by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Tuesday, January 31.
- Critical climate thresholds may be nearer than thought: study finds
- European Solar And Wind Surpass Gas Power For The First Time
- Prospects for the global economy are improving, as worst fears fade
- Euro zone economy posts surprise expansion in the fourth quarter, curbing recession fears
- I.M.F. Upgrades Global Outlook as Inflation Eases
- Europe scrapes out economic growth by dodging gas disaster
- UK expected to be only major economy to shrink in 2023 – IMF
- How to Get a Breakthrough in Ukraine
- Major new Russian assault in Ukraine unlikely to achieve breakthough, UK says
- Putin has paved the way for Ukrainian membership in NATO
- Talk of fighter jets for Kyiv puts strains on Western unity
- Ukraine intel chief predicted Russia’s war. He says Crimea will be retaken.
- ‘They shot them in front of everyone’ (“A 26-year-old former commander in Russia’s Wagner mercenary group told CNN fighters were often sent into battle with little direction and the company’s treatment of reluctant recruits was ruthless”)
- Russia Sidesteps Western Punishments, With Help From Friends (“A surge in trade by Russia’s neighbors and allies hints at why its economy is so resilient despite sanctions meant to punish it over the Ukraine invasion.”)
- Ukraine and Russia Locked in ‘Very Tough’ Battle for Bakhmut (“Moscow is pouring in waves of fighters and targeting Ukrainian supply lines in an effort to gain its first significant battlefield victory in months.”)
- Russian Mercenaries Are Destabilizing Africa
- Ukraine war: Joe Biden rules out sending F-16 fighter jets
- Biden Team Weighs Fully Cutting Off Huawei From US Suppliers
- U.S. military poised to secure new access to key Philippine bases (“The expansion is part of a broader push in the Indo-Pacific to buttress U.S. force posture, reinforce alliances and deter China”)
- Xi Jinping doesn’t want to wind up on the losing side in Ukraine
- Why Japan and South Korea Are Arming Up
- Jair Bolsonaro seeks six-month US tourist visa to extend Florida stay
- Abbas assures US security ties with Israel only partially cut, can be restored
- Blinken Heads to West Bank After Surge in Violence
- Namibia reports record level of rhino poaching (Horrible.)
- Police say death toll in Pakistan mosque bombing now at 95 (Ugh.)
- Pakistan puts final toll of 95 dead in terrorist attack on mosque, vows revenge
- North-west Pakistan in grip of deadly Taliban resurgence
- Turkey’s push into Iraq risks deeper conflict
- Common Currency Proposal for Brazil and Argentina Draws Skepticism
- U.S. Plans to End Public Health Emergency for Covid in May
- $5.4 billion in covid aid may have gone to firms using suspect Social Security numbers
- Biden intends to end Covid-19 and public health emergencies on May 11
- Will Americans Even Notice an Improving Economy?
- Millions across the South and central US brace for ice storm
- Century-old train tunnels in Baltimore and New York to get funding from Biden’s infrastructure law
- The Police Cannot Be a Law Unto Themselves
- Police statements tell the first version of an incident. Then video footage comes out (In this case, the police statement was WILDLY false. Any consequences for that?!?)
- Fox News and right-wing media circulate seemingly inauthentic “antifa poster” to fearmonger about police protests
- Tyre Nichols case shows officers still fail to intervene
- MORE: Seventh Memphis Police Officer Disciplined After Tyre Nichols’ Arrest
- 3 Memphis EMTs fired for their response to the fatal police beating of Tyre Nichols
- The Paul Pelosi attack video shows that the right’s conspiracy theory machine is out of control
- Pelosi’s attacker is proud of himself. The GOP emboldened him (“Of course, the Pelosi suspect feels supported — the GOP is the party of political violence now”)
- Looking back on the coverage of Trump (“My main conclusion is that journalism’s primary missions, informing the public and holding powerful interests accountable, have been undermined by the erosion of journalistic norms and the media’s own lack of transparency about its work. This combination adds to people’s distrust about the media and exacerbates frayed political and social differences.”)
- The Political Press Has Succumbed Once Again to Terminal Both-Sides-ery
- The media is blowing Biden’s documents ‘scandal’ out of proportion (“The news media has greeted the supposed scandal of Biden’s mishandling of classified documents with breathless glee”)
- Post-election, the GOP obsession with crime and inflation fades
- Meta’s policies won’t stop Trump from pushing election misinformation ahead of 2024
- Newsrooms that move beyond ‘objectivity’ can build trust (By Leonard Downie Jr., a former executive editor of The Washington Post)
- When Americans Lost Faith in the News
- Awful new details about the Durham probe demand a serious response (“Senate Democrats, prepare to investigate the investigations of the investigators.”)
- The real ‘weaponization’ of the Justice Department: Barr and Durham
- The Durham Fiasco Is a Warning of What’s to Come
- ‘We will figure out how to fire you’: how corporate America is hitting back against unions (“Employers are using heavy-handed tactics to prevent workers from organizing, and US labor union density is falling as a result”)
- Ron DeSantis Is “Actively Preparing” for Presidential Run and Donald Trump Is Having a Meltdown
- Trump-DeSantis rivalry approaches boiling point
- Republicans’ 2024 Magical Thinking (“Lots of Republicans want Donald Trump to disappear from politics. Their main strategy is hope.”)
- Reports: New grand jury in NY examining Trump hush money (So many crimes; who’s going to arrest this @#$@#! – and when already?!?)
