| Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... |
by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Tuesday, August 5.
- A wasting disease killed millions of sea stars. After years of searching, scientists just found a cause.
- Miracle product or pollution nightmare? Why a deal to cut plastic waste is hard to reach
(“The world’s nations are hoping to sign the first global plastic treaty to limit plastic pollution.”) - A new report shows how local climate activism leads to ‘remarkable’ gains
- Ukraine’s killer interceptors take aim at Russia’s Shahed drones (“Ukraine is developing fast and cheap interceptors to knock down incoming Russian drones, forcing Moscow to react.”)
- Putin and Trump’s relationship has soured – but behind the posturing, a Ukraine deal is still possible (“Steve Witkoff is visiting Moscow this week – is it a sign that an agreement between Russia and the US to end the fighting in Ukraine could yet be reached?”)
- India calls out EU and U.S. on trade with Russia after Trump threatens steeper tariffs on New Delhi
- China is winning the trade war Trump started (“On many fronts, Trump is inadvertently aiding China’s anti-American dictatorship.”)
- Netanyahu vows to occupy Gaza as U.S. touts ‘all or nothing’ hostage plan (“President Donald Trump’s envoy announced the end of ‘piecemeal’ ceasefire talks, as Hamas released hostage videos and Israel’s leader dug in for another offensive.”)
- Netanyahu decides on full occupation of Gaza Strip, IDF activity in areas with hostages, PMO says
- Israel’s Last Chance (“Flooding Gaza with food is the only way out of a crisis largely created by Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister.”)
- Israel-Gaza war live: Netanyahu to meet security cabinet to decide on next steps in war
- Speaker Mike Johnson visits occupied West Bank to support Israeli settlers (“Palestinian foreign ministry condemns Republican visit for ‘undermining efforts to stop the war and cycle of violence’”)
- Rwanda agrees to take up to 250 migrant deportees
- Brazil Supreme Court orders house arrest of ex-president Bolsonaro (This is what should have happened with Trump. Instead, America massively failed.)
- Poland is sliding back towards populism. Democrats elsewhere should heed our mistakes (“Donald Tusk has failed to offer a positive vision for the future. Without one, liberals will just be an interval between populist acts”)
- Fox News scoffed that Andry Hernandez was “just a gay barber” when Trump sent him to a torture prison. Now, Fox ignores reporting that he was sexually assaulted there.
- A Decisive Moment for Trump’s Immigration Crackdown (“Public opinion is turning on the President’s policies, but it might not be enough to keep the country from entering a much darker phase.”)
- Trump’s Tariffs Are Kleptocracy in Action (“Very little of what you’ve heard about presidential ‘deals’ is true. It’s really a shakedown on behalf of Trump’s desires and corporate whims.”)
- Our President Is Economically Illiterate (“President Trump has been told over and over again by economists of all political persuasions that tariffs are much like a sales tax and will ultimately be paid by American consumers; he likely would have been taught that concept during his time at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.”)
- Turns out the Trump economy is not doing so well after all (“The only things keeping America out of a recession are robots and health care.”)
- Donald Trump Tries to Spin and Purge His Way to Declaring Economic Victory (“It’s not working, new polling shows”)
- I was the US labor secretary. Trump’s latest firing undermines a key agency (“The firing of Erika McEntarfer, head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, destroys the credibility of essential information”)
- Trump stokes conspiracies about jobs data, as White House defends firing BLS chief (Yep, America elected a conspiracy theorist as president. Great job, everyone who voted for that!)
- White House searches for a new BLS chief with ‘credibility’ and ‘experience’ (Good luck with that!)
- Trump’s firing of BLS official casts shadow on federal data gathering
- When Trump Changes His Mind, Republicans Find a Way to Fall in Line (“President Trump’s decision to fire the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics forced his allies to criticize an agency they had freely cited in the past.”)
- Trump Fired America’s Economic Data Collector. History Shows the Perils. (“Economists say unbiased data is essential for policymaking, and for democracy.”)
- The America We Knew Is Rapidly Slipping Away
- Judges Openly Doubt Government as Justice Dept. Misleads and Dodges Orders (“Legal experts say the actions causing concern from the bench could have a more systemic effect, eroding the healthy functioning of the courts.”)
- The Case for Retaining Faith in Courts That Trump Is Slowly Corrupting
- RFK Jr. may be on the verge of dismantling U.S. preventive health care
- Wildfire smoke is like smoking ‘half a pack a day.’ Here’s how to protect yourself
- Trump is falling into an old energy trap (“America needs more electricity, yet the administration is actively stymieing wind and solar power.” Which are the cheapest forms of new electric generation, btw.)
- CBO: Republican megabill to cost $4.1T, due to higher borrowing costs
- Pam Bondi orders grand jury probe of Obama administration review of 2016 election (“Past probes, including two conducted by Republicans, found no such crimes. Democrats have accused Bondi of trying to distract attention from the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.”)
