by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Wednesday, December 4.
- Seagrasses Capture Carbon 35 Times Faster Than Tropical Rainforests. Scientists Are Working to Save Them
- Cop29 gave us a Putin-friendly deal – and a glimpse of the dark future of climate talks
- Protection deal for Amazon rainforest in peril as big business turns up heat (“Exclusive: With Brazil’s politicians, agribusiness organisations and global traders piling on the pressure, the highly successful 2006 Soy Moratorium is under threat”)
- Trump’s plan for Ukraine comes into focus: Territorial concessions but NATO off the table
- NATO Chief Urges More Weapons for Ukraine Ahead of Any Peace Talks
- How Ukraine has faced its worst month on the battlefield in two years – visualised
- Up to 100 ‘suspicious incidents’ in Europe can be attributed to Russia, Czech minister says (“Czech foreign minister says Europe ‘needs to send a strong signal to Moscow that this won’t be tolerated’”)
- China bans exports of key microchip elements to US as trade tensions escalate (“Semiconductor restrictions on China announced by Washington a day earlier prompt retaliation involving critical minerals including gallium and germanium”)
- Yoon Suk Yeol’s gamble on nostalgia for authoritarianism proves foolhardy (“South Korean president miscalculated by thinking some MPs would back his declaration of martial law”)
- How Six Hours of Martial Law Reshaped a Stunned South Korea
- South Korean Turmoil Strikes at Heart of US Alliances in Asia
- South Korea’s Warning for Washington (“Even botched plots to seize power damage democratic institutions and norms.”)
- South Korea’s opposition parties submit a motion to impeach President Yoon over sudden martial law (“The motion, submitted jointly by the main opposition Democratic Party and five smaller opposition parties, could be put to a vote as early as Friday.”)
- The president’s gamble backfired: What was he thinking? (“Yoon’s shock move was a bid to get the kind of grip on power that has eluded him since he was elected.”)
- U.S. watches warily as key Asian ally descends into political chaos
- France’s government looks on the brink of collapse. What’s next?
- Macron Asks French Lawmakers Not to Topple the Government
- Will the far right in France seize the chance to topple the government? (“Triggered by an austerity budget, a no-confidence vote threatens fresh instability – and Macron’s future”)
- ‘We’ve seen this before’: residents of rebel-held Aleppo fear regime onslaught
- How the Syrian Opposition Shocked the Assad Regime (“A historian explains why U.S. sanctions and Iran and Russia’s entanglements in other wars helped create an opening for rebel groups to overrun the Syrian Army.”)
- With Assad Challenged, a Push to Cut Syria’s Ties to Iran Grows More Unlikely
- The U.S. stakes in Syria following the fall of Aleppo (“The United States can’t overthrow Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, but it shouldn’t prop him up.”)
- Justices to weigh bans on puberty blockers, hormones for trans teens
- Transgender rights case lands at Supreme Court amid debate over ban on medical treatments for minors
- Donald Trump, Elon Musk and the threat to press freedom (“A second term for Trump has chilling implications for critical independent journalism and the media the industry”)
- White House press corps recoils at Trump’s threat to shake up briefing room
- Stunning chart shows ‘mindblowing’ rise in manufacturing under Biden — that Trump gets to ‘ribbon cut’ (The media, of course, barely covered this.)
- Trump energy nominee misinterprets studies to support claims, scientists say
- What Trump’s Cabinet Picks Say About Climate Change
- Trumpists Don’t Seem to Mind Claims of Sexual Assault (“Anything is forgivable as long as it comes from people they like.”)
- Inside the Ugly End of Pete Hegseth’s First Marriage (“Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of defense is a conservative culture warrior, a central-casting alpha male who believes in guns, God, and the primacy of the family unit. The story of his first marriage, which sources say met a contentious end after he admitted to multiple infidelities, holds a key place in Hegseth’s ambition-fueled rise.”)
