by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Tuesday, April 26.
- Sun Cable unveils staggering scale of world’s biggest solar and battery project
- Global coal plant capacity edges up in 2021, hitting climate -report (Completely nuts.)
- Too many new coal-fired plants planned for 1.5C climate goal, report concludes (“Number of new plants planned fell last year, but coal-generated electricity rose by 9% to record high.”)
- Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is fracturing the delicate peace in the Arctic
- European Union Plans “Largest Ever Ban” on Toxic Chemicals
- Why pluralism is so hard for democracies (“In an era of extreme tribalism, democracy can still survive.”)
- Nuclear Power Could Help Europe Cut Its Russia Ties, but Not for Years
- Russia’s war heats up cooking oil prices in global squeeze
- Russia Warns of Nuclear War Risk as Ukraine Talks Go On
- Ukraine and the Words That Lead to Mass Murder (“First comes the dehumanization. Then comes the killing.”)
- Putin gets what he didn’t want: Ukraine army closer to West
- Top Russian diplomat warns Ukraine against provoking WWIII (“Russia’s top diplomat warned Ukraine against provoking World War III and said the threat of a nuclear conflict ‘should not be underestimated’ as his country unleashed attacks against rail and fuel installations far from the front lines of Moscow’s new eastern offensive.”)
- U.S. restarts diplomatic activity inside Ukraine and pledges more aid
- We must end war, says UN chief ahead of Putin talks
- Ukraine: Russia escalates offensive but faces stiff resistance
- Russia accuses Nato of ‘proxy war’ in Ukraine as US hosts crucial defence summit (“Ukraine dismisses Sergei Lavrov’s war comments as diplomats gather in Germany for US-hosted talks to navigate ‘critical’ phase”)
- U.S. to push NATO for military aid as Russia warns West of World War III dangers
- Ukraine prepares war crimes charges against Russian military personnel, including pilots
Evidence some Ukrainian women raped before being killed, say doctors- ‘Russia is failing,’ Blinken says as U.S. restarts diplomatic activity inside Ukraine
- As Finland considers NATO membership, citizens mobilize for an invasion by Russia
- Explosions damage two radio towers in Moldova’s breakaway region Transnistria
- Blasts hit Russia-backed breakaway region, Moldova convenes security meeting
- Pentagon chief’s Russia remarks show shift in US’s declared aims in Ukraine (“Defense secretary Lloyd Austin said he ‘wants to see Russia weakened’ – a sign Washington now defines its goals differently”)
- Max Boot: The West is finally giving Ukraine the weapons it needs to win
- Germany once committed war crimes in Ukraine. Now it subsidizes Russia’s.
- Defiant Kim Jong-un vows to ramp up nuclear weapons
- Germany to send anti-aircraft tanks to Ukraine in policy shift
- Macron set to name France’s next PM as focus moves to legislative elections (“Jean Castex’s decision to resign allows president to choose new team amid a changed political landscape”)
- Marine Le Pen is now part of France’s mainstream. That should scare us all.
- Emmanuel Macron Fends Off Far-Right Incursion in France – For Now (“Macron may have claimed victory over Marine Le Pen, but her significant gain over the last five years reflects the advance of radical right-wing ideology in other Western democracies.”)
- Macron may have won comfortably. But this is no time to let down our guard.
- US won’t rule out military action if China establishes base in Solomon Islands
- Biden reverses Trump move to open up more oil drilling in Arctic
- Europe is writing rules for U.S. tech companies. Where’s Congress?
- Biden will make Paxlovid, a highly effective COVID drug, available to more pharmacies
- Biden Has Already Done More for Rural America Than Trump Ever Did
- No Republican who participates in the war on truth deserves your vote
- Supreme Court majority sympathetic to coach who prayed at midfield (Far-right activist “judges”)
- The Best Question During Today’s School Prayer Arguments Came From … Brett Kavanaugh? (“A strange moment of clarity in a case built on lies.”)
