by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Saturday, February 8. Continued crazy times in America…not sure where it’s heading, exactly, but doesn’t seem good at all if you like things such as democracy, rule of law, protection of human rights, a professional civil service, etc.
- ‘Backsliding’: most countries to miss vital climate deadline as Cop30 nears (As a whole, humanity is failing, badly.)
- Ultra-efficient AI won’t solve data centers’ climate problem. This might. (“Over the course of two days, the green AI cut carbon emissions 80 percent compared with the standard version — and its scores on image recognition tests were only 3 percent worse. He ran a similar test using a language model last year and found that the green version cut carbon emissions 40 percent with no difference in performance.”)
- Trump Is Changing the World Order With Unprecedented Speed (“Global leaders, chief executives and lawmakers are navigating whipsaw changes touching healthcare, schools and the global supply chain” The fact that it’s this easy to do really makes one wonder whether all the systems, norms, etc. put in place over the decades were ever truly stable, solid, etc.)
- American Personnel Abroad Face Chaos and Confusion as USAID Shuts Down
- ‘We Are in Disbelief’: Africa Reels as U.S. Aid Agency Is Dismantled
- U.S. Aid Agency’s Climate Programs Aimed to Curb Migration. Now They’re Gone.
- Exclusive: Zelenskiy says ‘Let’s do a deal’, offering Trump mineral partnership, seeking security
- Kash Patel Took $25,000 From Russia-Linked Firm to Appear on an Anti-FBI TV Series
- Kash Patel was paid by Russian filmmaker with Kremlin ties, documents show
- Trump’s FBI Pick Kash Patel Took Up to $5M in Stock From Chinese Ecommerce Giant Shein
- Trump and Japanese PM Ishiba talk tariffs and vow to stand against Chinese ‘aggression’ (“Leaders praise each other at White House but president warns Japan could face tariffs if it doesn’t cut US trade deficit to zero”)
- Trump Opens Door for New Nippon Steel Deal to Move Forward (“Trump said he supported what he described as an emerging agreement that would allow Nippon Steel to invest in—but not fully own—U.S. Steel.”)
- ‘Reciprocal’ tariffs on every country to be announced next week, Trump says
- Trump Says He Plans Reciprocal Tariffs, Will Affect ‘Everyone’
- Why Trump’s plan to “clean out” Gaza actually matters (“People in the Middle East aren’t laughing at the president’s proposal.”)
- Israeli Hostages Freed by Hamas Appear Frail After Long Captivity
- Hamas releases 3 more Israeli hostages for dozens of Palestinian prisoners under Gaza ceasefire
- State Department lays out plans for $7 billion-plus arms sale to Israel as Netanyahu visits DC
- Trump halts aid to South Africa, claiming discrimination against Afrikaners (Sounds like something Musk would want.)
- Justin Trudeau reportedly says Trump’s talk of making Canada a US state is ‘a real thing’ (Makes you wonder if Canada is thinking about building nuclear weapons to defend itself.)
- Trump is ‘angry’ that deportation numbers are not higher
- Trump administration preparing to restart immigrant family detention
- US economy shows steady job growth in January amid Biden-Trump transition
- US job growth slows in January; unemployment rate at 4.0%
- The Mood of the American Consumer is Souring (“Tariff threats, market turbulence causing jitters early in Trump’s second term”)
- Inflation fears rise to highest since Nov. 2023 as consumer sentiment hits 7-month low
- Americans Are Trapped in an Algorithmic Cage (“The private companies in control of social-media networks possess an unprecedented ability to manipulate and control the populace.”)
- ‘In a real sense, US democracy has died’: how Trump is emulating Hungary’s Orbán (“Trump has moved to gut the federal government, fire critics and reward allies – a path similar to ‘would-be dictators’ like Orbán, experts say”)
- A Time for Saying No (“Dreaming of a bright future is tomorrow’s task. Now is a time for opposition.”)
- Will a Time Magazine Cover Drive a Wedge Between Trump and Musk?
- It’s Clear What’s Driving Trump’s Presidency Now—or Rather, Who Is
- Is Donald Trump Afraid of Elon Musk? (“The president has long operated without anything resembling worry when it comes to appointments or executive action, but as his most powerful—and richest—political ally chainsaws his way through the federal government, some observers wonder if Trump might be tasting his own medicine.”)
- 19 states sue Trump, Treasury to halt DOGE access
- Judge Halts Access to Treasury Payment Systems by Elon Musk’s Team
- A US Treasury Threat Intelligence Analysis Designates DOGE Staff as ‘Insider Threat’
- Treasury elevates Musk ally to lead government payment system
- Federal judge blocks Musk’s DOGE from access to Treasury Department material
- Elon Musk’s DOGE Is Expected to Examine Another Treasury System Next Week
- Lawmakers flooded with calls about Elon Musk: ‘It is a deluge on DOGE’
- Trump Calls for Rehiring of DOGE Staffer Who Resigned Over Racist Posts (“Employee has links to a deleted social-media account that advocated for racism and eugenics”)
- The Now Deleted Tweets Of DOGE Staffer Gavin Kliger
- Staffer with Elon Musk’s DOGE amplified white supremacists online
- Teen on Musk’s DOGE Team Graduated from ‘The Com’ (“Wired reported this week that a 19-year-old working for Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was given access to sensitive US government systems even though his past association with cybercrime communities”)
- Musk’s DOGE Teen Was Fired By Cybersecurity Firm for Leaking Company Secrets
- The Elite Lawyers Working for Elon Musk’s DOGE Include Former Supreme Court Clerks
- Exclusive: Oversight Dems open probe into Trump’s USAID purge
- Judge Pauses Elements of Trump Plan to Shut Down U.S.A.I.D.
