Wednesday News: “Biden Condemns ‘Pure, Unadulterated Evil’ of Hamas’ Attack on Israel”; “Republicans must overcome deep splits to choose a speaker as Israel crisis exposes failure to govern”; “The Abysmal Choices for House Speaker”; “Virginia’s Dems in Congress urge DOJ probe of voting issues”

by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Wednesday, October 11.

• Scientists Disagree About Drivers of September’s Global Temperature Spike, but It Has Most of Them Worried
• Climate Crossroads: Fiscal Policies in a Warming World
• Impacts of climate change threaten children’s mental health starting before birth
• Climate change can have ‘lifelong impacts’ on young people’s mental health, report says
• Ukraine President Zelenskyy at NATO defense ministers meeting seeking more support to fight Russia
• President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine made a surprise visit to NATO headquarters on Wednesday.
• The wars in Israel and Ukraine are linked, along with the aid
• How Israel’s Feared Security Services Failed to Stop Hamas’s Attack
• U.S. Weapons Arrive in Israel as Blinken Heads to the Country
• Biden Condemns “Pure, Unadulterated Evil” of Hamas’ Attack on Israel
• How an Israeli kibbutz ‘paradise’ turned into hell in Hamas attack
• Egypt moves to prevent exodus of Palestinians from besieged Gaza
• Israel’s Most Important Papers Have Been Merciless to Netanyahu. Good On Them. (“I cannot help but think back to 2001, and the absolutely supine reaction of the American press to the attacks of 9/11.”)
• IMF Says Israel-Hamas War Impact Depends on Regional Scope, Oil
• Few Good Options as Israel Weighs a Ground Assault on the Gaza Strip (“‘House-to-house fighting’ would follow, Leon Panetta says; Questions about Israel’s exit strategy, dangers to hostages”)
• Hamas Militants Behind Israel Attack Raised Millions in Crypto
• When Hamas Tells You Who They Are, Believe Them (Pure evil, just like ISIS. They need to be completely destroyed, if at all possible.)
• Women and Children Found ‘Brutally Butchered’ After Hamas Attack (“The bodies are piling up in the aftermath of a massive attack on Israel by Hamas militants, with Benjamin Netanyahu vowing to ‘exact a price’ for the bloodshed.”)
• In Hamas, Israel faces a formidable, and technologically sophisticated, foe
• Biden decries “evil” Hamas attack, says Americans being held hostage
• Israeli commanders vow to go on offensive as Biden pledges support
• Hamas terror tactics test Israel’s war strategy (“The brazen attack by Palestinian militants has blurred the lines between terrorism and war, challenging how democracies respond”)
• Children found ‘butchered’ in Israeli kibbutz, IDF says, as horror of Hamas’ attacks near border begins to emerge (Pure evil.)
• Hamas gunmen ‘killed families in their beds’ at Kfar Aza kibbutz, say Israeli forces
• Trump’s Overrated Peace Plan Helped Enable the Horrors in Israel and Gaza
• Palestinians scramble for safety as Israel pounds sealed-off Gaza Strip to punish Hamas
• Israel hammers Gaza with airstrikes as Hamas’ atrocities revealed
• Israeli strikes demolish entire Gaza neighborhoods as sealed-off territory faces imminent blackout
• Some Israelis abroad desperately try to head home — to join reserve military units, or just to help
• The Anti-Israel Left Needs to Take a Hard Look at Itself
• AOC knocks ‘bigotry and callousness’ of Times Square rally for Palestinians (AOC: “It should not be hard to shut down hatred and antisemitism where we see it. That is a core tenet of solidarity”)
• U.S. may send second aircraft carrier toward Israel
• Tester, Manchin call on Biden to freeze $6 billion in Iranian assets
• Erdogan Slams US Decision to Deploy Warships Over Gaza (This guy’s an autocrat, human rights abuser, etc, etc.)
• EU warns Elon Musk over ‘disinformation’ on X about Hamas attack (“Failing to moderate content such as fake news could incur fine of 6% of X revenues or EU blackout under new laws”)
• Musk’s X allows misinformation about Hamas’ war on Israel to proliferate (“Verified X Premium subscribers — some endorsed by platform owner Elon Musk — earned millions of views on posts with misleading videos, a doctored photo, and other misinformation”)
• Right-wing media use Hamas’ attacks on Israel to fearmonger about immigrants in the United States (Appalling.)
• Israel is acting against international law, EU’s top diplomat says (“Cutting water, cutting electricity, cutting food to a mass of civilian people, is against international law”)
• After a Harvard student group blamed Israel for the violence, a former president of the university condemned the leadership for not speaking up. (These students are supposed to be smart? LOL!)
• Dems look to break Tuberville’s military blockade amid Israel crisis
• ‘The Wrath of God’: Afghans Mourn Unimaginable Loss From Quake
• ‘Our time will come’: Thai leader prevented from becoming PM hails dawn of a new era
• Higher Rates May Be Needed to Curb Inflation, Fed’s Bowman Says
• White House announces new efforts to crack down on ‘tens of billions’ in junk fees
• Clarence Thomas Wants to Go After Freedom of the Press (Clarence Thomas is an extremist, utterly corrupt and a menace to America.)
• Republicans must overcome deep splits to choose a speaker as Israel crisis exposes failure to govern
• Having ousted Kevin McCarthy, House Republicans are hitting trouble trying to nominate a new speaker (“Stalemated over a new House speaker, the Republican majority is scheduled to convene behind closed doors to try to vote on a nominee.”)
• Jim Jordan’s new shutdown threat highlights an unnerving right-wing trend
• Former OSU wrestlers say Jim Jordan betrayed them and shouldn’t be House speake (“Do you really want a guy in that job who chose not to stand up for his guys?”)
