Thursday News: “Jan. 6 Committee To Put Trump ‘At The Center’ Of The Plan To Overturn Election”; “Democrats raise the stakes before first Jan. 6 hearing”; “Witnesses to Uvalde Brought the Horror They Saw to Congress”; “Inside The Washington Post’s Social Media Meltdown”

by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Thursday, June 9.

• Climate policy dragged into culture wars as a ‘delay’ tactic, finds study
• World’s Plodding Embrace of Efficiency Is “Inexplicable,” Says Global Energy Chief (“The cleanest power available, by far, is the power we don’t use.” This is the no-brainer of all no-brainers.)
• Big Oil Is Suing Countries To Block Climate Action (Evil.)
• U.S., Allies Try to Restrain Surging Global Oil Prices
• Germany introduces bill to accelerate wind power expansion (Also, restart those nuclear power plants!)
• It’s time to confront Putin’s destructive war on grain.
• Ukraine says troops hold on Sievierodonetsk, advance in south
• Moscow’s chief rabbi ‘in exile’ after resisting Kremlin pressure over war (“Pinchas Goldschmidt left Russia just weeks after invasion of Ukraine, daughter-in-law says”)
• Ukraine and Russia ‘compete to be last army standing’ as Donbas deaths mount (“Analysis: Signs the invaders are reaching exhaustion – but can the defenders cope with their military losses?”)
• The Black Sea blockade: mapping the impact of war in Ukraine on the world’s food supply – interactive (“From vast grain stores stuck in Odesa to famine risk in Yemen, a visual guide to the far-reaching effects of Russia’s block on exports”)
• Zelenskyy says Severodonetsk battle may determine fate of east Ukraine; UN warns of global food catastrophe
• Top general details plan to train Ukrainians on rocket artillery
• Smashed buildings in Mariupol produce ‘caravan of death’
• Ukraine sees threat of pollution to water basins after Russian invasion
• No let up in battle for key eastern Ukraine city
• Biden seeks consensus at fractured Americas summit
• Virus testing the new normal as China sticks to ‘zero-COVID’
• Soaring Oil Prices Force Biden to Engage With Saudis He’d Spurned (This is the result of Republicans, the auto industry, etc. keeping us addicted to oil. We should have gotten off of it many, many years ago.)
• Dom Phillips: editors around world urge Bolsonaro to do more to find missing journalist (He should, but Bolsonaro’s a Trump-style fascist, so don’t count on it.)
• The bad vibes economy (“Is the economy actually bad, or does everyone just feel like it is?” “It’s impossible to tell anyone how to feel about the economy, or about anything, really. And the way we feel about the economy isn’t always logical.”)
• White House lays out its plan for Covid vaccinations for children under 5
• Biden announces standards to make electric vehicle charging stations accessible
• How a battery shortage is hampering the U.S. switch to wind, solar power
• The U.S. is planning to phase out single-use plastics at national parks
• Hudson Canyon, a giant underwater chasm, could be the newest national marine sanctuary
• Bipartisan Senate group eyes deal ‘this week’ on bill to prevent future coups
• Editorial: Hearing the truth (“The Jan. 6 commission’s only duty is to the truth. The American public should be eager to hear it.”)
• Jan. 6 Capitol attack committee goes prime time with probe
• ‘It’ll change history’: Jan. 6 panel hypes first public hearing
• The Memo: Democrats raise the stakes before first Jan. 6 hearing
• Trump And His Allies Prepare Alternative Reality Of Lies To Counter Jan. 6 Hearings (“The former president and his defenders are whitewashing the committee’s presentation before it has even begun.”)
• Key questions the Jan. 6 committee will tackle in its hearings
• 6 questions the Jan. 6 committee aims to answer about the attack
• Jan. 6 panel to put Trump at center of ‘coordinated, multistep effort’ to overturn election
• Jan. 6 Hearing on Capitol Riot Set to Feature Video, Interviews, Testimony
• Jan. 6 panel zeroes in on Trump ahead of today’s hearing (Trump committed MANY, SERIOUS crimes and should be in prison the rest of his pathetic, disgraceful life.)