- The religious right had a great day in the Supreme Court (“The justices may take a big bite out of the First Amendment’s establishment clause, or they might take a simply enormous bite out of it.” This court is completely f***ed up.)
- Trump allies’ secret work to overturn 2020 election detailed in new text messages
- McCarthy’s comment on Trump pardon could be key for Jan. 6 panel
- Marjorie Taylor Greene texted Trump chief of staff urging martial law to overturn 2020 election (She should be automatically out of Congress because of that.)
- GOP handling of Kevin McCarthy’s treachery sinks to abysmal lows (“The real reason Trump and Republicans will forgive McCarthy’s momentary anti-Trump heresy.”)
- Marjorie Taylor Greene’s texts show birth of Jan. 6 ‘antifa’ lie (“The strategy to insulate Trump from responsibility was hatched while the insurrection was still in progress.”)
- When the Capitol riot began, Greene knew whom to blame
- CNN Exclusive: Mark Meadows’ 2,319 text messages reveal Trump’s inner circle communications before and after January 6
- GOP texts cast renewed spotlight on post-2020 election efforts (Super-weak headline for what was going on here, which was a coup attempt.)
- Manchin Explores Possibility of Energy, Climate Package With GOP
- These are the bills Congress is most likely to actually pass (“Lawmakers are eyeing pandemic aid, Ukraine funding, and slimmed-down Build Back Better measures.”)
- ‘Exhilarated’ McConnell said Jan. 6 ‘discredited’ Trump, book says
- Judge Holds Trump in Contempt Over Documents in New York A.G.’s Inquiry
- It’s a Very Bad Day to Be Donald Trump (“The ex-president has been held in contempt for refusing to comply with a subpoena from the New York attorney general, and fined $10,000 a day.”)
- Biden issues 3 pardons, 75 commutations for 1st time in administration
- Utah could serve as a model for saving democracy (“If pro-democracy advocates don’t put aside partisan squabbles, the authoritarians will triumph.”)
- McCarthy dodges questions about audio, Trump and Jan. 6
- McCarthy’s lying at the border cements him as the Great Prevaricator
- GOP Leaders Remain Shackled to Donald Trump (“In private, they say they know the 2020 election wasn’t stolen. But they refuse to say it in public.”)
- QAnonization, Orbanization and Disney
- Elon Musk’s own Twitter use is the biggest sign he’s unfit to steer the ship
- Twitter workers face a reality they’ve long feared: Elon Musk as owner (“A central concern expressed by employees was that Musk would try to break down safeguards to protect everyday users that workers had built over many years.”)
- Twitter Employees Don’t Want to Work ‘for a Company That Is Owned by Elon Musk’ (“Many of the people who make Twitter tick expressed concerns that the world’s richest man might not have their best interests in mind.”)
- Trump’s Truth Social Tanks, Thanks to Elon Musk (“The ex-president has said he won’t flee his dying social network for Musk’s would-be Twitter, but there’s no reason to believe he means it.”)
- Jeff Bezos questions China’s influence over Elon Musk’s Twitter (“Amazon founder raises concerns after Tesla boss strikes $44bn deal to buy social media platform”)
- Elon Musk Is a Problem Masquerading as a Solution
- With the platform’s board agreeing to Elon Musk’s bid, power now rests with Twitter’s advertisers
- With attack on Twitter, the right shows it has institutionalized Trump’s corrupt use of government power
- Twitter employees raise questions about Musk takeover in all-hands meeting
- Twitter Takeover Was Brash and Fast, With Musk Calling the Shots
- Musk Seals $44 Billion Deal Even He Wasn’t Sure Would Succeed
- Musk Is the ‘Singular Solution I Trust’ for Twitter, Dorsey Says
- To Safeguard Free Speech, We Must Hand Control of a Major Speech Platform to One Guy
- Musk buying Twitter alarms Democrats
- Twitter Employees Search for Answers as Musk Takeover Becomes Reality
- Human rights groups raise hate speech concerns after Musk’s takeover of Twitter
- Running Twitter Is Going to Disappoint Elon Musk
- Musk Twitter Could Be a Disaster For MAGA Grifters and Republican Ostriches
- Biden officials worry Musk will allow Trump to return to Twitter
- Musk’s ‘free speech’ push for Twitter: Repeating history? (“Over the subsequent years, Twitter learned a few things about the consequences of running a largely unmoderated social platform — one of the most important being that companies generally don’t want their ads running against violent threats, hate speech that bleeds into incitement, and misinformation that aims to tip elections or undermine public health.”)
