by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, April 25.
- Rubio eliminates office that oversees climate talks (Again, Rubio was confirmed 99-0. WTF???)
- Putin Keeps Pummeling Ukraine, Convinced Trump Is on His Side
- Exclusive: Documents show differences over US peace drive for Ukraine (Why call it a “peace drive,” thereby accepting the Trump administration’s b.s. framing? The media is so credulous and pathetic.)
- Trump Tells Putin to ‘STOP!’ After Deadly Russian Attack on Kyiv
- A frustrated Trump privately concedes ending the Ukraine war has been harder than he thought
- Trump Says Russia’s Concession In Ukraine Talks Is To Not Take ‘The Whole Country’ (Trump is disgracing the United States for potentially generations to come…)
- Trump envoy in Moscow to meet Putin for Ukraine peace talks as Russian general killed in car bomb
- Ukraine may have to give up land for peace – Kyiv Mayor Klitschko (“One of the scenarios is… to give up territory. It’s not fair. But for the peace, temporary peace, maybe it can be a solution, temporary”)
- Trump’s tepid words illustrate one-sided Ukraine peace plan (“Trump’s response to Russia’s latest assault on Ukraine was consistent with his long practice of refusing to connect the horrific attacks with Putin”)
- Ukraine says Russia kills 3 in another drone attack after Trump rebukes Putin
- Waiting for Trump’s Big, Beautiful Deals (“Whether a trade pact with China or a peace accord with Russia, the President doesn’t seem to know what he’s actually asking for, never mind how to actually achieve it.”)
- Xi announces plan for Chinese economy to counter impact of US trade war (“Beijing will ‘strengthen bottom-line thinking’ as reports say it could drop tariffs on some US products”)
- China cancels 12,000 metric tons of US pork shipments
- China May Exempt Some US Goods From Tariffs as Costs Rise
- Product shortages and empty store shelves loom with falling shipments from China
- Houthi rebels have shot down 7 US Reaper drones worth $200 million in recent weeks
- The US has quietly gotten into another war in the Middle East (“With near daily strikes against Yemen’s Houthis, is there an end in sight?”)
- Hanoi denies Washington will snub Vietnam War commemoration
- Canadian ex-PM seeks to help Liberals match his 1993 landslide victory (“Jean Chrétien, 91, appears keen to wield his influence to fight for a Liberal victory, drumming up support for Carney”)
- Trump to be in third-tier seats at Pope’s funeral (Is there a lower tier than that?)
- We Visited Rumeysa Ozturk in Detention. What We Saw Was a Warning to Us All.
- Wrong turn leads to hundreds of immigrant arrests at the Detroit-Canada border bridge (Crazy.)
- ICE agents arrested Mahmoud Khalil without a warrant, Trump administration confirms (That’s completely unacceptable.)
- Trump’s immigration ratings turn negative, Post-ABC-Ipsos poll finds
- The Project 2025 Presidency (“The blueprint for Trump 2.0 predicted much of what we’ve seen so far—and much of what’s to come.” Yet ANOTHER massive media failure, in this case their failure to warn the American public PRIOR to the 2024 election that Trump very much was planning to carry out Project 2025. Instead, they credulously accepted his LIES that he had nothing to do with Project 2025, knew nothing about it, etc. Why does the media suck SO bad???)
- Judge halts parts of Trump’s overhaul of US elections, including proof-of-citizenship requirement
- Judge Rejects Trump’s Vision Of An All-Powerful Presidency In Blocking Chunks Of His Election Order
- (Very bad without strong environmental protections.)
- In a reversal, the Trump administration restores funding for women’s health study
- ‘This Is Not How We Do Science, Ever’ (“The Trump administration is manipulating government-sponsored research to get the answers it wants.”)
- Corporate Giants Shred Outlooks Over Tariff Uncertainty
- The Supreme Court’s ‘Selective Proceduralism’ Would Suffocate the Constitution (“The law allows for extraordinary interventions under extraordinary circumstances, such as when human beings face the possibility of lifetime incarceration without due process.”)
- Trump will almost certainly get away with banning trans people from the military (“Trump’s lawyers asked the Supreme Court to reinstate his ban on trans military service, after a lower court blocked it.”)
- How Trump team turned a dinner invite into a crypto boon worth millions (Wildly corrupt)
- Inside the Fiasco at the National Security Council (“Firings and leadership challenges have destabilized an institution that has little margin for error.”)
- Polygraph Threats, Leaks and Infighting: Pentagon Chaos Rattles Hegseth
- Pentagon leadership vacuum overwhelms Hegseth’s office: ‘It’s a free-for-all’
- WSJ pundits demolish right-wing talking points defending Hegseth: “It all comes back again to this basic point that something’s wrong at the top levels”
- Controversial Hegseth chief of staff to leave Pentagon
- Hegseth used Signal app connected to ‘dirty line’ on personal computer in Pentagon office: Sources (If a rank-and-file person did this shit, they’d be in…well, DEEP shit!)
