by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Wednesday, January 15.
- It’s the S-Curve, stupid: New model predicts half of world’s energy will come from solar by 2035 (Pretty sure they mean “electricity,” not “energy.” Makes a big difference!)
- Trump’s Canada, Greenland Threats Imperil China Fight, Says Departing Envoy
- Trump advisers concede Ukraine peace deal is months away
- Putin needs Trump’s help more than ever (“And Trump is signaling that he’ll deliver.”)
- Escalating armed conflict is most urgent threat for world in 2025, say global leaders
- Estimated Gaza Toll May Have Missed 25,000 Deaths, Study Says
- Hamas OKs draft agreement of a Gaza ceasefire and the release of some hostages, officials say
- A Biden-Trump Gaza deal?
- Israel-Gaza war live: Ceasefire and hostage deal ‘right on brink’, says US, as hopes rise for agreement
- Iran ‘never’ plotted to kill Trump during campaign, Iran’s president tells NBC News
- South Korea Arrests President on Second Attempt. It Took 1,000 Police.
- Yoon becomes South Korea’s first sitting president to be detained after martial law chaos
- South Korea’s impeached president arrested
- A question on ASEAN stumped Hegseth at his Senate hearing. What is it and why is it important?
- Farage and Truss attend UK launch of US climate denial group (Appalling.)
- In Greenland, a cold shoulder for Trump, but curiosity about U.S. ties
- Biden moves to lift state sponsor of terrorism designation for Cuba, part of deal to free prisoners
- Big oil pushed to kill bill that would have made them pay for wildfire disasters
- Society is making you sick, GOP says. Too bad their plans will make you sicker.
- Are We Sleepwalking Into Autocracy?
- Biden bids farewell from Oval Office as Trump looms over his legacy
- Biden, in prime time, to bid farewell to nation as Trump prepares to take office
- The Most Damning Lines in Jack Smith’s Brutal Trump January 6 Report (“Special counsel Jack Smith was explicitly candid about the threat of Donald Trump.”)
- What we learned from the Trump Jan. 6 report by special counsel Jack Smith
- Jack Smith Gives Up (“The January 6 crime paid off for Trump.”)
- Jack Smith reminds us of the futility of truth in the Trump era
- Mike Johnson eyes April deadline to pass one big MAGA bill through the House, but GOP senators are skeptical
- Paul Krugman: Trump Voters Are Already Getting “Brutally Scammed”
- Pete Hegseth Waves Away Misconduct Allegations in Fiery Senate Hearing
- At the Hegseth hearing, GOP senators covered themselves in shame
- Pete Hegseth Declines to Answer (“At today’s confirmation hearing, the defense-secretary nominee looked like a man who understood that the fix was in.”)
- The Situation: The Cult of Unqualified Authenticity (“On Pete Hegseth and the first hearing for a Trump nominee for a major cabinet position”)
- Pete Hegseth seems open to ordering soldiers to shoot protesters
- That May Have Been the Most Antagonistic Confirmation Hearing I’ve Ever Seen (“Is Pete Hegseth qualified to run the military? Wrong question.”)
- Pete Hegseth Can’t Say If Sexual Assault Is ‘Disqualifying’ To Be Defense Secretary
- Pete Hegseth’s Confirmation Hearing Featured Plenty of Clowns, But I’m Not Laughing
- “You will have to change how you see women”: Why Trump fears Hegseth accusers (“Hegseth’s excuses for his misogyny contradict each other, but MAGA doesn’t care”)
- Hegseth softens stance on women in combat, calls for policies already in place (In other words, he’ll say whatever he has to say in order to win confirmation. But that doesn’t mean he’s sincere at all.)
- Joni Ernst Refused Meeting With Hegseth’s Sex-Assault Accuser: Report (Disgusting by Ernst.)
- Joni Ernst Says She Will Vote to Confirm Pete Hegseth (She’s horrible.)
- Rubio Is in the Spotlight on the Second Big Day of Cabinet Hearings
- Tulsi Gabbard Charm Offensive Draws Skepticism From GOP Senators
- Choice for Energy Secretary Has Been an Evangelist for Fossil Fuels (Disastrous.)
