| Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... |
by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Saturday, March 22.
- Author and Activist Bill McKibben on Climate Progress in the Age of Trump 2.0 (“The administration is ‘rejecting flat-out the science,’ he says, ‘about the single most dangerous thing that’s ever happened.'”)
- WHO calls for help on TB outbreak
- Why Trump is struggling to secure fast ceasefire in Ukraine (“Trump said he would end the war in Ukraine in 24 hours. The reality is proving far more difficult.”)
- For Vladimir Putin, Russia’s position in the world is personal. Here’s what he really wants (“…more than anything, he wants to see a new global order — and he wants Russia to play the starring role in it…Putin’s overwhelming desire is to return Russia to the global stage with a bang, she suggests – by creating a wedge between Europe and the US and teaming up with the West’s other adversaries.”)
- Putin prayed for Trump after assassination attempt, top envoy says (Of course Putin’s praying for Trump.)
- As Russia retakes Kursk, Ukrainians ask, ‘Was it worth it?’ (“Citizens are questioning the value of Ukraine’s risky incursion into Kursk, which was meant to put pressure on Moscow and divert Russian forces from other fronts.”)
- Why Would a Man with a Couple Billion Dollars Worth of Deals with China Receive a Briefing on China? (Because…kleptocracy.)
- China Explores Limiting Own Exports to Mollify Trump
- Rocket Fire From Lebanon Disrupts Months of Calm in Israel’s North
- Israeli forces push deeper into Gaza and destroy its only cancer hospital
- Thousands rally in Istanbul as Erdogan issues warning against protests over mayor’s arrest
- Denmark and Finland urge caution for US-bound transgender people
- Heathrow resumes operations, but disruptions could go on for days
- A federal lawsuit says the Trump administration has unlawfully shuttered the Voice of America
- Voice of America staff sue Trump administration for shutting down network
- Trump makes rare admission of Musk’s conflicts of interest after Pentagon visit (“President says plans for potential war with China would not be shared with billionaire due to his business interests”)
- US tourism industry faces drop-off as immigration agenda deters travellers
- Trump floats sending Americans to foreign prisons. Civil rights groups say that would be illegal. (“Trump suggested on Truth Social that people charged with attacking Tesla could serve time in “lovely” prisons in El Salvador.”)
- This Is Fascism (“What Trump’s affection for El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele reveals about the fallen state of American democracy.”)
- U.S. to revoke legal status of more than a half-million migrants, urges them to self deport (Cruel, stupid, counterproductive, etc.)
- Trump revokes legal status for 530,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans
- Trump says he didn’t sign proclamation invoking Alien Enemies Act
- Judge vows to determine if Trump administration violated his order on deportation flights
- Judge calls Trump’s use of Alien Enemies Act ‘problematic and concerning’
- Judge Appears Skeptical of Trump’s Use of Wartime Law to Deport Venezuelans
- Trump administration cuts legal help for migrant children traveling alone
- Trump’s Deportations Rely on Tattoos—It’s Bullshit. (“It turns out tattoos inspired by a reggaeton artist who endorsed Trump are also a marker of gang involvement.”)
- The Media Is Responding to Trump With a Huge Face-Plant (“The press’s pathological need to normalize autocratic misrule is paving the road to ruin.”)
- Congress needs a Supreme Court jolt to rein in a rampant presidency
- Trump v. Boasberg: If This Isn’t a Constitutional Crisis, What Is? (“Attorney General Pam Bondi has joined the president’s campaign to get the judge impeached. This is attempted dictatorship.”)
- Federal judge pushes back on acting Social Security head over threat to close agency
- Big Law’s Big Capitulation (“In the Trump era, the lawyers have chosen to pay, not fight, the mob boss.”)
- ‘Disgusted’ and ‘Betrayed’—Legal World Shaken by Trump’s Extortion (“The decision by Paul Weiss to settle with the president has sent shockwaves through the firm and the broader legal community.”)
- Legal community shaken by a powerful law firm’s decision to give in to Trump’s demands
- Trump And A Powerhouse Law Firm Are Telling Different Stories About Their Shocking Agreement (“Neither Paul Weiss nor the White House immediately responded to questions about the multiple discrepancies.”)
- DOJ moves to boot federal judge from Perkins Coie case
- DHS shuts down internal watchdog agencies that advocated for immigrants (Completely f’ed up. Trump wants to take America back to pre-Civil Rights Movement days.)
- Trump Fires Nearly the Entire Civil Rights Branch of D.H.S.
- Pentagon Anti-DEI Purge Leads To More Erasure Of Our Shared History
- Williams: The war on DEI leaves history MIA
- The Progressive Legal Group That Keeps Taking On Trump In The Courts – And Winning (“Democracy Forward has emerged as a leading legal organization that’s been slowing, if not stopping, some of Trump’s recklessness.”)
- How DOGE is making government almost comically inefficient
- Commerce secretary: No one but ‘fraudsters’ would complain about missed Social Security check (This guy sounds completely unhinged.)
- Seniors won’t complain if they miss a Social Security check, Lutnick says (In fact, many Seniors live off their Social Security checks and would absolutely be concerned/upset/etc. if they didn’t get one!)
