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by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, September 19. First day of early voting is TODAY – so make sure you vote for Abigail Spanberger, Ghazala Hashmi, Jay Jones and your district’s House of Delegates Democratic incumbent or challenger!
- The ‘blob’ is back — except this time it stretches across the entire North Pacific (“A record-breaking and astonishingly expansive marine heat wave is underway in the Pacific Ocean, stretching about 5,000 miles from the water around Japan to the West Coast of the United States. The abnormally warm “blob” of ocean water, which is getting a significant boost from human-caused global warming, is affecting the weather on land and could have ripple effects on marine life.”)
- Wildfire smoke will kill nearly 1.4m each year by end of century if emissions not curbed – study (“Separate research found that at the current rate of global heating, more than 70,000 people will die in the US by 2050”)
- CEFC to get new mandate for rapid rollout of wind and solar as Australia aims for 97 pct renewables (This is what we should be going in the US!)
- Exxon Urges Europe to Repeal Rules to Make Companies Track Climate Pollution (Disgusting.)
- For comedians around the world, the laughs often end as democracy fades
- European Commission puts forward new package of sanctions against Russia
- Not How Laws Work: Why Trump’s TikTok Evasion Matters
- Trump and China’s Xi set to discuss trade tensions, TikTok deal (“The leaders of the world’s two biggest economies will talk for the first time since June. The call could pave the way for an in-person meeting as soon as next month.”)
- Trump nixed $400 million in Taiwan military aid, pushing future arms sales (“President Donald Trump declined to approve a package of weapons to Taiwan this summer, as he tries to negotiate a trade deal and potential summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping” Abandoning another long-time ally?)
- US blocks UN call for Gaza ceasefire for sixth time (Trump has been backing pretty much everything Netanyahu et al have been doing.)
- Israel army says it will use ‘unprecedented force’ in Gaza City and urges residents to leave
- Israel readies furious response to Macron’s Palestinian statehood push (“France is expected to recognize a Palestinian state on Monday at the United Nations General Assembly.”)
- Syria risks rupturing as armed camps face off across the Euphrates
- Saudi pact puts Pakistan’s nuclear umbrella into Middle East security picture
- Democrats Seek to Limit Trump’s War Powers After Venezuela Boat Strikes (“Lawmakers have said that President Trump has not provided sufficient evidence about the threat posed by the vessels or the legal basis to use force against them.”)
- U.S. ambassador ‘disappointed’ with anti-American sentiment in Canada (That sentiment was 100% caused by the U.S. ambassador’s boss, Donald J. Trump!)
- ICE seeks hundreds of new offices across U.S. as agency expands (Ominous.)
- 11 Elected Officials Arrested Trying to Access Cells at N.Y.C. ICE Facility (WILDLY unacceptable.)
- How Did ICE “Lose” Alligator Alcatraz Detainees?
- CDC panel recommends multiple shots for measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox instead of single vaccine (WTF???)
- Vaccine Panel Stacked by RFK Jr. Recommends Delaying MMRV Immunization (“The vaccine advisory group ACIP, not all members of which seemed to know what the group does, recommended to the CDC that combined MMRV shots not be given before age 4.” F*** these people.)
- RFK Jr.’s vaccine panel makes a controversial change to the childhood vaccine schedule (This is PATHETIC by Politico, using the cowardly weasel word “controversial” – when, in fact, there is basically ZERO controversy about this among actual doctors, scientists, etc. The word that should have been used was something like “insane,” “extreme,” etc. But the mainstream media WILL NOT DO THAT, because they are mostly corporate and cowardly.)
- States band together on vaccine recommendations in challenge to Trump administration
- How right-wing media sow distrust and confusion around vaccines and science
- The Trump Administration Is Dismantling Climate Policies (This is truly evil.)
- Trump’s Terrifying, Self-Serving Rebrand of Political Violence (“Now it only counts when the left does it.” And “the left” does it a LOT less than “the right” does it, according to objective metrics.)
- Military leaders consider recruiting campaign centered around Charlie Kirk (So their aim is to recruit people with a right-wing ideology? Sure sounds like it.)
- Senate passes “National Day of Remembrance for Charlie Kirk” (“Some Democrats fear that anything short of a unanimous vote for the resolution could be a messaging coup for Republicans.”)
- With the Jimmy Kimmel saga, the media is learning what happens when you give a mouse a cookie (“Corporate America made a big gamble on the theory that playing nice with Trump would buy them good will. It’s not working.”)
- When identity politics Trumps the Constitution (“The First Amendment is the latest casualty of the Republican Party’s identity politics, and Trump’s cult of personality. What can stop him?”)
