Thursday News: At Debate, GOP “slick con men” “made misleading, dubious and outright false claims on a variety of issues”; “Biden stands by UAW, while Trump sneers”; “McCarthy…won’t allow vote on Senate stopgap”; “The End of Trump Inc.”

by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Thursday, September 28.

Youth vs Europe: ‘Unprecedented’ climate trial unfolds at rights court
Human progress has come at the expense of animals. It doesn’t have to. (“Add in the extreme suffering of tens of billions of farmed animals, and suddenly the world looks like a much darker place.”)
Saudi Arabia and Russia Win Big in Gamble on Oil Cuts
How the Technological Revolution in Ukraine Is Reshaping Modern Warfare (“New systems are eliminating surprises and making it harder to gain ground in armored assaults.”)
Who’s Gaining Ground in Ukraine? This Year, No One. (“Although both sides have launched ambitious offensives, the front line has barely shifted. After 18 months of war, a breakthrough still looks difficult.”)
How surging trade with China is boosting Russia’s war in Ukraine (“Customs data filed as recently as August point to how Beijing is continuing to supply goods to Moscow that are used on the battlefield, including drones, helmets, vests and radios, new analysis by CNBC shows.”)
Britain’s new defense secretary, Grant Shapps, met with President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv.
A NATO country could soon have a pro-Russian leader
In Azerbaijan-Armenia Conflict, a Bloody End in Nagorno-Karabakh
Nagorno-Karabakh state will cease to exist in January, says leader
Evergrande Halts Trading After Founder Put Under Police Control
American soldier who crossed into North Korea arrives back in the US, video appears to show
National TV news coverage of this summer’s record-breaking extreme weather exposed troubling trends (The main point is that the news media is mostly failing us – badly.)
Clarence Thomas and the Mystery of the Missing Book Royalties (“Clarence Thomas hasn’t reported book royalties from his 2007 bestseller for 14 years. He likely hasn’t done anything wrong—but ethics watchdogs say that’s part of the problem.”)
New data on ultra-rich tax cheats wrecks the ‘working-class GOP’ ruse
Biden is talking about democracy as he aims for a split-screen moment with the GOP (Dumb way to cover this, but sure NPR…)
Romney polled Senate Republicans. They want a clean funding bill.
Kevin McCarthy, Mitch McConnell Facing Off In Government Shutdown Showdown
McCarthy told conference he won’t allow vote on Senate stopgap: GOP lawmakers (Just allow a vote; it will pass easily!)
The small group of House Republicans who might force a government shutdown
McCarthy options on shutdown endgame shrinking
Shutdown odds grow as House GOP leaders reject Senate’s spending bill
Republicans pushing for government shutdown ‘stuck on stupid’, says party moderate (Mike Lawler is NOT a “moderate,” he simply represents a district Joe Biden won and is trying to keep his seat!)
House Speaker McCarthy is back to square one as the Senate pushes ahead to avert a federal shutdown
House Votes to Strip Defense Secretary of Salary as Right Wing Flexes Muscles (The media STILL isn’t reporting this accurately; in fact, almost every single House Republican is “right wing,” it’s just that there are a couple dozen, like Bob Good and Marjorie Taylor Greene and Matt Gaetz, etc. that are outright fascists.)
Biden tops Trump by 5 points in new survey (Fascinating how little attention THIS poll got compared to the outlier/absurd WaPo/ABC “News” poll the other day.)
Mark Milley Taking ‘Safety Precautions’ After Trump Suggested He Deserves Execution
Gen. Milley says he has “appropriate” safety measures after Trump social media threat
When Trump Says ‘People,’ He Means ‘His People’
There’s Nothing Pro-Labor About Trump’s Visit to Michigan
‘Let me be blunt’: UAW VP for GM has strong words about Trump’s visit to Michigan
A study in contrasts: Biden stands with auto workers, while Trump looks down upon them (“Not just a different look — Biden supports workers in policy, while Trump reveals his true views a non-union plant”)
Mainstream outlets keep falsely insinuating that Trump is attending a UAW union rally (“The former president is in fact speaking at a nonunion shop in a what UAW President Shawn Fain called a ‘pathetic irony’”)
Video: Biden-Harris 2024 Slams Donald Trump in New Ad Ahead of His Visit to Michigan (“Ad Highlights Trump’s Tax Giveaways to the Rich As American Factories Shuttered”)
Trump Keeps Running Out The Clock, Going Largely Unscathed At Second Skipped Debate (“With less than four months before primary voting starts, the non-Trump field likely did little to make up ground against the coup-attempting front-runner.”)
The Republican debate is fake (“With Trump dominating the GOP primary, the debate is a cosplay of a competitive election — and a distraction from an ugly truth.”)
After Second GOP Debate, Trump’s Nomination Couldn’t Feel More Inevitable (“Several candidates snuck in some solid jabs at one another. But with the former president still clobbering them in the polls, all the pugilism is, in one word, pointless.”)
The Crosstalk Chaos of the Second Republican Debate (“The event, which was billed as a chance for Donald Trump’s rivals to change their fortunes, only reinforced the confusion and aimlessness of their candidacies.”)
Republican Debate: Sex, Drugs, and TikTok (“It was a mess. Here’s more than 30 things you missed.”)
Curtains, sleeping with teachers: 2024 Republican debate takes strange turns (“Two White House hopefuls squabbled over curtains on live television, while a third boasted he had been sleeping with a teacher for the past 38 years who happened to be his wife.” Bunch of deranged people. That’s today’s Republican Party.)
