Friday News: “‘Inflection point’: Economic fears mount as Trump tariffs are snarled in court.”; Rubio to Launch “Office of Remigration” (which has “explicitly neo-Nazi roots”); “Musk’s Legacy Is Disease, Starvation and Death”; “RFK Jr. Thinks What We Need Right Now Is More Bird Flu”

by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, May 30.

• Almost 40% of world’s glaciers already doomed due to climate crisis – study (DISASTROUS.)
• Earth is likely to cross a key climate threshold in two years
• Weather tracker: Record heat engulfs parts of France, Portugal and Spain (“High pressure across much of Europe comes amid worst drought in decades, while Canada braces for hot spell”)
• Oil Companies Are Sued Over Death of Woman in 2021 Heat Wave (The oil companies should be like the tobacco industry…pariahs, sued like crazy, regulated, etc.)
• This Swiss Village Was Buried by a Glacier. Climate Change Deniers Should Take Notice. (“We are now yodeling our way to disaster.”)
• As China Touts Green Financing and Climate Goals, Its Banks Are Pouring Billions Into Commodities From the World’s Rainforests (“China plays a growing role in the future of the planet’s tropical forests, but a new report says its financial flows are going in the wrong direction.”)
• Elon Musk’s Legacy Is Disease, Starvation and Death (Yep, the guy is pure evil.)
• Why Millennials Dread Having Babies
• How the West is helping Russia to fund its war on Ukraine
• Is Trump Falling Out of Love With Putin? (“The president is mad, but he also wants a deal.”)
• Ukrainian cities ‘terrorised’ by North Korean weapons in Russian hands – report
• Trump and special envoy Witkoff stand to reap rewards from official business (“Crypto venture with Abu Dhabi could enrich pair with millions – and Democrats say ethics conflict is ‘plain as day’”)
• Exclusive: Saudi warned Iran to reach nuclear deal with Trump or risk Israeli strike
• Hamas says US Gaza ceasefire plan backed by Israel fails to meet its demands (“A draft of the plan reportedly proposes a 60-day truce and the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners”)
• Trump Makes a New Push to ‘Decouple’ U.S. From China
• Bessent: U.S.-China trade talks “a bit stalled”
• Behind Trump’s long campaign to target Chinese student visas
• Exclusive: Trump aims to exceed first term’s weapons sales to Taiwan, officials say
• American doctors look to relocate to Canada to avoid the Trump administration
• He Took a Wrong Turn Into Canada. The Price? 3 Weeks in ICE Custody. (“An accidental trip over the Peace Bridge in Buffalo typically means a toll and a loss of time. But for Victor, crossing an international border carried a higher cost.” WTF???)
• Trump’s tariff tally: $34 billion and counting, global companies say
• Trump tariffs reinstated by appeals court for now
• Second federal court rules against Trump’s tariffs
• ‘Inflection point’: Economic fears mount as Trump tariffs are snarled in court.
• Trump goes after Leonard Leo and the Federalist Society in fury over court ruling
• Trump Officials Intensify Attacks on Judges as Court Losses Mount
• Karl Rove: Trump tariffs could cost GOP their majorities
• US ruling that Trump tariffs are unlawful stirs relief and uncertainty
• Trump’s Tariff Options Slower, More Complex If Court Fight Fails
• Trump’s tariffs are under threat, but ports aren’t seeing a big rebound yet (“The recent tariff whiplash could mean fewer goods on store shelves in the coming months and higher prices”)
• White House pressure for increased immigration arrests strains law enforcement agencies
• State Department set to launch ‘Office of Remigration’ (“The concept of remigration has explicitly neo-Nazi roots and has been popularized in Europe.”)
• Exclusive: Kristi Noem said a migrant threatened to kill Trump. Investigators think he was set up (Does Noem ever tell the truth about ANYTHING???)
• Trump administration ousts top ICE officials amid migrant arrest push
• ICE, the agency central to Trump’s mass deportation plans, undergoes a shakeup
• The Trump Administration Is Already Ignoring the Supreme Court (“It’s not a big moment of defiance—but death to the rule of law by a thousand cuts.”)
• The Supreme Court wants to make it easier to build (“The Court’s latest decision is a love letter to the abundance agenda.”)
• A new Covid variant could drive up summer cases: Here’s what you should know (“The variant appears to be more transmissible than the dominant strain worldwide, LP.8.1, meaning it has the potential to drive up cases this summer.”)
• RFK Jr. yanks pandemic vaccine funding as Moderna reports positive results (Deranged.)
• RFK Jr. Thinks What We Need Right Now Is More Bird Flu (“The Department of Health and Human Services has pulled funding to help develop a bird flu vaccine, because of course it has.”)
• Pam Bondi Locks Bar Association Out Of Vetting Trump’s Judicial Nominees (Pam Bondi is an unmitigated disaster. Also, so much for Merrick Garland’s strategy of bending over backwards to show that the DoJ was neutral, professional, etc. – it’s been completely blown up anyway, because the Trump fascists don’t GAF.)
• Trump Taps Palantir to Compile Data on Americans
• Federal Reserve issues rare statement asserting independence amid Trump pressure (“Central bank emphasizes nonpartisan role in brief memo after chair Jerome Powell meets with US president”)
• Your guide to Cryptogate, Trump’s $4 billion corruption scandal that’s 10 times bigger than Watergate
• Trump Is Weaponizing the Justice Department to Advance His Voter Suppression Plans (“The DOJ’s new lawsuit against North Carolina is a troubling sign of what’s to come.”)
