Wednesday News: “Republicans amass a record of loss under Trump”; “Unconstitutional,” “Petty” House GOP Impeachment of Alejandro Mayorkas; GOP Has “become yet another subsidiary of Trump Inc.”; “Ted Leonsis’s Suburban Dreams Are Drowning In Glenn Youngkin’s Big Fat Mouth”

by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Wednesday, February 14.

• Polar bears risk starvation as they face longer ice-free periods in the Arctic
• Scientists strapped cameras to a bunch of polar bears. The footage is breathtaking — and alarming. (“As the Arctic warms, these iconic bears are spending more time on land. New videos reveal why that’s a problem.”)
• Scientists Resort to Once-Unthinkable Solutions to Cool the Planet (“Three geoengineering projects seek to alter the chemistry of the atmosphere and the ocean. Critics warn of unintended consequences.”)
• Q&A: To Save The Planet, Traditional Indigenous Knowledge Is Indispensable
• Biden on Trump’s NATO approach: Dumb, dangerous and un-American
• Why John Bolton Is Certain Trump Really Wants to Blow Up NATO
• Republicans’ topsy-turvy take on aid for Ukraine reveals party in thrall to Trump (“Defense hawks such as Lindsey Graham who once demanded greater backing for Kyiv are now toeing the America First line” They must have some incredibly embarrassing, damaging sh*t on Graham.)
• House’s Ukraine showdown escalates with calls to bypass Johnson
• After facing off with Senate ‘Freedom Caucus’, McConnell urges Johnson on Ukraine
• Ukraine Says It Destroyed Russian Warship in Black Sea Attack
• The moral and strategic case for arming Ukraine
• Ukraine says it has disabled a third of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet after sinking another warship
• Ukrainian military says it sank a Russian landing ship in the Black Sea
• By detecting Russian ‘carrots’ and ‘tea bags,’ Ukraine decodes enemy chatter to save lives
• Biden condemns Trump’s Nato comments as ‘dumb, shameful, dangerous and un-American’ (100% accurate!)
• Biden forcefully condemns Trump’s NATO comments as ‘un-American’
• Editorial: NATO alliance serves nation well, contrary to what Trump says
• EU proposes sanctions on Chinese firms aiding Russian war effort
• Deadly Rocket Attack in Israel Risks Diplomatic Effort on Lebanon Border (“Israeli hard-liners are demanding a strong response after a series of strikes, including near a military base, as allies seek to calm tensions with Hezbollah.”)
• Biden delivers tough love, takes historic step: Conditioning aid to Israel (“Biden intensifies pressure on Israel.”)
• UN warns of ‘slaughter’ if Israel launches Rafah assault
• Imran Khan’s rivals reach deal to form government
• Exclusive: Kushner calls MBS “visionary leader” who has made the world better (Bone saws, anybody?)
• Unofficial Indonesia results put strongman Prabowo in lead (Ugh.)
• CDC plans to drop five-day covid isolation guidelines
• Percentage of Americans expecting improved financial situation highest in almost 4 years: Survey
• Biden’s Hidden Economic Success (“His agenda is driving more investment into communities left for scrap.”)
• One surprising reason to be optimistic about the U.S. economy
• Department of Energy Partners With States and Research Institutes to Boost Offshore Wind Development
• New documents underscore why the Supreme Court must let Jack Smith’s Trump case move forward (“January 6 was just the tip of the iceberg — Trump’s criminal conspiracy was sprawling”)
• Welcome to the Anxiety Election (“The prospect of another Trump term is terrifying, but let’s not freak out over every bad news cycle.”)
• House GOP Impeaches DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas — Just To Help Trump
• Biden Calls Impeachment Of Mayorkas ‘Unconstitutional’ And ‘Petty’ (“House Republicans managed to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas without any evidence of his alleged crimes.”)
• Jill Biden’s Email Blasting the Special Counsel Report Raised a Ton of Money for Joe: Report (“The first lady went after Robert Hur for his claim that the president couldn’t remember exactly when his son died.”)
• Statement from President Joe Biden on House GOP’s Baseless Impeachment of Secretary Mayorkas (“History will not look kindly on House Republicans for their blatant act of unconstitutional partisanship that has targeted an honorable public servant in order to play petty political games.” House Republicans are a complete disgrace.)
• GOP Congressman Spews Racist Screed on Fall of “Western Civilization” (White supremacy, racism, etc. – that’s the Trump Republican Party.)
• On Capitol Hill, Republicans Use Bigoted Attacks Against Political Foes
• GOP’s old guard on verge of extinction as Trump allies circle Senate
• Republicans Are No Longer a Political Party
• Inside the Trump campaign’s takeover of the RNC
• Trump Taps Election Deniers Lara Trump, Michael Whatleyto Lead RNC
• Of Course Trump Wants His Daughter-in-Law—And a “Stop-the-Steal Guy”—To Run the RNC
• Trump’s billion-dollar man: Chris LaCivita will steer spending by campaign, RNC
• Trump Makes His Pitch to Consolidate Power Over the GOP
• Republicans amass a record of loss under Trump: “Democrats have been winning at an impressive clip”
• Democrats flip Santos’s New York House seat in high-stakes special election
• Democrat Tom Suozzi Wins Race to Succeed George Santos in Congress (“The victory is a signal that the Democratic Party can withstand Republican attacks on immigration and cuts into the GOP’s already narrow majority in the House.”)