Trump can get away with skipping a debate but can’t evade legal consequences
Biggest moments from second Republican debate (“As Donald Trump stayed away, there was a whiff of desperation from his rivals in a chaotic showdown.”)
Trump Rivals Attack Each Other But Fail to Shake His Dominance
Candidates grasp at fading chance to make impression as Trump again skips debate (“The seven GOP presidential hopefuls spent far more time going after one another rather than the figure who holds a commanding lead in the polls.”)
A Food Fight at the Kids’ Table (“The second GOP primary debate made Trump’s 2024 advantage clearer than ever.”)
GOP Candidates Try to Turn Race on Its Head, Fail Miserably
Rivals accuse Trump of being ‘missing in action’ at second Republican debate
Fact-check: six Republican debate claims from crime to immigration (“Republican candidates made misleading, dubious and outright false claims on a variety of issues”)
Fact Check: DeSantis’s claim about Florida’s Black history curriculum was false. Here’s what we found on that and more
Who Won (and Lost) the Second Republican Debate (“It was a good night for slick con men, and a bad one for everybody else”)
1 winner and 3 losers from Fox’s dud of a second GOP debate
Trump’s Georgia Prosecutor Fires Back at Efforts to Have RICO Case Charges Dismissed
Trump’s Habit of Lying About Everything All the Time May Cost Him Trump Tower
The End of Trump Inc. (“The courts are finally catching up to a man who has long behaved as though there would never be any consequences for his deceptions.” Why didn’t this happen decades ago? MASSIVE failure by prosecutors/the legal system…)
A judge found Trump committed fraud in building his real-estate empire. Here’s what happens next
A judge calls out Trump’s business lies. Voters can be just as critical.
Judge Chutkan denies Trump’s request to recuse herself in federal election subversion case
Trump Asked His Lawyers for Ways to Suppress His ‘Perfect Call’ (It was perfectly…ILLEGAL!)
Donald Trump: UAW negotiations ‘don’t mean as much as you think
Biden campaign slams Trump’s ‘incoherent’ Michigan speech
Schumer: ‘We’ll See What Happens’ After Menendez Addresses Dem Caucus Thursday
Tommy Tuberville Has Taken Another Breathtakingly Bad Stance on Diversity
Tommy Tuberville Said the Military ‘Is Not an Equal Opportunity Employer’ (Racist scumbag. Also an imbecile.)
Republican congressman struggles to answer questions about allegations Biden has influenced the DOJ (The headlines should say FALSE allegations.)
Jared Kushner pressured Washington Post to fire editor over Russia, book says (How on earth is Kushner not in serious legal trouble for a whole bunch of reasons?!?)
Senate adopts resolution requiring men to wear business attire on chamber floor
Musk’s X Cuts Half of Election Integrity Team After Promising to Expand It (Musk is a menace.)
New law allows doctors living in ‘hostile’ red states to get abortion training in California
Sen. Kaine says Virginia will see ‘some of the hardest effects’ of government shutdown
Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-VA02), House Republicans Vow to Continue Sham Partisan Impeachment During Government Shutdown (Kiggans “has enabled extreme MAGA Republicans to push our nation to the brink of a government shutdown”)
University of Mary Washington Poll: Dems Hold Narrow (40%-37%) Advantage for General Assembly; Youngkin at Just 40%-37% (+3 points) Approval (By a 57%-35% margin, Virginians want abortion to be legal “all” or “most” cases)
Virginia Democrats warn Republicans will ban abortion; GOP says their rhetoric is fearmongering (“Both sides-ist,” false equivalence crap from the AP, whose political coverage is relentlessly bad.)
CASEY: Trust in Virginia rose sharply, then sank as COVID-19 pandemic continued
Federal government completes environmental review of Dominion’s offshore wind project
Former Judge Jimmy Dimitri returns to depleted SCC as substitute
Virginia leads the nation in guard dog attacks on prisoners
Audio: SD31 Dem Nominee Russet Perry Talks to Molly Jong-Fast, Explains What’s at Stake in Her Crucial, “Tipping-Point” Race to Keep Virginia From “Becom[ing] the Next Florida” (“If [Youngkin’s] able to flip the Senate and keep the House of Delegates red, then there is no more blockade to these extremist bills that I previously referenced.”)
HEARTBREAK: Monty Mason Launches New Ad Slamming Extreme GOP Agenda to Ban Abortion (Republican Danny Diggs “wants to ban abortion and take away our rights, and we cannot allow that to happen”)
Is Democrat Trish White-Boyd Making SD04 a Competitive State Senate race in SWVA? (Here’s a look at fundraising, early voting, messaging, etc. in this race.)
Amazon opening 2 operations facilities in Virginia Beach, creating over 1000 jobs, Youngkin says
Richmond voters get outdated mail-in voting instructions
A Richmond program to reduce gun violence has had rare success. Now it’s expanding.
Invasive spotted lanternflies continue journey across Virginia (“The pests threaten vineyards, landscaping and more.”)
Wildlife advocates weigh in on I-81 expansion (There absolutely should be protections – including safe crossings – for wildlife on any new road project.)
LaRock launches write-in campaign for Senate seat, calls GOP nominee ‘a Democrat’ (What a joke.)
D.C.-area forecast: Cloudy with a few showers into Friday; gradual clearing this weekend