Thursday News: “Climate change ‘beyond scientific dispute,’ National Academies report says”; “R.I.P. the First Amendment, Killed by Cowardice and Greed”; “Trump’s most brazen attack on free speech yet”; Karl Rove in WSJ – “‘They’ Didn’t Kill Charlie Kirk”

by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Thursday, September 18.

• Climate change ‘beyond scientific dispute,’ National Academies report says (“The report is a sharp rebuttal to a recent Trump administration’s report, and Republicans have already targeted the report as “a blatant partisan act.””)
• National Academies publishes strongest rebuke yet of the EPA attempts to dismiss climate threats
• Top Scientists Find Growing Evidence That Greenhouse Gases Are, in Fact, a Danger
• “Too cheap to contain and too big to ignore:” The electrotech revolution that will sweep away fossil fuels (“The report, from the UK-based think tank Ember, says these new technologies are three-times more efficient than fossil fuels, are capable of displacing around 70 per cent of fossil fuel imports, and will continue to see their costs fall by around 20 per cent every time deployment doubles. Most of all, the new report, The Electrotech Revolution, flags a rethink about the way the world views the global energy system, and draws a parallel with the IT revolution that preceded it.”)
• Warsaw turns to Ukraine for drone warfare expertise after Russian drones enter Polish airspace
• China’s defense minister renews threats to take over Taiwan as he opens security forum
• Trump, 79, Rambles Through Error-Filled Windsor Castle Address
• Trump arrives at Chequers for talks with Starmer on final day of state visit
• Behind Castle Walls, the Rich and Powerful Celebrate Trump
• How Britain’s Keir Starmer Became Europe’s Soft-Spoken Trump Whisperer (“The prime minister’s surprising rapport with the president offers a model other European leaders hope to emulate”)
• In the West Bank, Trump Is Not Standing in Israel’s Way (Trump isn’t standing in Netanyahu et al’s way anywhere.)
• “Amateur Hour”: The Man Sending US Military Contractors to Gaza (“How a little-known former Green Beret went from starting a company to prevent hangovers to the center of a dubious scheme to deliver aid in Gaza.”)
• Why Trump Privately Fumes About Netanyahu but Gives Him Free Rein (“The president’s frustration boiled over last week hours after Israel attacked Hamas negotiators in Qatar, an operation that threatened to derail fragile peace talks.”)
• In Gaza City, Israel Looks for a Way to Kill Hamas but Not Its Hostages (“The risk is that the Israeli military can’t do both, and security services say they are moving troops into Gaza City cautiously because of the danger.”)
• Saudi Arabia, nuclear-armed Pakistan sign mutual defence pact
• Pentagon Lawyers Raise Concerns Over Trump’s Strikes on Alleged Drug Boats
• America Loves Cocaine Again—Mexico’s New Drug King Cashes In
• Trump’s Anti-Immigration Campaign Has Made Cocaine Cheaper (“Federal agents have been taken off drug trafficking to stop immigration, and cocaine is flooding the American market.”)
• Immigration judge says Mahmoud Khalil must be deported to Syria or Algeria
• US judge orders Mahmoud Khalil deported citing ‘misrepresented facts’ on green card form (“Lawyers say pro-Palestinian activist remains protected from immigration enforcement while separate federal court case proceeds”)
• Trump DoJ seeks to kill Vermont law that makes big oil pay for climate harm (Appalling on multiple levels.)
• Powell Rallies Fed Colleagues as Economic, Political Risks Grow (“Donald Trump ally Stephen Miran was the lone Fed dissenter, pushing for a bigger cut.”)
• ‘Bizarre and Embarrassing’: Four Economists Dissect a Momentous Fed Meeting
• The U.S. economy is dealing with more than stagflation (“Unemployment and inflation are starting to rise. But more troubling: how skewed the AI economy is.”)
• 
  Federal Reserve cuts US interest rates for first time since December (“Central bank moves to set rates at range between 4 and 4.25% but decision unlikely to satisfy Donald Trump”)
• Democrats Outline Spending Demands as Shutdown Looms
• Democrats should play hardball in looming funding showdown (“The party has a chance to protect Obamacare — and begin to craft a new, compelling narrative for voters”)
• Trump’s Health Care Cuts May Hit Voters Sooner Than He Thinks (“The public is likely to feel the impact of the GOP megabill well before the midterms.”)
