by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Saturday, July 5.
- A war of the truth’: Europe’s heatwaves are failing to spur support for climate action (“Voters may feel hotter summers are ‘too much’ but they appear to tolerate roll-back of policies to stop global heating” So, so stupid.)
- Canada races to build icebreakers amid melting ice and geopolitical tensions (“In an Arctic reshaped by the climate crisis, less ice really means more as countries face risks in push for more ships”)
- OPEC+ members agree larger-than-expected oil production hike in August
- Trump says Ukraine will need Patriot missiles for its defense, chides Putin (“Zelenskiy said he discussed air defences with Trump and agreed to work on increasing Kyiv’s capability to ‘defend the sky’.”)
- Trump tells Zelensky he wants to help Ukraine with air defense, sources say (Just do it, IMMEDIATELY and MASSIVELY!)
- Trump speaks with Zelenskyy after he was ‘disappointed’ in call with Putin
- The U.S. Is Switching Sides (“Donald Trump is giving Vladimir Putin every incentive to keep killing Ukrainians.”)
- Ukraine war briefing: Power to Zaporizhzhia plant cut off as UN watchdog warns nuclear safety ‘extremely precarious’ (“IAEA chief says electricity restored after 3½ hours as Ukraine blames Russian shelling for outage; Kyiv accuses Putin of ‘humiliating’ Trump with attack on capital. What we know on day 1,228”)
- Xi Has Spent Decades Preparing for a Cold War With the U.S. (“Chinese leader Xi Jinping is entering trade negotiations with a grand strategy inspired by his understanding of what the Soviet Union got wrong.”)
- Trump’s tariffs deadline is looming for Europe. Here’s where things stand (“The U.S. and European Union have not yet struck a trade deal. There are just a few days left before the end of a 90-day reprieve on reciprocal tariffs imposed by the U.S. Retaliatory measures from the EU, which have also been paused for now, could then quickly follow.”)
- Hamas Accepts Gaza Cease-Fire Proposal With U.S. Assurances on War Talks
- Hamas says it has given a ‘positive’ response to the latest ceasefire proposal in Gaza
- ‘They’re skin and bones’: doctors in Gaza warn babies at risk of death from lack of formula (“Doctors say Israel is blocking deliveries of formula urgently needed as mothers are either dead or too malnourished to feed their babies”)
- A Weakened Iran Looks to BRICS for Allies, Testing a New World Order
- The Cost of Victory: Israel Overpowered Its Foes, But Deepened Its Isolation
- ‘We promised change but people aren’t feeling it yet’: Labour rues poor first year (“MPs, aides and other party figures reflect on what went wrong and how they could still turn things around” They’d better turn things around – fast!)
- Trump Says U.S. Has Reached Trade Deal With Vietnam (Whatever – Trump lies all the time.)
- Court Rejects Effort to Keep Migrants From Being Sent to South Sudan (“After the Supreme Court ruled that the deportations could move forward, a last-ditch attempt to block them with a new lawsuit faltered.” This is cruel and crazy.)
- Judge transfers new case challenging South Sudan deportations (“An administrative stay issued Friday morning will last until 4:30 p.m. Further action would have to come from Massachusetts. Read the new claims at Law Dork.”)
- Trump is waging war against the media – and winning (“As the president’s attacks are met with a distinct lack of resistance, critics warn that freedom of the press is eroding in plain sight”)
- Trump’s All-Out Assault on Science Constitutes a “Mind-Boggling Own-Goal” (“Its meddling and arbitrary cuts to staff, programs, and grants are killing an engine of American greatness, insiders say.”)
- Is ChatGPT killing higher education? (“AI is creating a cheating utopia. Universities don’t know how to respond.”)