• 5 takeaways from New York’s high-stakes special election
• Former Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi Wins Special Election To Succeed George Santos
• Democrat Tom Suozzi Wins New York House Seat Vacated by Santos
• Leaning Into Migrant Woes, Suozzi Paves Election-Year Path for Democrats
• Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin released from hospital
• It took me three tries to register to vote in Texas — and I’m an elections reporter (That’s voter suppression. Hello, Merrick Garland’s DoJ???)
• Media spread false reports church shooter was a trans woman, furthering moral panic (“Multiple reports on Fox News, MSNBC, and social media have incorrectly identified the suspect as a trans woman, citing police”)
• Fox News’ highest rated evening programs spread white nationalist rhetoric in nearly half of their immigration segments (Fox=white supremacist TV)
• Georgia election board votes down proposal to limit absentee voting
• STUDY: How Sean Hannity helped build the GOP’s collapsing Hunter Biden impeachment case (Hannity is heinous.)
• Wisconsin lawmakers adopt new legislative maps that could undo gerrymandering (“The vote is the result of a December ruling from the Wisconsin supreme court that the current state assembly and senate maps are unconstitutional, ordering the state to adopt new legislative maps before the 2024 election – and setting a mid-March deadline.”)
• Democrats on track to maintain majority in Pennsylvania state House
• Jon Stewart’s Daily Show Comeback Acknowledged the Criticisms of His Return—Then Sidestepped Them (Does Stewart really not understand why “both sides”/false equivalency b.s., plus ageism, isn’t helpful or funny?)
• Sen. Mark Warner Says Senate Passage of Foreign Aid Package “never had to be this way or take this long”; “strongly urge[s]…colleagues in the House to get this done as soon as possible”
• General Assembly reaches midpoint, with fights ahead over arena, cannabis, guns and taxes (“Democrats have passed many of their signature bills but it’s unclear how many Gov. Glenn Youngkin will sign.”)
• Virginia Crossover Day: Status of the Progressive Agenda (“As bills move through their last hurdles before ending up on the Governor’s desk, we will turn our attention to Governor Glenn Youngkin.”)
• Here is where 25 issues stand at the Virginia General Assembly’s midpoint
• Crossover gives Virginia legislators a chance to consider compromise (“But if anyone wants anything passed, there must be a meeting of minds, or peace in the valley as they call it in the chamber.”)
• General Assembly Advances Bipartisan Legislation to Make Medicine More Affordable for Virginians (Senate and House Pass Bills to Create Prescription Drug Affordability Board, Increase Transparency for Pharmacy Benefit Managers)
• Democrat-sponsored campaign finance bills left in committee (“Utilities like Dominion Energy spoke against the proposals.”)
• Virginia House, Senate OK bills to advance development of small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs are *VERY* expensive – far more than energy efficiency, utility-scale solar, onshore wind, etc. – and not ready for prime time.)
• Democrats split on bill requiring CA notification for people charged with violent crimes
• Bills to ease strain on state mental hospitals advance without ‘bed of last resort’ changes
• Senate Democrats push forward with minimum wage increase despite veto threat
• At the session’s midpoint, Virginia’s freshmen legislators report on lessons learned
• Casa in Action Launches “Let’s Vote Virginia” Non-Partisan Program to Boost Latino And Black Voters Turnout in Virginia Primary Election
• Virginia lawmakers vote to lift ban on skill games, but details are uncertain
• State lawmakers have a lot of work to do when it comes to “skill games”
• Virginians could see minimum wage increase to $15 per hour by 2026
• The Cost of the Potomac Yard Arena “Has Just Gone Up” for Youngkin
• Ted Leonsis’s Suburban Dreams Are Drowning In Glenn Youngkin’s Big Fat Mouth
• Bill laying groundwork for new Wizards, Capitals arena in Alexandria passes in Virginia House
• Del. Elizabeth Bennett-Parker, Who Represents the Potomac Yard Area in the House of Delegates, Says “I cannot in good faith vote for [the proposed Wizards/Caps arena bill] without more information…”
• Bills to speed broadband deployment clear House, Senate
• How legislation affecting Southwest Virginia and Southside looks halfway through the session
• Judge: Richmond police make discriminatory stops of Black drivers
• Williams: The old Community Hospital is Richmond’s Black history. VUU should preserve it
• Meet the thought police of Rockingham County, Va. (“A vote to take books off school library shelves reveals a dangerous impulse.”)
• With no Bay menhaden study coming, population debates persist
• Real estate firm CoStar will move HQ from downtown D.C. to Arlington, Va.
• Two stabbed, one fatally, at Va. training center; suspect killed by police
• D.C.-area forecast: Chilly breeze today, another snow chance heading into the weekend