Friday News: “Trump’s Policies Have Shaken a Once-Solid Economic Outlook”; American Jewish Committee Says Trump’s Use of Word “Globalists” Is “a coded word for Jews”; “Did Trump just rein Elon in?”; People Going Silent “a sign that we’ve crossed the line into some form of authoritarianism”

by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, March 7.

• Climate and environment updates: Global sea ice drops to lowest level on record (“The Arctic region is warming much faster than the global average.” Disastrous.)
• US withdraws from climate agreement that helps developing nations, South Africa says (Trump is evil.)
• The high costs of Trump upending the world order (“The decline of American influence is a gift to Russia and China.”)
• Trump dreams of a Maga empire – but he’s more likely to leave us a nuclear hellscape (“The US president’s new imperialism could make real the apocalyptic world depicted by cold war filmmakers”)
• State Dept. Plans to Close Diplomatic Missions and Fire Employees Overseas
• ‘Watershed moment’: EU leaders agree plan for huge rise in defence spending (“Leaders endorse Ursula von der Leyen proposal as French president calls Vladimir Putin ‘an imperialist who seeks to rewrite history’”)
• EU leaders agree on defence surge, support Zelenskiy after US aid freeze
• Trump casts doubt on NATO solidarity, despite it aiding the US after Sept. 11 (Trump is a complete ignoramus, also an imbecile and a Putin puppet. Other than that, he totally rocks! LOL)
• Europe’s Defenses Risk Faltering Within Weeks Without US Support
• Ukraine opposition leaders confirm talks with US but deny plotting to oust Zelenskyy
• Zelensky repeats call for sea and air truce after ‘massive’ Russian attack
• UK to continue to supply intelligence to Ukraine after US cutoff (“Britain will also continue to supply analysis of raw data but will not pass on shared US information, sources say”)
• What’s Up with Trump and Ukrainian Refugees?
• Republicans press Trump to resume military, intelligence aid to Ukraine
• Trump has sledgehammered Zelensky; it’s time to put it to Putin (“If Trump really wants peace, he has to apply sticks and carrots to both sides.”)
• The right’s decade-long lurch toward Vladimir Putin’s Russia (No American should support MAGA, just on this alone.)
• Scoop: Israel objected to secret U.S.-Hamas talks in tense call
• Clashes in Syria’s coastal region between government forces and Assad loyalists kill more than 70 (“Government forces sent major reinforcements overnight to the cities of Latakia and Tartus as well as nearby towns and villages that are the heartland of the minority Alawite sect and a base of support for Assad, to try to get the situation under control, state media reported.”)
• As Ebola Spreads in Uganda, Trump Aid Freeze Hinders Effort to Contain It, U.S. Officials Fear
• Evidence of torture found as detention centre and mass grave discovered outside Khartoum (Humanity at its absolute worst.)
• As US and Canada trade barbs, it’s so far so good for Mexico’s Sheinbaum
• What’s Really Behind Trump’s Tariffs? (“Three theories to explain the method to Trump’s tariff madness”)
• Trump’s latest tariff twist: A break for Mexico and Canada
• Canada, the Northern Outpost of Sanity (“Justin Trudeau, in his final week as Prime Minister, tells Donald Trump to shove it.”)
• How Trump’s ‘51st State’ Canada Talk Came to Be Seen as Deadly Serious
• Tariffs by Whim Keep Allies Off Balance, but Do the Same to Markets
• Stocks Tumble as Trump Pauses Mexico and Canada Tariffs Again
• Trump blames ‘globalists’ for stock market sell-off (“The word has drawn condemnation from critics who say it is linked to antisemitic conspiracy theories about Jewish people. According to the American Jewish Committee, the term ‘globalist’ is used today as ‘a coded word for Jews who are seen as international elites conspiring to weaken or dismantle ‘Western’ society using their international connections and control over big corporations.'”)
• Trump’s Policies Have Shaken a Once-Solid Economic Outlook
• Treasury Secretary Bessent says the American dream is not about ‘access to cheap goods’ (Actually, yes it is!)
• The pivotal February jobs report is out Friday. Here’s what to expect
• Blistering cuts in Washington threaten to shake economy ahead of February jobs report
• RFK Jr. warns vaccinating poultry for bird flu could backfire (RFK Jr. is an anti-vaxxer who shouldn’t hold any position of authority – anywhere, ever.)
