by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Thursday, January 30.
- Study of more than 600 animal and plant species finds genetic diversity has declined globally (“Analysis by dozens of scientists internationally notes urgent conservation efforts could halt or even reverse losses”)
- Ocean heatwave likely killed 30,000 fish off Western Australia coast, government says
- ‘The world order could start to evolve from the Arctic’: Trump, thin ice and the fight for Greenland’s Northwest Passage
- How a US freeze upended global aid in a matter of days
- Trump’s US aid freeze will drive migration from Latin America, experts warn (“Abrupt decision to pause all foreign aid could exacerbate violence in region already struggling with organized crime”)
- Hamas frees 8 more hostages as Gaza truce holds. Israel is set to release 110 prisoners
- Palestinians’ return to northern Gaza complicates Netanyahu’s war aims
- What Syria’s Secret Police Saw as the Regime Crumbled (“Hastily abandoned documents show how the fallen government’s vast intelligence apparatus struggled to comprehend and stop the rapid rebel advance”)
- GOP races to convince Trump to save former aides from Iran’s hit list
- Trump plans to build mass detention camp for deportees at Guantánamo Bay (So, a concentration camp?)
- Fear Is the Goal (“Trump’s anti-immigration push is backed by intense propaganda for a reason.” It’s pretty much all false. Wildly false.)
- US military deportation flight likely cost more than first class
- Trump can’t have ‘drill, baby, drill’ unless prices go up (“If AI really doesn’t need that much power, energy companies have less incentive to produce more.”)
- Reset or Purge? Trump EPA Dismisses Agency Science Advisers (“Critics fear the unusual clean sweep of panels is meant to ease the planned rollback of climate and environmental policy.”)
- Power companies pressure Trump EPA to roll back rules on toxic coal ash
- Trump’s Inaugural Approval Rating Is Historically Low Again (“At 47%, President Donald Trump’s initial job approval rating for his second term is similar to the inaugural 45% reading during his first term, again placing him below all other elected presidents dating back to 1953. Trump remains the only elected president with sub-50% initial approval ratings, and his latest disapproval rating (48%) is three percentage points higher than in 2017, marking a new high for inaugural ratings.”)
- Trump is already acting like a king (“The order to shut off federal grants reveals a vision of the presidency at odds with basic democratic principles.”)
- Trump’s federal spending power grab is far from over
- White House Considers Dozens of New Ways to Seize Spending Power
- Trump vs. the courts: Two early fights set stage for many more to come
- Another judge is preparing to block Trump’s spending freeze, despite White House cleanup
- The Trump White House Wants A Court Challenge Over Frozen Funds
- Inside 45 hours of chaos: The brief life and quick death of Trump’s federal spending freeze
- New Administration Highlights: Freeze on Federal Funds Rescinded, and Trump Signs Law to Ease Path to Deportations
- Inside the Chaotic Rollout of Trump’s Federal Funding Freeze
- Why Trump’s order to freeze funding evokes the darkest days of Watergate (“President’s move has convulsed Washington in a manner arguably unseen since the Saturday Night Massacre of 1973”)
- There Is a Strategy Behind the Chaos (“The drama over federal-grant spending this week isn’t mere disorganization; it’s part of a broader effort to remake the government from the inside.”)
- It’s Not Amateur Hour Anymore (“Trump’s team is savvy and has been planning to remake the federal government for years.”)
- Trump and Musk’s plan for a massive purge of the federal workforce, explained (“An ambitious plan to move fast and break things in the government is underway. There’s an ideology behind it.”)
- Democrats leave ‘emergency’ meeting vowing ‘street fight’ in response to Trump actions
- Trump’s First Big Fiasco Triggers Stephen Miller’s Rage—Take Note Dems
- FBI pick Kash Patel to face scrutiny over Trump loyalty at Senate hearing
- FBI Overhaul Off to a Rocky Start as Kash Patel Prepares to Defend His Vision
- USDA inspector general escorted out of her office after defying White House (That’s bonkers – and illegal!)
- Pete Hegseth Didn’t Take Long to Hear His Master’s Voice and Snap To, Did He?
- Fetterman: RFK Jr.’s nomination in trouble after rocky hearing
- RFK Jr.’s rocky rollout (RFK Jr. is insane.)
- Kennedy Is Keeping His Stake in Vaccine Litigation
- Health nominee RFK Jr to face further grilling at Senate confirmation hearing
- RFK Jr.’s Hearing Was Wild. One Bernie Sanders Exchange Really Sums It Up.
- A Weird Confirmation Hearing — Even for RFK Jr.
- Cheryl Hines, Megyn Kelly, and Vani Hari Form RFK Jr.’s MAHA Cheer Squad at First Confirmation Hearing
- RFK Jr’s testimony offers a ‘through the looking glass’ moment for Democratic senators (“Confirmation hearing was a spectacle as Democrats tried to hold a mirror to nominee, only for him to step right through”)
- What Tulsi Gabbard Says About Trump’s Vision for America (It’s all really REALLY bad.)
- The three strikes against Tulsi Gabbard (“That she’s soft on Russia isn’t even the biggest problem with her DNI nomination.”)
- The senators who could stop Tulsi Gabbard (“Meet the four GOP difference-makers, and four more to watch.”)
