Friday News: “Russian battalion wiped out in failed river crossing”; “What the ‘Life of the Mother’ Might Mean in a Post-Roe America”; “What grooming and indoctrination *actually* looks like”; “Musk says Twitter deal ‘temporarily on hold'”

by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, May 13.

• Revealed: the ‘carbon bombs’ set to trigger catastrophic climate breakdown (“Oil and gas majors are planning scores of vast projects that threaten to shatter the 1.5C climate goal. If governments do not act, these firms will continue to cash in as the world burns”)
• Australian voters deserve a ministers’ debate on climate and energy. They won’t get one
• Cryptocurrencies Melt Down in a ‘Perfect Storm’ of Fear and Panic
• Bitcoin set for record losing streak as ‘stablecoin’ collapse crushes crypto
• Finland Nato: Russia threatens to retaliate over membership move
• More than 1,000 bodies have been found in Kyiv suburbs, the U.N. says.
• ‘They were furious’: the Russian soldiers refusing to fight in Ukraine (“Troops are saying ‘no’ to officers, knowing that punishment is light while Russia is not technically at war”)
• Germany promises G7 show of unity against Russia as ministers meet
• The invisible Ukrainian who walked 225km to safety from Mariupol (“When Russian soldiers started going from house to house shooting people, Igor Pedin set off with his dog Zhu-Zhu to Zaporizhzhia”)
• Big guns and small drones have become a devastating combo in Ukraine
• Warship sonar could be causing mass dolphin deaths in the Black Sea (“The low-frequency sonar of warships and submarines directly interferes with dolphins’ echolocation, leaving them unable to navigate, scientists say.” Ugh.)
• Russian battalion wiped out in failed river crossing – UK (“British military intelligence says a Russian battalion lost almost all its armoured vehicles when Ukrainian forces shelled temporary floating bridges that Russian forces were using. Ukrainian officials have claimed more than 1,000 soldiers could have been killed, but this number has not been verified and it remains unclear when the attack took place.”)
• The Memo: Peace in Ukraine? Not anytime soon, experts say
• Ukraine puts Russian solider accused of war crime on trial
• Rand Paul blocks quick passage of $40 billion Ukraine aid package (“Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul defied leaders of both parties Thursday and single-handedly delayed until next week Senate approval of an additional $40 billion to help Ukraine and its allies withstand Russia’s three-month old invasion.” Rand Paul is scum. Also, the Senate is broken.)
• The time is now to plan for the aftermath of war in Ukraine
• Russian Forces Pull Back From Another Big City, Kharkiv
• Russia investing ‘significant effort’ in eastern offensive; Zelenskyy says Kremlin defeat is obvious
• Russia’s Attacks on Ukraine Health Centers Show a Vicious Pattern
• ‘I Cannot Imagine My Life Without Parents.’ A Boy’s War Diary Tells of Grief in Ukraine (“A 12-year-old Ukrainian boy who lost his mother and stepfather in a Russian attack on a village near Kyiv recounts the sorrow and fear of wartime in his diary.”)
• How a Simple Ratio Came to Influence Military Strategy (“Russia appeared to have a manpower advantage over Ukraine at the start of the war, but weeks of bitter resistance to the invasion suggest Moscow may have placed too much faith in so-called force ratios.”)
• Russian general who oversaw atrocities in Syria led cluster bomb attacks on civilians in Ukraine (Why hasn’t he been charged with war crimes?)
• Ukraine conflict: Russian soldiers seen shooting dead unarmed civilians
• Four House committee chairs ask Big Tech to archive evidence of war crimes in Ukraine
• After 200 Years of Neutrality, Sweden Weighs Joining NATO
• Palestinians refuse joint Israeli probe into reporter’s death; won’t transfer bullet
• Lebanon vote seen as last chance in crisis-plagued nation
• Allies of Marcos Jr. set to dominate Philippine Congress
• N. Korea reports 6 deaths after admitting COVID-19 outbreak
• As the World Tries to Move Beyond Covid, China May Stand in the Way
• Xi’s strict covid policies prompt rumblings of discontent in China
• 13 dead, dozens rescued after migrant boat capsizes near Puerto Rico, officials say
• The AP Interview: US ‘vulnerable’ to COVID without new shots
• This is how many lives could have been saved with COVID vaccinations in each state
• White House prepares to ration vaccines as Covid funding impasse looms
• Stop dismissing the risk of long covid
• FACT SHEET: President Biden Announces Additional Steps to Address Infant Formula Shortage
• Why baby formula is in short supply — and who is most at risk
• Baby Formula Shortage Could Leave Parents Scrambling for Months
• PJM releases road map for creating ‘grid of the future’ to handle coming renewables, storage wave (“The grid operator said it intends to use scenario-based planning and conduct reliability studies to handle the changing resource mix.”)
