Thursday News: “World leaders now enter the White House at their own risk”; “2 Israeli Embassy staff shot and killed in front of Capital Jewish Museum in DC”; GOP Moves to Pass “Monstrous” Bill Which “steal[s] from the poor and give[s] to the rich”

by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Thursday, May 22.

This monstrous bill strips health care from 14 million Americans, cuts $300 billion in food and nutrition from working Americans, while giving a temporary headfake to those working on overtime and those working for tips. It actually raises taxes on the poorest 20% of Americans. pic.twitter.com/uQqDRuQSXf

— Rep. Don Beyer (@RepDonBeyer) May 22, 2025

• Don’t Mention Climate: Now, Clean Energy Is All About the Money
• Who’s Winning the Climate War? Australia.
• Warren Buffett Is a Climate-Wrecker (All the “mainstream media” ever reports is how amazing Buffett is…)
• China was striking climate deals as Trump toured oil kingdoms (“Images of the U.S. president pitching oil and gas agreements in the Middle East last week contrasted with China’s effort to expand its clean energy commitments with Brazil.” China is MUCH smarter than Trump.)
• Trump Hands Putin Another Victory (Remember, Trump promised to end the war in “24 hours,” acting like it was super easy if he were in charge. We’re now four months in, and there’s ZERO sign that Trump is about to end the war…)
• Trump Tells European Leaders in Private That Putin Isn’t Ready to End War
• FBI whistleblower claims he tried to get to Musk to warn him he was being targeted by Russia
• Finland ‘preparing for the worst’ as Russia expands military presence near border (“Head of strategy of Finnish defence forces says they are monitoring Moscow’s manoeuvring ‘very closely’”)
• World leaders now enter the White House at their own risk
• Trump calls his own foreign aid cuts at USAID ‘devastating’
• Trump confronts South African leader with baseless claims of the systematic killing of white farmers
• Trump Claimed a Social Media Video Showed ‘Burial Sites’ of White Farmers. It Didn’t.
• Trump makes false claims of white genocide in South Africa during Ramaphosa meeting
• ‘What else could Cyril have done?’ South Africans praise calm Ramaphosa after White House ambush
• Trump makes false claims of white genocide in South Africa during Ramaphosa meeting
• The UK risks falling apart. Keir Starmer can mend it now – but he doesn’t have much time
• U.S. Formally Accepts Luxury Jet From Qatar for Trump (WILDLY corrupt – and crazy, expensive, stupid, etc.)
• Syria, After the Fall of Assad, Reawakens From Its Half-Century Nightmare (“A veteran war correspondent returns to a newly liberated nation, finding Syrians haunted by decades of trauma but imbued with hope.”)
• Trump Organization breaks ground on $1.5 billion golf club in Vietnam (“Vietnam’s PM says project was expedited; Trump’s son praises developer, will visit ‘very often’; Vietnam in talks to avoid punitive US tariffs”)
• North Korea’s second naval destroyer is damaged in a failed launch attended by Kim
• Israeli embassy employees killed outside Jewish museum in DC
• 2 Israeli Embassy Aides Are Fatally Shot Outside Event in Washington
• 2 Israeli Embassy staff shot and killed in front of Capital Jewish Museum in DC (Horrible.)
• Moment Jewish Museum shooting suspect is detained (“Video appears to show suspect Elias Rodriguez being taken away by police and shouting ‘free Palestine’.” Evil.)
• ‘The mood is changing’: Israeli anger grows at conduct of war (“Support for the war in Gaza is waning, with some Israeli political and military figures criticising the conflict in recent days.”)
• What Israeli Officials Are Privately Saying About Starvation in Gaza (“And how the humanitarian response intersects with Netanyahu’s ability to continue waging war.”)
• Mahmoud Khalil blocked from holding son for first time by Ice, lawyers say (“Detained Columbia University graduate and Palestinian activist forced to meet month-old baby from behind glass” WTF is this crap?)
• Mahmoud Khalil, detained Columbia grad, set for critical immigration hearing
• Trump administration ‘unquestionably’ violated court order with possible deportation flight to South Sudan, judge rules
• Judge Finds U.S. Violated Court Order With Sudden Deportation Flight to Africa
• ‘Unquestionably in violation’: Judge says US government didn’t follow court order on deportations (Right, obviously – so NOW WHAT???)
• Trump “unquestionably” violates a court order (“South Sudan isn’t safe. The Trump administration is sending immigrants there anyway.”)
• How Trump Officials Debated Handling of the Abrego Garcia Case: ‘Keep Him Where He Is’
• Judge criticizes DOJ for ‘worrisome’ and ‘embarrassing’ blunders in arrest of New Jersey mayor at ICE facility
• ICE Arrests Mississippi Father at His Citizenship Hearing, Threatening Deportation
• They showed up to immigration court in Phoenix. Then ICE agents surrounded them
• R.F.K., Jr., Anthony Fauci, and the Revolt Against Expertise
• COVID Shots for Kids Are Over (“The FDA’s new approach to boosters could mean that kids will no longer be able to get vaccinated against the disease to begin with.” That’s bonkers.)
• The reconciliation bill is Republicans doing what they do best (“The GOP remains a conspiracy to steal from the poor and give to the rich.”)
• Trump tax bill heads to the House floor for a vote after last-minute changes
• Trump Tax Bill Holdouts Lured With SALT Hike, Medicaid Cuts
• CBO Confirms GOP Budget Bill Triggers Medicare Cuts
• House Republicans Are About to Touch the Third Rail (“Medicaid was once a little-regarded program. It is now a policy heavyweight—and with an enrollment larger than Medicare’s, it’s very, very popular.”)
