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by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Saturday, May 17.
- How Pope Leo Will Approach Climate Change Is Unclear, but the Vibe Is Positive (“His mentor, Francis, was outspoken on the issue, and Leo is attuned to the plight of marginalized peoples.”)
- How Green Is Pope Leo XIV? (“An environmental theologian reveals clues about how the new pope may rise to meet the climate crisis.”)
- Global recycling rates have fallen for eighth year running, report finds (“Researchers call for investment in ‘circular solutions’ as consumption rises faster than growth in population”)
- Former US ambassador to Ukraine says she resigned because of Trump’s foreign policy
- Ukraine calls on allies to keep pressure on Russia after talks yield no ceasefire
- Russian Troops Are War-Weary, but Want to Conquer More of Ukraine (“Many soldiers say they would see an unconditional cease-fire as a failure, hinting at the nationalist discontent the Kremlin could face in accepting one.” Psychopaths.)
- Hegseth briefly paused cyber ops against Russia as part of negotiations, GOP Rep. Bacon says (That’s completely FUBAR.)
- Nine reported killed in Russian strike on civilian bus in Ukraine
- How Russia’s Call for Peace Talks Turned Into a Diplomatic Defeat for Putin (“Germany, France, the U.K. and Poland outmaneuvered Putin by persuading Ukraine’s Zelensky to accept Trump’s cease-fire demand; Russia’s leader balked”)
- The New MAGA World Order (“This week’s Gulf tour revealed that Trump’s transactional foreign policy doesn’t lack values. It just has really bad ones.”)
- Trump’s frantic week of peace brokering hints at what he really wants (“His was a prospect of a breezy, pragmatic mercantilism where nations did business deals to their mutual benefit, a world where profit can bring peace…Absent from Trump’s speech was any mention of possible collective action by the US and other countries; no talk of multilateral cooperation against the threat of climate change, no concerns about challenges to democratic or human rights in the region. This was a discourse almost entirely without reference to ideology or values except to dismiss their significance.”)
- Trump’s Real Secretary of State (“How the president’s friend and golfing partner Steve Witkoff got one of the hardest jobs on the planet” Witkoff seems like a really, really dumb person.)
- Congress needs to vote on Qatar’s $400 million ‘gift’
- Trump administration working on plan to move 1 million Palestinians to Libya (That’s ethnic cleansing.)
- Israel launches major offensive to ‘seize and control’ areas of Gaza (What a disaster.)
- Israel-backed food aid group admits it won’t be able to reach most vulnerable in Gaza
- Netanyahu is the odd man out in Trump’s Middle East trip (“Tensions between Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were already bubbling up before the president visited three of America’s key Arab allies.” Two scumbags.)
- Trump’s Mideast Tour Boosts Arab States at Israel’s Expense
- ‘Between a mathematician and a Trump-loving hooligan’: Romania’s stark presidential choice (“Nicuşor Dan may not be perfect, but he’s serious, responsible. The choice between him and fascism isn’t hard.”)
- Romania Is About to Experience Disaster
- A question for Donald Trump: What sets Afrikaners apart? (“The president and South African leader Cyril Ramaphosa have a lot to talk about next week.”)
- What happens when honest intelligence work can get you fired?
- Trump Appointee Pressed Analyst to Redo Intelligence on Venezuelan Gang (That’s completely and wildly unacceptable.)
- Supreme Court blocks Trump from restarting Alien Enemies Act deportations
- Supreme Court Deals Blow to Trump Deportation Plan Using Wartime Law
- Supreme Court again bars Trump from removing Venezuelan nationals
- SCOTUS Says Trump Violated Venezuelan Migrants’ Rights With Attempted Removals
- The Supreme Court’s (Alien Enemies Act) Patience is Wearing Thin
- Supreme Court Rejects Trump Bid To Resume Quick Deportations Of Venezuelans Under 18th Century Law
- Trump attorneys draw judge’s ire by saying ‘state secrets’ keep them from sharing details on Abrego Garcia’s return (Start holding people in contempt – fine, arrest, whatever it takes to make them comply.)
- Producer Swears ICE Reality Show for Citizenship Won’t Be a Complete Dystopian Nightmare
- Trump news at a glance: President sees setbacks in the courts and Congress as controversial Gulf tour ends
- U.S. Loses Last Triple-A Credit Rating
- Moody’s Downgrades U.S. Credit Rating Below Triple-A
- Moody’s downgrades U.S. credit as Congress considers bill that could add to deficits
- Moody’s Pushes U.S. Out Of Elite ‘AAA’ Credit Club, Citing Rising Debt
- Consumer sentiment slides to second-lowest on record as inflation expectations jump after tariffs
- Consumers are getting hit by surprise tariff bills
- Trump administration asks Supreme Court to allow mass layoffs of federal workers (HELL NO.)
- Court lifts block on Trump order to strip federal workers of union rights
- FEMA ‘not ready’ for hurricane season: document
- Where local forecast offices no longer monitor weather around-the-clock
- Trump’s Swamp Just Got a Whole Lot Bigger and Swampier (“On wretched display this week: the three ugly faces of MAGA.”)
- Let’s Start Talking About Jail Time for Trump and His MAGA Enablers
- The Visionary of Trump 2.0 (“Russell Vought is advancing a radical ideological project decades in the making.”)
