Saturday News: On 2-Year Anniversary of Russian Invasion of Ukraine, MAGA Rs (“Useful Idiots for Russian Intelligence”; “Putin’s Playthings”) Block Crucial Aid; “Biden’s Plan B on Student Loan Forgiveness Is a Massive and Improbable Success”; “Republicans Suddenly Realize Alabama’s IVF Ruling Is Bad For Them”

by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Saturday, February 24.

• Climate Change and Habitat Loss Are Big Factors in Frog Pandemic
• How climate change is thwarting travellers’ cherry blossom plans
• Scientists Condemn Last Minute Push to Overturn EU Nature Law
• The Smirnov Affair: MAGA Republicans Are Useful Idiots for Russian Intelligence
• Russia-Ukraine war anniversary: Western leaders in Kyiv as Russian drone hits Odesa
• After 2 years of war, questions abound on whether Kyiv can sustain the fight against Russia
• Ukraine says it has downed second Russian spy plane (“An A-50 radar detection aircraft is reportedly shot down over Russia, more than 200km from the front line.”)
• Ukraine’s Shock Will Last for Generations
• Two years into Russia’s invasion, exhausted Ukrainians refuse to give up (“Ukrainians may be fatigued by the war, but they still see it as a fight for survival.” It absolutely is existential.)
• Putin’s key miscalculation in the war in Ukraine (“What Moscow still euphemistically calls a Special Military Operation has been a bloodbath of catastrophic proportions”)
• Hard Lessons Make for Hard Choices 2 Years Into the War in Ukraine
• Two Years On: Old Men Take Over the Defense of Ukraine
• Alexei Navalny: Putin critic’s mother ‘given hours to agree secret burial’
• Alexei Navalny’s widow calls for ‘demonic’ Putin to release body
• ‘We’re going to lose our grasp on democracy’: divided GOP voters weigh in on US aid to Ukraine (“Funding to the country for its fight against Russia has split Republicans as Trump and Haley take different stances”)
• Ukraine desperate for supplies as Russia advances on invasion’s 2-year anniversary
• After 2 years of war in Ukraine, 6 cities hold out hope under fire
• Exclusive: Russia-linked smear campaign against Hunter Biden began earlier than previously thought
• Trump Has Finally Remade Republicans Into Putin’s Playthings
• Explainer: In third year of war, why Ukraine’s fate hinges on West
• With Russian economy far from collapse, U.S. opts for tougher punishment
• Three Ukrainian soldiers. Two years of war. How their lives changed.
• Hostage and cease-fire talks in Paris after Netanyahu sets out post-war Gaza plan
• U.S. presses Israel to stop targeting Hamas civilian police escorting Gaza aid trucks
• A U.S. Call for a Humanitarian Cease-Fire in Gaza
• Netanyahu’s postwar “plan” for Gaza is no plan at all
• White House reverses West Bank policy, calling Israeli settlements illegal (Good!)
• Brazil’s president accuses Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, doubling down after earlier uproar
• Imagine a President Trump Who Owes Saudi Arabia $540 Million
• Biden is looking at options for the border. But he’s running into legal issues
• How Mayorkas got dragged into the maw of U.S. immigration dysfunction (“The homeland security secretary’s efforts to make the system function better have been thwarted at every turn.”)
• Moon lander tipped sideways on lunar surface but is ‘alive and well’
• Dow rises to close at fresh record, S&P 500 hits all-time high
• Biden gave $90 billion to red America. The thank-you went to spam.
• Biden’s Plan B on Student Loan Forgiveness Is a Massive and Improbable Success (“The administration has wiped out $136.6 billion—and counting—in debt since the Supreme Court blocked its first attempt.”)
• Speaker Mike Johnson unveils plan to avert shutdown next week (“The House will vote on four funding bills next week to stave off a partial government shutdown, the speaker told House Republicans on a conference call Friday night.”)
• Judge formally says Trump owes $454 million in civil fraud case, countdown starts for him to put up the money for appeal
• How Democrats Could Disqualify Trump If the Supreme Court Doesn’t (“Without clear guidance from the Court, House Democrats suggest that they might not certify a Trump win on January 6.”)
• In Case You Forgot: Donald Trump’s Racist Record (Biden campaign (100% accurately) calls Trump an “incompetent, anti-Black tyrant” who “publicly dined with white nationalists”)
• The Return of the John Birch Society (“The organization, once relegated to the outermost edges of the conservative movement, now fits neatly into its mainstream.”)
• The Americans Who Need Chaos (“They’re embracing nihilism and upending politics.”)
• Anti-Trump Republicans wonder if they still have a political home (If you’re for democracy, you have no home in the MAGA/Trumpified GOP)
• Trump suggests his mug shot and indictments appeal to Black voters (Racist and disgusting as usual by Trump.)
• Calls by Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans to Repeal the Affordable Care Act Are Alarming; We Need to Stop Them From Rolling Back Progress and Ripping Away Protections
• Alabama’s IVF warning to the country
• Republicans Suddenly Realize Alabama’s IVF Ruling Is Bad For Them (“Conservatives are finding out the hard way that sweeping rulings on reproductive rights have sweeping consequences.”)
