by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Saturday, January 11.
- To resist the climate crisis, we must resist the billionaire class
- 2024 was hottest year on record for world’s land and oceans, US scientists confirm (GET OFF OF FOSSIL FUELS ASAP!)
- Climate change parches Western US, providing fuel for fires
- As a Climate Scientist, I Knew It Was Time to Leave Los Angeles
- Putin is setting a trap for Trump in Ukraine (“The only way to compel Putin to make concessions is to increase the cost of his aggression.”)
- Ukraine war briefing: Zelenskyy hails ‘significant blow’ of US-UK sanctions on Russian oil and gas revenues (“Ukrainian president says the less Moscow earns from oil, ‘the sooner peace will be restored’; Kyiv claims attack on Russian military facility. “)
- Kremlin Confirms Readiness for Putin to Meet Trump
- Readout of President Biden’s Call with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine
- Diary of a Dead North Korean Soldier Reveals Grisly Battlefield Tactics (“The troops are exposed, green, loyal—and dying by the thousands in front-line combat against Ukraine”)
- Twin-headed Trump-Musk onslaught leaves Europe floundering for response (“Incoming US president and oligarch ally are wreaking diplomatic havoc among Washington’s beholden allies”)
- Trump’s words on Greenland and borders ring alarms in Europe, but officials have a measured response
- US House votes to sanction International Criminal Court over Israel
- Israel’s Campaign in Syrian Border Area Prompts Fears It Plans to Stay
- Panama Canal will remain Panamanian and open to all nations, says official
- Venezuela’s Maduro sworn in amid outrage over alleged fraudulent election (“US announces $65m bounty for arrest of president, who has led country since 2013 and failed to prove he won recent vote”)
- Biden extends time in US for 800,000 Venezuelans, Salvadorans as Trump readies immigration crackdown
- Border Crossings Continue to Drop Before Trump’s Second Term
- Blowout Jobs Report Fuels Wall Street Fear of ‘Lose-Lose’ Market
- Dow tumbles nearly 700 points Friday as strong jobs report casts doubt over Fed’s rate-cut path
- Trump is planning 100 executive orders starting Day 1 on border, deportations and other priorities
- Trump, Musk and Zuckerberg have declared war on facts and truth. The pushback must start now
- A firestorm of right-wing propaganda (“The right-wing propaganda machine’s opportunistic and unhinged response to the wildfires sweeping the Los Angeles area provide an instructive but foreboding look at what the next four years could look like.”)
- Supreme Court to weigh reinstating Obamacare care requirements struck down by lower court
- Supreme Court seems likely to uphold TikTok ban
- The MAGA Right’s Plan to Destroy the Fourteenth Amendment (“It’s the part of the Constitution that guarantees all Americans something Republicans despise: equal protection under the law.”)
- The Supreme Court’s ‘no’ to Trump was dangerously close to ‘yes’ (“In ruling 5-4, the high court showed how close it is to becoming a rubber stamp.”)
- As a Felon, Trump Upends How Americans View the Presidency
- Inside the Historic Day as Donald Trump Becomes First President to Be Sentenced as a Convicted Felon
- Trump’s Sentencing Made No One Happy (“But it still mattered for the rule of law.”)
- Trump’s punishment for his crimes? None (“At many points, it looked as if he never would be sentenced. That he was sentenced to nothing, then, is itself a small victory”)
- Trump Received an Unconditional Discharge. What Does That Mean?
- Trump can still vote after sentencing, but can’t own a gun and will have to turn over DNA sample
- We’ve Never Been Here Before: The Zero-Accountability Presidency (“The only institutions that will try to hold Trump accountable are powerless, while the only ones with the power to punish him will never do it.”)
- Joe Biden achieved a great deal — and committed two unforgivable sins (I’d say the main sin was nominating Merrick Garland and not aggressively moving to lock up Trump et al following their violent attempted insurrection/coup.)