- DeSantis signs bill creating new Florida election police force (Authoritarian, anti-democracy crap.)
- Abbott and DeSantis reveal the new GOP perspective on capitalism (“Targeting corporations one at a time is good. A broad-based attack on your state’s economy? Not so much.”)
- Marjorie Taylor Greene Predicts Elon Musk Will Reinstate Her Twitter Account
- Dr. Oz: ‘We cannot move on’ from the 2020 election (Deranged.)
- Florida man asks schools to ban the Bible following the state’s efforts to remove books
- Melissa Lucio’s execution halted by Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
- Video: Sen. Tim Kaine Says “Long COVID Isn’t Going Away”; Historical Midterm Election Trends Aren’t an “Iron Law of Nature”; “I wouldn’t count Joe Biden out between now and November” (Kaine also wonders whether Republicans can succeed at “softly hugging” Trump like Youngkin did.)
- Senators Warner, Kaine: “We are deeply disappointed by this decision by Attorney General Miyares to end Virginia’s pursuit of justice for Bijan and his family”
- Virginia’s attorney general sends a dangerous message to police
- Video: At Richmond Rally, Sen. Bernie Sanders Praises Labor Activist “Heroes and Heroines,” Declares, “What you are doing goes well beyond Starbucks” and “Democracy is having a say on the job!” (“We ARE going to have an economy that works for all, not just Howard Schultz and our billionaires”)
- Virginia is for lovers — of Ukraine
- What to expect from this year’s reconvene session
- Democratic leadership battle erupts in Virginia House of Delegates
- Virginia’s solar output more than doubles in one year
- Five takeaways from the landmark Virginia Solar Survey
- To lower cost of living, legislature should override governor’s veto of energy efficiency bill
- Economic costs of wind farm off Virginia Beach coast might negate ‘speculative’ benefits, state regulators say
- Virginia 10-Day New COVID-19 Cases Down 94% Compared to 1/19; Hospitalizations Down to 176 From ~4,000 in January
- Supreme Court Leaves Admissions Policy for Northern Virginia’s Thomas Jefferson School for Science & Technology (“TJ”) in Place…For Now. (Opponents of the policy, which aims to increase diversity at the school, discriminates against Asian-American students.)
- Justices allow admissions policy at prestigious high school
- Supreme Court Allows Elite High School’s New Admissions Rules
- Supreme Court lets Thomas Jefferson High School admissions policy stand
- Youngkin’s hyperpartisan veto undermines his own agenda
- Virginia AG Miyares launching investigation into Washington Commanders’ alleged deceptive business practices
- Virginia’s rising syphilis cases are another bellwether of a strained public health system
- SCC to rule later on Appalachian Power’s plans to go all-green
- Fairfax Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano Says AG Jason Miyares “inflicted upon [the Ghaisars] a fresh wound and new suffering” (Miyares “viewed the officers whom a Fairfax County grand jury indicted as the real victims and Bijan as a mere footnote.”)
- Fairfax Co. principal travels overseas to help Ukrainian refugees
- State panel urges Bristol to close its local landfill after years of odor complaints
- CASEY: More on the deleted sex questions from Roanoke County student surveys
- Norfolk assistant police chief is slated to retire, weeks after city’s top cop stepped down
- D.C.-area forecast: Mild with showers today before considerable cooling midweek (“Highs Wednesday and Thursday are only near 60.”)
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