’s president says (Zelenskyy is trying to play to Trump’s enormous ego.)
- Trump calls to ‘open up’ North Sea, get rid of windmills (First of all, Reuters, they’re not “windmills,” they’re wind turbines – they don’t “mill” anything. Second, f*** Trump.)
- Saudi Arabia and U.A.E. Tread Cautiously With Syria’s New Leaders (“The Mideast powerhouses have been trying to block the rise of Islamist groups for two decades. The rebel takeover in Damascus will test that approach.”)
- How Widening Israel’s War Saved Benjamin Netanyahu (“The Prime Minister’s domestic popularity has rebounded to pre-October 7th levels, despite his refusal to prioritize a hostage deal in Gaza.”)
- Israeli airstrike hits a Gaza humanitarian zone as Netanyahu OKs a delegation to talks in Qatar
- South Korea’s impeached president defies warrant after hourslong standoff
- Supporters of South Korea’s Yoon adopt ‘Stop the Steal’, hope Trump will help
- Soldiers block police as S Korea enters uncharted territory
- Narendra Modi’s Populist Facade Is Cracking (“India is now a testing ground for whether demagoguery or deteriorating living conditions exert a greater sway on voters.”)
- Vance shares Musk op-ed backing Germany’s far-right party (Vance is a fascist.)
- Here’s What Trump’s Mexico Invasion Plan Could Look Like (“As Trump and his incoming administration threaten Mexican drug cartels, experts warn their plan could create more violence and put Americans in danger”)
- Biden to Block Nippon Steel Takeover of US Steel on Friday
- Biden to announce decision on U.S. Steel acquisition as early as Friday
- Eyeing Potential Bird Flu Outbreak, Biden Administration Ramps Up Preparedness
- John Roberts Is Imagining Things (“We can all agree that Supreme Court justices shouldn’t face threats of physical violence. But only in the chief justice’s warped, cloistered world does criticism of the high court constitute intimidation.” Roberts is bonkers.)
- Judicial body won’t refer Clarence Thomas to Justice Department over ethics lapses (Ridiculous. In our country, a LOT of people -especially if they’re wealthy, powerful, famous, etc. – ARE above the law.)
- In striking down net-neutrality rule, Sixth Circuit asserts newfound judicial supremacy
- Net neutrality eviscerated by appeals court ruling
- How Far Is John Ratcliffe Willing to Go? (“A partisan loyalist with a history of politicizing intelligence will soon be running the CIA.”)
- FBI checks, ethics paperwork threaten to slow down Trump confirmations
- The President-Elect Welcomed 2025 with a Round of Exploitative Mendacity
- Speaker Johnson’s day of reckoning
- Republicans to watch during Mike Johnson’s House speaker election
- Mike Johnson’s House speaker bid looks shaky despite Trump endorsement
- Why Johnson’s speakership bid is a test for Trump (“If Trump fails to lift Johnson over the line, he will sow new doubts about his capacity to effectively lead”)
- Furious Conservatives: We Won’t Vote for Trump’s Speaker (“Weary Republicans expressed hope for political expediency—for both the president-elect and for Mike Johnson.”)
- If Johnson Can’t Win Speaker Election, D.C. Grinds to a Halt
- Johnson doesn’t have the votes to remain speaker. But his allies insist it’s trending his way.
- How a long speaker fight could impact Trump’s ability to start his next term
- Congress Has the Opportunity to Do the Funniest Thing Ever (“The Speaker election looks tight. The presidential election certification is just days away. Could Republicans impose their own January 6th through sheer obstinacy?”)
- Republicans are once again staring down House speaker drama. Here’s what’s at stake.
- Scoop: GOP moderates warn Johnson not to repeat McCarthy’s deal (This is flat-out disinformation by Axios. In fact, there are ZERO Republican “moderates” in the US House at this point.)
- There’s a big problem with trying to replace Johnson — no clear alternates
- Republicans Aren’t Making Life Easy for Mike Johnson (“Even with Trump’s endorsement, the House speaker is still seeking to persuade GOP holdouts, who have threatened to oust him by a razor-thin margin.”)