- Trump’s Jan. 6 pardons could encourage more violence, says lead investigator (“Tim Heaphy, lead investigator for Jan. 6 committee, on the threat of worse political violence under Trump 2.0”)
- House GOP puts Medicaid, ACA, climate measures on chopping block
- Trump Appointee Has Unhinged Plan for Purging Government Workers (“Donald Trump’s pick for national security adviser doesn’t seem to actually want to ensure national security.” We’re so screwed.)
- Trump’s Tax Man: Ready to Target Enemies and Ruin the IRS (“This has flown under the radar,” one tax expert tells the Daily Beast. “He’s just as bad as RFK Jr. but nobody is paying attention.”)
- Key senators receive Pete Hegseth’s FBI background check days out from confirmation hearing
- Meta just killed its diversity, equity and inclusion program
- Meta Deletes Trans and Nonbinary Messenger Themes
- Inside Mark Zuckerberg’s Sprint to Remake Meta for the Trump Era
- Mark Zuckerberg Praises ‘Masculine’ Corporate Energy After Meta’s ‘DEI’ Policy Reversal (What a nutjob.)
- Exclusive: Meta kills DEI programs
- Read: Meta’s memo to employees rolling back DEI programs
- Biden Calls Meta’s Ending of Fact-Checking Program ‘Shameful’
- Mark Zuckerberg lies about content moderation to Joe Rogan’s face
- Amazon to halt some of its DEI programs: Internal memo
- State to probe why Pacific Palisades reservoir was offline, empty when firestorm exploded
- California fires live: LA issues new evacuation order as thickening smoke prompts ‘health emergency’ (“Palisades and Eaton fires start coming under control as fierce winds ease but forecasters predict another red flag warning for Monday”)
- The Architects Of L.A.’s Wildfire Devastation (“Developers and real estate interests crushed efforts to limit development in high-wildfire-risk areas — including in L.A. neighborhoods now in ashes.”)
- Los Angeles Wildfires Push Fragile California Insurance Market to Its Limit
- In North Carolina, Republicans Try to Reverse a Supreme Court Election Loss (They’re trying to steal the election.)
- John Fetterman: A Democrat Who Can Talk Trump, or a Reckless Maverick?
- Federal judge slams Rudy Giuliani as ‘outrageous and shameful’ as she holds him in contempt in 2020 election defamation case
- Rudy Giuliani held in contempt for second time this week
- Two more Trump defense lawyers in running for D.C., Va. U.S. attorney
- Youngkin backs push for cutting federal workforce, spending
- Video: Sen. Mark Warner Addresses Supreme Court Case Regarding the Future of TikTok (“I hope that will force a transaction and that people can still enjoy TikTok, but that we can also get rid of this national security issue.”)
- Tiktok’s Final Appeal to the Supreme Court Didn’t Go Too Well
- The Supreme Court doesn’t seem likely to save TikTok (“If you’re a professional TikTok creator, it’s probably time to get a new job.”)
- Mason-Dixon Poll of 2025 VA Governor’s Race Has Abigail Spanberger Up 47%-44% Over Winsome Sears (R); Sears Up 46%-44% Over Bobby Scott (Yesterday’s Emerson College poll had Spanberger up 1 point over Sears)
- Another poll confirms tight Virginia Governor’s race between Spanberger and Earle-Sears
- Trump says ‘no windmills.’ What does that mean for Virginia’s booming wind energy industry?
- Bipartisan Virginia legislators bring pharma cost-cutting effort back in 2025
- Richmond on track to lift boil water advisory Saturday
- Williams: City Hall must tap into competence
- Richmond-area free clinics grapple with effects of winter storm, water outages
- Richmond water supply passes first test, boil notice could be lifted Saturday
- For 8 years, city put off replacement of part that caused Richmond water outage
- With testing underway, Richmond area water systems hope to lift boil advisories Saturday
- FOIA Friday: Inspection reports reveal past issues at Richmond utility amid water crisis
- Arlington substitute teacher charged with sexual relationship with student (“Arlington GOP Chairman Matthew Hurtt posted on X that McGhee previously ran for Virginia State Senate.”)
- Smasal is facing a lawsuit from a former staffer over unpaid wages
- CWG Live updates: Cold and breezy today. Less chilly Sunday and Monday, then freezing again.
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