by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Wednesday, January 4.
- Cities ablaze and countries submerged: The worst climate disasters of 2022
- Has the Amazon Reached Its ‘Tipping Point’? (“Some Brazilian scientists fear that the Amazon may become a grassy savanna — with profound effects on the climate worldwide.” Huge problem.)
- Green Lending Tops Fossil Fuel as Big Oil Gets Cash Elsewhere
- European weather: Winter heat records smashed all over continent
- Heard of “Net-Zero Oil” or “Carbon Negative” Bioenergy? In 2023 You Will
- Energy commodity prices in 2022 showed effects of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine
- Makiivka: Russia blames missile attack on soldiers’ mobile phone use
- Analysis: Putin Prepares Russians for a Long Fight Ahead
- China pledges ‘final victory’ over COVID as outbreak raises global alarm
- Battered by Covid, China Hits Pause on Giant Chip Spending Aimed at Rivaling US
- Exclusive: Tesla makes China boss highest-profile executive after Musk
- France Prepares Green Industry Bill Echoing US Climate Law
- Analysis: Brazil’s Bolsonaro faces legal risks after losing immunity
- Financial Firms May Have to Reveal their Climate Risk (“And public companies may have to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions, if regulators finalize proposed rules”)
- Natural Gas Plunges as Warm Weather Is Forecast (“Warm weather and ample supplies of natural-gas have pushed prices down more than 50% since the summer to about what they cost a year ago, before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine jolted energy markets.”)
- Biden to Renominate His Picks for Judicial and Diplomatic Posts
- White House emphasizes bipartisanship at outset of divided Congress
- Abortion Pills Can Now Be Offered at Retail Pharmacies, F.D.A. Says
- Senate Democrats must complete the work of the Jan. 6 committee
- Whoever the next GOP speaker is, the job will be a living hell
- Kevin McCarthy Will Lose—Even If He Wins (“Even if the House minority leader ultimately takes the gavel, he’s made concessions that cost a lot more than they’re worth.”)
- Kevin McCarthy Is Getting Devoured by the GOP’s Anti-Democratic Forces
- House GOP back in familiar pattern — fury at the Freedom Caucus
- ‘Circular firing squad’ derails GOP in new Congress
- Behind the Humiliation of Kevin McCarthy (“The G.O.P. has gone from being a disciplined party of limited government to a party of anti-government protest to, now, a party of performative verbiage.”)
- This was supposed to be Kevin McCarthy’s moment. Instead, GOP chaos reigns
- Opinion: Why Kevin McCarthy’s dream is in big trouble
- This Capitol drama is turning into a horror show
- GOP Struggles to Select Speaker, Exposing Deep Fractures Within Party
- Don’t lower the bar for the incoming GOP House majority (“If Republicans prove to be not ready for prime time, they should be held accountable.”)
- With farcical speaker deadlock, the new Republican House brings chaos back to Washington
- McCarthy speaker bid in peril as he fails to lock down support amid first-in-a-century fight
- McCarthy’s bid for speaker to continue, says Trump backs him
- Trump attacks McConnell, wife over GOP ‘turmoil’ after McCarthy fails to win Speakership
- GOP senators worry McCarthy diminished by nasty leadership battle
- ‘These People Are Charlatans’: Inside the Republicans’ Historic Failure to Pick a Speaker (“They just dug a hole that they can’t get out of.”)
- Speaker Fight Reveals a Divided and Disoriented House Majority
- After Another Failed Vote, McCarthy’s Speaker Bid Is Starting to Look Pathetic
- McCarthy faces open GOP revolt as House fails to elect speaker (“The House will be back in session today after Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s bid was thwarted on three ballots on the first day of the new Congress.”)
- Kevin McCarthy wasn’t ‘the one’ 7 years ago. He wasn’t on Tuesday, either.
