Friday News: “Exxon Scientists Predicted Global Warming, Even as Company Cast Doubts”; “The Special Counsel on Trump Is Turning Over a Lot of Rocks”; “Why Biden’s document case is different than Trump’s”; “Youngkin’s political brand at risk after GOP losses in Virginia”

by Lowell

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

• Revealed: Exxon made ‘breathtakingly’ accurate climate predictions in 1970s and 80s (“Oil company drove some of the leading science of the era only to publicly dismiss global heating”)
• Exxon Scientists Predicted Global Warming, Even as Company Cast Doubts, Study Finds (Any consequences for the Exxon employees who “cast doubts” and helped cause massive damage to our planet, to people’s lives, to the environment, to animals, etc?!?)
• Europe’s snowless ski resorts preview winter in a warming world
• UAE appoints oil company boss as president of the COP28 climate conference, alarming climate groups
• Cities Really Can Be Both Denser and Greener (Absolutely, that’s a huge part of the answer to our environmental problems.)
• UN urges nations to prepare for an aging world now
• Europe’s Mild Winter Cushions Blow of War
• Rifts in Russian military command seen amid Ukraine fighting
• Why Russia is fighting so hard for Ukraine’s Bakhmut
• Putin’s military reshuffle is more about politics than a change of strategy (“The Russian president may have put Gen Gerasimov in charge of the invasion to balance tensions between the army and the Wagner group”)
• Biden advisor says oil price cap is working as Russia takes economic hit
• Ukraine is set to receive more Western tanks; ‘Pockets of resistance’ remain in embattled Soledar
• Kremlin Capture of GOP Continues Apace (“A Republican majority prefers to leave Ukraine helpless against Moscow. This is excellent news for Vladimir Putin – and Donald Trump.”)
• Russia claims it has taken contested town
• The wife of a jailed Russian opposition leader urges he be given medical treatment.
• Russian car sales down 58.8% in 2022 as sanctions hit industry hard
• Tesla cuts prices in the U.S. and Europe to stoke sales after lackluster year-end deliveries
• Japan is reacting to Russia and China rationally. It is only the beginning.
• Japan doubles down on defense and U.S. alliance with an eye on China
• Why Japan is the latest ally moving Biden’s way (“When President Joe Biden sits down with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Friday, it will mark a major tete-a-tete that could have profound implications for U.S. policy toward a critical part of the globe.”)
• China set for historic demographic turn, accelerated by COVID traumas (“A glimpse of the scars caused by the pandemic to China’s already bleak demographic outlook may come to light when it reports its official 2022 population data on Jan. 17.”)
• Donald Trump Wanted to Nuke North Korea (“…and blame it on another country. New information reveals that Trump spent much of 2017 suggesting such an attack ‘behind closed doors in the Oval office.'”)
• House Democrats ask Biden to revoke Bolsonaro’s visa after Brazil riot
• Democratic lawmakers demand Biden revoke Bolsonaro’s visa after Brazil riot
• Netanyahu’s Betrayal of Democracy Is a Betrayal of Israel (100%)
• Netanyahu judicial overhaul will be “fatal blow” to Israel’s democracy, top judge says (Agreed.)
• Remarks by President Biden on the Economy and Efforts to Tackle Inflation
• U.S. Deficit Fell to $1.4 Trillion in 2022
• Inflation Weary Americans Find Some Relief as Prices Fall for Dozens of Products
• 3 charts that explain what’s happening with US inflation (“The latest inflation data released on Thursday showed that price increases continued to slow.”)
• Why egg prices keep going up while inflation is going down (“Bird flu is driving up egg and turkey prices — and killing millions of animals. Why won’t we vaccinate against it?”)
• A Message for the Federal Reserve in the New Inflation Data
• Federal climate forecasts could help prepare for extreme rain. But it’s years away
• The Gas-Stove Debate Exemplifies the Silliest Tendencies of American Politics (“A big nothing can morph into a huge controversy for no good reason at all.”)
• Right-wing media figures become gas stove devotees after health concerns arise (“Right-wing media continues to rant against a gas stove ban, even after a US agency confirmed there won’t be one” They always have to be “outraged” about something.)
• The Absurd Arc of Gas Stove-Gate
• The Haunting of Prince Harry (“Electrified by outrage—and elevated by a gifted ghostwriter—his blockbuster memoir “Spare” exposes more than Harry’s enemies.”)
• The dangerous myth of the “moderate Republican” keeps pushing the media rightward (“During last week’s House fiasco, the media rediscovered ‘moderate’ Republicans. But they’re rarer than Bigfoot” At this point, if you are a journalist still referring to “moderate” Republicans, you should be in a completely different line of work – ASAP.)
• Rightwing group pours millions in ‘dark money’ into US voter suppression bid (“Tax filings reveal advocacy arm of Heritage Foundation spent $5m on lobbying in 2021 to block voting rights in battleground states” Horrific.)
• Guns are consumer products. They should be regulated as such.
• Why Must We Go About Our Lives With an Eye on the Nearest Exit?
• How Democrats can flip the script on the GOP’s ‘weaponization’ subcommittee
• Analysis: U.S. House Republicans favor message over substance in early legislation
• House Republicans’ “Born Alive” Abortion Bill Isn’t Just Messaging. It’s a Cry for Help (“The GOP is beholden to the anti-abortion movement—but terrified of actually passing anti-abortion laws.”)
