Sunday News: “Shelling in east Ukraine, Russia nuclear drill raise tension”; “Is Vladimir Putin Sane?”; “The Supreme Court is not being honest with you”; “A worrisome, watery future”; “‘A very toxic environment’: Virginia students navigate ugly mask battle”

by Lowell

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

• Does the U.S.-Russia Crisis Over Ukraine Prove That the Cold War Never Ended? (“Putin’s aggression in Europe has triggered a new debate about whether American Presidents and policymakers have misunderstood decades of history.”)
• Is Vladimir Putin Sane? (“He has reportedly undergone some major personality changes under COVID isolation”)
• Putin is forcing the West to confront a ‘new normal.’ He may not like it.
• EU chief: Russia could be cut off from markets, tech goods
• Shelling in east Ukraine, Russia nuclear drill raise tension
• Putin launches nuclear drills as U.S. says Russian forces ‘uncoil’ for Ukraine attack
• Ukraine crisis: Europe faces one of its most perilous situations since the early 20th century, Truss warns
• In Ukraine Crisis, the Looming Threat of a New Cold War
• Zelensky rips the West for inaction as shellings make Russia-Ukraine war seem increasingly imminent
• German Chancellor rejects calls to sanction Russia now — argues the West should keep Putin guessing
• A Press Tour Turns Frantic in Ukraine As Russia-Backed Shelling Intensifies
• Kamala Harris Says West Faces ‘Defining Moment’ Over Ukraine
• West plans to arm resistance if Russian forces occupy Ukraine
• Putin Has Made America Great Again (“The Ukraine crisis has revealed that the U.S. can’t shed its “big brother” image on the world stage.”)
• German chancellor rejects calls to sanction Russia now — argues the West should keep Putin guessing
• Canada’s protests settle down, but could echo in politics
• Canada protests: Police push back demonstrators in Ottawa
• Canadian police make final push to end weeks-long protest in capital
• Conflict and Climate Change Ravage Syria’s Agricultural Heartland
• Soaring Energy Bills Deepen Crisis for Turks, and Erdogan (“Hit by spiraling inflation, electricity bills have doubled for households and businesses in only a month.”)
• Beijing’s Olympics close, ending safe but odd global moment (The Olympics are badly broken.)
• After Beijing bubble bursts, can the IOC save the Olympics?
• The Queen tests positive for Covid (“Monarch, 95, is experiencing ‘mild cold-like symptoms’ but expects to continue carrying out light duties”)
• Biden extends the national pandemic emergency first declared in March 2020.
• Experts warn ‘not to get too cocky’ as US contemplates life after Covid (“Cases, deaths, and hospitalizations have plummeted – but transmission remains high across the nation”)
• It’s not about masks or mandates. It’s about public trust. (“In an earlier era, we knew how to pull together to face an emergency. Not anymore.”)
• Biden to meet with National Security Council to discuss threat of war
• Progressives blast judiciary over Biden climate agenda
• The Supreme Court is not being honest with you (“Justice Amy Coney Barrett appears to be quite unfamiliar with her own judicial record, and that of her colleagues.”)
• Apple Feels the Heat in Washington’s Big Tech Clampdown
• Americans are fleeing to places where political views match their own
• Donald Trump’s terrible, horrible, no good, very bad week in court
• Trump properties in talks to host lucrative Saudi golf events
• EXCLUSIVE Trump’s Truth Social app set for release Monday in Apple App Store, per executive
• Who Is Behind QAnon? Linguistic Detectives Find Fingerprints (“Using machine learning, separate teams of computer scientists identified the same two men as likely authors of messages that fueled the viral movement.”)
• ‘The Washington Post’ takes new approach to national coverage with a ‘Democracy Desk’
• CNN’s Problems Are Bigger Than Jeff Zucker
• Michigan Republicans Were Asked About a Landmark Contraception Case. Their Answers Were “Terrifying.”
• AOC calls Tucker Carlson ‘trash’ for saying she is not a woman of colour (Carlson is trash for many reasons.)
• Jeffrey Epstein associate Jean-Luc Brunel, ex-Miami modeling agent, found dead in Paris jail
• Gibson: Youngkin favoring national partisan profile over logging bipartisan achievement
• Here’s where 30 issues stand in the General Assembly with three weeks to go
• Friday Night Update from the ER in Arlington, VA: “There’s a lot to be said about natural immunity and/or vaccination.”
• ‘A very toxic environment’: Virginia students navigate ugly mask battle
• Video: Delegate Elizabeth Guzman Honors St. Martin de Porres (the First Black Saint in the Western Hemisphere); Discusses Threat to Black History in Virginia (Guzman to Republicans: “We will not let you succeed in erasing history from our schools”)
• Marijuana sales in Virginia could start this year, but small farmers and social equity advocates worry they’ll be shut out
• Video: In Speech Honoring Black History Month, Fairfax School Board Member Karen Keys-Gamarra Decries Note Expressing Desire to “Tar and Feather” Her (As Keys-Gamarra correctly explained, it is things like this which demonstrate the need to teach American history – “ALL OF IT”)
• Editorial: A worrisome, watery future (“New data predicting 1 foot of sea-level rise in Hampton Roads should galvanize efforts to prioritize resilience and decarbonization.”)
• Virginia Beach delegate believes his Washington Commanders stadium legislation is best for state
• D.C.-area forecast: Chilly today and warm tomorrow with splendid sunshine