Friday (2/20/23) News Clips

fby Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, February 20.

• U.S. Tells International Energy Agency to Drop Its Focus on Climate Change (Hell f’ing no.)
• Paris Court Holds Historic Climate Trial in Case Against TotalEnergies (“The lawsuit challenges the oil major’s expansion plans and could set a significant precedent on climate responsibilities for fossil fuel companies if successful, advocates say.”)
• Injecting particulates into the atmosphere isn’t a magical fix for the climate crisis (“Geoengineering does little to defuse most of the risks that really matter for people – and it runs the risk of making some harms worse” Yeah, it’s dumb.)
• U.S. fighter jets intercept Russian warplanes off Alaskan coast
• How China’s Xi Purged His ‘Big Brother’ to Achieve Absolute Power (“The Beijing leader consolidated one-man rule last month in rapid-fire actions against the military’s senior commanders.”)
• Iran deal prospects will be clear within 10 days, Trump says as military buildup grows (“Second carrier strike group heads for region as US waits for Iran to respond after talks in Geneva”)
• Anything Trump Says About Iran Freaks Me Out (“If there ever was a time for the War Powers Act, this is it. I’m praying that the TACOs are done in time.”)
• The largest force of US warships and aircraft in decades is heading to the Middle East
• Congress risks major loss to Trump over war powers vote on Iran
• As Trump Weighs Iran Strikes, He Declines to Make Clear Case for Why, or Why Now (“Rarely in modern times has the United States prepared to conduct a major act of war with so little explanation or public debate.”)
• Trump Weighs Initial Limited Strike to Force Iran Into Nuclear Deal
• It really looks like we’re about to bomb Iran again (“Don’t expect a war to end as quickly this time.”)
• Sean Hannity is demanding regime change in Iran to stop the country’s nuclear program … which Hannity previously claimed Trump had “obliterated” (Hannity has been a consistent force for dishonesty, nastiness, etc. for decades now.)
• Trump Leading U.S. Into War To End A Weapons Program He Claimed He Already ‘Obliterated’
• ‘Al-Aqsa is a detonator’: six-decade agreement on prayer at Jerusalem holy site collapses (“Israeli police raid compound, arrest staff and curb Muslims’ access as Ramadan begins”)
• Trump vows $10 billion from U.S. for his Board of Peace as he leans into global role (WILD levels of corruption!)
• Trump’s strategic incoherence in the Indian Ocean
• Kash Patel heads to Milan for the Olympics — on the FBI jet (Inexcusable.)
• Exclusive: A palace in Marrakesh: How Schwab moved $27.7 million in payments for Epstein days before his arrest
• Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest prompts calls for justice in the US
• Presidents and prince in hot water as elite face global reckoning
• A former prince is arrested in the UK with accountability in question in the US
• King Charles’ brother Andrew released after arrest over misconduct relating to Epstein
• What the arrest of former Prince Andrew can teach us about power and abuse (“The British royal was once his mother’s favorite. Now, his friendship with Epstein has led to his downfall.”)
• Police search at Royal Lodge continues for second day as Andrew released under investigation
• The Trump team downplayed the Epstein files. Andrew’s arrest and other probes show how rash that was.
• British Police Search Mansion Used by Former Prince Andrew
• A New U.S. Blockade Is Strangling Cuba (“An analysis of ship movements shows that the Trump administration is isolating the island at one of its most vulnerable moments.”)
• Federal judge accuses Trump administration of ‘terror’ against immigrants in scathing ruling
• Revealed: Epstein cultivated relationship with CBP officer, causing US investigation
• The E.P.A. Rescinds a Landmark Finding (“But it’s not game over for future climate action—and understanding why allows for a more nuanced picture of where the fight actually stands now.”)
• Trump’s tariffs near their fate before the Supreme Court (“The Supreme Court may finally decide the fate of President Trump’s trade agenda as soon as Friday.”)
• MAHA Moms Turn Against Trump: ‘Women Feel Like They Were Lied To’ (“President Trump’s executive order aimed at spurring production of a pesticide has infuriated leaders of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s MAHA movement.”)
• Trump’s Dangerously Dumb Plan to Steal the Midterms (“The GOP has decided to spend its limited time and dwindling capital on the SAVE Act, which requires proof of citizenship to register to vote — to address the entirely fictional problem of non-citizens voting.”)
• Trump continues to make his own voters suffer (“The president’s policies are hurting his working-class MAGA followers. But will they ever leave him?” They keep voting against their own interests.)
• Trump’s refusal to invite all governors to a White House meeting prompts group to back out
• DOJ struggles as White House presses on voter fraud (“Efforts to prosecute noncitizen voters have been slowed by lack of evidence, officials say, while Trump aides push for a broader crackdown.”)
• The DOJ Isn’t Built for This (“The department can’t keep up with President Trump’s agenda.”)
