| Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... |
by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Monday, February 3.
- Climate change could erase $1.4 trillion in real estate value: report
- New 3-D Study of the Greenland Ice Sheet Shows Glaciers Falling Apart Faster Than Expected (“Crevasses are widening faster as meltwater drives fissures deeper into the ice and lubricates the base of glaciers, increasing concerns about how quickly their melting will raise sea levels.” Disastrous.)
- Stock markets slide around the world as Trump’s new trade war rattles investor confidence
- Markets slide as Trump’s tariff war escalates
- WHO chief asks countries to push Washington to reconsider its withdrawal
- Ukrainian troops losing ground to Russia as Trump talks about ending the war
- Moscow bomb kills pro-Russia paramilitary leader (“Armen Sarkisyan, founder of battalion fighting against Ukraine, dies after blast that also killed bodyguard”)
- Trump Vows to Punish South Africa Over Law to Expropriate Land (WTF? Is that coming from Musk?)
- Netanyahu in Washington for ceasefire talks; Iran condemns Trump plan to relocate Palestinians
- German election: AfD’s Weidel doubles down on Holocaust comments
- Europe braces for Trump trade tariffs, as levies on Canada, Mexico, China roil markets
- Trump says US tariffs on EU will happen, but tells BBC a UK deal ‘could be worked out’
- Brussels vows ‘firm’ response to threatened Trump tariffs as EU braces for trade war
- Trump used fentanyl to justify tariffs, but the crisis was already easing (Also, almost ZERO fentanyl comes in via Canada.)
- Trump Ramps Up EU Tariff Threat, Plans Calls With Canada, Mexico
- Trump Tariffs Threaten to Upend Global Economic Order
- One Response to Trump’s Tariffs: Trade That Excludes the U.S.
- Trump’s Move to Put Tariff Hikes Ahead of Tax Cuts Has Spooked Almost Everyone
- Trudeau Announces Retaliatory Tariffs Against the U.S.
- Trump faces backlash from business as tariffs ignite inflation fears
- Trump fired the latest tariff shot at China. Is Beijing prepared to make it a trade war?
- Is DeepSeek China’s Sputnik Moment?
(“The Chinese company’s low-cost, high-performance A.I. model has shocked Silicon Valley, and a longtime China watcher warns that the West is being leapfrogged in many other industries, too.”) - Trump’s tariffs are a perfect metaphor for his presidency (“The president’s policies could create higher consumer prices at home and chaos abroad”)
- Welcome to Trump’s tariff era. It’s going to be a bumpy ride
- ‘Let Them Eat Cake’ Moment: Trump’s Big ‘Pain’ Confession Leaves Critics Horrified
- Car Prices Face $3,000 Increase as Tariffs Hit Auto Sector
- Ontario to remove U.S. alcohol from shelves after Trump’s tariffs announcement
- Canadian fans boo US anthem as tariffs spur ‘buy local’ pledge
- Panama Offers Concessions to US After Rubio Meets President
- Rubio warns of U.S. action if Panama does not curb Chinese influence around the canal
- Rubio Calls ‘Status Quo’ at Panama Canal Unacceptable, as Trump Renews Vow to Seize It
- How Trump is targeting wind and solar energy – and delighting big oil (“Critics say Trump is using every presidential power possible against clean power in sharp turn after Biden investments created jobs”)
- Letters from an American, February 1, 2025 (“Throughout now-president Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign, it was clear that his support was coming from three very different factions whose only shared ideology was a determination to destroy the federal government. Now we are watching them do it. The group that serves President Donald Trump is gutting the government both to get revenge against those who tried to hold him accountable before the law and to make sure he and his cronies will never again have to worry about legality.”)
- The Logic of Destruction (“What is a country? The way its people govern themselves. Sometimes self-government just means elections. And sometimes it means recognizing the deeper dignity and meaning of what it means to be a people. That means speaking up, standing out, and protesting. We can only be free together.”)
- Follow the Money (“The financial markets are the only thing that can stop Trump’s reign of chaos.”)
- Elon Musk May Now Have Unique Sway Over the US Treasury (“What could possibly go wrong with giving the tech mogul access to federal payments?”)
- Musk’s wrecking ball pierces government’s inner sanctum
- Musk Moves With Lightning Speed to Exert Control Over the Government
- Senior USAID security officials put on leave after refusing Musk’s DOGE access to agency systems
- Elon Musk says he and Trump are shutting down USAID (“Musk announced the planned closure of the foreign assistance agency early Monday morning on social media.”)
- Elon Musk says President Donald Trump has ‘agreed’ USAID should be shut down (Assuming we’re still a nation that cares about rule of law, you can’t just shut down a Congressionally mandated and funded federal agency because you feel like it.)
- The Young, Inexperienced Engineers Aiding Elon Musk’s Government Takeover (“Engineers between 19 and 24, most linked to Musk’s companies, are playing a key role as he seizes control of federal infrastructure.”)