- Billionaire Commerce Secretary Says Seniors Wouldn’t Mind Missing Social Security Checks
- Trump says student loans moving to SBA, ‘special needs’ to HHS
- Trump announces $20 billion contract with Boeing for new F-47 fighter jet. What to know.
- Trump revokes access to classified material for Kamala Harris, Hillary Clinton and Biden officials (Obnoxious.)
- “They hate us”: Democrats confront their own Tea Party (Comparisons to the “Tea Party” are mostly absurd – these are very, VERY different situations, movements, etc.)
- Chuck Schumer Made the Right Call the Wrong Way (“The minority leader may have botched the politics of what was ultimately a sound decision. “A lot of people are pissed off,” one Senate Democratic insider says.”)
- Trump can’t fix American universities by breaking them (“The administration’s attack on academia is vindictive and counterproductive.”)
- Under threat from Trump, Columbia University agrees to policy changes (Ominous.)
- Columbia Yields to Trump in Battle Over Federal Funding
- Decades Ago, Columbia Refused to Pay Trump $400 Million (“Some former university officials are quietly wondering whether the ultimately unsuccessful property transaction sowed the seeds of Mr. Trump’s current focus on Columbia. His administration has demanded that the university turn over vast control of its policies and even curricular decisions in its effort to quell antisemitism on campus. It has also canceled federal grants and contracts at Columbia — valued at $400 million.”)
- Democratic Senators Team Up With MAGA To Hand Trump A Censorship Machine
- Leakers to Musk: We’re ‘not Elon’s servants’
- Trump downplays Jan. 6 by suggesting Tesla arson attacks are more serious (In fact, Jan. 6 was one of the most serious days in American history. Random vandalism of Teslas is like 0.0001% as serious.)
- Elon Musk Is the One Who Set Tesla on Fire (“Protesters are the least of this company’s problems.”)
- Elon Musk tells Tesla employees ‘hang onto your stock,’ urges vandals to ‘stop being psycho’
- No evidence of coordinated vandalism of Teslas despite Musk and Trump claims
- Two Utah GOP representatives hosted a town hall. They were met with shouts of ‘shame’ and ‘do your job.’
- ‘Where is Congress?’ Sen. Chuck Grassley town hall in Iowa gets heated quickly
- Musk Political Group Takes on Local Races and New Targets
- Trump Endorses Brad Schimel in Wisconsin Supreme Court Race
- Rep. Gerry Connolly, Rep. Bennie Thompson Launch Investigation into DHS’s $200 Million Bizarre “Thank You Trump” Ad Campaign Awarded to Cronies (Among other problems, “DHS appears to have evaded the competitive bidding process that ensures taxpayer dollars are spent responsibly…”)
- Video of Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA10)’s “PACKED” Warrenton Town Hall in a “conservative part of northern Virginia” (Fauquier County went 60% for Trump in 2024 and 65.5% for Youngkin in 2021)
- ‘We need fighters’: Voters at town hall share frustrations, demand action from Democrats (This is about Rep. Suhas Subramanyman’s VA10 town hall the other day)
- Video: In New Ad, 2025 VA GOP Gubernatorial Candidate Dave LaRock Rips LG Winsome Earle-Sears as Anti-Trump, Her Campaign “marred by internal chaos and mismanagement, questioning her ability to lead” (“And with all the advantages, recent polls show her trailing Democrat Abigail Spanberger by double digits.”)
- Youngkin signs bipartisan law banning synthetic dyes in school meals (Of course, the biggest food-related threats to kids’ health stem from excess calories, sugar, sodium, fat, etc. Maybe eliminate french fries, hamburgers, cookies, soda, items high in saturated fat and other “junk food” from school meals?)
- Parents of Virginia special needs students fear future without U. S. Dept. of Education (“Who’s going to step in and protect the rights of those who don’t have a champion?”)
- Ex-Virginia Beach prosecutor pleads guilty to stealing crime victim funds to cover gambling debts
- Former Culpeper Co. sheriff sentenced to 10 years on federal bribery charges (“Former Culpeper County, Virginia, Sheriff Scott Jenkins was sentenced to 10 years in prison Friday on multiple bribery charges.”)
- U-Va. releases reports on 2022 shooting, but many details remain shielded (“The reports on the University of Virginia shooting highlight the need for better emergency response and communication between law enforcement agencies.”)
- UVa releases review of 2022 shooting with pages and pages of redactions
- VCU eliminates DEI office: ‘Our mission does not change’
- Repairs to section of U.S. 58 destroyed by Hurricane Helene are expected to be completed 6 months ahead of schedule
- Mason District (Fairfax County) Supervisor Andres Jimenez – “Empowering Women, Empowering Communities: A Path to Economic Equity” (“By creating a more equitable economy, we are building a stronger, more inclusive Fairfax County for everyone.”)
- First on WTOP: Va. Supreme Court reverses conviction of man serving 2 life sentences for 2018 Loudoun murders
- Hybrid fire ants continue to spread in Southwest Virginia
- CWG Live updates: Seesaw temperatures continue with warmth today and a cooler Sunday