- Trump Signs Agreement Calling for Meta to Pay $25 Million to Settle Suit
- Beware the “Deferred Resignation” Offer: A Legally Dubious Proposal for Federal Employees
- “It’s a Scam”: Federal Workers React to Trump’s Supposed Buyout
- I Just Got Trump’s “Buyout” Offer at My Job. Let Me Tell You How That’s Going.
- ‘Not a buyout’: Attorneys and unions urge federal workers not to resign
- Elon Musk Looks to Stick a Fork in Federal Government Workers
- How long can the appalling Musk-Trump bromance go on? (“To say the relationship is symbiotic is an understatement. Trump has the political power; Musk has endless money”)
- The ‘Muskification’ of the federal government is in full swing
- Musk team’s push to gut federal workforce bypassed key Trump officials
- Elon Musk rose to the top of video game charts. Now he has confessed to cheating.
- Justice Dept. Is Said to Discuss Dropping Case Against Eric Adams (WHY???)
- Former Sen. Bob Menendez sentenced to 11 years corruption and bribery case (He deserved this. Now, what about Trump???)
- American Airlines plane collides midair with military helicopter, rescue efforts underway
- American Airlines plane crashes with helicopter near Reagan National Airport
- Jet crashes into Potomac River after colliding with Virginia-based Army helicopter
- American Airlines jet with 64 aboard collides with Army helicopter at Reagan Airport near DC
- Dozens feared dead after midair collision between American Airlines jet and Army helicopter
- Trump Fuels Crazy D.C. Plane Crash Theories With Insult to Army Pilots (“Though little is known about the collision, the president said it could have been prevented.”)
- Washington DC: At least 30 bodies recovered from Potomac River, local media reports, after passenger jet collides with military helicopter – live (“Passenger jet with 64 onboard collides midair with military Black Hawk helicopter; world champion Russian skaters on board, Kremlin says”)
- Video: Sen. Mark Warner Says Trump “has introduced chaos at a level that even makes the first term look organized” (“I’ve got to tell you, we’ve got to have our Republican friends and colleagues step up”)
- Video: Sen. Mark Warner to RFK Jr. – “When we’re looking at…the president’s ILLEGAL offer to try to buy out federal employees….has this individual…ever fulfilled his contracts or obligations to ANY workers in the past?” (Also: “I guess that means a lot of folks who have any type of views on vaccines will be out of work”)
- Video: Kaine Speaks on Senate Floor About Alarming Pardon of Dangerous Drug Trafficker
- WATCH: Sen. Warner tells federal employees to ‘think twice’ about offer of deferred resignation
- Schapiro: Running in ’26 by running around in ’25 (“Gov. Glenn Youngkin, though mentioned for the Senate, has given no indication that he is interested in anything less than the presidency in 2028. For either office, Youngkin would have to answer for Trump, whose unpopularity fueled a Democratic surge here from 2017 until 2020.”)
- Va. Gov. Youngkin says voters asked for Trump disruption as fallout continues (Youngkin is unhinged, absolutely zero ethical/moral core.)
- After Illegal Trump Federal Funding Freeze Rescinded, VA Speaker Don Scott Says “This is priceless”; Calls Out Youngkin, Other VA Republicans for “twisting themselves into pretzels defending Trump’s disastrous decision” (“Eventually, everyone who ties themselves to Trump ends up looking like a fool.”)
- Virginia Democrats warn against Trump’s federal worker buyout as questions around funding freeze continue
- Youngkin’s office knew about temporary suspension of federal aid portals, memo shows (“Governor’s office acknowledges suspensions as White House abruptly rescinds order, fueling confusion.”)
- VA Dems: “Glenn Youngkin told Virginians that the news of Medicaid portals being shut down was ‘misinformation’…Blatant lying and gross negligence to thousands of Virginians who rely on these benefits” (“Youngkin will always choose Trump over Virginians. Always.”)
- School districts across Virginia try to reassure families over immigration worries
- Jeff Schapiro: Republican Jason Miyares readies to go it alone
- Virginia Debate Over Solar Development Goals and Land Use Has Rural Lawmakers on Edge (“A proposed new review board would weigh in on proposals to build solar farms across the state. County officials fear a lack of local control and a possible change of character affecting farms and forestlands.”)
- Editorial: Lawmakers, governor can forge agreement on school construction funds (“Virginia communities send their children to learn in outdated, crumbling classrooms, and the General Assembly has an opportunity this year to help.”)
- School testing scores improve little, but Youngkin says its coming
- Virginia’s learning recovery falls short as NAEP scores show mixed results (“Despite efforts to close pandemic-era gaps, eighth-grade students slip further behind in math and reading while fourth graders show only slight gains.”)
- Toll breaks for Virginia drivers? Lawmakers weigh costly proposal
- Fairfax Co. superintendent responds to concerns about school safety after change in federal immigration policy
- An effort to study Virginia’s yearly elections is still alive in Richmond
- Avula promises to release severance records, reversing administration’s prior stance
- EPA report details unaddressed issues with Richmond’s aging water system (“Parts of the city’s water infrastructure date to the 19th century.”)
- As lawsuit goes forward, Shenandoah Co. students hope to send a message
- VCU faculty now need a doctorate to be promoted, sparking debate
- Man travels over 1,000 miles for sex with teen he met on TikTok, police say (“The child’s father found his daughter in the bedroom of a rental property in Fairfax County, Virginia, court records show.”)
- CWG Live updates: Cooler today and a rainy day on Friday
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