Wednesday News: “Reuters, New York Times Top List of Fossil Fuel Industry’s Media Enablers”; “Trump is hiding his fascist plans in plain sight”; “Disturbing revelations about the House Speaker just keep coming”; Youngkin “Thought-policing Va.’s schools”

by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Wednesday, December 6.

• Earth on verge of five catastrophic climate tipping points, scientists warn (“Humanity faces ‘devastating domino effects’ including mass displacement and financial ruin as planet warms”)
• Q&A: How a Fossil Fuel Treaty Could Support the Paris Agreement and Wind Down Production
• Catastrophic change looms as Earth nears climate ‘tipping points’, report says
• Reuters, New York Times Top List of Fossil Fuel Industry’s Media Enablers (“New report by DeSmog and Drilled reveals extent of commercial partnerships between trusted outlets and Big Oil.”)
• Global wind power outlook takes hit from US weakness, China slowdown -WoodMac (Ugh.)
• New Forecasting Tools May Help Predict Impact of Marine Heatwaves on Ocean Life up to a Year in Advance (“These forecasts could help fisheries avoid whale entanglements and unexpected supply chain disruptions.”)
• Ukrainians prepare for a long war. Will the West stay the course?
• Senate careens toward failed vote on Ukraine aid as GOP pushes for border measures (“The fate of the $110.5 billion national security package has looked dim since Republicans began demanding politically fraught changes to asylum and other immigration policies.”)
• Ukraine could lose its war with Russia if the U.S. delays military aid, top Ukrainian official says
• Russia Is Punching An $11 Billion Hole In The West’s Oil Sanctions
• Putin Arrives in UAE to Start Gulf Visit With Oil in Focus (He should be arrested.)
• Where Can Putin Travel? How Arrest Warrants for War Crimes Limit Places He Can Visit
• Zelensky cancels US Senate briefing amid funding row
• Classified briefing on Ukraine devolves into shouting match (Mitt Romney is a joke.)
• Russia’s absurd claim that the LGBTQ community is extremist, explained
• Russia Rejects Trade for WSJ’s Evan Gershkovich
• Accounts of Sexual Violence by Hamas Are Aired Amid Criticism of U.N.
• U.S. imposes visa ban on Israeli settlers who attacked Palestinians
• Intelligence report warns of rising foreign terror threats in U.S. amid Israel-Hamas war
• Israeli settler violence brings destruction and fear to West Bank (Unacceptable.)
• Fighting Reaches ‘Heart’ of Southern Gaza’s Main City
• Israel is trying to arm more citizens with guns since the Hamas attack
• UN rejects idea of acceptable ratios for Gaza’s civilian deaths after Israeli military’s comments
• Evidence suggests dozens of Israeli women were raped or mutilated by Hamas (Horrific. Pure evil.)
• Angry relatives of Hamas captives and ex-hostages confront Netanyahu (Netanyahu should resign, immediately.)
• Israel Presses Assault on Hamas’s Last Major Bastion (“An Israeli victory in Khan Younis would likely corner remaining Hamas fighters in small areas in central Gaza and close to the Egyptian border.”)
• US officials think Gaza ground operation could end by January as Biden admin privately warns Israel about its tactics
• Biden decries Hamas sexual assaults and says they must be forcefully condemned
• How Nations Are Losing a Global Race to Tackle A.I.’s Harms
• Europe was set to lead the world on AI regulation. But can leaders reach a deal?
• ‘El Loco’ Won the Argentina Election With Outlandish Ideas. Now He’s Backpedaling. (“Javier Milei, who pledged to kill the central bank, cut ties with China and slash public spending, has taken a softer tone ahead of his inauguration.”)
• Canada May Soon Give a $15.3B ‘Carbon Bomb’ Subsidy to Big Oil, Experts Say (Crazy.)
• Inflation, Disinflation and Vibeflation
• Billionaires had a surprisingly bad day in the Supreme Court today (“Even this very conservative Court appears reluctant to blow up the federal government’s power to tax rich people.”)
• Enough with all the fatalism about a Trump dictatorship
• Trump is hiding his fascist plans in plain sight (“Trump’s nightmarish scheme was leaked to the New York Times — and yes, it was on purpose”)
• Donald Trump’s 2024 Campaign, in His Own Menacing Words
• Special counsel alleges Trump ‘sent’ supporters on path to Jan. 6 violence
• Jack Smith wants to tell jury about Trump’s earlier attempts to sow doubt about elections
• Trump Refuses to Tell Hannity He Will Not Abuse Power if Re-Elected
• Fact-checking Trump’s Fox News town hall in Iowa
• Trump’s “trickle-down racism”: New research spotlights the old-fashioned hate propelling MAGA
• This Trump plan lost the Heritage Foundation. That’s how bad it is.