- The Supreme Court and Congress cede powers to Trump and the presidency
- Trump Signs Cruel Tax And Spending Bill With Major Cuts To Medicaid
Trump signs big tax cut and spending bill into law in July Fourth ceremony (“The president’s sweeping domestic policy achievement extends his expiring 2017 tax cuts, but could cause millions in the U.S. to lose their health coverage and food aid over the next decade.”)- Is This Really How We’re Legislating Now? (“The process was marred by dynamics that have increasingly undermined Congress’s status as a dominant and deliberative institution: The bill lacked a clear and inspired purpose, it supplanted the expertise of congressional committees for the whims of holdouts and the president, and it relied on the make-or-break reconciliation mechanism that limits the ability to write sound policy. Congress is no longer in the business of thoughtful legislating. Its role has been reduced to putting political points on the board for the president.”)
- GOP megabill littered with special tax breaks
- It’s Official: The GOP Is Not A Working-Class Party
- Trump Assures Americans They’re Not ‘All Gonna Die’ Because of Megabill
- Trump Scrambles to Defend His Megabill After Savage Polling
- How Bad Is This Bill? The Answer in 10 Charts.
- Trump Pollution Exemptions Would Shield Lawbreakers, Endanger Millions (“Analysis shows EPA rollbacks of the HON rule would put overburdened communities at risk and benefit chemical plants that frequently violate their permits.”)
- The Declaration of Independence Called George III a Tyrant. It’s Just as Applicable to Trump Today. (“Skip the preamble to find all the reasons the current president has failed to uphold our democracy.”)
- ‘Hateful’ Trump Trashed Over ‘F**king Disgusting’ Line About Half The Country For Fourth Of July (“The moment was slammed as ‘shocking’ and ‘unreal.'”)
- Trump pleads ignorance after using antisemitic slur (Riiiight.)
- Anti-Defamation League decries Trump’s use of ‘centuries-old antisemitic trope’ at rally
- No, Black people may not be joining all of your protests. But they are still resisting
- Musk’s primary threats pose danger for Republicans
- Air Force Abandons Project With Musk’s SpaceX (“The Air Force had previously planned to test hypersonic rocket cargo deliveries with Musk’s company.”)
- “I’ll Think About It.” Andy Beshear Mulls 2028 Run While Raging Against Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” (“The mild-mannered Kentucky governor tells VF, ‘There’s nothing beautiful about’ the controversial legislation.”)
- At least 24 dead in Texas flash flooding; two dozen young campers missing
- Death toll from Hill Country flash floods rises to 24 as rescue efforts continue
- At Least 24 Dead, More Than 20 Children Missing in Catastrophic Texas Floods (“Missing children are from Camp Mystic, a Christian girls camp located along the Guadalupe River, officials say”)
- Senators Mark Warner, Tim Kaine on Trump Signing “Cruel and Reckless” “Partisan Megabill” Into Law (“Virginians deserve better, especially on a day that is meant to be about celebrating the promise of America and freedom from tyranny.”)
- Glenn Youngkin wrote a GOP playbook for winning Virginia. Republicans hope Winsome Earle-Sears can follow it (This CNN article is so dumb. In fact, the main factors by far were: 1) a Democrat in the White House – Virginia almost always goes opposite; 2) that Democrat, Joe Biden, had a low approval rating; 3) Youngkin is worth several hundred million $$$ and had tons of money to spend; 4) Youngkin had no record, thus could pretend to be all things to all people; 5) the media relentlessly whitewashed/sanewashed Youngkin as some sort of “moderate,” “normie Republican,” etc.)
- “Just running is a win for democracy”: Virginia Democrats Have Candidates Running in All 100 House of Delegates Districts, Even the Reddest Ones; Republicans Aren’t Contesting 19 Districts
- Flip and Defend-a-District 2025: Volume 5 (May Nivar, Cat Porterfield, Mario Haggerty, Del. Kathy Tran) (The key, winnable race this week is HD57, held by a Republican delegate, but which Kamala Harris won by over 9 points last November.)
- Protesters gather for No Kings 2.0 on Independence Day
- ‘Make a better life’: Fort Monroe naturalization ceremony welcomes nearly 100 new citizens
- CWG Live updates: Lots of sun and rising temperatures this weekend
********************************************************