• RFK Jr. Claimed CDC Was ‘Killing Children’ According to Former Director (“Susan Monarez was grilled Wednesday by Republican senators who are running cover for Kennedy and Trump’s anti-science agenda.” Those senators are a f’ing disgrace.)
• Former CDC officials foreshadow how RFK Jr. is coming after vaccines
• Questions Are Raised About Vaccine Panel’s Reliability as Policy Review Gets Underway
• Western States Issue Their Own Vaccine Recommendations to Counter Kennedy
• Who to Trust If You Can’t Trust the CDC (“No American institution is equipped to replace the agency. But a few trusted resources can help.”)
• Vaccine ‘skeptics’ among new advisers joining CDC committee (“Some have little to no documented experience with vaccines while others have undermined their safety” Absolute disaster.)
• Kennedy’s Vaccine Committee to Vote on Hepatitis B and Covid Shots
• We’ve Reached the Era of American Unhistory (“Don’t like something that happened in our past? The Trump administration will wipe it clean for you.”)
• Katty Kay: Why America is at a dangerous crossroads following the Charlie Kirk shooting
• R.I.P. the First Amendment, Killed by Cowardice and Greed
• Trump, allies seek to punish speech they dislike following Kirk killing
• The Jimmy Kimmel Suspension: A Huge Step Down the Authoritarian Road
• Media’s MAGA makeover
• Let’s be clear about what happened to Jimmy Kimmel (“Trump’s most brazen attack on free speech yet.”)
• Cowardly Disney Caves To Brendan Carr’s Bogus Censorial Threats, Pulling Jimmy Kimmel (“Literally nothing in there is celebrating Kirk’s death or speaking ill of Kirk in any way. But the thing that the MAGA world is really desperate to avoid is having anyone suggest that Robinson might not have been indoctrinated by ‘leftists.'”)
• This moment calls for personal courage (“Kilmeade was given the opportunity to apologize and retract his statements—something that ABC/Disney did not allow Jimmy Kimmel to do.”)
• ABC Pulls Jimmy Kimmel Off Air for Charlie Kirk Comments After F.C.C. Pressure
• Insiders Reveal Chilling Reason Jimmy Kimmel’s TV Bosses Caved to MAGA (“Executives backed Kimmel in the hours leading up to the decision to pull his late-night show.”)
• Trump Boasts That Kimmel Suspension is ‘Great News for America’
• Nexstar And Sinclair, Two Largest Station Groups, Wield Influence In ABC Decision To Pull Jimmy Kimmel In Light Of His Charlie Kirk Comments — Update
• FCC Chair Threatens Jimmy Kimmel Over Charlie Kirk Monologue Comments; ABC Pulls Show (That’s a classic First Amendment violation right there.)
• </Trump says he is designating anti-fascist Antifa movement as terrorist organization (“It is unclear who the designation would be implemented by as Antifa does not have a defined leadership of a centralized structure. “)
• Conservatives Are Using Charlie Kirk’s Death to Enact Sweeping Speech Crackdown (“The US has entered a new era of McCarthyism as the Trump administration equates leftist critique with ‘terrorism.'”)
• White House plans to take action targeting left-wing groups as early as this month (This is wildly antithetical to democracy.)
• ‘They’ Didn’t Kill Charlie Kirk (“It insults his memory to blame political opponents for one man’s heinous act.” – Karl Rove)
• Ezra Klein Accidentally Shows How the Media Brought Us Trump (“The prominent liberal pundit made up a fake version of Charlie Kirk to praise, laundering his reputation the way a lot of mainstream media launders MAGA” I really, really want to know why so many liberals like Ezra Klein. It makes no sense, really.)
• The “Debate Me Bro” Grift: How Trolls Weaponized The Marketplace Of Ideas (“Perhaps the perfect example of this is Ezra Klein’s silly eulogy claiming that Kirk was ‘practicing politics the right way’ because he would debate students who disagreed with him…There are many problems with this statement, but Klein’s fundamental error reveals something much more dangerous: he’s mistaking performance for discourse, spectacle for persuasion.”)