• 125 House Republicans — including Speaker Mike Johnson — back a ‘life at conception’ bill without any IVF exception
• IVF helps women become mothers — so why does the Christian right hate it so much?
• Alabama said frozen embryos are kids. The GOP isn’t sure what to do about it.
• Scoop: House Democrats plan barrage against GOP on IVF
• Senate GOP urges its candidates to support IVF after Alabama ruling
• Fox News buries Alabama frozen embryo ruling imperiling IVF, giving it just 6 minutes of coverage (“CNN and MSNBC each devoted over 3 hours to Alabama’s radical “personhood” ruling, but Fox really doesn’t want to talk about it”)
• Ignoring Warnings, G.O.P. Trumpeted Now-Discredited Allegation Against Biden (Yes, and the media all along should have been clearly telling its readers/viewers/listeners that these allegations were COMPLETE BULLSHIT.)
• Jim Jordan Offers Startling Confession on Indicted Biden Informant
• Republicans struggle to escape their Biden impeachment quagmire
• Ex-Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson says photo refutes Biden impeachment witness’s claims
• The Biden Crime Family “Whistleblower” Was a Bust. What Are Republicans Gonna Do Now?
• Newsom calls Haley one of Democrats’ best surrogates against Trump
• Haley’s Last Stand? What to Watch in the South Carolina Primary
• Defeat to Trump looms for Nikki Haley. So why stay in the race?
• Trump Considered Haley for His 2020 Ticket. Now She’s His Last GOP Foe.
• Nikki Haley’s popularity has plummeted among GOP primary voters
• Trump enters South Carolina’s Republican primary looking to embarrass Haley in her home state (“Former President Donald Trump is looking to win his fourth straight primary state on Saturday over Nikki Haley in South Carolina.”)
• Nikki Haley Is Sticking Around for as Long as She Can
• Elise Stefanik Is Now a MAGA Star (“The once moderate congresswoman has become a top Trump veepstakes candidate — and CPAC received her with big open arms.” Sick.)
• Here’s Why Elise Stefanik Will Be Trump’s Veep Pick (“The New York congresswoman is a better fit for the role of MAGA second banana than anyone else on Donald Trump’s “short list”.” She’s utterly heinous – and she’s tight with Rep. Jen Kiggans in VA02.)
• How No Labels’ Spoiler Bid Suddenly Entered Full Meltdown Mode
• A Christian Oil Billionaire Upended Texas Politics—and He Is Coming for Washington Next (“Tim Dunn is one of the rich Republicans funding groups trying to perpetuate Trump’s policies. Some aim to assemble an ‘administration in waiting’” VERY disturbing.)
• Military says high-altitude balloon detected over Western U.S. doesn’t pose a threat
• Even Before His Trial, the N.R.A.’s Wayne LaPierre Was a Fraud (LaPierre is unmitigated evil.)
• Jury finds NRA liable for mismanagement, says Wayne LaPierre violated duties
• Jury finds NRA, Wayne LaPierre liable in civil corruption case
• Ethics Commission alleges Trump joint fundraising committee, Brandtjen involved in campaign finance scheme to benefit Vos challenger
• Wisconsin ethics commission refers Trump fundraising arm for prosecution
• Ron DeSantis’s Surgeon General Tells Parents It’s Okay to Send Their Unvaccinated Kids to School Amid Measles Outbreak
• WAMU shuts down local news site DCist, lays off reporters
• Haley names Virginia leadership team, plans Richmond area campaign stop
• ‘This is embarrassing’: Bob Good booted from Trump-themed store in Farmville (“Store owner says congressman ‘wandered’ parking lot for hours after being asked to leave”)
• Virginia outlines vision to decarbonize industries, move to clean energy (“Virginia now has to develop a more comprehensive version of the plan by mid-2025. It will include an updated accounting of all of the commonwealth’s current and projected greenhouse gas emissions.”)
• Budget talks link Youngkin arena with Democratic priorities
• Bill that would increase minimum wage to $15 by 2026 sent to Youngkin
• Jaime Contreras, LaNoral Thomas of SEIU: Let’s Build an Economy That Works for All Virginians (“Right now, the Virginia General Assembly is debating commonsense fixes that would benefit these low-wage workers and the recipients of their services.”)
• State lawmakers want to raise teacher pay, but are at odds over how much
• Australian business eyes move to Hampton Roads as part of alliance that could fuel nuclear submarine production
• Port of Virginia surprised that Chinese cranes, potential security threat, ordered to be replaced
• Stoney says ad firm using African burial ground as ‘bargaining chip’ (“Lamar Advertising proposed finding six sites to use in trade for removal of Shockoe billboard.”)
• Schapiro: The Little Law School That Could
• Labor Dept. seeks injunction banning child labor at cleaning company (“A 14-year-old cleaning a poultry-processing machine in Virginia was maimed during an overnight shift in 2022, officials said.”)
• Home explosion caused by leaking propane tank, preliminary probe finds
• Suspect in Manassas barricade surrenders after shooting at police
• D.C.-area forecast: Seasonably cool this weekend before a warm start to week