by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, March 14.
- Trump’s EPA insists climate change isn’t a danger (At this point, anyone who denies or minimizes the climate crisis is either deranged or a fossil fuel industry puppet – or both.)
- Under Trump, the U.S. bleeds soft power overseas (BTW, it’s really amazing how much better Lee Hockstader is as a foreign correspondent than he was making Virginia political endorsements. He’s excellent at the former, was horrendously bad at the latter.)
- Putin’s stalling on the US plan for Ukraine looks like an attempt to play Trump
- Kremlin told U.S. it didn’t want Trump’s Ukraine-Russia envoy at peace talks
- Trump’s Ukraine Peace Strategy Put to Test After Putin Balks at Cease-Fire (Don’t ever forget, Trump promised: “They’re dying, Russians and Ukrainians. I want them to stop dying. And I’ll have that done — I’ll have that done in 24 hours” So much for that!)
- Americans worry Trump too closely aligned with Russia, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds
- Russia says more work to do on Ukraine deal after Putin meets Trump envoy (Russia only wants “peace” on its own, unacceptable, outrageous terms. F*** that.)
- Former Aide Reveals How Vladimir Putin Played Donald Trump Like A Fiddle On Phone Call
- As Trump thaws ties, Russia has a new public enemy number one: Britain
- Trump’s Ukraine Peace Strategy Put to Test After Putin Balks at Cease-Fire
- Putin doesn’t want a ceasefire. He wants Ukraine.
- Another Upside-Down Day of Trump Diplomacy (“The president threatened allies with an invasion and hit them with tariffs. For Putin, he had only praise.”)
- China Is ‘Laughing’ at US Trade Wars, EU Top Diplomat Says
- Ahead of Yoon impeachment ruling, South Korea’s acting president calls for calm
- China, Russia and Iran call for end to US sanctions on Iran and the restart of nuclear talks
- AP Exclusive: US and Israel look to Africa for resettling Palestinians uprooted from Gaza (Ethnic cleansing is a war crime.)
- Syria’s new leader signs constitution to keep his Islamist group in power for five years
- Portugal rules out buying F-35s because of Trump (“The country’s air force has recommended buying the jets, but the outgoing defense minister said ‘the predictability of our allies’ must be taken into account when making procurement decisions.” Why would ANY country buy US weapons systems anymore?)
- US influencer who snatched baby wombat has left Australia (“Anger erupted after Jones posted a video of her taking a baby wombat from its distraught mother.” Pure scum.)
- Trump’s Tariffs Have McKinley Turning in His Grave
- The Unraveling of Trump’s Plan to Detain Thousands of Migrants at Guantanamo
- Trump asks Supreme Court to allow birthright citizenship ban in some states
- Nearly 100 protesters arrested after sit-in at Trump Tower in NYC to demand release of Mahmoud Khalil
- Mahmoud Khalil Isn’t the Only Green-Card Holder Targeted for Arrest
- DHS official defends Mahmoud Khalil arrest, but offers few details on why it happened
- Dark economic clouds loom over Trump and the GOP
- Here’s why Trump wants the economy in chaos (“Argentina’s recession under Milei might be Trump’s inspiration.”)
- Wall Street is simply flabbergasted that Trump is wrecking the economy
- Stocks Tumble Into Correction as Investors Sour on Trump
- Trump asks Supreme Court to curb judges’ power to block policies nationwide (Republicans, including Trump, were 100% fine with this when Biden was president!)
- Judge rejects DOJ’s effort to expand reach of Trump’s Jan. 6 pardon (“U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich, a Trump appointee, called the Justice Department’s position irrational.”)
- Judge orders thousands of probationary employees fired by Trump be reinstated
- Thousands of fired federal workers must be rehired immediately, judge rules (“U.S. District Judge William Alsup described the mass firings as a “sham” strategy by the government’s central human resources office.”)
- A Federal Judge Roasts the DOJ’s “Sham” Excuses for Trump’s Mass Firings
- EPA Chief Lee Zeldin Is On a Mission to Let the Polluters Pollute
- Trump’s EPA Head Has Learned One Terrible Lesson From Elon Musk (“Lee Zeldin is taking a page out of the DOGE leader’s warped communications playbook.”)
- Trump Is Going After Big Law to Make it Difficult for His Political Targets to Get Effective Representation
- Trump is launching America’s version of the Cultural Revolution (“The way the White House has attacked research funding and free speech recalls China’s Cultural Revolution.”)
- Inside Elon Musk’s ‘Digital Coup’ (Is any of this remotely legal???)
- These Are the 10 DOGE Operatives Inside the Social Security Administration
- Musk Shares Claim That Stalin and Hitler Didn’t Murder Millions: ‘Public Sector Employees Did’
- Hundreds of federal offices could begin closing this summer at DOGE’s behest, internal records show
- The GOP’s Spending Bill Is a Nightmare. Democrats Might Help Pass It Anyway (“Chuck Schumer and Senate Dems are expected to help advance the GOP spending bill, which Republicans say would let Trump defund whatever projects he wants”)
- Should Democrats let the government shut down? (“The debate over a government shutdown isn’t so simple.”)
