by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Saturday, December 6.
- Forestry Carbon Credit Programs Have a Poor Track Record. Can a More Refined Approach Fix the Problem? (“The Family Forest Carbon Program pays landowners not to timber their trees, then sells the additional growth as carbon credits. But critics question whether it leads to overall emissions reductions.”)
- ‘Divide and Conquer’: Inside the Oil and Gas Strategy to Thwart EU Green Laws (“U.S. fossil fuel majors led efforts to ensure corporations would not have to introduce climate action plans.”)
- Science Journal Retracts Widely Cited Study That Claimed Roundup Is Safe (“The Trump administration, meanwhile, aims to shield its manufacturer from lawsuits.”)
- Infighting and division slows European response at a ‘crunch time’ in Ukraine war (“Europeans are feeling “genuine fear and distrust regarding the United States,” former Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves told NBC News.” And for good reason!)
- Swedish navy encountering Russian submarines ‘almost weekly’ – and more could be on the way
- Battlefield Picture Worsening for Ukraine as Trump Pushes Peace Plan (“Russian forces have advanced on several fronts in recent weeks. Vladimir Putin says Russia will achieve its territorial aims by whatever means necessary.” UGH.)
- U.S. and Ukraine hold marathon talks in Miami on Trump’s peace plan
- Russia bombards Ukraine as US says progress made in talks with Kyiv
- Bombed Chornobyl shelter no longer blocks radiation and needs major repair – IAEA (“Drone attack that Ukraine blamed on Russia blew hole in painstakingly erected €1.5bn shield meant to allow for final clean-up of 1986 meltdown site”)
- ‘Cultivate resistance’: policy paper lays bare Trump support for Europe’s far right (“Text signed by president seems to echo ‘great replacement’ theory, saying Europe faces ‘civilisational erasure’”)
- Trump’s Security Strategy Is Incoherent Babble
- Trump’s Security Strategy Focuses on Profit, Not Spreading Democracy (“President Trump’s new National Security Strategy describes a country that is focused on doing business and reducing migration while avoiding passing judgment on authoritarians.” Evil.)
- ‘An attack on all American tech platforms’: Trump admin decries EU fine on Musk’s X (Go EU!)
- Hong Kong fire came after contractor safety breaches and a residents’ revolt (“Homeowners at the complex destroyed in one of Hong Kong’s deadliest fires were incorrectly told the contractor that authorities blame for the blaze had a clean safety record, documents viewed by Reuters show.”)
- ‘Bloodshed was supposed to stop’: no sign of normal life as Gaza’s killing and misery grind on (Horrendous situation in every way.)
- Video of Boat Strike Shows Survivors Waving Before Fatal Follow-Up Attack (“The new detail further complicates the military’s explanations for its actions during the Sept. 2 strike in the Caribbean Sea.”)
- Exclusive: Boat at center of double-tap strike controversy was meeting vessel headed to Suriname, admiral told lawmakers
- Audio: Fmr. VA Gov. Jim Gilmore, a Conservative Republican Who Served in the Military, Says What Hegseth et al Are Doing Is a “War Crime” IF It’s a War, “Straight-Up Murder” If It’s Not a War (Gilmore: “The Nazis used to [kill people in the water] during WW2 and they had U-Boat commanders tried & executed for that kind of war crime.”)
- Column: Killing survivors is not a legal or moral gray area
- Pete Hegseth Is Seriously Testing Trump’s ‘No Scalps’ Rule (“Lawmakers are finally waking up to the problems the defense secretary has created.” They mean REPUBLICAN lawmakers; Dems “woke up” about this ages ago.)
- Cowardly Pete Hegseth Is This Week’s Proof of the GOP’s Moral Rot
- “Great honors of my life”: Trump wins FIFA Peace Prize after Nobel snub (FIFA is a disgrace, as is Trump.)
- Federal agents have repeatedly detained or used force against people who seem to be protesting peacefully, videos show (All Americans should be OUTRAGED by this.)
- Trump administration will expand travel ban to more than 30 countries, Noem says (Other than racism, why???)
- DHS’s Immigrant-Hunting App Removed from Google Play Store (“The app, called Mobile Identify, was launched in November, and lets local cops use facial recognition to hunt immigrants on behalf of ICE. It is unclear if the removal is temporary or not.”)
- Trump administration moves to deny visas to factcheckers and content moderators (“Action detailed in a state department memo directs officials to deny visas to any applicant engaging in ‘censorship’” Insanity.)
- Immigrants kept from Faneuil Hall citizenship ceremony as feds crackdown nationwide
- Rep. Grijalva says she was pepper sprayed by ICE officers
- Former CIA analyst: Case against Afghan arrested in Waynesboro ‘troubling’
- Karoline Leavitt’s Brother Had Grim Custody Fight With ICE-Arrested Ex (“ICE arrested Bruna Ferreira, the mother of Leavitt’s nephew, in November.”)
- ‘Blatant lawlessness’: Judge decries another ‘unlawful’ deportation (“Faustino Pablo Pablo was deported to Guatemala despite his urgent warnings to immigration officials that he faced serious danger in his home country.”)
- The Supreme Court just made gerrymandering nearly untouchable (“The Court’s Texas decision is a victory for Republicans, and it is a terrible blow to all gerrymandering plaintiffs.”)
- Democrats Need to Treat the Supreme Court Like the Villain It Is (“The Court is out of control, and we’ll never see reform unless we build the case for it. Starting now.”)
