by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Monday, February 10. Good advice from Robert Hubbell – “We are not sheep. Get louder. Take action. Create a shadow cabinet.” So far, at least, we’re not getting nearly enough of any of that, and way too much “business as usual” from Democrats in Congress, such as Democratic US Senators voting for many or most of Trump’s horrendous Cabinet picks. Unacceptable. And as Margaret Sullivan writes, “We need righteous indignation and truth-telling, not complacency: The tone, in media and politics, is far too restrained for our current emergency.” Bingo.
- Most countries miss UN deadline for new climate targets
- Analysis: 95% of countries miss UN deadline to submit 2035 climate pledges
- World leaders, CEOs and scientists from over 100 countries are meeting for a high-stakes AI summit
- Paris AI summit forecast: more talk than action
- 3 Baltic states disconnect from the Soviet-era grid to merge with the European energy system
- This Is Why Putin Will Never Win the War (“Ukraine has managed to sustain an armed force of about 1 million, and even those who are suffering from pain and mental trauma, who might seem like the most obvious people to give up, carry on.”
- Ukraine war live: Zelenskyy ready for talks if given ‘an understanding that US and Europe will not abandon us’
- Middle East crisis live: Gaza Hamas chief says Donald Trump’s plan for the territory is ‘doomed’
- Trump Has Given Netanyahu the Ultimate Gift
- Freed Israeli hostage was unaware wife and daughters killed, British family says
- Why more young men in Germany are turning to the far right (“The far right here and elsewhere in Europe attracts an increasing number of young people, particularly men.” Disastrous.)
- In Germany’s elections, a last, best chance to hold off extremists (“The centrist coalition likely to emerge will struggle to turn the country around.”)
- Gold hits record high as Trump announces tariffs on steel and aluminium
- Trump’s Next Round of Tariffs—25% on Steel and Aluminum—Won’t Be So Easily Averted
- Trump says he will announce 25% steel and aluminum tariffs Monday, and more import duties are coming (This is not going to be good. At all.)
- Trump Plans to Impose 25% Tariffs on Steel, Aluminum Imports
- Trump to impose 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum — here are the likely winners and losers (We’re all going to lose.)
- Trump’s ‘mass deportation’ TV reality show is both fake and incredibly dangerous
- Court Blocks U.S. From Sending 3 Venezuelan Migrants to Guantánamo
- Trump recognizes Feb. 9 as first ever ‘Gulf of America Day’ (We are living in a serious warped, dark, alternate timeline.)
- ‘Americans Can and Will Die from This’: USAID Worker Details Dangers, Chaos
- In Breaking USAID, the Trump Administration May Have Broken the Law
- Elon Musk’s gutting of US agencies is illegal, experts say. How do you muzzle Doge?
- Musk’s Threats Suddenly Darken as Trump Legal Losses Trigger MAGA Fury (“As MAGA begins flirting with defying the courts, prominent Trump opponent Norm Eisen explains why the legal resistance is beginning to have success, why that’s infuriating Musk, and what’s coming next.”)
- Legal experts warn of ‘constitutional crisis’ as Vance and Elon Musk question judges’ authority over Trump
- Vance and Musk question the authority of the courts as Trump’s agenda faces legal pushback (Extremely dangerous. Note that Biden was very angry with the Supreme Court and some far-right judges, disagreed with them, but obeyed their rulings anyway?)
- Vance Says ‘Judges Aren’t Allowed to Control’ Trump’s ‘Legitimate Power’ (And, of course, Vance wants to determine what Trump’s “legitimate power” is. That’s dictatorship, no checks/balances.)
- Musk calls for annual firing of judges after blocked DOGE access at Treasury
- Musk calls to impeach judge whose order blocks DOGE from Treasury systems access (Our system of government does not and CAN NOT work that way.)
- Trump Says Some Treasury Notes May Not Be Real (That type of talk is EXTREMELY dangerous.)
- Trump Suggests Musk Effort at Treasury Found Irregularities
- Trump says US may have less debt than thought because of fraud
- Musk charges on with new targets in sight and Trump’s blessing
- Trump Orders Treasury Secretary to Stop Minting Pennies (Pennies are, indeed, a complete waste of money, but the amount saved here will be miniscule.)
