Saturday News: “How the Gaza ceasefire collapsed”; “EPA to Force Oil-and-Gas Industry to Plug Methane Leaks”; 2023 a “miracle year for the U.S. economy”; “Trump not immune from criminal, civil liability over Jan. 6, judges rule”

by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Saturday, December 2.

• COP28 Latest: VP Harris Touts $3 Billion Climate Aid in Speech
• Oil and gas firms must convert to renewables or face decline, says IEA chief (“Fatih Birol says fossil fuel use will peak in 2030, and urges companies to lead switch to green energy”)
• COP28 live updates: At climate summit, oil companies make pledge on methane — a major step if they follow through (Huge “if”)
• Has COP28 President Sultan al-Jaber Used the UN Climate Summit to Advance the Interests of UAE’s Oil Company? (“Leaked documents show al-Jaber, who is also CEO of the UAE oil company Adnoc, planned to use an official meeting linked to COP to push a petrochemical deal with Brazil. Al-Jaber has denied improperly using his position.”)
• “Liquid Air” Energy Storage Could Save The Day for Offshore Wind Industry
• Mapped: Big Ag’s Routes to Influence at COP28
• Corporate Promotion of Carbon Capture and Storage Contradicts Science, Study Finds
• Scaling slaughter-free meat is hard. Here’s one way to make it easier. (“Why there should be more collaboration in cellular agriculture.”)
• Mike Johnson Becomes Surprise Champion of More Ukraine Aid (“The effort to secure funding for Kyiv is part of a complicated set of negotiations that will again test the newly elected House speaker’s leadership.”)
• Police raid Moscow gay bars after a Supreme Court ruling labeled LGBTQ+ movement ‘extremist’ (Totally unacceptable.)
• AP Exclusive: Zelenskyy says the Israel-Hamas war could divert attention from Ukraine’s conflict
• Surrounded by Russians and ready to die, this Ukrainian soldier called in an artillery strike – on his own position
• Scores reported killed in Gaza as fighting shatters Israel-Hamas truce
• Despite U.S. requests, Israel reduces aid allowed into Gaza after ceasefire collapses
• How the Gaza ceasefire collapsed (“Three Israeli officials told Axios the negotiations over the extension of the Gaza ceasefire collapsed on Friday after Hamas refused to free 10 Israeli women, and instead, offered to begin discussing the release of elderly men. Hamas has blamed Israel for the breakdown of the ceasefire.”)
• Israel’s strikes on Gaza intensify, renewing concerns about civilians (“Israel is pounding targets in the southern Gaza Strip, intensifying a renewed offensive after a weeklong truce with Hamas and giving rise to renewed concerns about civilian casualties.”)
• US sets clearer red lines for Israel as ceasefire ends
• This Is the 9/11 Lesson That Israel Needs to Learn
• New Urgency Hangs Over Blinken Trip as Israel-Hamas War Resumes
• Israel’s military strategy threatens to make a desperate situation utterly dire (“IDF claim to be avoiding blanket bombing the south, where about 2mn people live, but their new approach does not look much different”)
• ‘It was sheer agony’: Israeli families of Hamas attack victims rally Australian support
• US to impose visa bans on Israeli extremist settlers for violence against Palestinians
• China’s respiratory illness rise due to known pathogens, official says
• Welcome to the Tiny Island Paradise Fending Off China (“Thitu Island in the South China Sea has 250 residents, and they are determined to stay despite ever-present Chinese ships on the horizon.”)
• U.S. Announces Plan to Cut Millions of Tons of Methane Emissions
• US announces rule to slash powerful planet-warming gas by nearly 80%
• EPA to Force Oil-and-Gas Industry to Plug Methane Leaks
• EPA aims to slash the oil industry’s climate-warming methane pollution
• Fed Chair Powell calls talk of cutting rates ‘premature’ and says more hikes could happen
• The U.S. economy’s big problem? People forgot what ‘normal’ looks like. (“It has been a miracle year for the U.S. economy. Inflation has plummeted without triggering a recession.”)
• Trump’s Second-Term Plans: Anti-‘Woke’ University, ‘Freedom Cities’ (WTF???)
• Liz Cheney tells “CBS News Sunday Morning” that the U.S. is “sleepwalking into a dictatorship”
• Liz Cheney is back and unloading on the current leaders of her ancestral GOP
• Democratic Senate Candidates Relish Chance to Run on Obamacare After Trump Floats Repeal
• Trump not immune from criminal, civil liability over Jan. 6, judges rule
• Judge denies two of Trump’s motions to dismiss his federal election interference case
• Trump’s Georgia trial should be kicked to 2029 if he wins the election, his lawyer says
• Trump Vows to Repeat His Biggest Mistake
• Border-Ukraine pairing threatens to tear Democrats apart
• Mike Johnson Wrote the Forward for a Racist, Homophobic, Anti-Poor Book That Endorsed Pizzagate and Denigrated a Prisoner of War (“He now claims he never read the passages in question and ‘strongly disagrees’ with them.”)