• A Texas Cop Searched License Plate Cameras Nationwide for a Woman Who Got an Abortion (Handmaid’s Tale)
• We’re minimizing the horror of Trump’s military birthday parade (“The media has focused on the price tag and potholes. But history may mark 14 June as the ceremonial birth of US fascism” The media failing yet AGAIN.)
• The 7 pieces of the House megabill that could succumb to Senate rules (“These potential ‘Byrd droppings’ could disappoint some Republicans.”)
• Trump’s tax-cut bill includes provision to weaken court powers (“The one-sentence provision in the 1,100-page bill prevents federal courts, including the Supreme Court, from enforcing contempt orders unless the plaintiffs have posted a monetary bond, which rarely happens in cases against the government.”)
• WIRED Talked to a Fired DOGE Staffer About Who Was Really in Charge (“Sahil Lavingia, who says he was fired from DOGE after speaking out about his experiences there, told WIRED about how he communicated with the group, who appears to be in charge, and what might be coming next.”)
• Elon Musk’s Top Goon Exits DOGE Along With Stephen Miller’s Wife (“Steve Davis’ departure reportedly came as a surprise to some DOGE staffers.”)
• The chaos Elon Musk and Doge are leaving behind in Washington (“Though the billionaire vowed modernization and efficiency, what’s left is a trail of uncertainty and reduced functionality”)
• So long, Elon: the cuts didn’t go to plan, but you completely shredded your reputation
• OPM ‘merit’ hiring plan includes bipartisan reforms, politicized new test (“Federal job applicants will soon be quizzed on their favorite Trump administration policy as part of the hiring process, according to the Office of Personnel Management’s new ‘merit hiring plan.'” That’s insane.)
• Trump taps right-wing lawyer to head U.S. Office of Special Counsel (“Paul Ingrassia, a former conservative podcast host who has advocated for a white supremacist, has been named to lead the agency that protects federal employees.”)
• Inside the scramble to keep FEMA alive ahead of hurricane season
• Michigan Gov. Whitmer says Trump promised not to pardon kidnapping plotters
• Elon Musk Didn’t Blow Up Washington, but He Left Plenty of Damage Behind (“The obits for the tech mogul’s time at the Department of Government Efficiency are, justifiably, vicious.”)
• Musk Is Leaving Washington Pretty Much as He Found It
• Elon Musk’s Vanishing Act (“Musk looks like the latest victim of a common Trump-era dynamic: the impossibility of sharing the President’s spotlight.”)
• Elon Musk claims he’s leaving politics — no one should believe him (“The far-right billionaire has a long history of making false promises”)
• Fox attacks Scott Pelley for accurately describing Trump’s war on the press
• Texas Lawmakers Are Passing Anti-Vax Policies in the Midst of a Measles Outbreak
• GOP congressman wants to create a literal Trump train (“Republican Rep. Greg Steube of Florida wants to force the Washington, D.C., public transportation agency to rename itself from the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) to the Washington Metropolitan Authority for Greater Access (WMAGA). He also demands that the Metrorail be renamed the ‘Trump Train.'”)
• Marine heat waves in the Chesapeake Bay doubled over past two decades, according to new research
• Two More Democratic Candidates – Leo Martinez and Amy Roma – Announce for the VA11 Nomination (Roma and Martinez join James Walkinshaw, Stella Pekarsky, Candice Bennett and Joshua Aisen in the growing field to succeed the great Gerry Connolly)
• NEW TV AD: Abigail Spanberger Puts Virginia First, Focuses on Making Virginia More Affordable (Spanberger pledges, “I’ll always put Virginia first”)
• TONIGHT: Winsome Earle-Sears to Fundraise Alongside Extreme Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders (Huckabee Sanders “has stated that she does not support adding exceptions for victims of rape and incest to the Arkansas’s abortion ban”)
• Elected Leaders Call on Winsome Earle-Sears to Stand Up to Attacks on Medicaid and Access to Affordable Healthcare (“Potential cuts to Medicaid put access to affordable healthcare at risk for thousands of Virginians”)
• 10 ways Democrats can decide who to vote for in the lieutenant governor and attorney general primaries (“Democrats have six candidates for lieutenant governor and two for attorney general. There doesn’t seem much philosophical difference between them, so how will voters decide who to pick?”)
• After contributions to Virginia, international students face uncertainty due to Trump’s visa changes
• Report: Paper Mills Around the Country, Including Virginia, Release Pollution From Decades-Old Boilers (“Conversion to heat pumps and accurate counting of emissions for wood sources could reduce the problem.”)
• Advocates say a contraception initiative for low-income women will be a lifeline with federal government cuts looming
• Pope & Schapiro: Pardons, another water crisis, and the future of Medicaid
• Richmond clears water advisory after latest crisis exposes sytems flaws (“A 314-page report released in April identified more than $63 million in needed upgrades on top of $60 million already allocated in the city’s capital improvement plan. Among the recommendations: modernized electrical systems, automated emergency protocols, and a complete redesign of the clearwell overflow system.”)
• City of Richmond says nixed FEMA grant would not have prevented water outage
• Richmond lifts boil water advisory after second negative test
• Editorial: On anniversary of Beach shooting, a time for healing, support and reflection
• Radford just raised property taxes almost 20% and still hasn’t paid some bills. Here’s why the city is financially stressed. (“But it will take several more years to stabilize the city’s budget, the mayor and other officials predicted.”)
• Brian Wishneff, a key developer of modern Roanoke, dies at 72
• Storms likely late today, and some could be intense (“Numerous showers and even strong storms could bring heavy rain late this afternoon into evening.”)