• Trump’s foreign aid demolition hits major Christian charities
• Trump administration must pay debts to USAID partners by Monday, judge rules
• Judge Blocks Trump Administration’s Funding Freeze Indefinitely
• Judge Reinstates Fired NLRB Member, Rejecting ‘A Presidency That Is Untouchable By The Law’
• Court rules Trump’s firing of labor board official illegal, saying president is not a king
• MAGA world turns against Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett (Because she voted to uphold the constitution and not con
  done Trump’s lawlessness, authoritarianism, etc.)
• Justice Amy Coney Barrett ignites anger on the right after ruling against Trump
• The One Question That Really Matters: If Trump Defies the Courts, Then What?
• What Trump and Musk Are Really Doing to This Country (“There’s a term for this. It’s ungoverning.”)
• Trump layoffs have hollowed out key weather monitoring staff amid storm season (“The National Weather Service has lost about 10% of its staff, hitting offices prone to severe weather hardest” Bonkers.)
• Trump puts new limits on Elon Musk
• Donald Trump Puts DOGE On A Leash
• Did Trump just rein Elon in? (“The DOGE may have been leashed, for now. Check back in a week or two.”)
• The Trump revolution is being slowed by its own political debris field
• IKEA beds? Dressers? Inside the ‘exceedingly odd’ DOGE office setup
• Elon Musk Tells Republican Lawmakers He’s Not To Blame For Federal Firings
• Elon Musk’s DOGE Sued After Using U.S. Marshals to Take Over Agency
• Marshals Escort DOGE Team Into African Aid Agency (The Marshals should have refused to do that, as it’s unconstitutional and illegal.)
• Musk’s DOGE Goons in Tense Standoff Video Unmasked
• ‘People Are Going Silent’: Fearing Retribution, Trump Critics Muzzle Themselves (“‘When you see important societal actors — be it university presidents, media outlets, C.E.O.s, mayors, governors — changing their behavior in order to avoid the wrath of the government, that’s a sign that we’ve crossed the line into some form of authoritarianism,’ said Steven Levitsky, a professor of government at Harvard and the co-author of the influential 2018 book ‘How Democracies Die.'”)
• The Right’s Trump Derangement Syndrome
• Trump’s FDA pick says he’ll review whether abortion pill must be dispensed in person again (Dr. Marty Makary, of course, was in the Youngkin administration as chair of Youngkin’s coronavirus advisory team.)
• National Parks Had a Record Year. Trump Officials Appear to Want It Kept Quiet.
• Next Up for Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s Wood Chipper: The Department of Education
• Trump wants to dismantle the Education Department. Here’s what it does
• Dismantling of Education Department puts future of trillions of dollars in student loans in question
• Hegseth’s Frenzied DEI Purge Targets ‘Gay’ Plane
• War heroes and military firsts are among 26,000 images flagged for removal in Pentagon’s DEI purge (These Trump people are INSANE.)
• Pentagon Cuts Threaten Programs That Secure Loose Nukes and Weapons of Mass Destruction
• CBO contradicts Fox pundits, finding GOP budget requires slashing Medicaid to cover tax cuts for the rich
• House Republicans could face a major obstacle if they cut Medicaid: Their own districts’ health needs
• A Sensitive Complex Housing a CIA Facility Was on GSA’s List of US Properties for Sale
• Social Security Workers Aren’t Allowed to Read This Story
• No, ‘playing dead’ is the last thing Democrats should be doing (“Party insiders are trying to make the case for doing nothing against Trump. That’s a colossal mistake” Agreed 100% – James Carville is totally wrong.)
• Senate Democrats’ impending choice: Shutdown or surrender
• House Republican plots to kick dozens of Democrats off panels (Andy Ogles is an insane, far-right-extremist douchebag.)
• CBS moves to dismiss $20 billion Trump lawsuit
• These 10 House Democrats Voted With the Republicans to Censure Rep. Al Green for Interrupting Trump
• Tesla’s Fortunes Fall as Musk Rises in Trump World
• Breakup of SpaceX’s Starship Rocket Disrupts Florida Airports (Musk is a disaster in every way.)
