Monday News: “Russia’s 2024 election interference has already begun”; “Ex-Trump officials plot out sweeping abortion restrictions for return to office”; GOP Officeholders’ “Moral Cowardice”; “The most ridiculous ‘story’ I saw last week”

by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Monday, February 26.

• Russia looms over yet another Trump presidential campaign (“New praise of Moscow, and a refusal to condemn Putin, underscore the former president’s persistent admiration of the country.”)
• Russia’s 2024 election interference has already begun
• Trump doesn’t understand that ‘Putin will never stop,’ Zelensky says (“The ex-US president will be ‘against Americans’ if he chooses to support Russia over Ukraine, the war-torn country’s president tells CNN”)
• 31,000 Ukrainian Soldiers Killed in Two Years of War, Zelensky Says
• Former CIA Director explains how Russia is using ‘Republican lawmakers as tools’
• Biden is summoning congressional leaders to the White House to talk Ukraine and government funding
• Fiona Hill: Trump comparison to Navalny ‘brazen’ and ‘shameful’
• Israel’s Netanyahu Won’t Agree to Hostage Deal Until Hamas Backs Down on Demands
• Israel and Hamas are inching toward a cease-fire deal
• Netanyahu Says A Cease-Fire Deal Would Only Delay Israeli Offensive In Rafah
• Palestinian Prime Minister Shtayyeh resigns
• Palestinian prime minister, cabinet offer to resign in step toward post-Gaza war overhaul
• U.S. airman set himself on fire outside Israeli Embassy in D.C.
• The Taliban hold another public execution as thousands watch at a stadium in northern Afghanistan
• Supreme Court to Hear Free Speech Challenges to Social Media Laws
• Major Supreme Court cases we’re watching in 2024
• Ex-Trump officials plot out sweeping abortion restrictions for return to office
• The Alabama IVF Ruling Is a Grave Warning About How Trump Would Use a Second Term
• Donald Trump Had a Really Bad Week (Trump “rallied with crazies,” ” is hemorrhaging money,” ” insanely compared his many legal issues to Navalny’s death and racism against Black Americans,” etc.)
• Trump’s CPAC speech showed clear signs of major cognitive decline — yet MAGA cheered (“A confused Donald Trump called his wife Melania “Mercedes” during this weekend’s CPAC speech”)
• Status Report: Warning Signs for Trump
• The most ridiculous ‘story’ I saw last week (“Anybody who’s been a speaker, as I have been countless times, jots down thoughts on cards of note paper. It’s called being prepared.”)
• Haley isn’t dropping out. But the end may be near.
• Koch network stops spending on Nikki Haley’s presidential campaign
• No Labels director says Nikki Haley ‘somebody we’d definitely be interested in’
• RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel announces her resignation
• Democratic operative admits to commissioning fake Biden robocall that used AI
• Former VA Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling (R): Thanks to the “Tea Party” and Trump, “The Republican Party As We Knew It No Longer Exists” (“…and that leaves many traditional Republicans feeling like they no longer have a political home”)
• Police officer injured on January 6th tours VA to share his story
• Dominion says new offshore wind deal won’t impact ratepayers
• Virginia Dems passed dozens of gun laws, Gov expected to veto most
• Growing seeds to help restore Virginia’s grasslands
• Virginia General Assembly 2024 Week #7 Was “Show Me the Money” Time
• Bills to curb human trafficking in Virginia are good. Collective community action is even better.
• Some Virginians wait years for developmental disability waivers. Budget plans would increase the number available.
• Virginia is the only state whose attorney general’s office includes an animal law unit
• Onzlee Ware, Roanoke judge and former lawmaker, memorialized at service
• UVa announces new Northern Virginia campus
• Officer who killed man had drawn gun on suspected shoplifters twice before
• D.C.-area forecast: Unseasonably mild through Wednesday before sharp cooldown