- Falsehoods Fuel the Right-Wing Crusade Against U.S.A.I.D.
- Trump fires archivist of the United States, official who oversees government records (“President Trump has fired Archivist of the United States Colleen J. Shogan, the government official responsible for preserving and providing access to government records.” Not good at all.)
- Judge declines to block Elon Musk’s DOGE from Labor Department systems (George W. Bush-appointed judge.)
- Trump revokes Biden’s security clearance: ‘Joe, you’re fired’
- Trump says he’s ending Biden’s classified intelligence briefings in payback move (There’s no comparison between the two situations, of course, but AP runs with “payback move” as their framing. Our media is so f’ed up.)
- Trump Takes Over the Kennedy Center (“The president intends to replace members of the institution’s board as he adopts a more aggressive approach toward the arts.”)
- Donald Trump Says He’s Firing Kennedy Center Board Members, Naming Himself Chairman
- Trump Says He Will Dismiss Kennedy Center Board Members and Install Himself as Chair (So much for the Kennedy Center. Ugh.)
- Senate Republicans release budget blueprint ahead of Wednesday markup
- They still want ‘one big, beautiful bill.’ They’re nowhere close.
- Here’s What Senate Democrats Should Be Doing to Fight Trump (“Senate rules were explicitly designed to protect the minority. Democrats should exploit them mercilessly to slow Trump and Musk before they destroy the country.”)
- Trump’s New Line of Attack Against the Media Gains Momentum (VERY dangerous. Wake up, everybody!)
- Trump and Musk Attack Journalists by Name in Social Media Posts (Previous presidents did NOT do this, for good reason!)
- A sample of the government webpages Trump doesn’t want you to see
- Project 2025 laid the foundation for Trump using DEI to target USAID staff and level a broader attack on workers
- Why Are Institutions Bowing to Trump’s Illegal Anti-Trans Orders? (“From the NCAA to hospitals and universities, ‘preemptive obedience’ is the new norm.”)
- Trump’s second term: Early ratings and expectations (“Overall, 47% of U.S. adults approve of how Trump is handling his job as president, while 51% say they disapprove. And most of these views are strongly held: 37% strongly approve of his performance, while 40% strongly disapprove.”)
- Exclusive: Jewish groups rebuke Trump on immigration, Musk moves
- What does Elon Musk believe? (“The man given free rein by Trump to crusade against the federal government supported Democrats until 2022. But some of Musk’s longstanding positions lead a straight line to his far-right sympathies”)
- Why Is Elon Musk So Hell-Bent on Bulldozing the Government? (“Elon believes he should be emperor of the world”)
- Elon Musk’s journey from climate champion to backing EV-bashing Trump (“Musk believes Tesla’s rivals are more vulnerable to Trump’s moves against electric vehicles”)
- Former GOP Director Of FBI, CIA Urges Chuck Grassley To Stop Kash Patel’s Nomination
- Trump Signs Order to Kill Federal Agency Investigating Tesla (Well there you go…)
- Did Trump Quietly Kill a Sensitive Pentagon Probe into Elon Musk? (“The New York Times revealed last year that Musk and SpaceX failed to meet federal reporting requirements for Pentagon contractors. No one has asked: What’s going on with that today?”)
- North Carolina Judge Rejects GOP State Supreme Court Candidate’s Bid To Throw Out 60K Ballots (“The Court concludes that the decision of the North Carolina State Board of Elections should be, and hereby is, affirmed”)
- Senators Mark Warner, Tim Kaine Join Democratic Colleagues in Demanding the Veterans Administration Defend Veterans’ Private Information From Elon Musk’s DOGE
- Video: On MSNBC, 2025 VA Governor Candidate Abigail Spanberger Says the “implications of this chaos coming out of the White House…[are] absolutely dire” for Virginia and the Entire County (And “the idea that we would have…a governor who’s standing by as [the president] says we’re going to push them out of the workforce…”)
- Spanberger: VHSL, NCAA should set policy on transgender athletes
- Republicans retool their ‘parents’ rights’ playbook for the Virginia governor’s race (“Abigail Spanberger is a proud public school mom with three daughters in Virginia public schools — one in elementary school, one in middle school, and one in high school. She believes that parents not only have the right to be involved in their children’s education, but that their involvement is essential to their children’s success and the success of their larger school community”)
- Musk, Trump funding chaos force Virginia community health centers to close
- Virginia weighs response to potential Medicaid rollbacks affecting 630,000
- VHSL will continue to allow trans athletes to compete for Virginia public schools
- Virginia legislature looks to further embrace the blockchain
- Virginia colleges and universities may be forced to livestream meetings
- House reinstates one Youngkin appointee removed by P&E committee (“House Democrats did cede the battle on an appointment that the Privileges and Elections Committee previously moved to block last week by reinstating Dominion Energy employee and Republican Party State Central Committee member David Botkins. He will remain in his position on the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation Board of Trustees.”)
- Zoning applications would add data centers in Chesterfield
- Imprisoned neofascist indicted in new child sex abuse case (“Kaleb Merritt was previously found guilty of abducting, abusing Henry County minors.” Incredibly evil.)
- Fairfax County elementary school teacher accused of sexually assaulting 2 students (Evil.)
- CWG Live updates: Wintry mix with slick spots today. Some snow likely on Tuesday. (“Accumulations today are minor but could cause some travel trouble.”)
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