• House Republicans Have Opened the Gaetz of Hell (“The Speaker’s race puts GOP dysfunction on display at a moment when leadership in Washington is sorely needed.”)
• Will Jim Jordan or Steve Scalise — or even Kevin McCarthy — be the next speaker of the House?
• Could a Kevin McCarthy Restoration Be Nigh? (“The fact that we’re even discussing this is proof things have gotten strained beyond belief in the House.”)
• Anxiety grows amid GOP Speaker’s battle
• GOP split over rules change to keep Speaker ‘mess’ behind closed doors
• Jim Jordan is Fox News’ man in Congress. Now, he may become House speaker. (Jim Jordan is also complete scum.)
• The Abysmal Choices for House Speaker
• LGBTQ+ Advocacy Groups Announce Endorsement Of President Joe Biden And Vice President Kamala Harris For Reelection
• Democrats’ best model for 2024 might be 2022
• A tantalizing detail in a new Trump legal filing
• Trump dips into internet conspiracy theories with his latest lines about Obama (“Donald Trump had been alluding to the idea that his predecessor, Barack Obama, is still in charge before he outright said it in New Hampshire this week.” Nutjob.)
• Prosecutors Ask if Trump Will Blame His Lawyers as Defense in Election Case
• Crackpot fight! Trump is worried about RFK Jr. running for president — and he should be scared
• A “blood purity program”: Holocaust expert on why Trump is stoking fears of national blood poisoning (“Donald Trump’s anti-semitism and the danger of “poisoning the blood” rhetoric”)
• Oops: Court Documents Show Trump Knew His Manhattan Triplex Isn’t Actually 30,000 Feet (“The ex-president signed a document putting the square footage at 10,996 square feet, despite later telling banks it was almost triple the size.”)
• Santos Indicted for Fake-Donor Scheme Exposed by Mother Jones (“The GOP congressman was charged with 10 counts related to campaign finance violations and fraud”)
• Congressman George Santos Charged With Conspiracy, Wire Fraud, False Statements, Falsification of Records, Aggravated Identity Theft, and Credit Card Fraud
• Embattled Rep. George Santos hit with additional charges, including identity theft
• Trump Is Expected to Endorse Kari Lake’s Senate Run in Arizona
• Kari Lake announces run for Arizona Senate (Glenn Youngkin thinks this extremist nutjob is “AWESOME!” LOL)
• Tuberville reports former CIA director Hayden to Capitol Police over tweet
• Mace wears red letter ‘A’ after McCarthy vote (Nutjob. Also idiot.)
• DNC sues North Carolina over Republican-backed election bill
• Abortions in North Carolina drop by 30% in wake of new restrictions, data shows (“Nearby states didn’t see similar increases, suggesting those denied abortions in the state are self-managing, or going without”)
• North Carolina Republicans override governor’s veto on key election law
• Kevin Phillips, 82, Dies; Political Analyst Predicted G.O.P. Resurgence (“A conservative mastermind of the race-based ‘Southern strategy,’ he later, as a writer, had second thoughts after assessing income inequality under three Republican presidents.” The racist “Southern Strategy” did a great deal of damage.)
• Virginia Democrats call for federal inquiry into voter removals
• Warner, Kaine urge DOJ to probe Gov. Youngkin’s ‘purge’ of voter rolls
• Virginia’s Dems in Congress urge DOJ probe of voting issues
• Video: Sen. Mark Warner Says “America’s reputation…is on the line; We have to stand up against this kind of barbaric activity,” Whether by Hamas or Putin (Sen. Warner implores House Republicans to “get a Speaker in place, let’s make sure that we act”)
• Good rally with Gaetz in Louisa shifts from public to private venue (“Louisa County Republicans have stepped back from plans to use a public middle school gym to host a political rally for Rep. Bob Good, R-5th, that will feature Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., leader of the GOP uprising in the U.S. House of Representatives that toppled Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., last week.”)
• Dems Try to Nip Glenn Youngkin’s Political Future in the Bud
• Mark Rozell: With fall elections approaching, McCarthy’s ouster undermines Virginia GOP
• Planned Parenthood: Gov. Glenn Youngkin Commits $1.4 Million to Banning Abortion in Virginia (“These ads utilize dangerous misinformation and deceit to convince voters that an abortion ban is acceptable. We know Virginians won’t be fooled.”)
• Video: At VA Beach Forum with Roland Martin, VA House Dems Leader Don Scott Says, “I’m asking each and every person come out and vote like your life depends on it – because it does!” (“If you don’t vote, you voted by not voting, because you’ve given away your voice to somebody else.”)
• Commentary: Improving access to child care bolsters Virginia’s labor force, economy
• Lack of oversight on transmission spending leads to higher electric bills, consumer advocate says
• Feds crack down on Virginia realtor insurance law
• Editorial: Parole, a political minefield in Virginia, deserves thorough study
• House District 21 race: Republican Stirrup vs. Democrat Thomas
• Virginia state Senate candidate received $131,500 from anti-abortion lawmakers (“Republican nominee Juan Pablo Segura makes no mention of his support for an abortion ban on his campaign website.”)
• Video: At NAACP School Board Forum, Republican Candidate Meg Scalia Bryce (Antonin Scalia’s Daughter) Says, “It has to be okay for some people to be able to say, ‘Well…I don’t agree that there is systemic racism’” (In stark contrast, Democrat Allison Spillman says (correctly) that systemic racism is real.)
• A handful of Virginia cities want lawmakers to take another look at pretext law
• Homicides are declining nationally but Roanoke has a record number of killings. City leaders are trying to figure out why.
• Chesapeake council member’s relative testifies on why she signed her house over to her niece
• D.C.-area forecast: Wonderful weather through Friday, then a potentially rainy Saturday