by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Tuesday, August 12.
- Heat stress leads to worst bleaching on record for coral reef ecosystems (Disastrous.)
- Europe to Trump: Stand up for Ukraine when you talk to Putin (“Though sidelined in Alaska, European leaders are trying to influence the outcome of Ukraine peace talks — and showing some success.”)
- Europe live: Russia is ‘making movements’ that indicate it is preparing for a new offensive, Zelenskyy says (“Ukrainian president thanks EU leaders for their support and calls for further pressure on Russia”)
- Russia Has High Hopes for Trump-Putin Summit. Peace Isn’t One of Them.
- Trump Says He’s Going to Alaska to See What Putin ‘Has in Mind’ (We know what Putin has in mind – that he can totally “play” Trump and get what he wants. And Putin’s probably right, because Trump is an IDIOT.)
- Ukraine’s borders must not be changed by force, EU leaders say
- Australia PM says Israel’s Netanyahu ‘in denial’ about Gaza war
- North Koreans tell BBC they are being sent to work ‘like slaves’ in Russia
- Trump says he’s open to letting Nvidia sell a downgraded version of its most advanced chip to China
- Trump extends China tariff deadline by 90 days
- Trump Wields Tariffs as a Force in Diplomacy, to Questionable Effect
- Why Trump’s tariffs haven’t gotten Brazil to cave (“Trump has tied tariffs so large they are effectively sanctions to an issue Lula’s government has made clear it won’t negotiate on.”)
- Israel and Gaza, Held Hostage by Fundamentalism (“Benjamin Netanyahu may do to his country what its enemies have failed to achieve.”)
- Increasing the danger: Journalist killing in Gaza sends a chilling message
- How Trump’s immigration policies are affecting caregivers and nursing homes
- Trump’s Shameful Anti-Immigrant Policies Are Starting to Disrupt Food Supplies (“Fruits and vegetables are rotting because there aren’t enough workers to pick them.”)
- Small Businesses Brace for the Punishing Side Effects of Trump’s Tariffs
- Trump to Nominate Bureau of Labor Statistics Critic to Lead Agency (“E.J. Antoni is chief economist at the conservative Heritage Foundation and has long criticized the agency’s approach to collecting jobs data”)
- Trump Names Heritage’s EJ Antoni to Lead Bureau of Labor Statistics (And with that, we can no longer trust a single number coming out of BLS…)
- Trump Taps BLS Skeptic To Replace Leader He Fired Over Grim Jobs Report
- Trump nominates Heritage Foundation economist as labor statistics chief
- New Inflation Data Likely to Show Deepening Impact of Trump’s Tariffs
- Trump’s tax law will mostly benefit the rich, while leaving poorer Americans with less, CBO says
- How the 2025 Reconciliation Act (Public Law 119-21) Will Affect the Distribution of Resources Available to Households
- Trump Tax Law Squeezes Poor, Boosts Income for Wealthy, CBO Says
- Exclusive: Medical journal rejects Kennedy’s call for retraction of vaccine study (“An influential U.S. medical journal is rejecting a call from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to retract a large Danish study that found that aluminum ingredients in vaccines do not increase health risks for children”)
- Convicted Felon Trump Lies About Crime Rate In D.C., Deploys Troops (“Crime rates in the nation’s capital are the lowest they have been in decades, and have decreased dramatically over the last two years.”)
- Trump Pulls Military Into Another Political Issue (“The National Guard troops who will move into Washington, D.C., will not perform law enforcement tasks but may be able to detain people temporarily, officials said.”)
- How Trump Is Expanding the Role of the American Military on U.S. Soil (“His deployment of the National Guard in D.C. comes as he plans to broaden the use of U.S. military bases for immigrant detention centers”)
- Trump’s D.C. crime claims don’t match the data (“Violent crime is declining in D.C. — not rising, as President Trump claimed on Monday.”)
- Trump’s moves toward taking over Washington are unprecedented. Here’s what the law says
- Bowser calls Trump’s takeover of D.C. police department ‘unsettling and unprecedented’
- Does President Trump Want to Be Mayor, Too?
- FACT FOCUS: Trump exaggerates, misstates facts on Washington crime
- Trump’s Farcical D.C. Crackdown (“His law-enforcement surge is a show of weakness, not power.”)