- Nasty MAGA Infighting Means Trouble for Trump
- Conservatives block Trump agenda bill from advancing in major setback for GOP leaders
- GOP fiscal hawks sink key vote on Trump ‘big, beautiful bill’ (There is absolutely NOTHING “beautiful” about this bill; in fact, it’s really, really ugly.)
- G.O.P. Tax Bill May Hurt the Lowest Earners and Help the Richest
- Republicans forge their tax bill in Trump’s image, with ‘MAGA accounts’ and more
- Republican Revolt Reflects a Core Party Divide Over Spending and Debt
- How DOGE’s grand plan to remake Social Security is backfiring (Musk and his team are an unmitigated DISASTER that will take many, many years to recover from, if we ever can.)
- DOGE Is Now Targeting GAO, and the Congressional Agency Is Fighting Back
- DOGE tried assigning a team to the Government Accountability Office. It refused
- FBI moving 1,500 personnel from D.C., closing storied headquarters building: Patel (“Patel didn’t say much about the plans to move the FBI headquarters, something prior FBI directors and Congress acknowledged needed to be done because of the decrepit condition of the building.”)
- Trump admin permits sale of device that allows standard firearms to fire like machine guns (Bonkers.)
- Tulsi Gabbard’s Reaction to a Recent ‘Threat’ to Trump Is Stupidity Disguised as National Security
- Senate Democrats Poised to Enable Trump’s Crypto Corruption (“It’s important to remember that crypto has not ever demonstrated any legitimate business use case at scale. Overwhelmingly, it is used for pure financial speculation and crime—both scams internal to the system like rug pulls, pump-and-dumps, and wash trading; also good old-fashioned robbery and/or money laundering by drug cartels, human traffickers, or North Korea.”)
- Poll Shows Clear Favorite to Succeed Trump in 2028
- The Uproar Over James Comey’s Instagram Post Is Dumb and Could Get Dangerous (“Trumpworld is treating a beach photo of seashells spelling ’86 47′ like a coded assassination order. The outrage is absurd, and it’s also a pretext for something far more sinister: punishing Trump’s enemies.”)
- Prosecuting James Comey for social media posts may be fruitless, legal and security experts say
- Trump Has Embarrassing Public Meltdown After Bruce Springsteen Diss (“The president’s obsessing over another man’s skin. Don’t worry, everything’s totally fine.” Meanwhile, “journalists-in-air-quotes” Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson are obsessed with FORMER President Joe Biden’s physical and mental conditions. Totally f’ed up.)
- Dems Must Not Let Media Make 2026/28 About Biden
- Audio of Biden’s Special Counsel Interview Reveals Jarring Memory Lapses
- I Worked for Joe Biden. I Love Joe Biden. He Must Rethink His Post-Presidency.
- Army to place large metal plates on DC streets to protect them from tanks during June parade (This entire thing is insane.)
- Ohio AG David Yost exits governor’s race, clearing the field for Vivek Ramaswamy (Can you even imagine Ramswamy as a GOVERNOR???)
- With Gaza facing starvation, Virginia Sens. Warner and Kaine press for U.S. action
- Rep. Rob Wittman (R-VA01) Says He is “Pleased” With Bill that Could Kick Hundreds of Thousands of Virginians Off Medicaid
- What Does Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-VA02) Have to Say About Mass VA Layoffs and Veteran Firings? “Thank you, Mr. Secretary” (“Voters will remember that Kiggans stood with her party bosses over Virginia veterans.”)
- Video: Rep. Jennifer McClellan (D-VA04) and Health Care Advocates Join Protect Our Care Virginia As Republicans Charge Ahead With the Largest Medicaid Cuts in History (“GOP’s Proposed Cuts to Medicaid Would Throw 206,000 Virginians Off Their Health Care”)
- McClellan, Virginia Democrats warn of dire impact to state if proposed Medicaid cuts materialize
- Given Trump’s Senior Strategist Calling the Earle-Sears for Virginia Governor Campaign a Bunch of “Amateurs,” Here’s a Quick Review of the Bad Blood Between Earle-Sears and Trump/Trump’s People
- Youngkin defiant in the face of ‘improper veto’ claims (Just like Trump, Youngkin loves violating the law.)
- Video, Highlights From Nelson County Dems’ 2025 Virginia Lt. Governor, Attorney General Forum (LG candidates participating: Alex Bastani, Ghazala Hashmi, Babur Lateef, Victor Salgado, Levar Stoney AG candidates participating: Jay Jones, Shannon Taylor)
- What are the House primaries outside the Richmond area?
- Early figures show local primaries are driving turnout right now
- Norfolk records highest sea-level rise on the East Coast — again
- Charges against UVa student accused of threatening Jewish housemate downgraded
- Augusta County sheriff reprimands Black deputy over lighthearted TikTok (“Augusta County Sheriff Donald Smith still hasn’t commented on the lawsuit alleging that he sexually harassed a former male employee, but he found time on Thursday to publicly reprimand a Black deputy for comments she made on a TikTok video.”)
- Virginia Governor launches investigation into Loudoun County Public Schools (Youngkin is obsessed with Loudoun schools.)
- Harrisonburg declares local emergency as water capacity remains an issue
- CWG Live updates: Drier and increasingly pleasant through the weekend
