by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Wednesday, February 28.
Former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull:
“When you see Trump with Putin, as I have on a few occasions, he’s like the 12-year-old boy that goes to high school and meets the captain of the football team. ‘My hero!’ It’s really creepy.”
— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) February 27, 2024
- The False Promise of Carbon Capture as a Climate Solution
- Scientists Are Freaking Out About Ocean Temperatures
- Big Oil’s favorite climate solution is ‘like trying to push water uphill,’ climate chief says
- Scientists warn a poorly managed hydrogen rush could make climate change worse
- Microplastics found in every human placenta tested in study (“Scientists express concern over health impacts, with another study finding particles in arteries”)
- Did a marine heatwave cause 7,000 humpback whales to starve to death? (“Populations were recovering, but a new study reveals that numbers dropped by 20% coinciding with a period of record temperatures in the North Pacific”)
- Populism imperilling global fight against climate breakdown, says John Kerry (“US climate chief hits out at ‘disinformation’ and ‘demagoguery’ being used as tactics by special interests to delay action”)
- A Spike in Heart Disease Deaths Since Covid Is Puzzling Scientists
- EU poised to OK major plan to meet climate goals and better protect nature despite farmer protests
- Record year for wind farms raises hope for EU green energy goals
- GOP senators signal that only way out of Ukraine-Russia war likely is ‘negotiated settlement’ (Yes, negotiations after Russia pulls out of Ukraine completely.)
- Trump voters tell NBC Reporter that ‘Russia is not our enemy’ (Under Putin, Russia very much is our enemy…Trump is a traitor.)
- Yellen urges world leaders to ‘unlock’ frozen Russian Central Bank assets and send them to Ukraine
- Russia relishes NATO disarray after hasty denials of plan to deploy ground troops to Ukraine
- Navalny to be buried on Friday in Moscow
- GOP strained by Trump-influenced shift from Reagan on Russia
- Former Australian PM: Trump acts like 12-year-old boy around Putin
- Back From War, Reserve Soldiers Set Their Sights on Israel’s Politics as Usual
- Scoop: U.S. wants Israeli written assurances on using U.S. weapons in Gaza by mid-March
- ‘Reduced to dust’: An elegy for Gazan life (This whole thing, since October 7, has been a nightmare.)
- Israel Is Losing Its Greatest Asset: Acceptance
- Why the Palestinian Authority’s government dissolved (“Its prime minister resigned, but it doesn’t change much.”)
- Cargo vessel partially submerged off Yemen after being hit by Houthi attack
- Japan had the fewest babies it has ever recorded last year (“Japan’s population of more than 125 million is projected to fall by about 30% to 87 million by 2070, with four out of every 10 people at age 65 or older. “)
- Why South Korean women aren’t having babies
- Will López Obrador’s protégé be as authoritarian as her political mentor? (“In the coming weeks, Claudia Sheinbaum will have ample opportunity to tell voters just how committed she is to basic democratic values.”)
- Biden issues executive order to better shield Americans’ sensitive data from foreign foes
- Lower auto prices are finally giving Americans a break after years of inflationary increases
- How Trumponomics 2.0 Would Damage Our Economy
- We’ve been looking at inflation the wrong way (” The good news today is people’s wages are really starting to outpace inflation. The longer this goes on, the more likely it is that Americans will notice they are better off and that the worst is over. But it sure will help Americans if there isn’t another necessity whose price spikes this year.”)
- Trump’s bump stock ban to be argued before Supreme Court today
- Senate Republicans Will Do Anything to Protect IVF. Anything. Except Allow the Bill Protecting IVF to Pass. (“They don’t even have to vote on this bill. But that won’t stop them from derailing it.”)
- Senate GOP poised to block IVF protection bill
- Republicans’ Absurdist Reproductive Policies Are Coming for Us All
- Trump Has a Hilarious New Excuse for Why He Can’t Put Up Bond
- ABC News president: Trump’s comments on Black voters ‘as racist as they come’
- Congress nears a partial spending deal, but ticking clock raises fears of a shutdown (“Ahead of a Friday night deadline, some senators say it’s too late to keep the government open unless there’s another short-term bill to keep funds flowing.”)
