Sunday News: “Ukraine Will Be the Big Winner of Prigozhin Turning On Putin” (Who “Blinked”); “‘A year of trauma and terror’: Democrats issue calls to action as US marks Roe reversal”; “Virginia’s primaries set the stage for this fall’s fierce political wars”

by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Sunday, June 25.

• The Arctic and Atlantic Oceans Are Merging. It Could Be Disastrous.
• Here’s a Look at the Water Crises That Might Be Coming to You Soon (“Bangladesh, a river delta nation, is on the front line of climate change. Its coping strategies could offer lessons for the wider world.”)
• Why Economies Haven’t Slowed More Since Central Banks Hit Brakes
• U.S. evaluating what Wagner Group rebellion means for Ukraine war
• Wagner’s Aborted Mutiny Leaves No Winners in Russia (“The authority of the Russian state has sustained lasting damage, inviting future challenges”)
• Russia’s wild last 24 hours and the Wagner group’s march to Moscow, explained (“Wagner chief Yevgeniy Pregozhin is headed to Belarus, but Putin’s troubles aren’t over”)
• Prigozhin’s coup attempt unleashes chaos on Russia
• Moscow has stepped back from civil war with Wagner, but the danger’s not over
• The Coup Is Over, but Putin Is in Trouble (“The Wagner Group’s chief may have lost spectacularly, but Russia’s dictator suffered a huge political blow.”)
• Ukraine Will Be the Big Winner of Prigozhin Turning On Putin
• U.S. Suspected Prigozhin Was Preparing to Take Military Action Against Russia
• U.S. spies learned in mid-June Prigozhin was plotting Russia uprising
• US officials saw signs Prigozhin was planning challenge to Russian military but surprised by rapid escalation
• Prigozhin Planned This (“In its timing, design, and execution, the Wagner chief’s threatened coup bears the hallmarks of a well-prepared operation.”)
• Russian mercenary leader’s exile ends revolt but leaves questions about Putin’s power
• Wagner pulls back in Russia but mutiny weakens Putin’s image of authority
• Making Sense of Russia’s Chaotic 24 Hours
• Opinion: Russia’s Uprising Is a Serious Threat to China as Well
• Chaos in Russia works to Kyiv’s advantage, Ukrainian officials say
• A reckoning for Putin’s rule
• U.S., allies brace for what comes next
• Ukraine War Backfires on Putin, Leading to Wagner Uprising (“Social tensions over accumulated losses and military setbacks in Ukraine have fueled the rise of Yevgeny Prigozhin’s paramilitary group.”)
• Putin finally learns the lesson all tyrants learn
• Putin looked into the abyss Saturday — and blinked
• The mutiny in Russia may be over. But it still damages Putin
• Moscow ‘reaps what it sows’: NATO members scramble to assess chaos unfolding in Russia
• 24 Hours of Turmoil: Putin Caves, His ‘Chef’ Goes Into Exile
• Why did Wagner turn on Putin and what does it mean for Ukraine?
• The Wagner rebellion has been called off but Putin has never looked weaker (“Images of tanks in streets of Moscow evoked the faltering Soviet Union’s final months in 1991, raising hopes of history repeating itself”)
• The Wagner Group Is a Crisis of Putin’s Own Making (“For a decade, the Russian President outsourced his military ambitions to the mercenary force and its pugnacious leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin—then they turned against him.”)
• A short-lived mutiny in Russia represented the country’s most dramatic power struggle in decades.
• Alexei Navalny: This is what a post-Putin Russia should look like
• Why Did Putin Let Prigozhin Walk Away? (“The chaotic spectacle of Prigozhin’s armed uprising shattered Putin’s carefully cultivated image as a strongman leader. But the Kremlin seemed powerless to do anything about it.”)
• From ‘brain death’ to innovator, the Ukraine war has transformed NATO
• Mob of Armed Israeli Settlers Rampage West Bank Palestinian Village of Umm Safa, Burning Houses and Cars
• Israel reboots fiercely opposed judicial campaign
• Fighting surges in Khartoum and Darfur as war enters 11th week
• Saudi Arabia Wants Tourists. It Didn’t Expect Christians.
