by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Wednesday, May 31.
- The little-known, massive advantage that renewables hold over coal (“Burning coal to create electricity is shockingly inefficient.”)
- Europe’s Unwanted Coal Heads to China and India as Heat Builds
- Leading experts warn of a risk of extinction from AI
- The War in Ukraine Has Come Home to Russia
- Drones attack Russian oil refineries near major oil port Novorossiisk
- U.N. Nuclear Agency Sets New Rules for Plant Near Ukraine’s Front Line
- Fake Signals and American Insurance: How a Dark Fleet Moves Russian Oil
- Tara Reade, who accused Joe Biden of sexual assault, defects to Russia (This woman is completely unhinged; the question is whether she’s a Russian agent, dupe, “useful idiot” or what.)
- How a High-Value Russian Wanted by the U.S. Escaped From Italy
- Russia’s reaction to the drone attacks on Moscow
- Moscow drone attack exposes Russia’s vulnerabilities, fuels criticism of military
- Uganda Just Made Homosexuality Punishable by Death. American Evangelical Groups Played a Role (“The legislation comes after years of lobbying from American Christian groups, some of which previously supported such harsh anti-LGBTQ measures.”)
- Acen wins approval to build Australia’s biggest battery – next to biggest solar farm
- Mexico’s president says he would support peace agreement with cartels (“Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s comments come after an activist’s open letter to crime groups to stop forced disappearances”)
- North Korean satellite plunges into sea after rocket failure
- How the West should deal with Turkey after Erdogan’s reelection
- Biden adviser discussed possible outreach to Iran on nuclear program with Oman: sources
- Debt-Limit Deal Heads to House Vote After Clearing Key Hurdle
- Debt ceiling deal clears first hurdle as McCarthy tries to tamp down dissent
- Shalanda Young emerges as quietly essential figure in debt deal
- Ahead of House debt ceiling vote, Biden shores up Democrats and McCarthy scrambles for GOP support
- House conservatives threaten push to oust McCarthy over debt deal
- First Republican publicly supports ousting McCarthy as Speaker
- Biden’s underrated deal-making prowess strikes again
- Dems Try Not to Rub Debt Deal in GOP Colleagues’ Faces—Yet (“Democrats are trying to restrain themselves from gloating about the debt limit deal. At least not until the bill actually passes.”)
- ‘An egregious act’: debt ceiling deal imperils the environment, critics say (“The agreement will fast-track the Mountain Valley pipeline, and limit the scope of environmental reviews for future developments”)
- McCarthy’s future on the line as he whips debt ceiling deal
- McConnell to face off with conservative opponents on debt ceiling bill
- As MAGA faces a big defeat, some Democrats worry it will be fleeting
- Senate Democrats fret over debt ceiling deal, but signal grudging support
- Far-right members threaten a ‘reckoning’ over McCarthy’s debt limit deal
- White House, GOP both claim victory on student loans in debt limit bill
- 14th Amendment Questions Linger Despite Debt Limit Deal (“President Biden has been considering ways to challenge the constitutionality of the debt limit to defuse the risk of default.”)
- Debt ceiling deal: 5 takeaways on its economic impact (“The bill to raise the debt ceiling and trim spending doesn’t reduce deficits much but also doesn’t hurt the economy much”)
- Land around the U.S. is sinking. Here are some of the fastest areas.
- David Rothkopf: “Stealthily, without proportionate recognition, Joe Biden is not just having a good presidency, he’s having one that is historic in its concrete achievements and successes.” (“It is why, personally, I have confidence that in 2024, we will see Biden and the Democrats win by big margins.”)
- Thomas Zimmer on the “extremist ethno-religious movement that has galvanized behind Trump” and how “mainstream political discourse” Perpetuates It (Here in Virginia, we saw this exact type of thing in 2006, with George Allen’s references to a supposedly “real,” overwhelmingly white Virginia vs. the highly diverse place we actually live in.)
- Nothing to See Here, Just Trump Reportedly Vowing to “Immediately” Fire Anyone Who Investigated Him If Reelected (“According to Rolling Stone, the ex-president’s allies are already working on a list.”)
- Soon Enough, Trump Will Be Hiring Lawyers Off Those 1-800 Billboards Along I-75
- It Took Alito Barely a Month to Violate the Supreme Court’s New Ethics Rules
- GOP chairman moves to hold FBI director Wray in contempt over Biden doc
- Trump pledges to end birthright citizenship on first day in office (A second Trump term would mean the end of American democracy among many other horrors.)