- Jimmy Kimmel’s Suspension Is a Five-Alarm Fire (“Trump will not be satisfied until every media outlet becomes more conservative—and obedient to him.”)
- Trump’s War on Media Expands With Jimmy Kimmel Suspension
- An Escalation in Every Way (“Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension from late-night is a chilling precedent that could have deep consequences if it isn’t swiftly undone.”)
- Do Not Underestimate How Dangerous The Jimmy Kimmel Suspension Is (“Trump wants the ability to control what is said and who can say it. And he’s been getting it.”)
- MAGA Drummed Up B.S. to Take Down Jimmy Kimmel (“ABC suspended Kimmel’s show after right-wingers twisted comments he made in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination”)
- Trump’s brazen attack on free speech (“How the Trump administration took Jimmy Kimmel off the air.”)
- Trump Administration Live Updates: President Says Broadcasters Risk Losing Licenses When Hosts Criticize Him (EVERY SINGLE AMERICAN – including conservatives, if they actually believe in their professed values – should be outraged at this.)
- What Jimmy Kimmel’s Suspension Says About the Trump Administration’s Crackdown Against Mainstream Media
- FCC Chair Carr says ‘we’re not done yet’ after Jimmy Kimmel suspension by ABC (Carr – and his boss Trump – are a menace to freedom of speech in America.)
- Trump suggests FCC could revoke licenses of TV broadcasters that give him too much ‘bad publicity’
- The Trump Administration’s Chilling Efforts to Punish Free Speech
- What happened behind the scenes that led to Kimmel suspension (Nothing good, that’s for sure.)
- Republicans Kill Attempt to Subpoena FCC Chair After Jimmy Kimmel Suspension
- Trump’s Ouster of Jimmy Kimmel Is Much Worse Than You Think It Is
- Disney Pulled Jimmy Kimmel as Pressure Built on Multiple Fronts (Disney is a DISGRACE.)
- Brendan Carr Isn’t Going to Stop Until Someone Makes Him (“In the wake of Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension, experts say the FCC commissioner’s conduct is flatly unconstitutional. They also expect him to keep going.”)
- Kimmel’s suspension prompts free-speech Republicans to reconsider their boundaries
- Jimmy Kimmel drama | The biggest losers: Disney, ABC, ESPN, Marvel, Hulu, Trump? (Disney, Sinclair and Nextar are f’ing DISGRACES.)
- Jimmy Kimmel and the MAGA strong-arming of American media
- Stephen Colbert Hammers ‘Weak’ ABC for ‘Blatant’ Jimmy Kimmel Censorship’ (“With an autocrat, you cannot give an inch”)
- ‘Tonight, we are all Jimmy Kimmel,’ Stephen Colbert says, calling Trump an ‘autocrat’
- David Letterman’s Jimmy Kimmel Reaction: ‘We All See Where This Is Going, Correct?’
- Jon Stewart Goes Full State TV to Nail Trump on Kimmel
- A Government of All the Podcasters (“The right-wing podcast-industrial complex is establishing new norms and taboos—and expanding the White House’s power.”)
- No Kings Day | Protests set for Oct. 18 against backdrop of Epstein files, Charlie Kirk
- Senate confirms 48 Trump nominees at once, including Kimberly Guilfoyle and Callista Gingrich (Just appalling.)
- Senate sets Friday votes on dueling funding bills
- Trump poised to fire US attorney for resisting effort to charge NY AG Letitia James: Sources (This is very much part of the Trump administration’s war against the rule of law and accountability for crimes in our country.)
- Florida plans to stop school vaccine mandates. These states could follow.
- In ‘107 Days,’ Kamala Harris Lays Out Her Regrets
- Buttigieg responds to Harris’ VP snub: You earn voters’ trust on ‘what they think you’re going to do,’ not ‘on categories’ (“The former transportation secretary responded to a recent passage from the former vice president’s new book that explained why she didn’t pick him as a running mate.” Buttigieg is only partly right…in fact, identity is important to a LOT if not MOST voters…even if everything should be based on ideas, qualifications, policy proposals, etc.)
- Harris’ score-settling, elbow-throwing, bridge-burning memoir (“The former vice president’s reflection on the 2024 campaign includes pointed anecdotes about likely 2028 contenders.”)
- New York Democratic Chairman Won’t Endorse Mamdani for Mayor (“The decision by Jay Jacobs, the party chairman, puts him at odds with Democratic primary voters and New York’s governor.”)
- Texas A&M President to Step Down After Controversy Over ‘Gender Ideology’ (Crazy.)
- n Texas, Parents Fighting Vaccinations Say Their Movement Is Winning (“Public health advocates hoped that the measles outbreak might persuade the reluctant to get shots. That has not turned out to be true.” These people are deranged and very dangerous.)