- NOAA told to search grant programs for climate-related terms (Bonkers.)
- Trump is making himself inescapable (Stark contrast to Biden, who would go for weeks/months on end with minimal interaction with the press. Maybe that was a big mistake?)
- Inside the House GOP clash over tax cuts
- Mike Johnson says Democrats ‘are flailing right now’ (Sure, although so are House Republicans.)
- Homeland Security Secretary Noem says DOGE team has access to agency data (No Democrat should have voted to confirm Noem.)
- More Than 800K Have Lost $2B on Trump’s Meme Coin
We are witnessing the rise of a new Republican ‘Southern Strategy’ (“How to make sense of the Trump administration’s attacks on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion”)- GOP senators terrified of crossing Trump, facing Musk-funded challengers
- The Senate gives Trump his Cabinet — and their compliance (“Unlike his first term, the president is getting little pushback from the chamber’s Republicans.”)
- Trump and his lawyers embrace the logic of dictatorship (“And they’re not even trying to hide it at this point.”)
- Democrats: This Is War. Isn’t It Time You Acted Like It? (“Trump is counting on his opposition’s deeply ingrained fear of being divisive to give him the room to break the country. So far he’s getting what he wants.” That includes Democratic US Senators voting to confirm Trump’s horrendous Cabinet picks because they believe that traditional norms, in which the new president gets to have his team around him – unless the people are completely incompetent or corrupt or whatever, as is the case with almost all of Trump’s Cabinet picks by the way…)
- “‘Women’ is a banned word”: Trump uses trans panic to strip rights from all women (“Under the guise of ‘protecting women,’ the military, schools and labs are forced to take women’s safety away”)
- More Solar and Battery Storage Were Added to Texas’ Grid Than Any Other Power Source Last Year
- After the Feds Kept Grizzlies on the Endangered Species List Last Month, State Leaders Try to Remove Them (Evil.)
- Video: Rep. Jennifer McClellan (D-VA04) Declares, Bluntly “Yeah this is a coup. And it is not a coup by Donald Trump, it is a coup by Russ Vought and Elon Musk.” (“We are in the backlash of all backlashes. But don’t get dispirited…” Actually, it kinda IS a coup by Trump – AND Musk AND Vought AND Vance AND…etc.)
- Health clinics left reeling after federal grant freeze
- Which Virginia Politicians and Reporters Are Active on Bluesky? Some Are, but Many (Particularly Republicans) Aren’t… (Time for everyone to crank it up over there…)
- State of Surveillance: Everyone’s watching (“Chances are you’ve been recorded on video thousands of times by dozens if not hundreds of law enforcement surveillance cameras. What information do they capture? Who can see it? What can it be used for?”)
- Va’s largest police association asks Youngkin not to veto collective bargaining (So, will Youngkin “back the blue,” as he always claims – falsely – that he does? Hmmm…)
- A study tried to measure the ‘civic health’ of communities. It ranked suburbs highest, rural areas lowest. (“Falls Church and Loudoun County rated as the ‘healthiest’ communities in terms of civic health. Buchanan, Lee and Dickenson counties rated lowest.” Not at all surprising; in fact, this seems to be exactly what you’d expect.)
- Will Virginia fund college food pantries or leave students struggling?
- Facing data center sprawl and an energy crisis, Virginia lawmakers leap into action. Just kidding.
- Amtrak Virginia had its highest ridership ever last year (“Just under 1.4 million passengers traveled on the VPRA’s four Amtrak routes in 2024, a 4.3% increase over the previous year — and a 45% increase over its pre-pandemic record set in 2019, according to the agency.”)
- Dan Helmer sues for $15 million over sexual assault allegations (Blue Virginia, Black Virginia, etc. reported on this story on February 1; gotta love how the Virginia Mercury gives any credit to us for breaking the story!)
- CWG Live updates: Calm today before snowstorm starts Tuesday (“Three to 6 inches of snow could fall Tuesday into Wednesday.”)
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