- Morning Report — Hegseth, Gabbard face uphill climb with Senate GOP (Both would be unmitigated disasters and should be rejected 100-0 in a sane world. But we clearly don’t live in a sane world.)
- Pete Hegseth’s drinking worried colleagues at Fox News, sources tell NBC News
- Trump Mulls Replacing Pete Hegseth With Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis
- Trump Talks to DeSantis About Replacing Hegseth
- Pete Hegseth’s Controversies Threaten to Derail Defense-Secretary Bid
- Surprise: RFK Jr. Used to Sell Bottled Water With Extra High Levels of Fluoride (“It’s almost as though everything is a grift and he doesn’t actually have any beliefs.”)
- Trump’s pick for FBI director promoted bogus supplements to ‘reverse’ vaccines (Total nutjob.)
- Here Are the Republicans Kash Patel Wants to Target (“These include Bill Barr, who served as attorney general for Trump; John Bolton, one of Trump’s national security advisers in his first White House stint; Pat Cipollone, Trump’s White House counsel; Mark Esper, a secretary of defense under Trump; Sarah Isgur Flores, who was head of communications for Trump’s first attorney general, Jeff Sessions; Alyssa Farah Griffin, the director of strategic commissions in the Trump White House; and Stephanie Grisham, former chief of staff for Melania Trump.”)
- Kash Patel, Trump’s pick to lead FBI, hit with Iranian cyber attack, sources say
- Key Trump Nominee Drops Out After Right-Wing Outrage
- Trump urges judge to toss hush money case, citing Hunter Biden pardon
- Executives sucking up to Trump now have to factor in the ‘first buddy’ (These executives – Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, etc.-are utterly repulsive.)
- Musk’s record at Twitter suggests ‘efficiency’ is not his best use (“There has been little focus on the havoc Musk wreaked at Twitter.”)
- Elon Musk’s Twitter harassment of federal employees shows “DOGE” is weaker than he pretends (“Musk is leading MAGA into a ‘cowardly troll’ era”)
- Who still trusts legacy media? Fox News, that’s who. (“At the same time the right-wing network is draining trust from legacy media, it’s relying on legacy media’s reporting.”)
- Senate Democrats approve leadership team for new Congress (“Rounding out the leadership team are Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Mark Warner of Virginia as vice chairs of the conference”)
- Newsom becomes the most prominent Dem to break with Biden over son’s pardon
- Democrat Adam Gray captures California’s 13th US House District, ousting Republican Rep. John Duarte
- California Democrat Flips Seat in the Last House Race to Be Called
- Democrats’ last House win locks in brutally small GOP majority
- What’s Next in U.S. Elections: Races to Watch in 2025 (“Virginia and New Jersey feature contests for governor. Elections in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania could tip the power balance on the Supreme Court in those battleground states.”)
- A Judge in Wisconsin Just Buried the Last of Scott Walker’s Wing-Nut Legacy
- Kaine, Spanberger part of bipartisan, bicameral efforts to address drug supply chain shortages
- Abortion will again be a significant topic of debate at the General Assembly next month
- Virginia’s food to alcohol sales ratio likely safe for now thanks to court action
- Jack Trammell Wins SD-10 Democratic Nomination in Special Election to Replace Republican State Senator John McGuire (7 Republicans are also running for this deep-red district, with their nomination to be determined in a “mass meeting” on 12/13.)
- Jack Trammell named Democratic nominee for SD-10 special election
- RPV pushes back on claims from Loudoun GOP chair (“Anderson said the local chair is deliberately being left out of the loop because party leaders do not trust him in a high-stakes environment.”)
- Feds propose parts of Bath, Highland counties as critical habitat for rusty patched bumblebee
- Editorial: Destructive hurricanes this year highlight the need to fund resilience (“This year’s Atlantic hurricane season demonstrated the urgent need to substantially invest in resilience to protect Hampton Roads from future calamity. “)
- D.C.-area forecast and updates: Cold through Saturday. Gusty tomorrow with wind chills in the 20s.