• Greeks vote in second general election in 5 weeks and conservative party is favored to win majority
• No clear favorite as Guatemala votes for new president
• Solar powers ahead with hopes of a renewables record for solstice month (“As the industry gathers in London this week, there are signs of a new dawn after the damage done by Tory subsidy cuts”)
• Abortions are down 3% one year after the end of Roe v. Wade
• Dobbs Could Be Reversed if We Start Now
• ‘How dare they?’ Kamala Harris says in fiery speech on Roe’s overturn as protests mark anniversary
• On anniversary of Roe v. Wade reversal, Harris says the ruling created a ‘health care crisis’
• ‘A year of trauma and terror’: Democrats issue calls to action as US marks Roe reversal (“‘States have imposed extreme and dangerous abortion bans,’ says President Biden while Vice-President Harris gives fiery speech”)
• It’s almost like the House GOP never cared about deficits after all (Duh.)
• As Legal Fees Mount, Trump Steers Donations Into PAC That Has Covered Them
• Trump Hardens Position on Abortion, Rails Against Indictment
• Trump says US government has ‘vital role’ opposing abortion, won’t say if he backs national ban
• Faith in Trump dominates annual gathering of religious conservatives (Warped.)
• Trump touts indictments as ‘a great badge of courage’ (Completely deranged.)
• The GOP 2024 Presidential Candidates Just Can’t Stop Talking About Abortion (“Mike Pence urged all Republican contenders to support a national 15-week abortion ban.”)
• Why the right is so terrified of “woke”: There are truths it just can’t face (“Conservatives didn’t want to hear about white privilege. So they abandoned reality and joined the orange man’s cult”)
• The Country’s Most Unpleasant Moms Will Not Be Cowed By People Pointing Out The Big Hitler Quote On Their Newsletter
• Greg Abbott Is Finding New Ways to Make Texas Borderline Unlivable
• Texas governor signs bill rescinding water breaks as deadly heat grips state (Republicans are sadistic.)
• Iowa meteorologist resigns after death threats over climate crisis coverage (Appalling.)
• Rappahannock Tribe gives Kaine a close-up view of conservation partnership
• Video: On MSNBC, Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA11) Discusses the Russia Situation, Says “This is a REAL serious threat to the continuation of Putin’s regime” (Connolly adds that there are no “good guys” in this battle, that both Putin and Prigozhin are “brutish, murderous, sociopathic thug[s]”)
• CASEY: Rep. Bob Good blows a chance to discuss ‘Biden Crime Family’ (Good is completely unhinged, should be ranting maniacally on a street corner, not in Congress.)
• Virginia primaries have set the stage for a fall political battlefield: Here are key takeaways
• Virginia’s primaries set the stage for this fall’s fierce political wars
• Schapiro: Primaries test the politicians and the process (“This was the first full-on test in new districts of new voting procedures, most notably 45 days of early voting, a practice adopted in the first months of the coronavirus pandemic and which Republicans want to cut to two weeks.”)
• Editorial: Remaking the General Assembly this fall asks a lot of Virginia voters
• Photos: Abortion Rights Advocates Rally in Richmond On Anniversary of Catastrophic Dobbs Decision (VA House Dems Leader Don Scott: “It’s infuriating to see individuals who are so content signing away someone else’s rights and endangers the lives of so many women.”)
• Virginia Democratic State Senators, Candidates Release Statements Marking One Year Without Roe v. Wade (Sen. Jennifer Boysko: “Virginia is the last Southern state that still has reasonable laws permitting abortion care. We can’t lose that freedom in Virginia.”)
• As Youngkin Tries to Pull Virginia Out of RGGI, Experts Warn of Looming Consequences for Low-Income Residents and Threatened Communities (“A narrow vote has advanced the governor’s move to withdraw from the cap and trade initiative. But foes of his plan point out that in just three years, hundreds of millions of dollars have flowed to energy efficiency and climate mitigation in the state.” Youngkin is wrong about pretty much everything. BADLY wrong in this case.)
• Va. Senate’s McPike survives Democratic primary; two votes separate GOP race (“State Sen. Jeremy S. McPike (D-Prince William) beat his primary challenger, Del. Elizabeth R. Guzman, by 53 votes after provisional and mail-in ballots were tallied Saturday. Just two votes separated two Republicans vying to take him on in November.”)
• Guzman concedes, McPike the winner in 29th District primary
• Commentary: MVP’s path to completion (All you need to know about this op-ed: “Paul Nester is president and chief executive officer of RGC Resources, the parent company of Roanoke Gas Company and RGC Midstream, which owns an interest in the Mountain Valley Pipeline.”)
• D.C.-area forecast: Maybe a late-day storm today; severe storms a concern for tomorrow