• Newsom condemned for ‘throwing trans people under bus’ after sports comment (The big question is, why was Newsom chatting happily with a white supremacist, COVID and climate denier, all-around far-right extremist, etc? That should immediately eliminate Newsom from consideration for any future Democratic nomination, including for president!)
• Second death reported in growing measles outbreak
• Trump Administration Forces Maine Parents To Visit Social Security Offices To Register Newborns
• The November Election That Still Hasn’t Been Certified (“North Carolinians voted in a state-supreme-court election four months ago. What’s going on?”)
• Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA11) and More Than 100 House Democrats Demand OPM Reinstate All Unlawfully Fired Federal Employees
• Video: Fmr. Rep. Denver Riggleman (R-VA05) Defends Al Green, Says Dems Should Have Stood Up for Him Instead of “sitting down looking slack jawed” (Riggleman also says media needs to follow the money and “secondary actors” when it comes to DOGE)
• Video: Rep. Eugene Vindman (D-VA07) First 45 Days of Trump Administration Have “Truly Been an Abomination”; Sees “Rapid Retreat” from the American Dream (Also notes that he had 7,000 on his tele-townhall last night, an indication “the American people are waking up to this threat”)
• Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA08) On Trump Tariff Chaos: “Trump is jerking around the entire continent of North America right now; it’s stupid and it has to stop.”
• Hundreds of Virginia workers file UI claims tied to federal jobs (“A UVA analysis says cutting 10% of federal jobs would wipe out the state’s projected 2025 job growth.”)
• The rush is on: Virginia candidates collect signatures to get on primary ballot (“The deadline to submit signatures to the Department of Elections is April 3rd” – just 27 days to go!)
• A bipartisan group of General Assembly members introduced about 20 bills to deal with data centers. Only 4 survived. (“The bills were meant to address issues including energy and water consumption, land use and location of data centers.” As Sen. Russet Perry correctly puts it, “We didn’t do nearly enough”))
• Trump’s ‘shock and awe’ agenda leaves Virginia businesses scrambling
• Control of the House of Delegates could come down to Prince George County
• Pope & Schapiro: Law & order, ICE and the campaigns
• As Virginia’s 2025 legislative session concludes, key bills await Youngkin’s approval
• VDOT bets on AI to cut costs and keep Virginia roads smooth
• Invasive species bills aim to close retail gap, educate consumers
• Commentary: With Clean Slate Law, Virginians finally get a second chance
• Meet the state legislator who wants to make daylight saving time permanent (That would mean, of course, that in the depths of winter, the sun wouldn’t rise until after 8 am. Crazy.)
• Veterans raise concerns that VA cuts will hurt their health care (“Local VA officials wouldn’t say how many people were fired from the Salem VA as part of the Trump administration’s sweeping plan to cut more than 80,000 jobs from the Department of Veterans Affairs.”)
• Commentary: Black university presidents face a reckoning in Virginia
• Former Richmond Mayor Stoney has declined multiple CBS 6 requests for interviews after water crisis
• Republicans fight to restore party-run primaries, challenge new state law (“GOP lawsuit by the 6th District seeks to overturn legislation making state-run primaries the only viable option, citing party rights concerns.”)
• VMI leader blames ‘bias’ and ‘ideology’ for vote not to extend contract (Bingo. By Youngkin’s appointees.)
• ‘Partisan choice’: VMI superintendent responds after vote not to extend contract (It wasn’t generically “partisan,” of course, it was right wingers’ assault on diversity, equity and inclusion.)
• The local library resisted a takeover. So the county axed its budget. (“The Samuels Public Library survived an effort to suppress LGBTQ-themed books in 2023, but Warren County supervisors have continued to try and seize control.”)
• Richmond School Board OKs $445.7M budget that prioritizes teacher pay raises, new construction
• Colonial Heights nursing home was understaffed and infested, investigation determines (“Two months after authorities arrested 18 staffers at the Colonial Heights Rehabilitation and Nursing Center, the health department says the facility needs significant corrections.”)
• FOIA Friday: Virginia Health Department withheld records on Richmond water crisis
• Armed Forces Brewing Company ceasing Norfolk operations (“Both the taproom and brewing facility have closed, and the company plans to relocate to “a more pro-small business social and economic climate,” according to CEO Alan Beal.” What’s that supposed to mean?)
• CWG Live updates: Milder but still gusty today and Saturday, with warmth ahead next week