• GOP Melts Down As Dick Durbin Uses Its Tactics For Advancing Biden Judges
• Are the Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans Kidding With This?
• The Senate Inquiry Into the Supreme Court Finally Has Some Teeth
• George Santos Has Been Booted From Congress: A Look Back at His Most Absurd Lies and Cons
• GOP’s tiny House majority risks getting smaller post-Santos
• Santos expulsion leaves House Republicans vulnerable (“As the party’s majority falls to just three votes, Democrats eye a chance to win a special election.”)
• House Expels George Santos From Congress in Historic Vote
• NY-03: With Santos Expulsion Likely, Toss Up Special Looms on Long Island
• Democrats spot political opportunity in Santos expulsion (“Democrats are looking to the expulsion of Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) on Friday as a chance to not only flip a highly competitive House seat, but get a political boost ahead of 2024.”)
• 40 bills that didn’t get a single vote: What Rep. George Santos did in Congress
• How each House member voted on expelling George Santos from Congress
• House Staffer Swiftly Changes Locks On George Santos’ Office
• George Santos Accused Of Stealing House Member’s Personal Credit Card Info
• Appeals court orders Texas to remove buoy barrier on the Rio Grande border
• Republicans and Biden critics should listen to Romney
• Why Cornel West Is Broke (This guy’s a hot mess.)
• Sandra Day O’Connor, pathbreaking woman on Supreme Court, dies at 93 (She voted to make George W. Bush president.)
• Gay Board Member Attacked by Zieglers Slams Their Hypocrisy Amid Sex Scandal (“Bridget Ziegler refused to act when her openly gay colleague was labeled a groomer despite the Moms for Liberty co-founder allegedly engaging in her own same-sex relationship”)
• 911 Call and Affidavit Reveal Chilling Claims in Florida GOP Chair Rape Probe
• Florida appeals court reverses ruling on DeSantis’s congressional maps
• Ron DeSantis Debates His Grievances
• Sparks flew behind the scenes at the Ron DeSantis and Gavin Newsom debate
• How religion plays into Ron DeSantis’ public image — from ‘armor of God’ to a Bible ordered on Amazon
• DeSantis Super PAC Suffers Another Big Staff Loss, This Time Its Chairman
• DeSantis campaign blames its own super PAC for leaks, bad TV advertising
• Boebert Enlists Dave Chappelle for Transphobic Photo Op (Disgusting.)
• Walmart says it is not advertising on social platform X
• Advertisers Say They Do Not Plan to Return to X After Musk’s Comments
• The U.S. government can’t quit Elon Musk — even amid erratic behavior (The word “erratic” really understates and kinda whitewashes Musk’s racism, anti-Semitism, transphobia, all-around lunacy, etc, etc.)
• The Storm Brewing Inside Elon Musk’s Mind Gets Out (“His giant F-bombs overshadowed his Israel trip and Cybertruck launch.” Nutjob.)
• Walmart drops ads on X as Elon Musk fallout grows (Every company should do the same, immediately.)
• New Jersey Plans to Restart Offshore Wind in 2024 After “Bump in the Road”
• Why Bobby Scott, a Virginia Democrat, didn’t vote to expel George Santos, a New York Republican, from Congress
• Virginia Members of Congress’ Varied Votes, Reactions to Rep. George Santos’ Expulsion
• Virginia Environmental Groups Form New Data Center Reform Coalition, Call for More Industry Oversight
• ALL of Us: Meeting This Defining Moment in Our Democracy Means Being Informed by Many, Not Just a Few (by Lynlee Thorne, Rural GroundGame)
• BREAKING: Court Rules in VA Sen. Ghazala Hashmi’s Favor in “Baseless” Case “filed by election deniers outside of the district who made baseless accusations and tried to take away the will of the voters”
• Judge dismisses legal challenge against Virginia state senator over residency allegations
• Virginia Beach’s 2024 mayoral race heats up with multiple contenders
• Homelessness is visible in Virginia Beach. This is how the city’s safety net is at work.
• Aging demographics are driving policy: From Evans Spring to Roanoke College football to Lynchburg school closings
• Alexandria mayor Justin Wilson says he won’t run for reelection in 2024
• Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson Announces He Won’t Be Running for Reelection Next Year (Says “doing two full-time jobs and being a good husband and father is not sustainable forever”)
• Amazon plans to buy Deschutes-owned property in Roanoke
• Richmond outlines proposal to inspect rental housing units
• D.C.-area forecast: Warmer this weekend despite occasional showers