- Mar-a-Lago prosecutors eye July episode with Trump surveillance cameras
- Ron DeSantis says he will ‘destroy leftism’ in US if elected president (DeSantis is DeFascist)
- Leaked Audio From a Ron DeSantis Donor Event Is Really Bad News for His Campaign (“Team DeSantis tried to hype poll numbers to deep-pocketed supporters. But the data actually points to a Trump primary victory.”)
- U.S. Senate confirms GOP-backed Biden pick to Louisiana federal court
- Ashli Babbitt’s Mother Arrested After Striking Woman at Pro-Jan. 6 Event (Horrible family.)
- “Smart People Are Falling for Stupid Lies”: How One Florida County Has Become Ground Zero for the Far-Right’s Education Blitz (“From board battles to book bans to “woke” audits, Republicans in Sarasota are waging a grassroots assault on ‘everything, everywhere, all at once,’ says the county’s former school board chair.”)
- Clayton Kershaw disagrees with Dodgers’ decision to honor Sisters
- Conservatives Are Now Boycotting Chick-fil-A for Not Being Homophobic Enough
- Republican candidate accused of lying about military record ends comeback bid
- Twitter Fails to Remove Hate Speech By Blue-Check Users: Report
- Twitter Is Now Worth Just 33% of Elon Musk’s Purchase Price, Fidelity Says (Musk bought it for $44 billion, so that means it’s now worth less than $15 billion?)
- Opinion | Why Texas Republicans Are Targeting Renewable Energy (“Texas Republicans have had to abandon their own free-market, anti-regulation ideology in the effort to strangle wind and solar power. But renewable energy is something environmentalists favor; it’s being promoted by the Biden administration. So in the minds of Texas right-wingers the wind has become woke, and wind power has become something to be fought even if it hurts business and costs the state both money and jobs.” Totally insane.)
- The day has arrived for Elizabeth Holmes to report to a Texas prison
- Joe Rogan Is Fueling Climate Misinformation on TikTok, Watchdogs Warn (Disgusting.)
- Students and Faculty at Ohio State Respond to a Bill That Would Restrict College Discussions of Climate Policies (“‘You can say gravity isn’t true, but if you step off the cliff, you’re going down,’ says climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe about restrictions on teaching.”)
- Florida elections officials quietly made it easier for Ron DeSantis to fund his 2024 bid
- Carter Family Statement about Health of First Lady Rosalynn Carter
- Breaking: Rep. Chris Stewart plans to resign from Congress
- Debate on Mountain Valley Pipeline heats up in Congress
- Virginia House Democrats Submit Amendment to Strip Mountain Valley Pipeline from Bipartisan Budget Agreement
- Manchin pipeline in debt ceiling deal prompts Democratic pushback
- VA delegation pushes back at parts of debt ceiling deal
- Sen. Kaine cites mail delivery problems in Arlington in letter calling for postal improvements
- Chipping away at election integrity: Virginia joins red state exodus from ERIC (“In the same week as he announced withdrawal, Youngkin released a ‘campaign-style video appearing to cast him as the successor to President Ronald Reagan.’ The ERIC action is nothing but a sop to Trump and other conspiratorial election deniers, as Virginia now joins the parade of those who continue to sow anxiety about our elections and undermine the legitimacy of the system itself.”)
- With a deadline looming, state lawmakers still don’t have an agreement on the budget (“Negotiations seem to have stalled for now, and no action is expected until after the primary on June 20th.”)
- Virginia Gov. Youngkin scraps degree requirement for most state jobs
- Report on Virginia public education standards and policies overdue
- What Virginia’s primaries mean for Democrats and Republicans
- Buckingham County’s electoral system in crisis
- Williams: In invoking the religion of a school board appointee, Hanover fails the Constitution test
- Why This Longtime Chap Petersen Supporter Is Voting for Saddam Salim
- Senate District 13’s Top Democratic Leaders Support Lashrecse Aird
- Four years after Virginia Beach mass shooting, families fight for legislation and concerns about investigation remain
- ‘You can’t trust him’: Laufer campaign hits Squire for ‘pro-life’ comments
- Review of Loudoun County Schools Sex Assaults to Be Made Public
- Loudoun Schools ordered to turn over review of handling of sexual assaults
- How city leaders want to improve pedestrian safety in Richmond
- Richmond scraps parking space rules in an effort to curb transportation emissions (“The new ordinance aims to reinvent paved space in Virginia’s capital city, where an excess of single-use stalls has left many parking lots empty.”)
- Teen charged in drug-related robbery that led to deadly shooting, stabbing of 2 in Fairfax Co.
- BREAKING: W-L senior and standout soccer player killed in Fairfax County double homicide
- D.C.-area forecast: Warming up through Friday with a shower chance late Saturday
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