• Trump Says He Would Only Abuse Power On Day 1 Of New Presidency
• No Doubt, Donald Trump Is a GRAVE Threat, but It’s NOT Just Him; It’s Also His Minions Like the Extremist/Insurrectionist Speaker of the U.S. House (Next year will determine whether the United States remains a constitutional republic with the rule of law, civil liberties, etc. Vote accordingly!)
• Mike Johnson’s Office Walks Back Reason For Blurring Insurrectionists’ Faces
• Mike Johnson Did Legal Work for the Leader of the “Largest Militant Antiabortion Group” in America: Report (“Disturbing revelations about the House Speaker just keep coming.”)
• GOP Decision to Blur Jan. 6 Faces Has Democrats ‘Deeply Troubled’ (And how about YOU, “The Messenger?” Why are you framing this in a partisan way, when EVERY American – including you all in the media! – should be “Deeply Troubled?”)
• Cheney blasts GOP for blurring faces in Jan. 6 tapes: Nothing ‘can change the facts’
• No, Liz Cheney. You should not run for president.
• Liz Cheney says she’ll ‘do whatever I have to do’ to stop Trump as she considers third-party bid
• Liz Cheney Names Key Trump ‘Mastermind’ With ‘Probably A Lot To Hide’ (“Former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) on Tuesday talked with MSNBC’s Nicole Wallace about election-denying Rep. Jim Jordan’s potential criminal liability for the Jan. 6, 2021 attack by Donald Trump supporters on the U.S. Capitol.”)
• ‘Test case’ for America: Colorado’s top court poised to weigh Trump’s eligibility to run again (The 14th amendment, section 3 is VERY clear on this.)
• Al Gore calls social media algorithms ‘digital’ AR-15s
• Steve Bannon and Kash Patel tout Trump’s second term retribution plan: “This is just not rhetoric”
• Bannon, Patel say Trump ‘dead serious’ about revenge on media: ‘We’re going to come after you’ (EXTREMELY dangerous.)
• Wall Street opens wallets wide for ‘Trump alternative’ Nikki Haley at $500K fundraiser
• Haley, DeSantis seek breakthrough at critical GOP debate
• Why Ron DeSantis Doesn’t Have a Prayer in Iowa
• Biden tells donors he’s ‘not sure I’d be running’ in 2024 if Trump wasn’t in the race
• Stopping Trump is motivation for second term – Biden
• Senate confirms 425 military nominees after Sen. Tommy Tuberville drops his hold
• Biden rips Tuberville after military holds lifted: ‘I hope no one forgets what he did’
• The folly of poll-dependent commentary (“Imagine if polls favoring Biden controlled the punditry.”)
• Lawmakers grill the presidents of Harvard, MIT and Penn over antisemitism on campus
• Giuliani’s no-show prevents courtroom confrontation with Georgia election workers
• Exclusive: Georgia prosecutors put Mike Pence on their witness list in 2020 election subversion case against Trump
• New Hampshire Republicans Introduce 15-Day Abortion Ban
• Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-VA02) Gives Up On Governing, Prepares To Greenlight Illegitimate Impeachment Inquiry (Next November, voters need to boot Kiggans)
• Video: VA GOP Senate Candidate Hung Cao, Who Compared Abortion to the Atrocities of the Holocaust, Gets Heated When Asked About It (Cao: “Hey, why don’t you get out of my face, dude?”)
• Could a minimum wage increase be on the horizon for 2024?
• Thought-policing Va.’s schools: Youngkin consolidates his grip on education’s ruling boards
• Virginia AG sides with religious parents in federal appeal over LGBTQ books in schools (Of COURSE he does!)
• Virginia local governments will now have to plan for water supply regionally
• As newly elected lawmakers head to Richmond, lobbyists remain
• State passes new funding rules for transportation projects (“Ahead of the vote, they raised concerns about the proposed changes, which they said disadvantage larger jurisdictions like Fairfax County and favor highway improvements over standalone bike, pedestrian and transit projects.”)
• Some Returning and Some New Faces to Serve as House Committee Chairs
• “This from the guy [VA Senate GOP Leader Tommy Norment] who *routinely* berated and belittled not only his senate peers (especially the women), but also the advocates and citizens coming to testify in committee (Norment lecturing us on civility? LOL!)
• Virginia prison guards reflect on problems behind bars
• A new co-op in Richmond increases region’s solar options
• Federal discrimination and harassment lawsuit filed against Del. Marie March
• Appalachian Power rate increase will raise bills more than RGGI doe
• A month after rejecting a student-won grant, Lynchburg School Board leaves projects in limbo
• Witness says suspect pulled out what ‘looked like a gun’ before he was shot by Portsmouth officer
• Faster rail service between Raleigh, Richmond gets $1B infusion (That’s thanks to the Infrastructure Law, which EVERY SINGLE VIRGINIA REPUBLICAN member of Congress – and most House Republicans – voted against!)
• BREAKING: Suspect killed in house explosion, police believe
• D.C.-area forecast: From a winter chill today to springlike storms possible Sunday