⁸by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Monday, December 9.
- Climate crisis deepens with 2024 ‘certain’ to be hottest year on record (“Average global temperature in November was 1.62C above preindustrial levels, bringing average for the year to 1.60C” Disastrous.)
- 2024 will be world’s hottest year on record, and the first above 1.5°C target
- ‘It shouldn’t be that easy’: inside the illegal wildlife trade booming on social media (Yet ANOTHER way that social media is a nearly unmitigaged disaster.)
- Donald Trump calls for ‘immediate’ cease-fire in Russia-Ukraine war after meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy
- To Europe’s economic malaise, add a leadership void (“France and Germany’s political crises are a setback for efforts to modernise Europe’s struggling economy and are already making it harder for companies to take the investment decisions they need to compete globally.”)
- Assad’s Fall Shows Russia, Iran and Hamas Made a Bad Bet
- Steve Rosenberg: Fall of Assad is a blow to Russia’s prestige
- Jubilation and gunfire as Syrians celebrate the end of the Assad family’s half-century rule
- The Syrian Regime Collapsed Gradually—And Then Suddenly
- Biden Weighs Approach to Rebels in Syria Amid Secret Message Exchange
- Five Quick Takes on Regime Change in Syria (“Attention Mr. Trump: Syria is the keystone of the entire Middle East. It just collapsed like a blown-up bridge, creating vast new dangers and opportunities that everyone in the region will seize upon and react to. Staying out of this is not on the menu, especially when we have several hundred U.S. troops stationed in Eastern Syria. We need to figure out our interests and use the events in Syria to drive them, because everyone else will be doing just that.”)
- The Fall of Assad’s Syria (“In the wake of President Bashar al-Assad’s remarkable abdication of power, jubilation and fear collide as the country—and the region—faces an uncertain future.”)
- Israel strikes at ‘strategic weapons systems’ in Syria as Kremlin says Putin authorised Assad’s asylum
- Khamenei Loses Everything (What a shame, huh? LOL)
- Assad is granted political asylum in Russia after the fall of Damascus
- Toppling of Assad transforms Middle East after year of chaos
- Syrians search tunnels in notorious Damascus prison after Assad’s overthrow
- President’s Downfall Marks a New Realignment in the Middle East (“Winners and losers have already emerged: Turkey gained, Russia and Iran lost sway—but the gains and losses could prove illusory.”)
- U.S. Scrambles to Shape Post-Assad Syria but Has to Overcome Years of Disengagement
- Israeli Airstrikes Target Syrian Chemical-Weapons Systems
- After Assad, much promise — and risk and uncertainty
- Israel seizes Golan buffer zone after Syrian troops leave positions
- Biden says US hostage Austin Tice is alive in Syria
- Assad’s Fall After 24-Year Rule Creates Power Vacuum in Middle East
- Syrian rebel leader’s victory speech holds a message for Iran – and for Trump and Israel too
- In Syria, the Assads leave a bitter legacy after a half-century of repressive rule
- After 13 years of war, Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria has been defeated. What comes next? (“How the Assad regime collapsed slowly, then all at once.”)
- How to Convince a Reluctant Trump to Get Involved in a Liberated Syria
- China Signals Bolder Stimulus for Next Year as Trump Returns
- South Korea’s Yoon Banned From Overseas Travel as Probes Mount
- Rise in Avian Flu Cases Amplifies Concerns About Consolidation in Agriculture
- A Supreme Court Case About a Railway Could Have Widespread Impacts on U.S. Environmental Laws
- Trump Just Provided Details for His Dystopic and Sweeping Presidential Agenda
- Trump will ‘most likely’ pardon Capitol rioters on Day 1 and says Jan. 6 committee members should be jailed
- Trump says members of Jan. 6 committee should be jailed
- Trump’s Biggest Lies From His ‘Meet the Press’ Interview
- Trump vows to end birthright citizenship and pardon US Capitol rioters
- Trump says he can’t guarantee tariffs won’t raise US prices and won’t rule out revenge prosecutions
- Trump aims to end birthright citizenship, says American citizens with family here illegally may be deported
- Miller outlines how Trump administration would prioritize mass deportations
- Trump says he won’t try to remove Fed chief Jerome Powell
- Trump Suggests Kennedy Will Examine Debunked Link Between Vaccines and Autism
- Trump says RFK Jr. will investigate the discredited link between vaccines and autism: ‘Somebody has to find out’
- Trump’s FBI pick co-hosted a show for a conspiracy-filled, far-right media organization
- Trump: ‘I don’t think’ access to abortion pills is going to change
- Biden and Harris attend Washington awards ceremony in one of their last major appearances together
- Weakened US public broadcasters will fight for their lives in 2025
- Democrats Have a Pod Save America Problem (“In short, this was the Obama wing of the Democratic Party talking to itself, and what did it find? Herein lies the controversy: Those campaign stalwarts found that, by and large, they did a great job on Harris’ campaign, that the race was basically unwinnable, that frustrated Democratic voters—who can’t believe that they got swept by the least popular president in American history—are being unfair and uncharitable to the strategists’ efforts in what was a very compressed campaign season. This, despite the fact that the Harris campaign parlayed a truly unbelievable $1.5 billion, a massive cash advantage, into the first Democratic popular vote loss in 20 years.”)
- Jay-Z accused in a civil lawsuit of raping a 13-year-old girl in 2000 along with Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs
- Lara Trump stepping down as RNC co-chair, considering Senate seat
- Juan Soto reportedly signs $765m deal with Mets, richest contract in sports history (“26-year-old chooses Mets over rivals Yankees; Contract will keep Soto with Mets for 15 years”)
- Virginia, regional governors to discuss Chesapeake Bay cleanup goals
- Video: Rep. Jennifer McClellan (D-VA04) Says She’s “Extremely Concerned” About Hegseth, Gabbard Nominations; Says Trump’s Cabinet is Like “a cast…of a reality [TV] show”
- BRUNMAN: Stop ghosting us, Governor Youngkin (“Youngkin should respond to student leader requests to meet with him and discuss substantial and concerning changes occurring at Virginia universities”)
- Youngkin promised to raise cut scores by 2023. What happened?
- Video: On “Friday Power Lunch,” Kannan Srinivasan and JJ Singh Explain Why the Upcoming 1/7/25 Special Elections for SD32 and HD26 Are an Opportunity for Us to “push back very firmly to say, Virginia we are not going back!” (Early voting starts THIS WEDNESDAY)
- Southwest Virginia has the most at risk in a trade war
- Legislation proposes stricter penalty for Virginia vehicle owners who let unlicensed teens drive
- Virginia Beach weighs funding for flood protection and stormwater operations — including raising fees
- Richmond CAO Lincoln Saunders to step down (“Saunders will leave before Mayor-elect Danny Avula takes helm”)
- Official reactivated registrar’s city credit card amid fraud investigation
- Six years into an Appalachia hospital monopoly, patients are fearful and furious
- D.C. area forecast and updates: On and off rain through midweek, then turning colder (“Heavy rain is a possibility Wednesday afternoon before a strong cold front passes.”)