- Trump and Musk Would Love a Shutdown. We Must Not Give Them One. (This is the argument by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer. The problem for Schumer is, nobody in the grassroots, in the US House, or even a bunch of his fellow Democrats in the US Senate, are buying his argument.)
- House Dems go into “complete meltdown” as Schumer folds
- Ocasio-Cortez mobilizes Democrats against Schumer plan as colleagues privately urge her to consider primary challenge
- Schumer’s decision to back GOP funding bill stuns some of his colleagues
- Trump blesses Medicaid scrutiny to pay for mega-MAGA package
- The Testing of John Thune(“The low-drama South Dakotan has arrived at the apex of power in the Senate just as Donald Trump is exerting his own executive authority. Will Thune draw a line?”)
- Voters’ Ratings On Economy And Trump Dip, Trade And Russia (Should be 100% disapproval.)
- The Trump Resistance Won’t Be Televised—It’ll Be on MeidasTouch (“The progressive network is thriving in a second Trump term, recently dethroning Joe Rogan and becoming a destination for prominent Democrats. Still, the Meiselas brothers insist they’re not ‘cheerleading politicians’ but serving a ‘community of pro-democracy warriors.'”)
- The MAGA Assault on Democratic Fundraising: “They’ll Make It Hell” (“Party organizers worry that the GOP’s investigation into ActBlue is part of a broader crusade that could cripple grassroots contributions and scare off big-money benefactors from jumping into the fray.”)
- Focus group: Trump voters in Michigan have buyers’ remorse
- ‘Ruined this place’: chorus of boos against JD Vance at Washington concert (“Attendance of vice-president – who once disbelieved that people listened to classical music for pleasure – strikes sour note at Kennedy Center in light of Maga takeover”)
- JD Vance Suffers Embarrassing Flood of Boos at Kennedy Center Show
- GOP Rep Mercilessly Taunted in Another Wild Town Hall Clash
- North Carolina GOP town hall gets rowdy as attendees hurl scathing questions on Trump (Weak headline by the AP, as opposed to the one above, by the Daily Beast.)
- Paper-Thin Ethics (“The Los Angeles Times is facing ethical questions after one of its shows aired what looked like a news story—but was actually an undisclosed promotion for billionaire owner Patrick Soon-Shiong’s drug company.” Why would anyone subscribe to this right-wing rag anymore?)
- Democratic Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva Of Arizona Dies From Complications From Cancer Treatment (Rest in Peace – and Power)
- Democratic Rep. Raúl Grijalva of Arizona, champion of environment and progressivism, dies at age 77
- Arlington Cemetery website drops links for Black, Hispanic, and women veterans (“The website for Arlington National Cemetery “unpublished” links to lists of notable graves, walking tours and educational material pertaining to Black, Hispanic and women veterans, as well as some Medal of Honor recipients.”)
- Chesapeake Bay in the crosshairs as EPA strips federal water protections (Completely insane and evil.)
- Some Northern Virginia leaders say local economy is too dependent on federal government (Good luck fixing that NOW.)
- Video: Sen. Mark Warner Says He’s Heard From “Virginians of every stripe” That “you need to stand up against this…unlawful activity…random firing, terrorizing of our workforce” (“The CR in many ways would be an endorsement of the Trump/Musk agenda”)
- ‘We can’t let Putin declare a win,’ Sen. Warner says of ceasefire talks
- Video: Sen. Tim Kaine Says Senate Should “extend the current spending level for 30 days and then finish the budget,” NOT “drive looking in the rear-view mirror”
- As government shutdown looms, Sen. Tim Kaine says ‘there’s a better way’ to pass a funding bill
- Rep. Vindman condemns letter from U.S. attorney requesting business details
- Commentary: The speech Gov. Youngkin won’t give
- Early Trump administration actions impact Virginia’s faith communities
- Virginia leaders brace for impact of federal cuts (First article in a week at the VA Dogwood. Not that there’s much going on in Virginia and the country, lol!)
- Virginia AG Jason Miyares Refuses to Join 21 Other Attorneys General in Suing the Trump Administration for Illegally Attempting to Dismantle the Department of Education
- Audio: 2025 VA GOP Gubernatorial Candidate Dave LaRock Slams LG Winsome Earle-Sears for Inability to Unite the GOP and Having No Accomplishments (“So you say she has a record? I’ve never seen it.”)
- Jones and Taylor campaign for the chance to take on Miyares in November
- VPAP: Money in Virginia House of Delegates Elections Increased 10-Fold from 1996/97 to 2022/23; No Wonder, as VA Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell Says, “a lot of people sort of see Virginia as the Wild West” (“Political” and “single-issue” sources increased sharply from 1996/97 to 2022/23)
- Virginia Lottery set to lower disclosure amount for winners
- Many Virginia localities heavily rely on federal funding
- Richmond’s Leigh Street Armory history removed in national DEI purge (Adopting the right-wing’s framing on this by calling it a “DEI purge” is really bad. That’s NOT what’s going on, of course.)
- CWG Live updates: Skies slowly brighten today, then a warm weekend with Sunday storms