- The Supreme Court gave Trump a big redistricting win. But the fight is just getting started.
- The Supreme Court takes up the most unconstitutional thing Trump has done (“There is no plausible argument that Trump’s attack on birthright citizenship is constitutional.”)
- The Supreme Court will decide whether Trump’s birthright citizenship order violates the Constitution
- The Supreme Court, Once Wary of Partisan Gerrymandering, Goes All In
- I Guess the Supreme Court Is Totally Cool with Racial Gerrymandering in Texas (“Chief Justice John Roberts and the carefully manufactured conservative majority have dealt another deadly blow to voting rights.”)
- Under RFK Jr., the CDC provides a megaphone to the anti-vaccine movement (“Common anti-vaccine talking points were on display as the CDC’s immunization advisers repealed a hepatitis B birth vaccine recommendation and scrutinized the childhood schedule.” The lunatics have taken over.)
- American Medical Association trustee denounces CDC panel’s vaccine vote as ‘reckless’
- CDC vaccine panel chair compares team to ‘puppets on a string’ (“The newly appointed chair’s comments were overheard Friday during a break in the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ proceedings.”)
- FDA in turmoil after exit of veteran cancer researcher
- Trump asks RFK Jr. to ‘fast track’ vaccine schedule review (“The president weighed in after the health secretary’s vaccine advisers recommended a major change to the shots routinely given to children.”)
- The Do-Their-Own-Research Crowd Just Notched a Gross and Unsettling Victory (“Under RFK Jr.’s watch, America is just going to get sicker and sicker.”)
- Running Out of Time, Republicans in Congress Still Lack a Health Plan
- Your Private Data Is Building Trump’s Voter Purge Machine (“The Justice Department ordinarily would prevent attacks on voting rights. Now it’s carrying them out.” Disturbing AF!)
- Republicans have a mess on their hands over health care subsidies
- ‘People aren’t dumb’: Republicans worry they’re not doing enough on affordability (“Republican lawmakers, aides and strategists tell NBC News they worry that high prices and their party’s poor messaging on affordability could cost them in the midterms.”)
- Trump struggles to persuade Americans to ignore affordability issues
- Hey, Does Anyone Want to Talk About Donald Trump’s Infirmities? (“He’s clearly slipping, mentally and physically, but the political press suddenly finds it less newsworthy that we have a woefully aging president.”)
- Trump nominations package hits stumbling block in Senate (“Rules snafu means delay in confirming more than 80 GOP nominees.”)
- HHS changed the name of transgender health leader on her official portrait (“Levine’s official portrait was recently altered, a spokesperson for HHS confirmed to NPR. A digital photograph of the portrait in the hallway obtained by NPR shows that Levine’s previous name is now typed below the portrait, under the glass of the frame.”)
- Biden Slams Republicans for Using L.G.B.T.Q. Identity as ‘Political Football’ (“The former president defended his support for transgender rights, a stance that has provoked second-guessing among some Democrats.”)
- ‘This merger must be blocked’: Netflix-Warner Bros deal faces fierce backlash
- Netflix to buy Warner Bros. film and streaming assets in $72 billion deal
- Judge will release Jeffrey Epstein grand jury documents
- Pipe bomb suspect confesses and has expressed support for Trump, sources say
- Accused DC pipe bomber told FBI he believed the 2020 election was stolen, sources say
- Indiana House passes new Republican-drawn congressional map (“The map now moves to the state Senate, where it’s unclear whether there is enough GOP support for it to pass, despite pressure from Trump.”)
- Pardoned Democrat Henry Cuellar wants GOP to probe his prosecutors (OK…)
- Vanity Fair, Olivia Nuzzi Agree to Part Ways (No brainer.)
- Frank Gehry, Titan of Architecture, Is Dead at 96 (“He designed some of the world’s most recognizable buildings, notably the spectacular Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, his masterpiece.”)
- On Reddit “Ask Me Anything,” Sen. Mark Warner Says “It’s become obvious…in order to have a sustainable system, we have to have universal health care” (On running for reelection at age 70, Sen. Warner says it’s “about whether you can get shit done, and I’ll match my record on that with any Senator of either party.”)
- After Right-Wing SCOTUS Gerrymandering Decision, Virginia Dems Declare “Full steam ahead” in Virginia (e.g., Speaker Scott says “We didn’t want to have to consider drawing a 10D-1R map,” but…) (“I got something waiting for Texas…” – Sen. Louise Lucas)
- ‘I have priorities’: Virginia Gov.-elect Spanberger setting agenda for office (“First woman elected governor of Virginia says she wants to keep Virginians united during divisive times.”)
- Virginia’s teacher vacancies decline again this year
- Virginia gun rights advocates worry blue sweep will create more gun control
- Right-to-work reforms possible for Virginia
- Henrico approves solar array on old Nine Mile Road landfill
- FOIA Friday: Locations of 600 Flock cameras now public in Hampton Roads following lawsuits
- Don Huffman, whose leadership set the stage for rise of Republican Party in Virginia, dies at 98 (“Huffman was the longest-serving Republican state party chair ever in Virginia. The party’s annual post-election meeting, which he founded, is named in his honor.”)
- Fairfax Co. tennis coach arrested, accused of inappropriate contact with minor (Disgusting.)
- Who’s Running for the Special Election in Fairfax County?
- New details released on crash that killed Virginia Tech graduate student
- CWG Live: Seasonably chilly weekend ahead of next Arctic blast early week (“More transitions from kind of cold to really cold ahead.”)