by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Sunday, September 21.
- Utility giant writes off coal assets as it transitions to renewables and storage
- Zelenskyy accuses allies of ‘wasting time’ as he prepares for Trump meeting (Agreed 100%: IMPOSE SEVERE SANCTIONS ON RUSSIA NOW!)
- Putin Decides He Can Step Up Attacks on Kyiv and Trump Won’t Act
- Trump Renews Pressure on Europe to Stop Buying Russian Oil (This headline should point out that Trump’s doing this in order to avoid/make excuses for not imposing US sanctions. Why doesn’t the headline point that out???)
- Oil Sanctions Have Made Russia’s Shadow Fleet Swell
- Ukraine’s Supply Runs Turn to Nightmares as Drones Menace Roads Far Beyond the Front (“In eastern Ukraine, new Russian drone tactics have made supply roads nearly as dangerous as the trenches.”)
- Russian general who served in Ukraine war is dismissed
- Ukraine Counterattacks, Scoring Rare, if Modest, Success in Northeast
- UK proposes using billions in frozen Russian cash for Ukraine loans
- How Russian-funded fake news network aims to disrupt election in Europe – BBC investigation
- Britain Is Manifesting Nigel Farage as Its Next Prime Minister (“Donald Trump’s state visit only added to the seeming inevitability of the right-wing Reform Party.” That would destroy the UK, just as Trump/MAGA are destroying the US)
- Scoop: Qatar requests Israeli apology to resume Gaza mediation efforts
- Scoop: Netanyahu asked U.S. to press Egypt on military build up in Sinai
- Starmer set to announce recognition of Palestinian state
- ‘We must change’: how drought and overextraction of water has run Iran dry (“Iranians blame climate change, sanctions, mistakes and neglect, and Iran’s vice-president wants to tackle them all” And overpopulation?)
- Violence erupts at right-wing demonstration in the Netherlands ahead of election
- Taliban Rejects Trump’s Demand to Return Bagram Air Base to US
- Trump says ‘bad things’ will happen if Afghanistan does not return Bagram air base
Look to Myanmar for a terrifying vision of a world where authoritarians have unfettered power- U.S. conducts fourth strike against vessel transferring drugs, Trump says (Any headline which has the “Trump says” formulation needs to also point out that Trump LIES ABOUT EVERYTHING!)
- New H-1B visa fee will not apply to existing holders, official says
- Trump’s $100,000 H-1B Visa Change Sparks Chaos at Tech Companies
- Trump’s new detention policy targets millions of immigrants. Judges keep saying it’s illegal.
- Trump’s economic promises to Black voters fall short after a modest shift in support for him in 2024
- Donald Trump’s Most Authoritarian Week Yet (“Trump and company are using Charlie Kirk’s assassination as an excuse to ramp up their ongoing campaign for total power”)
- America’s slow-motion coup speeds up: Tough lessons of the Kimmel affair (“MAGA forces told us all along they wanted to crush free speech. Maybe we’ll believe them now” Some of us DID believe them…)
- Trump Administration Cancels Annual Hunger Survey
- After cuts to food stamps, Trump administration ends government’s annual report on hunger in America (Classic authoritarianism.)
- News outlets, lawmakers condemn new Pentagon restrictions on journalists
- National Press Club Statement on Pentagon Restrictions That Threaten Independent Reporting
- Tulsi Gabbard did not alert White House before revoking 37 security clearances
- Trump Makes Bonkers Demand for Bondi to Lock Up His Enemies (“The president sent a rambling message to his attorney general on a public forum.”)
- ‘We can’t delay any longer’: Trump urges Bondi to prosecute his rivals
- Trump Demands That Bondi Move ‘Now’ to Prosecute Foes
- Trump demands Bondi prosecute political foes in Truth Social posts (“The messages came after he forced out a U.S. attorney in Virginia who declined to pursue charges against New York Attorney General Letitia James and former FBI director James Comey.”)
- I tried mortgage fraud cases. Trump’s revenge prosecutions are a sham.