- Trump Administration Won’t Say Why It Transferred Ghislaine Maxwell To A Minimum-Security Prison
- Epstein victims blast Justice Department over lack of transparency
- How Trump Caved And Went Home With ‘Nothing’ In Talks With Chuck Schumer
- Top Hegseth aide tried to oust senior White House liaison from Pentagon
- Pete Hegseth’s Pentagon Is Becoming a Bubble (“An already insular Defense Department is sealing itself off from outside thinkers.”)
- White House Preps Order to Punish Banks That Discriminate Against Conservatives (“The president is expected to sign an executive order as soon as this week that targets so-called debanking of businesses including crypto companies”)
- Trump Praises ‘HOTTEST’ Sydney Sweeney Ad, Bashes Taylor Swift (“The debacle over the Euphoria star’s great ‘jeans’ — and her politics — has made it all the way to the president”)
- Some swing district Republicans object to Texas redistricting plan as Democrats threaten to retaliate (“Two GOP lawmakers say they’ll offer bills to curtail gerrymandering. They could be in the line of fire if Democrats in other states respond in kind.”)
- What happens next in Texas redistricting and for Democrats facing civil arrest warrants
- GOP effort forms to shut down Texas vs. California redistricting war
- Abbott orders arrest of Democrats who fled Texas (Abbott is one of Youngkin’s role-model governors, btw.)
- Greg Abbott’s Fight With Texas Democrats Is a Dangerous Escalation (“The Republican governor has turned a routine struggle into total war.”)
- Texas House votes to issue arrest warrants for Democrats who left state to block congressional redistricting (Thugs and authoritarians.)
- Missouri Republicans Consider Joining Texas to Redraw House Maps
- Hochul embraces gerrymandering in New York
- Scoop: Brown interviewing campaign managers for Ohio Senate race
- Marjorie Taylor Greene presses Trump to pardon George Santos
- What’s Going On With Marjorie Taylor Greene? (“The congresswoman from Georgia has split with Donald Trump and the MAGA faithful on a number of issues over the last few months. In a new interview, she said she doesn’t want “anything to do with“ the current Republican Party.”)
- Zuckerberg fired the fact-checkers. We tested their replacement. (“Our tech columnist drafted 65 community notes, Meta’s new crowdsourced system to fight falsehoods. It failed to make a dent.”)
- Local leaders meet with Sen. Kaine over impacts of federal cuts (“Sen. Kaine hosted a roundtable with many local leaders, discussing the impacts of tariffs and federal cuts that have affected the region.”)
- Kaine, Scott hear potential problems if budget cuts happen in Hampton Roads
- The Jen Kiggans, Rob Wittman, and Winsome Earle-Sears Agenda: Devastating Job Cuts for Virginia (“When it comes to enabling devastating job cuts across Virginia, Jen Kiggans, Rob Wittman, and Winsome Earle-Sears are three peas in a pod.”)
- Video: In New Ad, Winsome Earle-Sears Doesn’t Think Virginians Losing Their Jobs Is A “Real Issue” (“Starting today, the ad will be targeted to thousands of households across Northern Virginia.”)
- Trump says he’d endorse Earle-Sears for Virginia governor, months into race
- Former VA Citizen Redistricting Commissioner James Abrenio Reacts to Texas Republicans’ Extreme Gerrymander Attempt, Says “”If they pass that s*** in TX, I’d be open to [repealing Virginia’s redistricting amendment].” (Abrenio posts video: “I was a Virginia Redistricting Commissioner. We must all condemn what is happening Texas.”)
- VA Dems Name New Executive Director, Chris Bolling, Who Held That Same Job During the 2017-2019 “Blue Wave” Years (Bolling: “Virginia Democrats led the way in 2017, and I look forward to joining the fight as we do so again in 2025.”)
- Va. delegate proposes child opportunity accounts with data center tax money, other revenue
- UVA names veteran law professor Paul Mahoney new interim president (“How you can tell he won’t be a candidate for the job full time: he clerked for the late Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall (liberal justice, strike one), and he’s a member of the Council on Foreign Relations (Deep State, strikes two and three). That’s probably a good thing, because whoever would get the job now certainly won’t be there this time next year, with the politics about to change.”)
- Paul Mahoney, former dean of Law School, selected as interim president
- U-Va. selects interim leader following former president’s resignation (“The University of Virginia’s board of visitors selected longtime law professor Paul G. Mahoney to lead the school following the resignation of its former president amid intense pressure from the Trump administration.”)
- As VCU rolls back transgender youth health services, research shows controversial surgical procedures are rare (“A report from Harvard released last month reviewed health records for 22 million minors and found 151 gender affirming breast reductions. Only 5 were performed on trans kids. The rest were conducted on cisgender male-identifying minors with a condition that causes enlargement of the male breast.”)
- Transgender student policies spark dueling protests in Loudoun County (“We are standing up for kids. It’s that simple. These are trans kids who we know are protected by the law. The Gavin Grimm v. Glouster Supreme Court ruling made it very clear: These kids have the right to use the restroom. They’re not hurting anybody.”)
- Roanoke launches new task force to address homelessness
- Expert: Hurricane season picking up steam, impact likely in Virginia
- CWG Live updates: Cloudier today as heat remains in retreat this week