- Trump’s first-term pick to run the National Science Foundation quits: ‘I have done all I can’
- Elon Musk and DOGE’s Savings May Be Erased by New Costs (Again, VERY credulous by the media, accepting the Trump admninistration’s framing that the “DOGE” is actually about “savings,” which it most definitely is not!)
- Exclusive: US Justice Dept grant cuts valued at $811 million, people and records say
- Elon Musk’s Luck Runs Out (“Why he didn’t see this coming”)
- A Side Hustle for Friends of Musk: Selling Access to Stakes in His Private Companies
- Elon Musk leaves legacy of self-destruction at DOGE
- Don’t Be Fooled. Elon Musk Isn’t Going Anywhere. (“Many rejoiced when Musk said he’d pull back from the Department of Government Efficiency. But the world’s richest person will continue to wield oligarchic influence over our politics, and therefore our lives.”)
- Former US social security head predicts ‘interruption of benefits’ amid Doge cuts
- Pam Bondi Cuts “Wasteful” Funds to Support Victims of Violent Crime
- Trump Directs Justice Dept. to Investigate ActBlue, Democrats’ Cash Engine (“The move steps up Republicans’ effort to cripple their opponents’ political infrastructure.” Authoritarianism. “He’s trying to block lawful grass-roots donations from supporters giving just $5 or $10 to candidates who oppose him while further empowering the corrupt billionaires who already control his administration”)
- Trump to target Democratic fundraising powerhouse ActBlue with DOJ probe
- Donald Trump Targets Democratic Party Fundraising Platform ActBlue
- Trump grants interview to The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg despite Signal chat bombshell, past criticism (Alrighty…)
- ‘Won’t have anywhere to hide’: Democrats are eager to pick apart the GOP megabill (“Republicans will face a plethora of votes putting them on the record regarding some of the most controversial pieces of their agenda.”)
- Slotkin is testing a ‘war plan’ to beat Trump. She wants Dems to ditch wokeness and muscle up (What exactly does “ditch wokeness” mean?)
- Trump Lashes Out at Rupert Murdoch Over Fox News’ ‘Trump Hating, Fake Pollster’ After Survey Reveals Record-Low Approval Ratings
- DNC chair rips vice chair David Hogg’s plan to challenge incumbent Democrats
- DNC chair rebukes David Hogg over plan to primary ‘out of touch’ Democrats (“Ken Martin says young progressive must choose between vice-chair role and desire to unseat ‘ineffective’ incumbents”)
- DNC chair swipes at David Hogg: ‘You have to make a decision.’
- Bill Maher Fires Back at Larry David for ‘My Dinner With Adolf’ Essay Spoofing His Trump Meeting: ‘It’s Kind of Insulting to Six Million Dead Jews’ (Bill Maher is really an idiot.)
- ‘The Democratic Party in Florida is dead’: Top Florida Senate Dem leaves party
- Trump pardons Nevada politician who paid for cosmetic surgery with funds to honor a slain officer (In other words, Trump pardons another total scumbag.)
- Trump tariffs have Democrats seeing an outside chance in this red state
- House Oversight Committee Ranking Member, Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA11), Demands Answers After CDC Whistleblower Exposes Trump Administration Eliminated Agency’s Entire FOIA Office
- Youngkin, Griffith and Kaine join local leaders for groundbreaking of new Christiansburg train station
- Column: Rep. Wittman is following, not leading for his district (Wittman is actively doing harm.)
- Video: VA Democratic Lt. Governor, Attorney General Candidates Speak to the Prince William County Democrats
- Fmr. VA Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, a Trump-Supporting Conservative Republican, Falsely Claims That VA Dem LG Candidates Opposing So-Called “Right-to-Work” Laws Makes Them “left wing extremists” (In fact, per Oxfam, the worst states to work in the US all have these laws on the books…)
- DLCC Announces More Virginia House of Delegates Target Races: Kimberly Pope Adams, Elizabeth Guzman, Jessica Anderson, Lily Franklin
- Pope & Schapiro: The November ballot, the budget, and butting heads with Trump
- Va. future retail marijuana market likely depends on gubernatorial election
- Advocates want Youngkin to sign African American studies bill; they say it aligns with his first EO
- Virginia business beats criminal skill games charges with help from Southside Senator
- Hanover County court delivers a victory for ‘skill’ games, but General Assembly may have to resolve their status (again)
- After Three Masked, Unbadged Men Supposedly From Homeland Security “raided a courthouse in downtown Charlottesville Tuesday, detaining two men without explanation,” VA Sen. Creigh Deeds and Del. Katrina Callsen Try to Find Out What’s Going On
- Solar power takes center stage at central Virginia landfill
- Norfolk School Board rejects Trump administration’s anti-DEI compliance letter
- Loudoun schools superintendent tells why district won’t sign anti-DEI certification
- Fairfax County budget hearings draw crowds, more than 250 people testify
- Amtrak service to Christiansburg on track to resume within 2 years, rail official says at groundbreaking for rail station renovation
- CWG Live updates: Warm through Saturday as shower and storm chances increase
********************************************************
Sign up for the Blue Virginia weekly newsletter