• Large banner of Trump unfurled at Justice Department headquarters (“The DOJ has traditionally operated with a degree of separation from the White House to prevent its powers from being abused for political purposes.” APPALLING.)
• Trump says he’s directing the Pentagon to release files related to UFOs and aliens (“Trump’s comments came hours after he claimed that former President Barack Obama shared ‘classified information’ when he told a podcaster recently that he believed aliens were real.”)
• New Mexico reopens investigation into alleged illegal activity at Epstein’s former Zorro Ranch
• Labor Secretary’s Husband Barred From the Department After Sexual Assault Reports (“At least two female staff members said Dr. Shawn DeRemer had touched them inappropriately at the agency in Washington.” So basically, Trump finds the worst people and puts them in his administration.)
• Fine arts panel approves Trump’s White House East Wing ballroom plans (“The commission, newly filled with Trump appointees, did so near unanimously.”)
• University of Texas regents approve limits on teaching “unnecessary controversial subjects” (“Opponents warned the policy’s vagueness could push professors to self-censor and leave students less prepared for the workplace.”)
• Scientists worry about lasting damage from Potomac sewage spill (“…a lot of that stuff can sink to the bottom of the river, have impacts on fish reproduction, bird reproduction, killing a lot of the insects, contaminating the soil.”)
• Video: Sen. Mark Warner Says “the idea that that [Trump] is going to launch a war [against Iran] with just Israel at our side is not in the best interest of the United States” (Warner says the “trust relationship [with our allies] has been so severed”)
• Shannon Taylor Statement on New Reporting That Rob Wittman Voted to Slash His Own Taxes on His Triple Decker Beach House (Also: “The Daily Mail reported that Wittman ‘traded $2.56 million in stocks between 2015 and 2023′”)
• Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA10) on Arrest of Andrew Mountbatten Windsor: “He appears repeatedly in the documents we have uncovered as having knowledge of Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes”
• Ben Cline celebrates Pyrrhic victory in redistricting court case
• BREAKING: Tazewell County Circuit Court Judge Reportedly Has Enjoined the VA Redistricting Referendum; So Now, Back to the VA Supreme Court?
• Virginia’s partisan gerrymandering: Desperate times call for desperate measures
• Republicans score another court win on redistricting. Will this one force Virginia Supreme Court to act faster? (“A Tazewell County judge blocks state officials for holding an election. The attorney general will appeal, but early voting is scheduled to start in 11 days.”)
• Virginia judge temporarily blocks Democrats from work on congressional redistricting bid
• Virginia judge blocks vote on Democrats’ redistricting referendum
• Va. Senate passes proposed congressional maps, as GOP fights back in court
• Leaders Jeffries, Schumer Announce Gov. Abigail Spanberger Will Deliver the Democratic Response to Trump’s State of the Union Address on 2/24
• Abigail Spanberger tapped to deliver Democratic response to Trump SOTU
• Virginia Gov. Spanberger to deliver Democratic response to Trump’s State of the Union address (“Virginia’s first woman governor tapped by party leaders for nationally televised rebuttal next Tuesday.”)
• Abigail Spanberger to give Democratic response to Trump’s State of the Union address (“Virginia governor is seen as a model for the party to win back power in midterm elections”)
• Democrats Choose Spanberger to Deliver State of the Union Response to Trump (“In selecting the Virginia governor, Democrats turned to a centrist former congresswoman whose winning campaign last year showed how their party’s candidates can succeed in the Trump era.” The media loves using words like “centrist,” “moderate,” etc.)
• MAGA’s Newest Enemy to Give State of the Union Rebuttal (“A Democratic rising star, who MAGA absolutely despises, will deliver the rebuttal to Trump’s speech next week.”)
• Virginia’s Spanberger to deliver Democratic response to State of the Union
• Halfway through the 2026 legislative session, there’s still no consensus on data center bills (“This legislation won’t satisfy community members who today feel under siege from the onslaught of data center development. But as General Assembly leaders are making clear, the onslaught will continue, columnist Ivy Main writes.”)
• AG Jay Jones fighting Google, YouTube, Meta over teen screen time law
• Virginia Department of Health pushes back on vaccine guidance from CDC
• Trump order looms as Virginia legislators consider regulation of artificial intelligence (“Delegate Cliff Hayes said assessing the risk each AI bill could have on federal funding was a collaborative effort; even Governor Abigail Spanberger’s office was involved.”)
• Virginia farmers worry legal weed market will leave them behind
• Latest congressional map would move 63,000 Chesapeake residents to new district
• Hampton Roads businesses react to bills to help workers: Minimum wage increase, paid sick days, leave program
• Edds: The death of the Richmond Free Press (“The closing marks the end of a Black newspaper whose roots go back to 1882.”)
• Virginia Del. Barry Knight, a retired hog farmer from Virginia Beach, dies at 71
• CWG Live: Morning showers, then clearing; snow potential Sunday into Monday (“Mild late today through tomorrow. A coastal storm Sunday into early Monday threatens to deliver snow to the region.”)