- Trump’s Assault on Washington, D.C (“Trump is now pursuing his fever dream of a federalized police state in the nation’s capital. We cannot remain silent.”)
- Trump Warns Fascist D.C. Takeover Is Just the Beginning
- Trump Plays the Carnage Card (“Fake crime wave, real power grab”)
- Trump’s D.C. Takeover Is a Fascist Spectacle (“The president’s vague plan to “federalize” the nation’s capital is best understood as a pageant of authoritarianism from an administration that’s flailing.”)
- D.C. Police Put Under Federal Control, Are Now ‘Allowed to Do Whatever the Hell They Want’
- The President’s Police State (“Trump is delivering the authoritarian government his party once warned about.”)
- Trump’s Washington police takeover echoes history of racist narratives about urban crime
- In a Gross Exaggeration of Fact, Trump Deployed the National Guard in D.C. to “Jail” Violent Criminals (“Crime in the nation’s capital is actually at a 30-year low. But that won’t stop the president from evicting the homeless too.”)
- Trump Is Taking Over D.C. Police Because He’s a Racist Thug (“Trump doesn’t care about ‘crime.’ He cares about the right white people being in charge.”)
- For Trump, Cities Like Washington Are Real Estate in Need of Fixing Up
- American Bar Association adopts resolution against Trump’s law firm crackdown
- Abbott: Texas can ‘eliminate’ 10 Democratic districts in response to California
- Harvard Nears a Deal With the Trump Administration to Restore Funding
- An Uncomfortably Revealing Laura Loomer Deposition (“Insights into her insults, clues about her career.”)
- Grok Claims It Was Briefly Suspended From X After Accusing Israel of Genocide (“Elon Musk’s chatbot saw another day of erratic activity as it also responded to user requests to identify performers in adult videos”)
- [UPDATED with Other Statements] VA11 Dem Nominee James Walkinshaw: “Deploying the National Guard will do nothing to improve public safety in D.C. It’s yet another transparent attempt to distract from the crises Trump has created…” (Meanwhile, “D.C.’s crime rate is the lowest we have seen in 30 years. “)
- Beyer, Kaine condemn Trump’s DC police takeover
- Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-VA02) Set to Pal Around With Palantir in Jackson Hole – But Won’t Hold a Town Hall in Virginia Beach
- Another free flight? Earle-Sears can’t say
- Winsome Earle-Sears Appears to Have Failed to Disclose Free Private Flights, Potentially Violating Virginia Law (“Earlier this year Earle-Sears revised an ethics filing to belatedly disclose that she took other free trips valued at more than $15,780, including a $6,000 trip to Israel.”)
- Earle-Sears suggests using Virginia’s ‘rainy day funds’ to cover possible Medicaid funding shortfall (The “Rainy Day Funds” are intended more for temporary probems, such as a deep recession or whatever, not a long-term funding problem as with the Republicans’ massive cuts to Medicaid.)
- Meet the candidate: former Del. Jay Jones
- Democrats gathered in Portsmouth to talk education
- Miyares hosting Epstein files coverup ringleader Pam Bondi at Tuesday summit
- Jason Miyares Must Say Where He Stands on Releasing the Epstein Files (MAGA Miyares, Pam Bondi speaking together at summit in Arlington this week)
- Va. Dems will again try to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day
- ‘Silly season’: Rasoul dismisses criticisms of Zionism social media post (However you feel about Gaza, Zionism, etc., this is deadly serious stuff which people feel VERY strongly about. It’s certainly not “silly season”)
- How Virginia colleges became the epicenter of Trump’s efforts to end DEI
- Some localities in Southwest and Southside will lose more than 30% of their population over next 25 years
- Protesters in Richmond call for ban on local cooperation with ICE after wave of detentions
- One year after deadly Listeria outbreak that killed 10, Virginia plant set to reopen
- ‘Unacceptable’: Lawmakers shocked to hear about reported NASA Wallops visitor center closure
- Did UVA kill its Uplift@UVA program because of money, or was it, ahem, something else? (“Notice something about the kids in the photo that I screenshotted from the Uplift@UVA webpage? Yeah, they’re all Black.”)
- Rainfall needed in some parts of Virginia; storms brewing in the Atlantic
- CWG Live updates: Heat and humidity are slowly increasing (“Humidity and heat increase over the coming days with thunderstorms chances emerging, especially on Wednesday.”)