- More than half of California voters back Newsom redistricting plan: Poll
- Warner Accuses Trump Administration of Undermining National Security
- Video: Sen. Mark Warner Argues “if we’d put guardrails on social media a dozen years ago…We might have prevented the tragic assassination of Charlie Kirk.” (Warner says Kimmel suspension, Trump’s $15 billion lawsuit against the NY Times, etc., could be taking us “down a very dangerous dangerous path”)
- Warner slams federal ‘politicization’ of Alexandria schools
- New Scorecard: Reps. Rob Wittman (R-VA01), Jen Kiggans (R-VA02), John McGuire (R-VA05), Ben Cline (R-VA06) Have All Voted 100% with Trump (In contrast, Reps. Bobby Scott (D-VA03), Jennifer McClellan (D-VA04), Don Beyer voted just 2% with Trump; Reps. Eugene Vindman (D-VA07) and Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA10) voted 17% and 29%, respectively, with Trump.)
- At Henrico campaign stop, Wittman touts ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ as win for working families (There’s no good reason why this paper didn’t put the word “falsely” in its headline. Because, objectively/demonstrably speaking, Wittman is LYING THROUGH HIS TEETH!)
- On talk show, John Reid said patients coming to Virginia for abortions is like slave trade (“Reid, the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor, repeated lies about abortion on his Richmond radio show.” Now THIS is an excellent headline/subheader, albeit about old news from 2023; of course, thanks largely to the “mainstream media”‘s whitewashing of John Reid, almost nobody knows anything about him, even though he expressed extreme views like this on his radio show for many years, and on pretty much every topic.)
- Youngkin signs order directing removal of non-citizens from voter rolls (There are close to zero, if not zero, issues of this.)
- New Wason Center Poll of Virginia: Spanberger Leads Earle Sears 52%-40%; Hashmi Leads Reid 48%-37%; Jones Leads Miyares 48%-41% (Trump approval at just 39%-58%; Youngkin’s at 48%-42%)
- CNU poll: Spanberger leads by 12 percentage points, Democrats set for sweep (“However, the CNU poll at this point four years ago showed Democrats with similar leads, and they all lost. There are some key differences, though. Here’s a closer look.” Haha, of course Dwayne Yancey had to throw that in there…lol.)
- Ahead of Early Vote Starting Tomorrow, Virginians Know Winsome Earle-Sears Puts Trump and Her Extreme Agenda Before the Commonwealth (“The Commonwealth deserves a Governor whose number-one priority is Virginia’s working families…that’s not Sears”)
- Early voting in Virginia starts Friday. Here’s what you need to know.
- Virginia voter guide: Early voting begins Friday for November election for governor, delegates, more
- Pope & Schapiro: Virginia’s lengthy early voting window gets underway
- Mark Rozell: For Earle-Sears, cribbing Youngkin’s 2021 playbook is risky
- NEW AD: Jay Jones Releases New Ad Highlighting Jason Miyares’ Anti-Abortion Record (“Miyares has tried to ban it before. He’ll do what Trump and MAGA want: make abortions illegal in Virginia.”)
- VPM News’ interview questions for Jason Miyares (“The attorney general’s campaign did not agree to speak with VPM News.” It’s funny, because the questions were pretty softball, didn’t press him at all on being one of the worst Attorneys General in Virginia history, being Trump’s lapdog, etc. In general, the media continues to do a horrible job of informing voters how extreme these MAGA Republicans are, while continuing to normalize/sanewash them. It’s really pathetic.)
- Early voting starts today; here are 6 things shaping the election (This article is ok for what it is- overwhelmingly about the “horse race,” which is journalism’s “safe space” – but again, absolutely nothing about how far-right/extreme these Republican candidates are. This is most definitely a CHOICE on the part of most political reporters, with rare exceptions like Chris Graham at the Augusta Free Press.)
- Virginia sees sharp decline in opioid deaths, but tranquilizers and cocaine are emerging concerns
- Virginia’s medical marijuana program logs big sales, but patient concerns linger
- Following James Walkinshaw’s Election to the US House, Special Election Date of 12/9/25 Set for Vacant Braddock District Supervisor Position (Fairfax Dems have announced a firehouse primary on 10/4 to select their nominee)
- Sharing stories: Losing her son’s Medicaid would be devastating, Virginia mom says (“Kim Gould says Medicaid is the ‘thing that keeps our disabled kids and adults in their communities.’” There are many, many stories like this one, presumably including a TON of Republicans – who should speak up!)
- Toasty with bright skies today, then less warm this weekend