• Electric vehicles are cheaper than gas-powered, depending on the state and incentives (“Owning an electric vehicle can save drivers thousands of dollars per year, with $6,000 average savings over the vehicle’s lifetime, but the savings is dependent on rebates, state fees, and the cost of gas and electricity.”)
• Republicans Criticize Biden For Not Starving Undocumented Immigrant Babies
• High gas prices hurt, but they’re an opportunity to make good choices
• The fall of Roe v. Wade will only embolden the fascists: How will America respond? (“This decision signals that ‘democratic norms’ are gone, and old-style politics is useless. So what can we do?…Defeating the Republican-fascists and the larger white right will also require learning the lessons of the civil rights movement, the women’s rights movement, the LGBTQ rights movement and other freedom struggles. Corporeal politics, including strikes, sustained protests, boycotts and other forms of civil disobedience, potentially on an unprecedented scale, may well be required to win back American democracy.”)
• How Overturning Roe v. Wade Could Backfire for Republicans (“The G.O.P. was making headway with suburban women on crime, schools and inflation. Now, the abortion debate is front and center.”)
• Overturning Roe Will Not Make America More Democratic
• What the “Life of the Mother” Might Mean in a Post-Roe America (“‘We are going to see more deaths and more injuries,’ Ghazaleh Moayedi, an ob-gyn in Dallas, said. ‘I don’t have to speculate about that at all.'”)
• Complicated legal landscape hinders abortion pill access in some states — with or without Roe
• GOP Governors Demand Protesters Be Banned From Homes of Court Justices Taking Up Residence in Women’s Bodies (“Maryland’s Larry Hogan and Virginia’s Glenn Youngkin have asked the Justice Department to put an end to the peaceful protests, claiming demonstrators are violating the law by “trying to influence” the Court’s conservatives.”)
• “Traditional” Catholics and white nationalist “groypers” forge a new far-right youth movement (“Activist arm of right-wing Catholic outlet Church Militant is increasingly entwined with racist ‘groyper’ movement” Classic fascism.)
• Investigation finds burial sites at 53 federal Indian boarding schools (This is the history that American students need to learn, and that Republicans apparently don’t want them to learn.)
• Trumpism is leaving old-line conservatives behind. Can they catch up? (“Everybody wants to jump on the bandwagon of the new authoritarianism on the right.”)
• Trump struggles to keep control of his own MAGA movement
• Why the Jan. 6 panel bet its legal hand against the House GOP
• Jan. 6 panel’s subpoena of GOP members shows extent of Trump coverup
• Jan. 6 committee subpoenas five GOP House members, including Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy
• Report: Trump’s Little Classified Documents Scandal Is Getting the Grand Jury Treatment
• Prosecutors Pursue Inquiry Into Trump’s Handling of Classified Material
• Michael Luttig: Lessons of January 6 & the Ongoing Threat
• Katie Porter goes after Trump, uncovering potential bribery scheme
• Why the Bipartisan Push to Prevent Another Jan. 6 Is Running Out of Time
• Alito reluctant to discuss state of Supreme Court after Roe leak
• Two GOP judges just stripped social media companies of basic First Amendment rights (“The First Amendment doesn’t apply to Republicans anymore?”)
• As Roe v. Wade repeal looms, video game industry stays mostly silent
• Abortion, Economy Top Midterm Issues
• The Trailer: ‘The Empire Strikes Back’: A wave of PAC money buries left-wing Democrats
• Judge: Perdue’s election fraud claims are ‘conjecture and paranoia’
• Judy Woodruff Expected To Step Down As Anchor Of ‘PBS NewsHour,’ With Plans For Amna Nawaz And Geoff Bennett To Succeed Her (“The change would take place after the midterm elections, according to a source familiar with the plans.”)