- Musk Says DOGE Halting Treasury Payments to US Contractors
- Turmoil inside USAID: DOGE reps take over offices, senior officials placed on leave
- Musk on USAID: ‘Time for it to die’
- Trump moves to wrest control of USAID as Musk says ‘we’re shutting it down’
- Trump says USAID run by “lunatics” as Dems demand answers on DOGE visit (Spoiler: Actually, the lunatic is in the Oval Office…)
- USAID staffers told to stay out of Washington headquarters after Musk said Trump agreed to close it
- Stay focused on the unfolding coup!
- “Americans were sleep-marched into fascism”: Signs of creeping authoritarianism we can’t miss again (“Americans have ‘no lived experience of what happens when oligarchs sink their fangs into a country'”)
- Trump, Musk wage two-front war as donor does president’s ‘dirty work’ (“Trump views Musk as doing the task he assigned him, and that he benefits from letting someone else take the heat for drastic and controversial measures.”)
- FBI distributing questionnaire probing agents’ work on Jan. 6 Capitol riot cases, sources say
- Agents ‘have started to pack up their desks’ as fear of FBI mass firings swirls
- Top F.B.I. Agent in New York Vows to ‘Dig In’ After Removals at Agency
- Williams: MAGA is making it safe to discriminate again
- As Trump Attacks Diversity, Some See an Unmistakable Message of Racism (Notice how the cowardly NY Times frames this, as “some see” as opposed to “IT IS THE CASE?” Just pathetic as always.)
- Primary Every Democrat (“It’s exhausting to watch poll-tested, donor-beholden congressional Democrats continue to be too old, too cloistered, and too bumbling to do anything as the government burns.”)
- The Democrats Show Why They Lost (“At a meeting of the DNC, the party seemed to be at pains to demonstrate that it learned nothing from its 2024 defeat.”)
- Can Democrats come back to life? (“Maybe the Democratic National Committee’s new chair can help the party figure out what it stands for.”)
- Democrats fume over weak early response to Trump (“Strategists say the reaction to Trump is inconsistent and not aggressive enough to combat Trump, who has taken a series of actions to remake the government.” Nope, super weak – including Dems voting to confirm ANY of Trump’s Cabinet picks. The problem is, a lot of Dems seem to think we’re still living in normal times, and they’re going to give deference to the president’s ability to pick his Cabinet, blah blah blah. That is MORONIC.)
- Sen. McConnell on what he’ll do as President Trump shakes up Washington with an onslaught of executive orders (Such a bad headline by CBS “News”)
- MAGA intellectual Darren Beattie will fill key State Department role (Marco Rubio’s going to do whatever Trump tells him to do.)
- Trump’s Pick for Federal Prosecutor in D.C. Gives Hacks a Bad Name (“Ed Martin is a former talk-show host who tweeted that ‘nothing out of hand’ happened on January 6. He’s a shocking choice, even by Trump standards.”)
- Thousands rally in downtown Los Angeles, shut down 101 Freeway to protest Trump’s immigration policies
- Video: Sen. Tim Kaine Says Trump Race Baited After Plane Crash to Get Everybody “Chas[ing] Down a Rabbit Hole” of “DEI Allegations with No Evidence” (Also: Trump tariffs will result in higher prices on energy, etc. in coming days.)
- Sen. Mark Warner warns of ramifications for Trump’s FBI and Justice Department firings
- Virginia General Assembly 2025 Session, Week 3: “Crossover” Is Coming Up! (Also, video of today’s Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee rollout of their budget)
- Virginia Democrats dump Youngkin’s proposed tax cuts in favor of onetime rebates
- Virginia General Assembly presents similar budget amendment drafts for fiscal 2026 (“The unusually aligned visions tout tax relief in one-time rebates and establishing a Gaming Commission.”)
- Virginia House, Senate budgets urge $1.1 billion in one-time tax rebates
- Virginia Democrats offer $1 billion in rebates via new budget
- Democrats ditch Youngkin’s tax plan, propose $1 billion in rebates instead
- Governor’s car tax rebate nixed for one-time refund for all taxpayers, Helene recovery aid decreased in General Assembly budget proposals
- Halftime in Richmond: Virginia lawmakers clash over taxes, health care, and gun control
- Bills to bring more solar to Virginia are moving this year
- Will Virginia legislators limit leaping electricity rates?
- Virginia Attorney General signs letter asking Costco to end its DEI policies (Let’s be clear: Republicans want an America where it’s ok to discriminate, behave badly, etc.)
- VA State Sen. Danica Roem: “We all want someone, somewhere, to effing do *something*… but, if we’re being honest, the only people coming to the rescue are us.” (“We have to step up and lead. It’s our moment.”)
- Full Virginia Senate to debate the state’s campaign finance laws today for first time in decades
- Joe Cobb talks about Roanoke’s diverse city council, his stance on the citywide rezoning and his first priorities in his new role
- CWG Live updates: Near 60 today but a possible midweek wintry mix
