by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Thursday, July 3.
- Political cowardice hindering Europe’s climate efforts, says EU’s green chief
- EU’s proposed 2040 emissions target signals its retreat as leader on climate action
- Trump admin tries to kill the most indisputable evidence of human-caused climate change by shuttering observatory (Deranged and heinous.)
- Trump’s weapons freeze on Ukraine could bring devastating consequences
- The Tragedy of Halting Weapons to Ukraine (“Trump Is Playing a Cynical Game With Ukraine”)
- Trump allies caught off guard by Pentagon’s Ukraine weapons freeze (“The decision left officials on both sides of the Atlantic scrambling to find out how long the pause might last.”)
- As US weapons for Ukraine dry up, Kyiv changes tactics (“With no new military aid coming from Trump, Kyiv wants permission to buy U.S. weapons via Europe.”)
- Pentagon says US strikes set back Iran nuclear program ‘one to two years’ (Of course, we can’t believe a word anyone in the Trump administration says, so…)
- US contractors say their colleagues are firing live ammo as Palestinians seek food in Gaza (WTF???)
- Israeli military used 500lb bomb in strike on Gaza cafe, fragments reveal (“Exclusive: Experts say use of heavy munition in Monday’s strike that killed dozens may constitute a war crime”)
- Kilmar Abrego Garcia says he was beaten and subjected to psychological torture in El Salvador jail (“He said he was kicked and hit so often after arrival that by the following day, he had visible bruises and lumps all over his body. He said he and 20 others were forced to kneel all night long and guards hit anyone who fell…Abrego Garcia said he saw others in nearby cells violently harm each other and heard screams from people throughout the night…His condition deteriorated and he lost more than 30 pounds in his first two weeks there, he said.” EVIL.)
- Kilmar Abrego Garcia describes ‘severe beatings’ and ‘psychological torture’ in Salvadoran prison (“Abrego submitted a harrowing and detailed account of abuse after the Trump administration illegally deported him.”)
- About 70 National Guard troops activated to protect Alligator Alcatraz (The media loves these ridiculous nicknames, like “One Big Beautiful Bill” and “Alligator Alcatraz.” It’s yet another way the “mainstream media” fails us.)
- Stephen Miller-backed group files complaint against Dodgers over DEI
- Swamp Thing (“Drop the cutesy name and call the Everglades facility what it is: an American concentration camp.”)
- Trump’s Immigration Enforcement: Free The Criminals, Jail The Innocent
- Illegal Border Crossings Plunge to Lowest Level in Decades
- Federal judge bars Trump administration from expelling asylum seekers
- Exclusive: Trump’s immigrant deportations are ‘morally repugnant,’ senior US Catholic leader says
- ICE’s $175 billion windfall: Trump’s mass deportation force set to receive military-level funding (“ICE is set to receive a massive infusion of cash aimed at building the capacity to detain more than 100,000 people”)
- After 47 years in the US, Ice took this Iranian mother from her yard. Her family just wants her home (“Donna Kashanian, 64 and a community service volunteer, arrived in 1978 on a student visa and has no criminal record”)
- Why ICE Officers Wearing Masks Is So Dangerous—Including for Them
- With June jobs report looming, DOGE government layoffs could start becoming a factor
- Why some fear government data on the economy is losing integrity (“U.S. policymakers are increasingly anxious about the integrity of certain government benchmarks, crucial data points that help the Federal Reserve assess the economy’s health and guide interest rate decisions.”)
- GOP holdouts fall in line, paving way for final passage of Trump bill
- Biden’s climate law boosted red states. Their lawmakers are now gutting it. (“The former president bet that the economic benefits of his policies would protect them over time. Trump and the GOP-controlled Congress have upended that wager.” Not only did Democrats not get credit for this from red-state and rural voters, if anything they were penalized for it. Wildly perverse incentive structure.)
- Thomas Massie on why fellow Republicans keep folding: ‘They’re just afraid of Trump’
- House Republicans are pushing Trump’s big bill to the brink of passage
- House Republicans Clear Critical Hurdle in Trump Tax Bill Debate
- Trump’s Tax-and-Spend Bill Is a Fiasco. Just Ask Republicans Who Voted for It
- The Conscience of Lisa Murkowski (“Today’s newsletter is farrago of cruelty, cowardice, betrayal, and hypocrisy.”)
- Many states’ Medicaid programs have a different name, but local reporting is connecting the dots on One Big Beautiful Bill’s massive cuts
- The Oligarchs’ Big Prize in Trump’s Budget-Busting Bill (“Avoiding an income-tax increase is nice, but that’s not the bill’s greatest gift to the rich.”)