• Pentagon’s crackdown on Kirk comments stirs fears among troops
• After Kirk shooting, right-wing media revive false narrative about attack on Minnesota legislators (Disgusting.)
• Charlie Kirk and Tyler Robinson Came from the Same Warped Online Worlds (“The right-wing activist and his alleged assassin were both creatures of a digital ecosystem that rewards viral engagement at all costs”)
• Proud Boy Enrique Tarrio: MAGA Has Figured Out How to ‘Play Dirty’ (“Inside the far-right network that is working to get people fired for what they say about Charlie Kirk”)
• Name the One Political Party Led by Those Who Call for Violence (“Hint: It is not the Democrats.”)
• “This Is Going to Radicalize Millions of Americans”: Young MAGA Plots a Future After Charlie Kirk (“With increased security and hardened commitment, a generation of conservative activists promises to carry the torch passed by their leader’s assassination.”)
• Education Dept. partners with conservative groups for civics programming (Crazy.)
• After National Tragedies, Obama and Trump Are a Study in Contrasts
• Tiffany Trump Cruised on an Oil Mogul’s Yacht as Her Father-in-Law Talked Oil Deals (WILD levels of corruption. But sure…Hunter Biden and all.)
• MAGA lawmaker calls to forcefully mass institutionalize trans people: ‘We have to get them off the streets!’ (This guy has zero business serving in Congress – or anywhere.)
• Texas Congressman Says Trans People Need To Be Taken ‘Off The Streets’ After Charlie Kirk Shooting (Ronny Jackson is a fascist.)
• GOP defections sink effort to censure Rep. Ilhan Omar
• House Democrat drafts articles of impeachment for Bondi, Patel
• How to get the latest COVID-19 vaccine in the D.C. region (“A list on the CDC’s website includes conditions like immunodeficiency, asthma, diabetes, cancer, and obesity. But it also includes risk factors like ‘physical inactivity,’ as well as smoking or being a former smoker – whether or not you have been diagnosed with any related illnesses. ” So basically, just about anyone can get a COVID shot.)
• DC Council gives final approval to the Washington Commanders’ return to the RFK Stadium site
• Video: Sen. Tim Kaine Apologizes to Fired (by Trump Administration) CDC Director Susan Monarez for Having Expressed Concerns About Her Backbone; Details the Danger and Cost of Measles (Sen. Kaine: ‘putting a gag order on a CDC director…is a very serious matter.'”)
• Tim Kaine apologizes to ex-CDC director: ‘I was wrong’
• Following in His Mentor Gerry Connolly’s Footsteps, New Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-VA11) Appointed to House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform (Walkinshaw: “this appointment gives Fairfax families a direct voice in ensuring the effectiveness, accountability, and integrity of the federal government”)
• Spanberger visits U.Va. to speak with students just ahead of start of early voting (You can watch the video here)
• NEW TV AD: Former Virginia Republican Members of Congress Endorse Abigail Spanberger for Governor (“My Support for Abigail Isn’t about Party, It’s What’s Best for Virginia”)
• Virginia’s early voting season begins Friday, ushering in pivotal election (Just about every election these days is “pivotal,” of course.)
• Jay Jones: Families ‘desperate’ for attorney general to put Virginia first
• If elected, Spanberger could face pressure from new House Democrats on right-to-work
• Report: Life expectancy down in parts of Virginia
• Virginia National Guard mobilizes to support ICE (That’s not what the National Guard is supposed to be used for.)
• Editorial: Despite a mild August, Virginians’ heat-related issues skyrocket (“A spike in heat-related deaths should demand more work to slow climate change and adapt buildings and urban areas to minimize intense heat.”)
• Excuses not accepted (“Rector Stimson’s divided loyalties betray his fiduciary duty to George Mason University, writes guest columnist Jim Finkelstein.”)
• 3 seats at stake on Roanoke County School Board this fall
• Dominion’s Proposed Peaker Plant Flouts Environmental Justice, Community Says
• Franklin County supervisors vote down 121-acre solar farm proposal
• Chesterfield board approves major rewrite of decades-old zoning ordinance
• County Board considers ban on gas-powered leaf blowers in Arlington (Absolutely – ban these polluting, environmentally destructive, noisy, obnoxious things.)
• Sunshine inbound as temperatures rebound