Tuesday News: “Biden lays down the marker: democracy or dictatorship.”; “[M]edia’s inability to cover Trumpism is perhaps more dangerous than the GOP’s stolen-election lie”; “Trump says he hopes economy crashes in next 12 months”; “[Youngkin’s] New tax proposal hurts Virginians – and for what reason?”

by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Tuesday, January 9.

• Mind the Gaps: How the UN Climate Plan Fails to Follow the Science
• Global heating will pass 1.5C threshold this year, top ex-Nasa scientist says (“James Hansen says limit will be passed ‘for all practical purposes’ by May though other experts predict that will happen in 2030s”)
• India’s Plans to Double Coal Production Ignore Climate Threat (“The south Asian giant is setting new targets to use more coal, despite committing to transitioning away from fossil fuels.”)
• Russia detains U.S. citizen on drugs charges
• Blinken carries Arab message to Israel: keep Palestinian state hope alive
• Netanyahu’s coalition bickers over Gaza
• Blinken Calls on Israel to Build Ties With Arab Nations
• Hezbollah drone strike hits key Israeli military command centre (“IDF says no damage or casualties after Lebanese militant group targets Safed base for first time”)
• Emissions from Israel’s war in Gaza have ‘immense’ effect on climate catastrophe
• U.S. slams ‘meritless’ Israel genocide suit, reigniting tensions with South Africa
• For Fleeing Palestinians, Gaza Has Shrunk—by Two-Thirds
• Blinken in Israel looks to planning for post-war Gaza as bombardment and fighting continue to rage
• Palestinians flee from central Gaza’s main hospital as fighting draws closer and aid groups withdraw
• China looms large in Taiwan’s presidential election
• China Becomes World’s No. 1 Auto Exporter—With Help From Russia
• Cognitive warfare and weather balloons: China accused of using ‘all means’ to influence Taiwan vote
• After a year of smashing records, will 2024 be the year we take rooftop solar seriously? (“In the end, a total of about 3.17GW of small-scale solar was installed on Australian homes and businesses over the course of 2023, a 14% increase on 2022 but behind the 2021 record of just over 3.23GW.”)
• Pope Francis Calls For Global Ban on Surrogacy
• South Korea’s parliament expected to pass bill to ban dog meat trade
• Dog Meat Will Be Off the Menu in South Korea
• Gabriel Attal becomes France’s youngest PM as Macron seeks reset – media
• How France Fumbled Its Africa Ties and Set Off a Geopolitical Crisis
• Portugal’s revamped golden visa scheme to boost investment funds (“Putting money into investment funds has been an option under the Portuguese scheme since 2015, but is now expected to be its principal channel. Other routes include donating to cultural or research projects…To be eligible, applicants must transfer 500,000 euros to one or more qualifying funds.”)
• What the Low Unemployment Rate Means for the U.S. (“In many ways, keeping the jobless rate low and the labor markets tight is the most effective and cost-efficient welfare policy there is.”)
• US Small-Business Optimism Rises to Five-Month High on Earnings
• We’ve Been Thinking About America’s Trust Collapse All Wrong (“Trust isn’t something that emerges naturally from a well-functioning society; people have to build it through hard work.”)
• US company says its moon landing attempt is in jeopardy because of an engine problem
• Moon landing attempt by U.S. company appears doomed after ‘critical’ fuel leak
• United finds loose bolts on plug doors during 737 Max 9 inspections
• 737 near-catastrophe lands Boeing back in hot water
• Central US walloped by blizzard conditions, closing highways, schools and government offices
• Will hard-right Republicans derail the fragile US spending deal?
• Experts: Jack Smith’s “dramatic new proof” so “overwhelming” reluctant witnesses may decide to flip (“Prof: Trump ‘demonstrated a criminal intent’ to collaborate with insurrectionists at ‘expense of the Constitution’”)
• Special counsel Jack Smith was targeted by attempted swatting on Christmas Day
• Tanya Chutkan, the judge overseeing Trump’s federal election interference case, appears to be victim of ‘swatting’
• Video: President Joe Biden Delivers Remarks at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina
• Joe Biden Compares 2020 Election Deniers To Confederates After Civil War (Correct.)
• Biden lays out the stakes: It’s about democracy (“Biden lays down the marker: democracy or dictatorship.”)
• Biden’s January 6 Speech Was The Template For A Winning Campaign
• Right-wing influencers demanded GOP officials remove Biden from the ballot. Now one is threatening to do it.
• Joe Biden Is Somehow in a Better Place Today Than He Was Four Years Ago (“At this point in 2020, he wasn’t even the likely nominee.”)
• Biden must elevate these Democratic leaders if he wants to win
• What if Joe Biden Is Actually Right About 2024?
• The Jan. 6 election is coming — and it’s time for America to choose a path (“On the third anniversary of the day that changed America, Biden and Trump offer dramatically different visions”)
• Violent political threats surge as 2024 begins, haunting American democracy
• Protesters calling for a ceasefire in Gaza interrupted Biden’s campaign speech (This historic/beloved Black church, the site of a horrific massacre by a white supremacist, was NOT the proper place for this protest.)