• Biden beats Trump, marginally trails DeSantis in new GOP poll
• Garland Appoints Special Counsel to Investigate Handling of Biden Documents
• Biden’s and Trump’s document cases differ. We need to know more. (“From what is known so far, the president’s mishandling of classified documents was not nearly as egregious — or potentially criminal — as Donald Trump’s.”)
• Biden says he takes classified documents seriously and is cooperating with the Justice Department. (SHARP contrast with Trump.)
• Merrick Garland Appoints Special Counsel in Biden’s Classified Documents Case (“Robert K. Hur, a former Trump appointee, will investigate the current president.”)
• Special Counsel Appointment Brings Us One Day Closer to Republicans Demanding Biden Be Sent to Gitmo Over Classified Docs
• Why Biden’s document case is different than Trump’s
• How White House missteps exacerbated Biden’s classified documents headache
• Shame on the Media for Turning Biden’s Old Classified Docs into a Snipe Hunt (“False equivalence and what-aboutism—has no one learned anything from the last decade?”)
• How Biden and Trump’s classified doc discoveries have differed
• Biden political future clouded by classified document probe
• The Special Counsel on Trump Is Turning Over a Lot of Rocks
• Trump: Special counsel Jack Smith might ‘turn out to be a criminal’ (Trump is evil.)
• McCarthy stands by Santos despite growing calls for resignation from other GOP lawmakers
• Church Committee aide rips House Republicans: ‘A sad spectacle’
• All the House Republicans who have called for George Santos to resign
• While guest hosting Steve Bannon’s podcast, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) defends Rep. George Santos’ (R-NY) false claims
• In an exclusive interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, former House Speaker Paul Ryan discusses the future of former President Trump and the Republican Party.
• Trump Organization To Be Sentenced For Tax Fraud, Faces Fine (“The stiffest penalty Donald Trump’s company could receive for helping its executives dodge taxes is a $1.6 million fine.”)
• Trump to ramp up efforts to secure 2024 Republican nomination after slow start (“Events aim at giving ex-president a narrative reset after being criticized for his ‘low energy’ and inactivity, sources say”)
• “He Is in a Weird Bunker”: Donald Trump’s 2024 Campaign Is Sputtering Out of the Gate
• DeSantis fields growing criticism from fellow 2024 Republicans
• Ex-Trump adviser Steve Bannon seeks to change attorneys in fundraising fraud case
• At least 7 people were killed as a giant storm system hits the Southern U.S.
• Republican candidate’s wife arrested, charged with casting 23 fraudulent votes for her husband in the 2020 election (Note how voter fraud, which Republicans love to scream about even though there’s almost none of it, is usually carried out by…yep, Republicans?)
• Lisa Marie Presley dies at 54 after hospitalization
• Teacher and cousin of Black Lives Matter founder ‘Tased to death’ by LAPD
• Missouri Republicans adopt stricter House dress code — but just for women (A bunch of old, sexist white men…)
• Kentucky’s Beshear Ranks as America’s Most Popular Democratic Governor Ahead of Re-Election Bid
• Exclusive: Tucker Carlson, Alex Jones Texts Revealed
• Rep. Abigail Spanberger Reintroduces “TRUST in Congress Act” to Ban Members of Congress & Their Families from Trading Individual Stocks
• Jen Kiggans Votes to Restrict Abortion Rights (“With every extreme vote…Kiggans is quickly building the case against herself for 2024.”)
• Editorial: Youngkin needs to tap the brakes (“no Virginia governor over the past 60 years has done more than Youngkin to stoke racial tension, downplay Black history, and viciously attack liberal-minded citizens.”)
• Youngkin’s political brand at risk after GOP losses in Virginia (And a TON of losses in 2021!)
• Youngkin Uses State of the Commonwealth to Stump for Abortion Ban
• Video: VA House Dems Leader Don Scott Asks, “How many times does the governor and politicians across the aisle need to be told by Virginians, ‘no’” on Banning Abortion?(“Tuesday night was a resounding rejection of the MAGA extremism that has swept across our Commonwealth”)
• Abortion will be a hot topic in Richmond this year, just don’t expect much to change
• Column: Democrats’ Senate win snuffs out GOP abortion hopes — for now
• Youngkin halted Ford battery plant efforts in Virginia over concerns about China
• Three interesting bills of the week: declawing cats, antidepressants and the UDC
• Lawmakers consider expanding eligibility for state Brown v. Board of Education Scholarship
• Column: House Democrats are ready to fight for Virginia
• Fairfax County School Board Member Stella Pekarsky (D) Announces Virginia Senate Candidacy in Newly Drawn SD36 (Pekarsky will be taking on incumbent Sen. George Barker in this strongly “blue” district in western Fairfax)
• Pope & Schapiro: The first few days of the General Assembly session and what might come next
• Clean water advocates will try again to ban toxic driveway sealants
• Virginia Aquarium needs major renovations — and a place to put the animals during the work, director says
• Former Portsmouth city manager pushes for full severance payment, says reasons for her firing were ‘misleading’
• Before shooting, backpack of Va. 6-year-old searched by school staffer
• Fairfax County top prosecutor Steve Descano to seek reelection in 2023
• This TikToker Accused Local Cop of Racial Profiling. Then He Pulled Her Over. (“Charlotte Carter’s extremely coincidental run in with an officer in Chesterfield, Virginia has since gone viral.”)
• D.C.-area forecast: Windy today with rain and clouds departing