- The big problem with Trump’s bill: Many voters don’t know what’s in it
- Justice Dept. Explores Using Criminal Charges Against Election Officials (“Such a path could drastically raise the stakes for federal investigations of state or county officials, bringing the department and the threat of criminalization into the election system.”)
- “No One Is Happy About It.” CBS Staffers Were Tired of the Paramount Drama, but the Settlement Intensifies Media-Capitulation Concerns (“As Elizabeth Warren calls for an investigation, staffers within the news division of the media giant have expressed a combination of disappointment and ‘acceptance’ over a settlement with Donald Trump that was ‘out of their hands.'”)
- Trump’s Lawfare Against the Free Press
- Paramount betrays ‘60 Minutes’ and the rest of us (“Parent company caves to baseless suit by Donald Trump.”)
- Inside CBS News, Staffers Voice Disgust, Anger, Relief and Anxiety After Trump Settlement
- Cowardly Paramount Just Waved the White Flag at Trump and Threw ‘60 Minutes’ Under the Bus
- How Hunter Biden Helped Derail His Father’s Reelection (Sure, but the media also played a HUGE role in this.)
- Biden, in Rare Remarks Since Presidency, Warns His Accomplishments Are Coming Undone (“Former president says European and domestic political leaders are seeking out his advice during Trump’s second term”)
- Tesla Is in Disarray. Musk Has Already Moved Beyond Caring About Cars. (“The electric-vehicle maker has an aging lineup and slumping sales, but its CEO has shifted his focus to robotaxis and robots”)
- Is North Carolina’s Suddenly Open Senate Seat Lara Trump’s to Lose? (“With Thom Tillis’s abrupt retirement announcement, the Tar Heel State could either be Trump’s best chance to tighten his grip on the Senate—or Democrats’ best chance to break it.”)
- Wisconsin Supreme Court Just Killed the “Zombie” Abortion Law
- Andrew Cuomo is trying to hang on to support for a general election bid (Cuomo is a total slimeball, which is a huge part of why he lost…)
- For Democrats, Mamdani Is a Wake-Up Call—and a Bad Example (“He shows how the party is falling short, but he has the wrong solutions.”)
- 21-Year-Old College Student Killed as Bystander While Interning in D.C., Police Say (“Eric Tarpinian-Jachym was an intern for Rep. Ron Estes of Kansas”)
- The Disturbing Implications of the Diddy Verdict (“The music mogul was acquitted of his most serious charges. What comes next?”)
- Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs verdict is a blow to federal prosecutors, analysts say (“The jury in the blockbuster trial ultimately rejected prosecutors’ assertion that the hip-hop mogul ran a racketeering and sex trafficking scheme.”)
- Senators Mark Warner, Tim Kaine on Trump Admin. Illegally Witholding $108 Million from Virginia Schools (“The $108 million being withheld from Virginia represents over 12 percent of the Commonwealth’s total K-12 funding.”)
- Sen. Tim Kaine sees Pope Leo XIV following Francis on path of servant leadership
- Youngkin: Arrests of immigrants in the country illegally make Virginia safer
- ‘They should be arrested’: Youngkin holds firm on support for ICE raids at Virginia courthouses
- Virginia’s statewide GOP candidates finally appear together — briefly
- After Youngkin Loses the Fight for the FBI HQ, and with SO Many Failures on Youngkin’s 3 1/2-Year Record as Governor, VA Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell Asks, “what has our Governor going full MAGA netted our state besides a UVA president firing?”
- Feds reinstate $33 million for Virginia schools
- ‘Time is running short’: Letters show growing Justice Dept. ire at U-Va. (“The Justice Department repeatedly expanded its inquiries into the University of Virginia and threatened funding cuts if corrective action wasn’t taken.”)
- Virginia increases funding for agricultural conservation projects aimed at Chesapeake Bay cleanup
- Jim Ryan gets the last laugh: Staying on as full professor at UVA
- UVA suddenly cancels virtual BOV meeting Wednesday
- Attorney general opens criminal investigation into baby giraffes missing from the Natural Bridge Zoo
- Librarian who planned Augusta County Pride event tells all: And it’s worse than we thought
- Augusta Health on the brink? Hospital makes plea to save Medicaid
- Trump nominates former House Speaker Todd Gilbert to Virginia federal prosecutor seat
- Editorial: Hampton Roads needs clarity on proposed move affecting Fort Eustis
- Richmond reinstates ‘RPS 5’ as part of transportation labor contract
- Trump administration funding freeze could impact Roanoke region’s after-school programs
- CWG Live updates: Seasonably warm and dry through the holiday weekend