• Democrats warn potential Trump return to Twitter could foment more violence
• Elon Musk says Twitter deal “temporarily on hold” (“Musk provided few details, but the tweet from his official account will ignite havoc in the tech and financial worlds. Twitter shares extended their fall in pre-market trading.”)
• Elon Musk would let Trump back on Twitter. He should explain more.
• Elon Musk says Twitter deal on hold pending details on fake accounts; shares plunge 18%
• How Every Senator And Governor Ranks According To ‘Popularity Above Replacement’
• How Twitter lost the celebs (“Elon Musk was right that Twitter’s most popular accounts have gone quieter over the years. Hollywood insiders explain what happened — and why Musk’s ownership might only make it worse…Twitter is viewed as a high-risk, low-reward platform for many A-list entertainers. It’s a place where the discourse has become so politicized that many prefer not to engage personally at all, delegating tweeting duties to underlings or outside agents who post anodyne promotional messages. They have also been turned off by harassment or abuse.”))
• Militias Still Have a Safe Space on YouTube (“A new report found hundreds of videos from sympathizers of groups that participated in the Capitol riot.” Why on earth wouldn’t YouTube remove those videos and block the militias?!?)
• George P. Bush’s family name proves to be key obstacle in his race against Ken Paxton for attorney general (George P. Bush has disgraced his family name.)
• Trump warns GOP voters against Barnette in Pennsylvania Senate race
• Right-wing media figures join the GOP panic about Kathy Barnette
• Surging GOP candidate Kathy Barnette has long history of bigoted statements against gays and Muslims
• Right-wing media figures join the GOP panic about Kathy Barnette
• An openly pro-coup Trumpist could become Pennsylvania’s next governor (“How should the media cover pro-insurrection candidates?” Start by calling them fascists; inform the public CLEARLY about the threat to democracy!)
• Madison Cawthorn tries to survive primary as slip-ups mount
• ‘He’s Not OK’: The Entirely Predictable Unraveling of Madison Cawthorn
• A new Metro chief faces a daunting future
• Video: Sen. Mark Warner Says Competitiveness Package Needed “to maintain America and the West’s leadership in cutting-edge technologies”
• Leading VA07 GOP Candidate to Take on Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D) Campaigns with “Jefferson Lies” Author, Who Pushes the “Pseudohistory” that America “was founded as an explicitly Christian nation” (This “renown [sic] historian” also “has involved himself in the new war on unions, claiming that Jesus and the Bible oppose minimum wage laws.”)
• Is Good ‘missing in action’? (“Air Force veteran Dan Moy challenges Rep. Bob Good for the Republican nomination in VA-5.”)
• Attorney James Abrenio FOIAs Virginia AG’s Office Over Jason Miyares’ Claims About Supposed “Threats” to Disrupt Catholic Churches on Mother’s Day (FOIA request demands Miyares provide evidence of “specific threats to Virginia churches…that you received prior to your…May 7th and May 8th statements”)
• Pope & Schapiro: Abortion and work-from-home backlash
• Clean Virginia Joins with Fellow Advocacy Organizations in Support of Energy Efficiency (“Dominion lags behind peer utilities in meeting energy efficiency goals for residential customers”)
• Youngkin wants college presidents to hire faculty with ‘diverse political perspectives’
• State agencies try to sort out scope of Youngkin’s telework policy
• Virginia senator involved in skill-game suit invokes special session to delay hearing
• Virginia 10-Day New COVID-19 Cases Down 88% Compared to 1/19, But Creeping Up; Hospitalizations Down to 299 From ~4,000 in January, But Also Creeping Up
• Community Leader and Addiction Recovery Advocate Victor McKenzie, Jr. Launches Campaign for New HD82 (The district includes all of the City of Petersburg and the County of Surry and parts of the counties of Prince George and Dinwiddie.)
• Virginia Tech commencement week: Youngkin to speak, graduates celebrate
• Virginia Beach’s popular Oceanfront park is buried in sand from storm (“Days of wind and high seas pushed sand up to the Boardwalk at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront.”)
• D.C.-area forecast: Mild today, and warmer this weekend despite clouds and rain chances (“We’ll see hit-or-miss showers today and through the weekend. 80s are a good bet Sunday and Monday.”)