• Jared Kushner Would Like People to Know He Totally Almost Saved the Country on January 6 (“And also that he could have stopped the election lies in the run up to the insurrection, but was too busy taking online book-writing classes.”)
• What we know about Trump’s actions as insurrection unfolded
• The Insurrection Didn’t End on Jan. 6. The Hearings Need to Prove That.
• Liz Cheney Will Not Tolerate Trump’s Lies
• Why aren’t there more Republicans like Liz Cheney? (“Aside from the Wyoming congresswoman, are there any Republicans willing to risk their seats to save democracy?”)
• Fox News’s blackout of Jan. 6 points to a hidden crisis for Democrats (“How Fox’s latest propaganda push explains the Democrats’ communication challenges.”)
• 72 percent of Americans more likely to vote after recent mass shooting: NPR poll
• New Poll: Voters Support Jan. 6 Hearings, but Worry Trump Republicans Will Promote Violence (“The findings come as the US House Committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack will hold the first of six public hearings Thursday night in primetime. Sixty-five percent of voters support the House investigation, while only 28% oppose it…”)
• The Jan. 6 Committee Can’t Convict Trump—but It Could Help Bankrupt Him
• Fox News’ ongoing complicity in the January 6 insurrection (“The network won’t let tomorrow’s hearing pierce the bubble it created”)
• Steve Bannon says he agrees with “Tucker and the Fox News people” there is “no need to cover” the January 6 hearing (Bannon is a seditionist himself.)
• January 6 committee to hear from Raffensperger, Sterling
• Trump privately raised Jan. 6 Capitol appearance with Secret Service agent, select panel hears
• A new erosion in Trump’s defense against criminal prosecution
• The Jan. 6 hearings’ missing man: Mike Pence (“Donald Trump’s vice president, the target of his election-subversion campaign, hasn’t gotten a formal invitation to testify. But the select committee isn’t ruling it out.”)
• White House Struggles to Talk About the ‘Problem From Hell’
• Biden to media: Be better (They can’t/won’t be?)
• How Gender Neutral Language Is Shaping the Fight for Abortion Rights
• 11-Year-Old Uvalde Survivor, Parents of Victims Plead With Congressional Ghouls to Do Something About Mass Shootings
• Don’t Forget the First Half of the Second Amendment (“The amendment doesn’t prohibit gun regulations it demands them”)
• Praise for Uvalde shooter and call for copycats is growing online, Homeland Security warns (The internet can really bad a dark, disturbing place.)
• House passes tough new gun measures hours after wrenching testimony
• America’s ‘Psychic Numbing’ to Gun Violence
• Exclusive: CEOs call on Senate to pass gun legislation (Pull your money from any Senator who won’t support serious gun legislation.)
• Witnesses to Uvalde Brought the Horror They Saw to Congress
• Over 40 Percent Of Americans Now Rate Gun Violence As A Top Issue (They need to vote, and of course vote for candidates who support serious action on gun violence.)
• Opinion Bob Casey: I changed my stance on guns. I shouldn’t be the only one.
• Nearly 3 Out Of 4 Support Raising Legal Age To Buy Any Gun, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Support For Assault Weapons Ban Hits A Low (Good, although it should be 4 out of 4…)
• An Uvalde pediatrician says he will ‘never forget what I saw’ after the shooting.
• Trump’s Favorite House Republican Is Married to the Gun Industry
• After the leak, the Supreme Court seethes with resentment and fear behind the scenes (This Court is a complete disaster.)
• The Conservative Justices Keep Winning. Why Are They So Mad?
• Man with gun is arrested near Brett Kavanaugh’s home, officials say
• Armed man arrested near Brett Kavanaugh’s home charged with attempting to murder a US judge (Lock him up.)
• Addressing voter anger about crime doesn’t have to mean abandoning reform
• The debate over Democrats and crime is disastrously confused (“This debate is taking place in a fantasy world.”)
• Crime needs to be more than just a gun issue for Biden (“The White House has failed to put public safety front and center.” Agreed; public safety absolutely needs to be #1.)
