by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Monday, July 28.
- The Life of Plastic (“Microplastics have been found in the placentas of unborn babies, the depths of the Mariana Trench, the summit of Everest and the organs of Antarctic penguins. But how do they travel through the world, and what do they do to the creatures that carry them? Here is the story of how plastic contaminates entire ecosystems – and even the food we eat”)
- Muscovites’ travel plans disrupted as Ukraine targets airspace with drones
- Zelensky Learned the Wrong Lesson From Trump (“Trump withdrew from the fight against kleptocracy, and other countries have absorbed that fact.”)
- Trump’s Tariffs Are Already Stunting World Growth While Markets Shrug
- Trump and the EU Dodge a Trade War (“The U.S. President gets his beloved 15% tariff but little else from Europe.”)
- Von der Leyen and Trump strike EU-US trade deal with 15% tariff for the bloc
- How the EU dashed to Trump’s Scottish hideaway — and got the deal it craved (“Von der Leyen finally gets some good news, but only after she sat through the U.S. president’s rant against windmills.”)
- ‘Total Mental Collapse’: Trump Ripped After ‘Insane’ New Ramble In Europe (“Critics tore into the president after an unexpected digression against a familiar target.” If Trump were some random guy on a park bench, you’d make a WIDE berth…and speed up your walk to get away from him quickly.)
- US-EU trade deal is a ‘dark day’ for Europe, says French PM (“Trump tariff of 15% means European exporters will face more than triple the average 4.8% levy now in force”)
- Europe Cuts a Trade Deal With Trump, Worried About Other Global Issues
- EU Welcomes Pause in US Trade Fight While Seeking Better Terms
- Trump lands another big win with EU trade deal, but he can’t dodge the Epstein saga
- Trump’s EU deal averts disaster. But few are cheering
- Companies Welcome EU-U.S. Trade Deal as Least-Bad Outcome
- Rough deal: Social media roasts Trump’s golf game after clip appears to show alleged cheating in Scotland (“Trump has long been accused of cheating at golf and mixing politics and business on the course”)
- Photos: Protesters rally with bagpipes, pointed signs as Trump visits Scotland
- America’s National Embarrassment (“Donald Trump goes to Scotland, spreading his mess on the global stage”)
- Senate Democrats urge U.S. to stop funding GHF, resume support for U.N. food distribution in Gaza as more starve
- Israel’s Zones of Denial (“Amid national euphoria over the bombing of Iran—and the largely ignored devastation in Gaza—a question lurks: What is the country becoming?”)
- Israeli strikes kill at least 34 people in Gaza, officials say, as some aid restrictions are eased
- Netanyahu denies widespread reports of starvation in Gaza, blames Hamas for stealing aid
- Sen. Graham says there will be a ‘change in strategy’ in Gaza ‘to destroy Hamas’ (“In an exclusive interview with Meet the Press, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) shares what he’s hearing from the White House and Israeli officials about the next stage of the war, saying ‘there will be a full military effort by Israel to take Gaza down like we did in Tokyo and Berlin.'” Wait, all this time Israel hasn’t been trying to destroy Hamas?)
- Aid deliveries a ‘drop in the ocean’ amid Gaza’s desperate hunger, UN says, as Israel resumes military pause
- ‘Revenge Is Not a Policy’: Israelis Voice Dissent Against the War in Gaza
- North Korea calls South Korea’s peace overtures ‘great miscalculation’
- Thailand and Cambodia agree to ‘immediate and unconditional’ ceasefire, Malaysian PM says
- Venezuelans describe being beaten, sexually assaulted and told to ‘commit suicide’ during El Salvador detention (People need to go to prison for this.)
- Another whistleblower claims that top DOJ official suggested department could ignore court orders (This should be a 50-alarm fire, but must people seem to be asleep.)
- Top medical body concerned over RFK Jr’s reported plans to cut preventive health panel
- NASA and the End of American Ambition (“The agency once projected America’s loftiest ideals. Then it ceded its future to Elon Musk.”)
- Animal shelters are crowded as high costs squeeze pet owners (First of all, don’t EVER buy a dog – *always* rescue/adopt!)