- Trump’s Pick for Justice Dept. to Face Questions About Her Independence
- House passes ban on transgender students in girls sports
- Trump will begin his presidency in delicate position, poll finds (“More people hold an unfavorable than favorable view of him, most are against pardoning those convicted of attacking the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and they’re split on whether to mass deport immigrants who are in the U.S. without legal status. Perhaps most importantly, Americans have high expectations that their personal financial situations will improve under Trump, but more think tariffs will hurt rather than help the economy.”)
- Zuckerberg’s Macho Posturing Looks a Lot Like Cowardice
- Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg to attend Trump’s inauguration
- Meta to fire thousands of staff as Zuckerberg warns of ‘intense year’ (“Company reveals plans to cut about 5% of its global workforce days after saying it would get rid of factcheckers”)
- SEC Sues Musk Over Securities Violation in Federal Court
- S.E.C. Sues Elon Musk Over Twitter-Related Securities Violations
- Michelle Obama Will Skip Trump’s Inauguration (Good – no Democrat should attend.)
- Jared Kushner advises from afar as Ivanka Trump opts out of role in father’s second term
- LA Faces High Winds and No Sign of Rain After Week of Flames
- Economic Toll of Los Angeles Fires Goes Far Beyond Destroyed Homes
- TikTok’s algorithm appears to be boosting LA wildfire misinformation
- Texas House elects new Speaker in blow to far-right wing
- Republicans Attempt Power Grab in Minnesota (“GOP lawmakers are trying to unseat an elected representative and force appointments through without a quorum.”)
- I was fully indoctrinated into the Democrat ‘cult.’ Here’s why I left my liberal influencer life behind to raise money for Trump (I’m including this only to say that Lindy Li is a heinous grifter who NOBODY should be following or listening to.)
- Rep. Mace challenges Rep. Crockett to ‘take it outside’ at House hearing (Mace is seriously deranged.)
- Video: Sen. Tim Kaine to Pete Hegseth – “So you can’t tell me whether someone who has committed a sexual assault is disqualified from being Secretary of Defense?” (“We have seen records with names attached to all of these, including the name of your own mother.”)
- WATCH: Sen. Kaine questions Hegseth about infidelity and assault allegation in hearing
- Abigail Spanberger Campaign Reports Nearly $6 Million Raised in 2024, Nearly $9.6 Million Raised in the Race for Virginia’s Governor
- VIDEO: Virginia House Democratic Caucus Passes Constitutional Amendments to Safeguard Reproductive Rights, Marriage Equality, and Voting Rights
- Virginia House of Delegates Passes, on a Party-Line Vote, Constitutional Amendment Guaranteeing “the fundamental right to reproductive freedom” (“Virginia took a massive step forward today” – House Majority Leader Charniele Herring)
- Virginia House advances constitutional amendments on same-sex marriage, abortion, voting rights
- Historic push for constitutional protections in Virginia gains momentum
- Abortion, gay marriage and felon voting constitutional amendments pass Virginia House
- Virginia House, led by Dems, advance three constitutional amendments
- Va. House passes hot-topic amendments, invoking Trump on felon rights (“Virginia’s House of Delegates passed proposed amendments on felon voting rights, abortion and same-sex marriage, while Republicans touted a right-to-work measure.”)
- Legislation to translate K-12 assessments into multiple languages advances in Virginia
- Republicans want to enshrine “Right to Work” into the Virginia Constitution
- Virginia House advances constitutional amendment for right to reproductive freedom
- Video: Virginia Legislative Black Caucus Announces Its 2025 Legislative Agenda (Civil rights, housing, healthcare, environment, economy, democracy, etc.)
- Bipartisan legislators look to wrangle Virginia’s data center growth
- Bipartisan legislative effort seeks to regulate data center construction in Virginia
- Prescription drug board proposal clears House committee
- Youngkin’s opposition to hiking Va.’s minimum wage goes against 30 years of economic research
- Stanley’s bill to reduce regulations on health care provider access to machinery killed in subcommittee
- Top Virginia federal prosecutor to depart as Trump takes office (“U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Aber, a Democratic appointee who has led a high-profile office, says she tried to rebuild public trust in law enforcement.”)
- Cville lawyer who probed Unite the Right and January 6th on where we go from here
- Group opposed to Fairfax Co. casino heads to Richmond to voice concerns
- Commentary: Richmond isn’t alone. All of Virginia’s historic cities need help
- CWG Live updates: Frigid today, then less chilly before next Arctic blast arrives Sunday