• Trump says he hopes economy crashes in next 12 months: ‘I don’t want to be Herbert Hoover’
• Trump Hopes Any US Market Crash Happens Under Biden And Not Him (Yes, Trump is rooting for an economic crash.)
• Resistance to Trump Is Not Futile
• This Might Be the High-Water Mark of Trumpism
• Biden Is Trying to Jolt Us Out of Learned Helplessness About Trump
• There Is No “Both Sides” to Trump’s Threat to Democracy (“Three years after the insurrection, Molly Jong-Fast argues that the media’s inability to cover Trumpism is perhaps more dangerous than the GOP’s stolen-election lie.”)
• The reality of Trump and Stefanik’s Jan. 6 ‘hostages’ (Violent insurrectionists who mostly got BELOW the sentences requested by prosecutors.)
• Trump Loses Federal Appeal on Immunity in E. Jean Carroll Case
• Trump returns to court in pivotal immunity showdown (“The outcome of the immunity appeal could determine whether Trump stands trial on federal charges of election interference.”)
• Trump wants Georgia election subversion case dismissed, arguing he has presidential immunity (Hell no.)
• The Constitutional Crises of Donald Trump Have Arrived (“Trump is causing multiple constitutional crises that are all converging at the same time. The question is what will a conservative Supreme Court do?”)
• Trump Faces Off in Court Seeking Immunity for Jan. 6 Charges
• Trump’s immunity appeal sends a stark message about his plans for a possible second term
• The GOP’s post-Trump lesson: Power isn’t dependent on voting
• Democrats to spend $35M targeting voters of color in House races
• DeSantis swipes at Trump’s Civil War comments, says he won’t drop out and endorse
• Ramaswamy’s campaign shows signs of unraveling
• Haley trims Trump’s support in New Hampshire (“Trump still holds a meaningful lead, but the spread between the two candidates is down to single digits”)
• Austin leaves intensive care amid growing scrutiny of Pentagon secrecy
• Biden won’t accept an Austin resignation if offered
• Roger Stone Discussed Assassinating Dems Before 2020 Election: Report (How on earth is Roger Stone not in prison?!?)
• ‘King Of The NRA’: Civil Trial Scrutinizes Lavish Spending By Gun Rights Group’s Longtime Leader
• Florida Republican Party ousts Christian Ziegler as chairman after rape allegation
• Gov. Newsom announces delayed special election for McCarthy seat
• Dean Phillips and Marianne Williamson rail against Biden to a crowd of seventh graders (Embarrassing and disgraceful.)
• Substack says it will remove Nazi publications from the platform
• Why Is the New York Times Publishing Gaylor Theories? (The NY Times has some serious “issues”)
• Kaine Talks Substance Abuse, Mental Health with Loudoun Stakeholders
• Rep. Abigail Spanberger: Trump calling convicted Jan. 6 rioters ‘hostages’ is ‘despicable’
• Video: On CNN, Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA07) Says Trump Already “did the unthinkable”; That if Trump’s “threats are ever realized under a future…presidency, every other discussion…becomes secondary” (Spanberger also rips Republican politicians for “whitewashing” the “extraordinarly well-documented” 1/6/21 insurrection)
• The 2024 General Assembly is historic because it is new in so many ways
• New tax proposal hurts Virginians – and for what reason?
• PFAS clean up could cost Virginia public water systems millions for years to come
• Arena or not, Youngkin requires reforms for more funding at Metro
• Virginia lawmakers set to take up new Capitals, Wizards arena proposal
• Video: Virginia NAACP Releases Its 2024 Legislative Agenda (Education, Environment, Voting Rights, Housing, Labor, Race and Justice, etc.)
• Virginia Dems call for immediate ban on legacy admissions
• Virginia oyster harvest hits milestone (“While the season was extended last year, a specialist says that won’t be the norm.”)
• Editorial: Virginia’s financial literacy requirement prepares kids for the future
• McPike and Prince William police chief push bill to allow ‘Dreamers’ to work in law enforcement
• Editorial: On truancy, Youngkin’s fumble is VA’s loss
• District 9 special election still happening, despite expected storm
• Montgomery County board’s new Democratic majority drops voucher priority
• Video: Fairfax County School Board Chair Karl Frisch Encourages Virginia Lawmakers to Reject Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s Budget, Protect Education Funding (“Encourages Action on JLARC’s Near and Long-Term Public Education Recommendations”)
• Alexandria voters to select school board member in special election (“A seat came open in November after board member Willie Bailey abruptly resigned. He was one of three board members representing District A.”)
• Special election Tuesday for Virginia Beach City Council District 1 seat
• Fairfax County NAACP president Michelle Leete has died
• D.C.-area forecast: Incoming storm to bring heavy rain, high winds today into the evening