Tuesday News: “Doomsday Glacier” in Serious Trouble?”; “What Does the Dow Hitting 40,000 Tell Us?”; “Trump’s social media account shares a campaign video with a headline about a ‘unified Reich’”; “Kaine: Shenandoah County ‘chose to honor people who aren’t worthy of it’”

by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Tuesday, May 21.

• Ocean water is rushing miles underneath the ‘Doomsday Glacier’ with potentially dire impacts on sea level rise (Bye by Miami, other coastal cities, etc?)
• In Two New Studies, Scientists See Signs of Fundamental Climate Shifts in Antarctica
• Significant Environmental and Climate Impacts Are Impinging on Human Rights in Every Country, a New Report Finds
• Top oil firms’ climate pledges failing on almost every metric, report finds
• “Very extreme”: Climate change the most reasonable explanation for record Antarctic sea ice deficit
• Iranian president’s death adds to volatility as conflict shakes the Middle East
• The one thing US fears after Iranian president’s death (“Biden administration officials still fear Iran could blame the U.S. or Israel for the helicopter crash that killed Ebrahim Raisi.”)
• Iran to Hold Presidential Elections June 28 After Raisi’s Death
• After Ebrahim Raisi’s Death, Elections Pose Tricky Test for Iran’s Rulers
• Exclusive: Donald Trump foreign policy advisers met Israeli PM Netanyahu, source says (This is really, really ominous!)
• Israel tries to contain fallout over ICC warrant requests after allies voice support for the move
• What the ICC arrest warrants mean for Israel and Hamas
• Gaza detainees shackled and blindfolded at Israel hospital, say whistle-blowers
• Why Netanyahu’s War Cabinet Is Existentially Divided (“The Israeli prime minister refuses to plan for life after the war in Gaza.”)
• As China ramps up disinformation, the U.S. is far too vulnerable
• ASML and TSMC Can Disable Chip Machines If China Invades Taiwan
• New 9/11 Evidence Points to Deep Saudi Complicity (Bin Laden was Saudi, 15/19 hijackers were Saudi, etc. But gotta keep that oil flowin’ and those SUVs rollin’, right?)
• Haiti’s Gangs Grow Stronger as Kenyan-Led Force Prepares to Deploy
• What Does the Dow Hitting 40,000 Tell Us? (“The background here is the gap between what we know about the actual state of our economy and the way Trump and his allies describe it. By the numbers, the economy looks very good. Unemployment has now been below 4 percent for 27 months, a record last achieved in the late 1960s, ending in February 1970. Inflation is way down from its peak in 2022, although by most measures it’s still somewhat above the Federal Reserve’s target of 2 percent. U.S. economic growth over the past four years has been much faster than in comparable major wealthy nations.”)
• Clean energy tax credit market poised to grow amid new transferability rules
• How to save the Supreme Court from Alito’s ethical malfeasance
• Supreme Court’s Samuel Alito problem compounded by Donald Trump’s immunity case (“By dragging out a case they shouldn’t have even taken, the conservative majority tacitly endorses January 6”)
• Supreme Court Justice Alito sold Bud Light stock, then bought Coors during boycott (Alito’s corruption reeks to high heaven…)
• There’s No Sense of Shame at the Supreme Court
• Evidence Is Building That Samuel Alito’s Brain Is Filled to the Brim With Right-Wing Internet Chum (“The Supreme Court justice sold Bud Light stock when the nation’s most online conservatives were furious that the company worked with a trans influencer.”)
• Senate Democrats revive bipartisan border security bill as GOP vows to block it again
• Behold the Delights the Trump Justice Department and FBI Would Hold
• A Hidden Variable in the Presidential Race: Fears of ‘Trump Forever’ (“Undecided voters are concerned that if Donald Trump returns to the White House, he’ll never leave.” 100% accurate!)
• If Trump wins, what would hold him back? (“The guardrails of democracy reined him in last time. But they’re weakening.”)
• Trump’s social media account shares a campaign video with a headline about a ‘unified Reich’
• Trump posts social media video seemingly suggesting his victory will bring ‘unified Reich’
• Prosecution Rests Case in Trump Trial as Defense Targets Cohen Again
• Judge blasts Trump defense witness for ‘contemptuous’ staring, muttering at hush money trial
• Trump’s Hush-Money Trial Day 784: Judge Merchan Appears to Be at the End of His Rope
• Trump increasingly relies on allies to deliver the attack lines the gag order bars him from uttering
• ‘Don’t give me side eye’: Judge gets furious with Trump witness
• Team Biden-Harris Enters June Ahead of Trump with $192M War Chest (“Team Biden-Harris Raised More than $473 Million In Year Since Launch, $51 Million in April”)
• ‘October 7 was a turning point’: Trump’s pro-Israel fundraising accelerates.
• Spoiler Alert: Billionaire Trump Mega-Donor Gave Another $5M to RFK Jr.
• Nevada abortion rights groups submit signatures to advance ballot measure
• Controversial Donald Trump movie ‘The Apprentice’ depicts him as rapist (Sounds perfectly accurate – why put “controversial” in the headline at all?)
• Trump’s Social Media Company Posts Q1 Revenue of $770,500 and Net Loss of $327.6 Million
• FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg to Resign Following Report Detailing Sexual Harassment at Agency
• Scared about America losing democracy? Texas is already gone
• Meteorologist slams DeSantis move to scrub climate change from Florida law (DeSantis is a f’ing disgrace, and he’s the role-model governor of Youngkin, who is…yep, ALSO a f’ing disgrace.)
• Kaine: Shenandoah County ‘chose to honor people who aren’t worthy of it’ (“There’s a difference between telling history and honoring people. When you’re naming a school after a Confederate general, you’re not just telling history, you’re deciding that they’re worthy of honor”)
• Jen Kiggans voted in 2020 against reforms for predatory payday lenders who target military members
• A Q&A with VA-02 Democratic candidate Missy Cotter Smasal (Smasal REALLY needs to win this November – and godawful incumbent Jen Kiggans REALLY needs to go!)
• Backed by rival GOP factions, vets in Va. primary look similar on paper (“The GOP has more of an opening in Virginia’s 7th Congressional District after Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D) announced she’s running for governor.”)
• Video: Dan Helmer Launches First Broadcast Television Ad in VA-10; Stresses That Our Democracy Is Fragile, That We Can’t Take It For Granted
• Video: Reproductive Health Leaders Hold Governor Youngkin and Republicans Accountable for Veto of the Right to Contraception Act (“instead of listening to the 8 in 10, [Youngkin] chose to appease the ultra-right wing of his party…”)
• Dominion gets approval for battery pilots, Appalachian Power seeks bids for renewable projects
• Roanoke city manager’s departure comes as city council faces an unusual amount of turnover
• Cowell resigns as Roanoke city manager (“Bob Cowell, who has held Roanoke’s top job since 2017, leaves following several high-profile personnel issues at city hall. His last day is June 7.”)
• Virginia legislators seek reforms at Riverside Regional Jail (“18 people have died while incarcerated at the Prince George facility.”)
• Youngkin’s plan to vacate James Monroe Building on hold
• Richmond plans to sell Arthur Ashe Center, give proceeds to school system
• Richmond registrar broke city code when signing nearly $1M in contracts, officials say
• In the face of a lawsuit and veto, Virginia Beach’s election system still up in the air (“Gov. Glenn Youngkin vetoed legislation that would have aligned Virginia Beach’s charter with its new district voting system.”)
• D.C.-area forecast: Warm sunshine through midweek before storms late Thursday