- Jack Smith: “The Department of Justice Was My Home…That Home is Now On Fire.” (“Former Special Counsel Jack Smith delivered remarks at George Mason University this week, warning of the weaponization of the Justice Department under the Trump administration.”)
- The MAGA Movement Is Not a Debating Society (“Neither Trump nor the MAGA right wants to discuss or deliberate; it wants to dominate. American politics is no longer a fight over policy; it is a fight over the character of the nation itself. The task of this moment, then, is to defend the old vision of a more perfect union — of a more democratic and egalitarian American republic — not hope that one can avoid the fight by having the right conversation.”)
- Tom Homan was investigated for accepting $50,000 from undercover FBI agents. Trump’s DOJ shut it down. (In almost any other administration, this would be a MASSIVE scandal!)
- Trump Justice Dept. Closed Investigation Into Tom Homan for Accepting Bag of Cash
- Trump border czar Tom Homan reportedly accepted $50,000 in cash from undercover FBI agents
- National parks remove signs about climate, slavery and Japanese detention
- Top Democratic Leaders Ask Trump for Meeting to Avert a Shutdown (A meeting for what purpose exactly?)
- The US right claimed free speech was sacred – until the Charlie Kirk killing (Looks like they were lying the entire time.)
- Seeing Enemies Everywhere (“The government’s working definition of “hate speech” now seems to include anything that offends Donald Trump personally—including late-night comedy.”)
- The Post-Kirk Clampdown (“The current frenzy of right-wing cancel culture recalls the progressive lunacy that followed the murder of George Floyd. But the current iteration is more dangerous because it is backed by state power.”)
- Trump’s Censorship Binge After Kirk’s Killing Is Part of an All-Out Effort to Crush the Opposition
- Commentary: From my daughter to Charlie Kirk: How social media turns murder into profit (By Andy Parker.)
- Heightened security as Americans gather for Kirk memorial (“The event, organised by Turning Point USA (TPUSA), is on Sunday at State Farm Stadium in Glendale and could be attended by more than 100,000 people.”)
- ‘No evidence’ found yet of ties between Charlie Kirk’s shooting and left-wing groups, officials say (The murderer appears to have been 100% a lone actor.)
- Triggered MAGA Attorney Calls Secret Service on Newsom Over Nothing Tweet (“A Trump appointee went full Karen on ‘America’s favorite governor.'”)
- California bans most law enforcement officers from wearing masks during operations (Virginia should pass a similar law this coming General Assembly session.)
- Oklahoma Republicans propose all state colleges must have Charlie Kirk statue (WTF???)
- Trump White House tries to save Charlie Kirk’s young voter-machine
- Charlie Kirk memorial to be on par with a state funeral in scale, security
- Despite record plantings, the Chesapeake Bay watershed keeps losing trees
- Trump administration taps new US attorney in eastern Virginia amid fallout from Siebert resignation
- Conservative lawyer is new top federal prosecutor for office probing Letitia James after resignation
- Trump picks his former lawyer to be top prosecutor, as he pushes Bondi to investigate foes
- Trump says prosecutor fired after gaining “UNUSUALLY STRONG” Democratic support
- Warner, Kaine condemn Trump for “forcing out” Interim U.S. Attorney Erik Siebert
- Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-VA11) Demands FCC Chair Carr Resign and Congress Investigate Unconstitutional Actions (“Today it’s comedians making a joke, but the Administration won’t stop there”)
- McGuire hosts another telephone town hall, with little notice
- Doug Wilder: Virginia is America’s proving ground, especially in 2025
- US Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) Says the Only “Aura” Winsome Earle-Sears (“the Kari Lake of Virginia”) Has Is the “Aura of a Losing Candidate” (Earle-Sears campaigned last night with far-right-extremist and DOGE architect Vivek Ramaswamy, along with Glenn Youngkin, John Reid and Jason Miyares)
- MAGA themes pervade Virginia GOP as early voting starts (“At a rally for Winsome Earle-Sears, the GOP candidate for Virginia governor, Gov. