by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Wednesday, December 21.
- Global climate goal ‘gasping for breath,’ UN chief says
- Why Zelensky’s surprise US visit is so hugely significant
- Zelenskyy to meet Biden, address Congress as war rages on
- Zelensky Knows the Clock Is Ticking (“Ukraine’s president is rushing to the United States for good reason.”)
- Zelensky in Washington: Ukraine’s leader heads to US for first foreign trip
- Zelensky slated to meet Biden, appear in Congress on Wednesday
- Zelensky to address Congress amid rising fears of massive Russian winter offensive
- What Zelenskyy wants — but is unlikely to get — from Biden (“Kyiv has appealed directly to the Biden administration for more advanced weapons — weapons that they say could potentially lead the way to victory. But the U.S. is hesitating, frustrating Ukrainian officials at a time when they are trying to advance on the battlefield and continue to push back Russian forces.”)
- Ukraine’s Zelenskiy goes to Washington seeking ‘weapons, weapons and more weapons’
- Putin admits to ‘complicated’ situation in Russian-occupied Ukraine
- Xi Tells Russia’s Medvedev That China Wants Talks on Ukraine
- China Covid infection surge puts end of global emergency in doubt (“US offers assistance to China where experts warn there could be a million Covid-19 deaths in 2023”)
- China’s new covid nightmare could become a global catastrophe
- U.S. ready to help Mexico finance solar plans, Lopez Obrador says
- Afghanistan: Taliban ban women from universities amid condemnation (These people are evil.)
- Sam Bankman-Fried to Fly to US Wednesday, Escorted by FBI Agents
- As Covid Deaths Climb, Even Seniors Skip the Latest Booster
- Congress Offers $1 Billion for Climate Aid, Falling Short of Biden’s Pledge
- Animal activists say Senate omnibus bill condemns right whale to extinction (“Provision allows Maine’s lobster industry to continue using fishing gear that maims the species, often fatally, until 2028”)
- “Life-threatening” cold, bomb cyclone blizzard to sweep U.S. this week
- What Congress’s spending bill includes for energy, sustainability
- This little-known bottleneck is blocking clean energy for millions (“Energy developers want to build a ton of wind and solar — they just can’t get it connected to the grid” This is a huge problem that needs to be fixed, ASAP.)
- Postal Service will electrify trucks by 2026 in climate win for Biden
- Congress Finally Scrounges Up Some Money For Workers’ Rights (“A new deal to fund the government would help repair the National Labor Relations Board and avoid furloughs at the agency.”)
- Government funding bill would give DOJ extra money for Jan. 6 prosecutions
- Congress releases major spending bill with election reforms to prevent another Jan. 6
- The GOP is quietly ‘Trump-proofing’ our system behind his back (“Nobody tell Donald Trump, but Republicans in the Senate appear poised to join Democrats in protecting our democracy from exactly the election subversion he attempted in 2020 — and would surely attempt again in 2024 if given the chance.”)
- Senate Democrats see risks to Trump prosecution (“Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) acknowledged there are political risks to indicting a former president who still has strong support within the Republican Party, but he warned that failing to hold Trump accountable for his actions also has potentially negative consequences. ‘I don’t tell prosecutors what to do but I think the evidence that has been laid out is very compelling,’ he said.”)
- House panel report details Trump taxes (“Democrats share documents showing what the former president filed on income tax returns and explaining the committee’s investigation”)
- Four Big Takeaways from the Release of Trump’s Tax Information
- Mr. Trump paid $1.1 million in taxes during his presidency, but $0 in 2020, data released by the House panel showed.
- House committee votes to make public Donald Trump’s personal and business tax records
- I.R.S. Delayed Auditing Trump in Office Despite Mandate, House Panel Finds
- READ: House Ways and Means Committee report finding Trump was not properly audited by IRS as president
- Exclusive: Trump’s former White House ethics lawyer told Cassidy Hutchinson to give misleading testimony to January 6 committee, sources say
- Four Crimes: The Jan. 6th Committee Recommends Prosecution for Trump
- Lawyer for Key Jan. 6 Witness Seeks to Rebut Panel’s Claim of Interference
- Exclusive: Trump aide testified he saw Trump “tearing” documents; Meadows also once told him, “Don’t come into the room”
- Piecing Together What Trump Knew and When He Knew It
- No, the Jan. 6 committee didn’t make Trump stronger
- “We Will Get Destroyed”: Evangelicals Are Quietly Ditching Donald Trump’s 2024 Bid
- That Sound You Year Is Donald Trump Screaming at the Mar-a-Lago Pool Boys Over the Release of His Tax Returns and Possible Prison Time
- America’s Trumpiest court doesn’t care if your right to a fair trial was violated (“The Fifth Circuit’s decision in Crawford v. Cain is a monument to judicial lawlessness.”)