• Trump and GOP’s tax bill would force cuts to Medicare, CBO says
• GOP bill raises fears of major reduction in home care for seniors, disabled
• Food stamps face ‘biggest cut in the program’s history’ under GOP tax bill
• Yes, Trump’s Budget Bill Is Really That Bad, That Cruel, and That Billionaire Friendly (“Cuts to Medicaid. Sale of public land. The big, stupid wall. It’s a conservative wish list, and Christmas came early.”)
• Pete Hegseth Leads Christian Prayer Service in the Pentagon (Separation of church and state, anybody?)
• White House purges transcripts of Trump’s remarks from its website
• A Jan. 6 rioter convicted of assaulting police scored a visit to the White House (Anyone who claims that Republicans “back the blue” is FULL OF CRAP – this is the party of the exact opposite.)
• ‘The View’ Told to Tone Down Trump Bashing by ABC News Boss (More bad grammar by the “mainstream media”: this headline should read, “‘The View’ Told by ABC News Boss to Tone Down Trump Bashing”)
• The Decline and Fall of Elon Musk
• The 2024 election was even weirder than we thought (“An expansive new report challenges early theories about how Donald Trump won.”)
• Messy Democratic primaries could hurt party’s chances of retaking the House (“Democratic lawmakers and strategists are becoming increasingly anxious that competitive and expensive primaries could hobble them in the midterms.”)
• “You work for us”: Neil Young trashes Trump, supports Springsteen in fired-up screed
• Regional leaders work up tentative proposal to modernize Metro
• Video: Sen. Tim Kaine Asks Secretary of State Marco Rubio, “Why Prioritize Afrikaner Farmers” Over, for Instance, Black South Africans? A Flustered Rubio Has No Serious Answer, Absurdly Claims “You’re the One…Talking About the Color of Their Skin!”
• Sen. Mark Warner Blasts “Deeply Disturbing,” “Dangerous” Revelations That DNI Gabbard’s Chief of Staff “sought to alter an intelligence assessment to align with false political narratives pushed by Donald Trump” (“This is unacceptable” and should disqualify Joe Kent’s “nomination to lead NCTC”)
• Virginia Democratic Delegation Demands Answers and Accountability from RFK Jr., Stands Up for Virginia’s Health Care Services (“Sudden mass firings place strains on Virginia’s social services and interrupt health care access for many of the most vulnerable Virginians”)
• “With Immense Sadness,” Connolly Family Announces the Passing This Morning of Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA11) (“Gerry lived his life to give back to others and make our community better”)
• Tributes pour in for Gerry Connolly, ‘the epitome of a public servant’
• This was Gerry Connolly’s final act as a a member of Congress (“Just one day before he died, Connolly introduced the Esophageal Cancer Awareness Act”)
• ‘He was Fairfax’: Va. Rep. Gerry Connolly, Democratic political fixture, dies at 75
• Connolly built the trail to post-Trump progress. Who will hike it? (“Gerry Connolly, who advocated for federal workers, always believed government could do big things.”)
• NEW: Spanberger Announces Priorities to Make Virginia More Affordable, Lower Virginians’ Healthcare & Prescription Drug Costs (“Spanberger also made clear that she will be a Governor who stands up to the Trump Administration and Republicans in Washington who are threatening hundreds of thousands of Virginians’ access to affordable care.”)
• Spanberger faces opposition, open minds while pitching healthcare cost plans (The opposition is from MAGA and anti-abortion people, not surprisingly.)
• Spanberger rolls out policies to lower costs of prescription drugs, health coverage
• More access, less cost: Spanberger lays out health care plans if she wins Virginia governorship
• Gilbert says he will step down as leader if the caucus has new elections (“House Republican Caucus Leader Todd Gilbert has told colleagues he will step down if they call for a new leadership election — a move that comes as he’s in the running for the U.S. attorney position in Virginia’s Western District.”)
• 2 challengers are taking on Portsmouth’s top prosecutor, including a former state delegate (Grammar alert: this should says, “Two challengers – including a former delegate – are taking on…”)
• Norfolk floodwall delayed 4 years as costs rise, city considers alignment changes
• In Virginia’s 100th House District, Democrats choose their fighter
• Va. transportation board approves nearly $1 billion in funding for SMART SCALE projects
• Two baby giraffes are missing from the Natural Bridge Zoo. The state alleges former zoo owner threatened to shoot veterinarians and current owner hoped one giraffe expert would be killed. (WTF???)
• ‘It was not an accident’: Va. AG says Thomas Jefferson High School’s admissions policy violates civil rights laws (In fact, as “TJ” says, “This matter has already been fully litigated. A federal appellate court determined there was no merit to arguments that the admissions policy for Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology discriminates against any group of students”)
• Miyares wants U.S. agencies to intervene in Va. magnet school’s admissions
• Appalachian Power requests bill increases to recover costs
• Homeland Security used Albemarle County school grounds for training
• Waynesboro: City Council ponders increasing meals tax to 7.5 percent
• Charles City County: Proposed data center promises windfall, stirs opposition
• U.S. 58 reopens, months after it was destroyed by floodwaters — and months ahead of schedule
• CWG Live updates: Showers depart late today and it dries out into the weekend