- In divided US House, top Democrat Hakeem Jeffries aims to keep some grip on power
- ‘Dark Money’ Is Tainting Washington Think Tanks. A New Report Shows It’s Worse Than You Think.
- Cheney cheered as Biden awards her the Presidential Citizens Medal
- Biden awards high civilian honor to Liz Cheney in another Trump rebuke
- Why Mark Zuckerberg No Longer Needs Nick Clegg (“The former UK politician was a public statesman when Meta required one. A different approach will be called for under Trump.”)
- Meta will appoint Republican Joel Kaplan to lead global policy team, as Nick Clegg steps down
- Why Don’t the Tech Bros Just Hire from MAGA?
- FBI releases new video of a suspect planting a pipe bomb near DNC offices on eve of the Capitol riot
- New Orleans attacker discussed plans to kill his family and join ISIS in chilling recordings. Here’s what we know
- Fox News keeps linking the New Orleans truck attack to border security despite no apparent link
- New Orleans truck attack restarts the Fox-Trump feedback loop (“Minutes after Fox falsely reported the suspect had just crossed the border, Trump claimed he was an immigrant”)
- New year, same Trump: MAGA pounces on New Orleans tragedy to spread disinformation (“The president-elect’s barrage of lies encourages his followers to reject reality even harder”)
- Recordings by New Orleans attack suspect express extreme religious views (“Audio from Shamsud-Din Jabbar contains diatribes against music, drugs, sex and other sensuous pleasures”)
- FBI now says New Orleans attacker acted alone
- Cybertruck blast suspect was a ‘Rambo type’ who loved Trump, family says
- Soldier shot self in head before Cybertruck exploded outside Trump’s Las Vegas hotel, officials say
- How Elon Musk Made the Las Vegas Bombing About His ‘Badass Truck’ (Those things are hideous.)
- Elon Musk and the right’s war on Wikipedia (Appalling.)
- Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA11): House Republican Rules Package “seek[s] to cement the Republican crusade against the civil service and to protect Donald Trump and his Administration from legitimate congressional scrutiny”
- Video: Rep. Jennifer McClellan (D-VA04) Says Dems Need to Stay Unified, Build Coalitions, Do Better Job of Communicating, Use Legislative and Legal Tools at Our Disposal to Fight Back Effectively Against Trump’s Excesses, Lawlessness
- Virginia Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger talks running for Governor
- US Energy Information Administration: Virginia Has Most Rapid Power Demand Growth in US, Largely Due to “rapid development of large-scale computing facilities such as data centers” (Virginia policymakers face the huge challenge of powering those data centers in a sustainable, affordable manner.)
- Virginia’s special elections test party strength before 2025 Governor’s race
- Pope & Schapiro: What to expect in the new General Assembly session and from Richmond’s new mayor
- FOIA Friday: Espionage case in Virginia ends with prosecution
- Pat Herrity to run for lieutenant governor, aims to boost GOP ticket in 2025 (I’m linking to this because they’re the only ones with the story, but remember, WJLA7/Sinclair is a right-wing outlet that is definitely NOT real news.)
- Non-profit will press state lawmakers for clean energy and clean government (“As the state legislature gets ready for its annual session, Charlottesville millionaire Michael Bills and his non-profit are again preparing to do battle against Dominion Energy and other big-money players in Richmond.” Headline should say “will CONTINUE to press…”)
- George Mason opens $254M hub as Virginia aims to draw in more tech (“The opening of George Mason University’s Fuse site is part of a $1 billion effort to make Northern Virginia a type of Silicon Valley of the East Coast.”)
- Youngkin proposes 1-year delay in study to convert transportation museum to state agency
- What are the Richmond Public Schools’ cellphone-free education rules?
- D.C. area forecast and updates: Snow squall possible today, bigger storm Sunday and Monday (“Today’s our last relatively mild one for a while. Colder this weekend and potentially turning snowy late Sunday into Monday.”)
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