• The Pa. Senate race recount is complete and the results show how accurate the vote count was
• ‘I’m scared’: Florida faces uncertain abortion future as 15-week ban set to take effect (“If Roe v Wade is overturned, the state is poised to become an abortion destination. But is DeSantis eyeing a total ban?”)
• More families of trans teens sue to stop Texas child abuse investigations
• Brookings places retired general on leave amid FBI probe
• Facebook’s 2018 algorithm change boosted local GOP groups, research finds (Facebook is a disaster.)
• Audio shows Trump-endorsed Arizona Senate candidate questioned whether January 6 attack was set up by FBI (Unhinged person.)
• How would GOP Senate candidates fare against Evan McMullin in Utah? New poll reveals answers
• She Helped Create the Big Lie. Records Suggest She Turned It Into a Big Grift.
• Colorado to Examine Lauren Boebert’s Mileage Claims and Tax Liens
• In reversal, Twitter plans to comply with Musk’s demands for data
• The Washington Post’s Twitter Fragility
• “Clusterf—k”: Inside The Washington Post’s Social Media Meltdown (“A flurry of Twitter flare-ups and Slack spats involving Post journalists, along with a controversial suspension, have upended the newsroom.”)
• Statements by Virginia’s Democratic U.S. House Members on Passage of “Protecting Our Kids Act” (Bill includes: “Raising the Age to Purchase Assault-Style Rifles, Encouraging Safe Storage, Cracking Down on Straw Purchases, & Closing Bump Stock Loopholes”)
• The plan proposed by Virginia’s senators to help end gun violence (“Mark Warner, Tim Kaine try to bring a statewide plan to the national level”)
• How Biden’s Economic Plan is Working for Virginia (“After shrinking in 2020, Virginia’s economy is growing fast”)
• One of Virginia’s biggest pro-choice advocacy groups is preparing for a post-Roe future
• Virginia LGBTQ+ Organizations Call Out Governor Youngkin’s Hypocrisy in Hosting a Pride Event (This comes after Youngkin “spent months campaigning on a platform of homophobia,” was endorsed by anti-LGBTQ hate group.)
• Youngkin addresses state LGBTQ+ board; chairperson cedes post
• Some LGBTQ groups boycott Youngkin pride event
• New Survey: Virginia Government Employees “Upset and Disappointed” with Youngkin, Say “Trust Is Eroding,” Urge Him to Back Off/Reverse Sudden Policy Change Limiting Telework
• ‘A gigantic stride’ (“An inventory of the school construction measures in the state’s budget compromise (and a look at the unusual coalition that made some of them happen.”)
• Youngkin eyes more budget tweaks
• ‘Elder power’ a force in Virginia as more retirees step up climate action game (“A state chapter of environmentalist Bill McKibben’s Third Act marches on big banks to shut off funding for the Mountain Valley Pipeline and other fossil fuel infrastructure. One rally participant realized, ‘Oh my gosh, it’s my turn.'”)
• New Parole Board chair pledges transparency and second chances
• Virginia 10-Day New COVID-19 Cases Down 83% Compared to 1/19; Hospitalizations Down to 581 From ~4,000 in January; Both Up From a Couple Months Ago
• After “Commanders” Defensive Coordinator’s Outrageous Comments Calling the 1/6 Violent Insurrection a Mere “Dustup” and Absurdly Claiming Black Lives Matter Is Worse, VA Sen. Jeremy McPike Switches to “NO” on the Stadium Bill (“I think what’s burning down today is the stadium bill.”)
• Key Northern Virginia senators say no Commanders stadium vote after Del Rio’s Jan. 6 comments
• Some students were aboard Spirit of Norfolk for an end-of-year celebration. Then the ship caught fire.
• Police weigh charges in crash that killed Oakton High School students (“Police said they are still awaiting more data — particularly from a BMW that they believe was speeding when it collided with another vehicle and careened into a trio of Oakton High School girls.”)
• D.C.-area forecast: Warm sunshine returns today, but Saturday showers likely