- Proud Boys leader may be on trial — but his thugs are still on the street causing trouble (Treat them as domestic terrorists.)
- Wells Fargo agrees to $3.7 billion settlement with CFPB over consumer abuses
- Ron Klain deserves his share of credit for Biden’s success
- The Twitter-FBI story relies far more on insinuation than evidence
- Police provide first official details of Elon Musk’s alleged stalker incident (“Police say a member of Elon Musk’s security team is currently a suspect in their investigation, not a victim”)
- Elon Musk Cries Voter Fraud (Musk is completely unhinged, deranged, etc.)
- California police say member of Elon Musk’s security team is a suspect following stalker claim
- Musk Lashes Out at Unhappy Investor as Tesla Shares Retreat (Yep, that’s what Musk does – “lashes out” instead of addressing the real issues at hand. In this case, those issues relate to Musk’s own incompetence, bizarre behavior, etc.)
- Musk says he will step down as Twitter CEO after poll (Musk is a nutjob.)
- Elon Musk Says He Will Resign as Twitter C.E.O. When He Finds a Successor
- Musk Says He Will Step Down From Twitter—With a Big Caveat
- Marjorie Taylor Greene attacks Lauren Boebert, calls her childish and mocks her struggle to get re-elected
- Lauren Boebert: Stop Trying to Make McCarthy Happen, Marjorie!
- Kari Lake’s Election Lawsuit Just Took One Step Forward—And Two Steps Back (This is the person Youngkin called “AWESOME!” a few weeks ago. LOL!)
- DeSantis lays out ‘blueprint’ to elect more conservatives on school boards
- Virginia Republicans nominate Christian nationalist for vacant House seat
- Rep. Abigail Spanberger Urges FDA, DEA to Address Prescription Adderall Shortage
- Long Lines to Vote in the VA04 Democratic “Firehouse Primary”; Polls Close at 7 pm; Ballots to Be Counted Wednesday Morning at 10 am. Go Jennifer McClellan!
- After 7-day race, Va. Democrats vote to nominate McEachin’s successor
- Democratic voters met with long lines at Diversity Richmond for firehouse primary
- Legislative commission objects to withdrawal from regional carbon market (“A legislative oversight commission voted 5-4 Monday to object to actions taken by Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration earlier this month to repeal regulations governing Virginia’s participation in a regional carbon market. All Democrats on the Joint Commission on Administrative Rules voted in favor of the objection, while all Republicans voted against it. “)
- Three education groups propose alternate Virginia history standards (“On Tuesday morning, the Virginia Social Studies Leaders Consortium, Virginia Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development and American Historical Association published their own draft standards, developed after the November draft released by Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration led to public outcry.”)
- Youngkin aims to consolidate state workforce programs
- State work group on solar development achieves little consensus on new regulations (“While solar groups worry about regulation, farm and conservation groups worry about land impacts”)
- Schapiro: With tax-cut scheme, Youngkin aims to win even if he loses
- Virginia commission objects to proposed transgender student policies
- Family Friendly Virginia Issues Seal of Approval to Aaron Rouse, Holly Seibold Ahead of 1/10/23 Special Elections in SD07, HD35
- Some of Virginia’s poorest localities help pay for their students’ community college tuition
- Virginia probes hiring of trooper who killed teen’s family
- Williams: Richmond’s high-poverty neighborhoods need tree planting, not tree removal.
- Henrietta Lacks statue to replace Robert E Lee monument in Virginia (“Lacks’ cells were taken from her body without her permission and used for numerous medical advances”)
- D.C.-area forecast: Cold and calm today, then wet tomorrow before an Arctic onslaught
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