- Stormy Daniels Once Again Clouds Trump’s Horizon as New York DA Revisits the Case
- Report: Trump Could Actually Be Criminally Charged for the Stormy Daniels Hush Money Payment
- Manhattan Prosecutors Begin Presenting Trump Case to Grand Jury
- First on CNN: 2 people who searched Trump properties for classified documents testified before federal grand jury in Mar-a-Lago probe
- Ex-publisher of National Enquirer set to meet with prosecutors investigating Trump
- Trump Sues Journalist Bob Woodward for Releasing Interview Recordings
- Secret hold restricts DOJ’s bid to access phone of Trump ally Rep. Scott Perry
- Trump Used Records Requests to Hinder IRS Release of His Tax Returns
- Trump says he’s proud to have trusted Putin over ‘slime’ US intelligence agencies (Trump is a traitor, utterly corrupt, etc.)
- Graham floats potential compromise on qualified immunity
- West Virginia’s Republican Governor Is ‘Leaning’ Toward a Senate Run
- Southern Democrats rally for Atlanta 2024 convention
- Federal judge blocks more of New Jersey’s new gun carry law
- Florida leaders push to allow concealed guns without permits, training (Utterly bonkers.)
- Ron DeSantis Wants to Erase Black History. Why?
- DeSantis is wrong. Nothing is more American than Black studies.
- What’s Really in the AP African-American Studies Class DeSantis Rejected?
- Top Arizona election official seeks campaign-violation probe of Kari Lake
- Clean energy is taking over the Texas grid. State officials are trying to stop it. (“Wind and solar are rapidly growing, but Texas Republicans want to throw a lifeline to natural gas.” F’ing morons. Also corrupt.)
- Paul Pelosi attack: Rightwing pundits backtrack after release of police video
- Opinion | The New York Times’ Obsession with Itself (“The newspaper promises — and fails — to take readers behind the scenes.”)
- Ex-New Mexico state GOP candidate indicted in shootings at officials’ homes
- Adam Schiff’s Unlikely To Be The Last Major Democrat To Join California’s U.S. Senate Race
- The political targeting of Ilhan Omar is inextricable from her religion
- Matt and Mercedes Schlapp Off the Air at Fox News After Groping Allegation
- Tim Kaine pushes for long COVID solutions
- Public comment opens on Youngkin administration’s regulation to withdraw Virginia from RGGI
- Activists rally in support of RGGI as public comment portal opens
- “Anti-abortion politicians on the House Courts of Justice Subcommittee don’t want Virginians to vote on a constitutional amendment to protect reproductive freedom because they know they’ll lose”
- VA Senate Democrats Pass Life-Saving Gun Legislation (“We had two mass shootings within 8 days of each other last year and a six year-old shoot a teacher this year — the time for action is now”)
- Most gun storage bills appear doomed in Virginia General Assembly (They’re actually doomed in the *Republican-controlled* Virginia House of Delegates, and the headline should say so!)
- Pete Buttigieg touts infrastructure investment in Virginia
- Virginia Board of Education to review updated history standards
- Local school divisions short $201 million in aid because of state error
- Column: Beneath the surface of the history standards (“The few examples they offered in their last outing led to public embarrassment – ignoring, for example, decades of scholarship to evade the centrality of slavery in the causes of the American Civil War. There is no reason to believe any subsequent frameworks they may produce would serve our students any better. Their proposed standards and opaque machinations should be rejected, the public informed and the democratic process they interrupted restored.”)
- Virginia lawmakers shelve bills cutting unemployment appeals times
- Full Senate, committee make decisions on gun bills
- Advocates, Dominion clash again over utility reform legislation in Virginia (“Lawmakers have advanced competing bills that could help determine how much customers pay for Dominion’s clean energy transition.”)
- Video: Long-Time VA Sen. Jill Vogel (R) Announces She Won’t Run for Reelection in “Purple” Seat, Endorses Juan Pablo Segura (R), Who Kicks Off with Word Salad of False, Far-Right Blather (“George Soros-backed,” “woke agenda,” “tyranny,” “radical left,” yada yada…)
- Loudoun Dems VA Senate Delegation Rips Presumptive SD31 GOP Nominee For “dangerous politics,” “dark and divisive vision,” “blatant attempts to stoke fears and divide our community” (In stark contrast, Senators John Bell, Jennifer Boysko and Barbara Favola argue, “[Democrat] Russet Perry has dedicated her life to serving the people of our region”)
- Arlington/Falls Church Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti Rips “Junk Hit Piece ‘Parole Report’” by AG Jason Miyares’ Office (Dehghani-Tafti also takes a shot at her predecessor, Theo Stamos, for her role in this “report”)
- Virginia Beach delegate pushing to ban transgender women from women’s sports
- In Richmond, prayers and calls for justice for Tyre Nichols
- Williams: The lesson after Richneck Elementary should be loud and clear: Teachers need to be heard
- Editorial: Reason for optimism (“Though recessionary pressures remain, there is reason to believe Hampton Roads is well positioned for modest economic growth this year.”)
- Norfolk Pastor Geoffrey V. Guns Explains Why He and Three Dozen Other Black Ministers, Pastors Are Endorsing Del. Angelia Williams Graves for VA Senate
- Antisemitic flyers found in Charlottesville
- Charlottesville receives 20 applicants for empty council seat
- Giant jellyfish wash up in Virginia Beach, on the Outer Banks
- Virginia Zoo’s ‘larger-than-life’ Billy the giraffe dies at 21
- D.C.-area forecast: Cold with light rain today, maybe light snow tonight
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