- All but two McCarthy defectors in House are election deniers
- Never Trumpers Understood Kevin McCarthy’s Conference Better Than He Did
- Biden world both humored and terrified by McCarthy meltdown
- What happens if there’s no House speaker
- Kevin McCarthy’s Loyalty to Trump Got Him Nothing
- Cash can’t buy McCarthy speakership
- 3 strikes for McCarthy — but he’s not out yet
- Here’s What McCarthy’s Detractors Are Demanding
- Kevin McCarthy’s disastrous travails show Democrats must defang MAGA
- Why Kevin McCarthy Is So Bad at This
- Welcome to the MAGA Crackup
- A Far-Right Gang Of House Members Will Hold Power Over Their Caucus — With A Megaphone (“The GOP lawmakers, who have spent years becoming far-right influencers, are poised to hold a concerning amount of control over the new Congress.”)
- Kellyanne Conway Reveals Only Person Donald Trump ‘Reserves Fear For’ (“Conway said she contacted Melania Trump on Jan. 6, 2021, to have her husband quell the growing mob — because Melania was the only person Trump feared.”)
- Greene, Boebert, Gaetz: The Worst People You Know Are Having a Fight
- Santos Sits Alone as Resignation Calls Mount Over His Lies
- Cold shoulders, prying eyes: George Santos’s first day in Congress was stuff of nightmares
- George Santos had an awkward first day at the office
- Whoops: New Rep. George Santos Is About to Be Re-Charged With Fraud in Brazil
- California braces for wide-scale damage from fresh ‘truly brutal’ storm
- After a life-and-death scramble to save Bills’ Damar Hamlin, a search for answers
- Right-wing figures use Damar Hamlin’s NFL injury to spread anti-vaccine misinformation
- Right-Wingers Exploit Damar Hamlin’s Medical Emergency
- Colorado conservative activist warns of shift ‘from ballots to bullets’
- Virginia abolished biased, inefficient, botched executions; more states should follow suit
- Audio: VA House Majority Leader Terry Kilgore (R) Says Gov. Youngkin WILL Introduce 12-Week Abortion Ban in the 2023 General Assembly Session (The crucial need for Dems to win next Tuesday’s special election for SD07 got even clearer!)
- Planned Parenthood: Anti-Abortion Republicans Amp Up Attacks on Reproductive Health and Rights Ahead of January 10th Virginia Beach Special Election and Start of Legislative Session
- 11 VA House of Delegates Districts Could See Incumbents Battling Each Other for Nominations in June
- Virginia lawmakers want to create new state committee on gambling addiction
- Democratic senator looks to boost Virginia jury duty pay for the first time in 30 years (“The bill would increase the daily allowance for serving in a Virginia jury to $100 a day, up from $30.”)
- A season of change for Northern Virginia as election campaigns begin (“Redistricting pits several House incumbents against one another, while controversies over data centers and schools fuel local county board contests.”)
- VCU Study delves into Virginia’s growing immigrant population
- SD07 Dem Nominee Aaron Rouse Announces Nearly $1,000,000 Fundraising Haul Heading Into Special Election (Now, let’s make sure we elect him next Tuesday!)
- Fairfax schools will launch own independent inquiry into delayed scholarship notices
- Youngkin calls for probe of Thomas Jefferson High student awards notification
- Youngkin calls for investigation into Fairfax Co. school accused of delay in informing students of national recognition
- Weir wins GOP nomination for vacant seat on Prince William Board of County Supervisors (“Haymarket Town Councilor Bob Weir has won the Republican nomination for the vacant Gainesville District seat on the Prince William Board of County Supervisors.Weir prevailed in the three-way contest at a mass meeting on Monday night. He defeated former Gainesville District School Board member Alyson Satterwhite and civil engineer Ray Mizener. Weir will face Democrat Kerensa Sumers in the Feb. 21 special election.”)
- Should Richmond or Petersburg get a casino? Lawmakers will soon decide
- Del. Kelly Convirs-Fowler claims possession of Virginia Beach mass shooter’s laptop, questions if investigators missed evidence
- Portsmouth City Manager Tonya Chapman fired by new council
- Roanoke region flu, RSV infections down amid holiday COVID-19 spike
- Bristol’s only abortion clinic being sued by its landlords
- D.C.-area forecast: Springlike warmth and showers today; more like winter by weekend
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