- On Planet Earth, Obama Can’t Be Indicted. But We Live on Planet Trump. (“The attempted persecution of a former president is both a dangerous line to cross and an expression of this failed administration.”)
- Trump fumes as Epstein scandal dominates headlines, overshadows agenda
- Johnson says Ghislaine Maxwell deserves life sentence over Epstein crimes, rejects potential pardon
- Speaker Johnson says all ‘credible’ Epstein files should be released: Full interview
- Some Republicans aren’t backing down from Epstein transparency push
- There is a larger problem for Trump in the Epstein chaos
- Ghislaine Maxwell is talking – but what can she tell and can she be believed?
- Trump’s Senior Moments Are Getting Worse (“Does America have another president in decline — or is Trump just being Trump?”)
- Trump Is Trying to Hide the Cost of Renovating His New Air Force One (“The administration transferred nearly $1 billion dollars to a Pentagon project to modernize nuclear weapons, but those funds will be used to renovate Trump’s ‘flying palace'”)
- Murdoch v Trump: why the flawed media titan could be the final protector of press freedom
- Can Democrats Neutralize Trump’s Midterm Dirty Tricks?
- Trump’s approval with independents sinks below Biden’s, Trump’s post-Jan. 6
- The Real Reason for Zohran’s Success Should Rattle National Democrats (“Exclusive internal campaign data on the reach of Mamdani’s viral videos illustrates that he gets modern messaging in ways other Democrats just don’t.”)
- ‘A nightmare that no one wants’: GOP fears Mastriano’s down-ballot drag in Pennsylvania (“The far-right firebrand is considering a rematch against Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro.”)
- Collins looks to navigate Trump, funding landmines as 2026 looms (She needs to go.)
- How Axios rebranded conservative ideology as objectivity (“VandeHei and Allen have beliefs, but claim to be objective because they consider their right-wing beliefs, particularly on economic issues, to constitute fundamental truths. People with differing conceptions about the role of the free market and the regulatory state, on the other hand, are dismissed as biased or misguided.”)
- Leno Calls for Late Night to Drop Partisan Politics: ‘Why Shoot for Just Half an Audience?’ (Leno is an idiot.)
- Tom Lehrer, Musical Satirist With a Dark Streak, Dies at 97
- Video: Rep. Jennifer McClellan (D-VA04) Says Thanks to Big Ugly Bill, Trump Tariffs, Medicaid Reductions, etc, “there’s a lot of anxiety and pain here in Virginia all across the state, in Democratic and Republican areas” (McClellan warns that this is all “blowing a hole in our state budget”)
- Ben Cline poses with Donald Trump for photo, dutifully decries ‘woke’ (Cline is a disgrace.)
- Spanberger, Earle-Sears clash in final 100 days of history-making election
- In spite of new Va. privacy law, retail behemoths don’t make it easy to withhold your shopping data
- The largest donor to Rouse’s lieutenant governor campaign won’t be known until months after the primary (“A discrepancy between federal and state campaign finance reporting deadlines has created a loophole that shields the origin of money contributed by federal PACs to state candidates.”)
- UVA Board of Visitors seems intent on hiring a lame-duck new president (“Good luck finding somebody with the resume to be a UVA president who would pack up the family for Charlottesville to be here for a few months before we have to start this process anew next summer.”)
- Ruling on university appointments lawsuit expected this week (“It’s consistent with their political objectives, which is to try to maintain thoroughly partisan majorities on various operating boards for the last dying gasp of this lame duck administration so it can do the bidding of its MAGA overlords in DC.”)
- Managed retreat: Should we abandon land prone to flooding? It’s already happening. (“Infrastructure projects are underway across Hampton Roads to protect areas from sea-level rise and worsening storms. But climate change experts are asking whether another option should be considered.”)
- After ‘horrific’ federal cuts, Roanoke PBS and NPR stations weigh paths forward
- Goodwill puts final touches on new high school for adults in Roanoke
- Alexandria Mayor Alyia Gaskins discusses Trump’s executive order on homlessness
- Amazon pulls Louisa County data center proposal after strong resistance
- Waynesboro prosecutor needs to recuse himself in police misconduct case
- CWG Live updates: Uncomfortably hot and humid through midweek, relief by Friday (“Cooler late week”)
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