- Mike Johnson cornered at “intense” White House meeting
- As Spending Talks Intensify, Johnson’s Bind Grows Tighter
- Republican Demands and Divisions Drive Impasse Toward a Shutdown
- It’s all up to Mike Johnson now
- House Democrats fume at Mike Johnson as government shutdown threat grows
- Exclusive: Extremism is US voters’ greatest worry, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds (That extremism, of course, is almost exclusively on the far right…but the headline doesn’t say that.)
- Poll: Most Americans cool to Christian nationalism as its influence grows
- Florida Man Facing 91 Criminal Counts Wins Michigan Primary (“Trump triumphed in a state where he tried desperately to steal the 2020 election.”)
- Nikki Haley: America Is Committing “Suicide” by Voting for Trump (“You have to see the hole in the ship. And if you don’t see the hole in the ship, we’re all going to go down.”)
- 4 takeaways from the Michigan primary
- Biden won the Michigan primary decisively — but not by enough to calm Democratic angst (The “angst” mostly seems to be due to the media hyping it up.)
- Biden wins Michigan primary despite Gaza protest vote
- Nikki Haley: “Very possible” GOP has shifted towards Trump
- No Labels Will Decide Whether to Jump Into the 2024 Election Next Week (Oh, can’t wait! LOL)
- Relatively Sane-Seeming Republican Ken Buck Now Demanding Kamala Harris Boot Biden From Office via 25th Amendment (Nutjob.)
- Whiplash and relief: How Biden chief of staff Jeff Zients has changed the West Wing (“Under Zients, many aides say they feel more empowered and heard — but some also miss Klain’s political antenna and ability to push through decisions quickly, even if it meant some mistakes and hurt feelings.”)
- Federal judge in Texas rules congressional passage of 2022 spending bill unconstitutional (WTF???)
- Florida Lawmakers Pump the Brakes on ‘Unborn Child’ Bill After Alabama IVF Decision
- Judge rules against Kristina Karamo in messy Michigan GOP leadership dispute
- In Wake of Alabama State Supreme Court Ruling, Sen. Mark Warner Sponsors Bill Protecting Right to Access In-Vitro Fertilization, Other Assisted Reproductive Technology
- Blue Virginia Interview with Officer Michael Fanone, an American Hero Severely Injured on 1/6/21, Now Traveling America to Fight for Our Democracy (Fanone: “another Trump Administration means the end of democracy. And the likelihood of us getting it back, at least in our lifetimes in any recognizable fashion, is virtually zero.”)
- Editorial: An officer on Jan. 6 needs your help preventing political violence
- Virginia General Assembly Passes Two Crucial Reproductive Freedom Bills: Contraceptive Equity Act and Protect Virginia’s Health Workers
- Don Scott was a fiery partisan; as Va. speaker, he’s top negotiator
- Virginia moves closer to dropping food-to-alcohol sales ratio for many restaurants
- An effort to allow electronic wills is dead this session
- There are strong opinions on both sides of the skill games debate
- Latest effort to take politics out of Virginia elections department dies in state Senate
- Pipeline protests continue as project price tag ticks up
- Virginia General Assembly votes to scrap Robert E. Lee license plate (Ditch the Tea Party license plate as well.)
- Bill to limit local restrictions on solar projects in Virginia paused for more study
- Schapiro: Ever the consultant, Youngkin outsources hiring
- Constituent line down due to technical issue and was not intentional, Youngkin’s office says (Maybe, but you can’t believe anything Youngkin says – on anything.)
- Report: Gov. Youngkin circulating $322M toll relief plan for Hampton Roads, aimed at gaining support for sports arena
- Bill to grant racetracks economic and historic designations awaits House vote
- Appalachian Power seeks state approval for battery storage project in Southwest Virginia
- Fairfax Connector says bus system will be suspended for seventh day due to strike
- Natural Bridge Zoo the target of state, federal criminal investigations
- Loudoun to use drug-sniffing dogs in high schools as youth overdoses rise
- UVa students vote on referendum calling on school to divest from Israel
- D.C.-area forecast: Mild with showers today, damaging wind gusts possible this evening (“Cold front to drop temperatures 30 to 40 degrees between midafternoon today and late tonight.”)
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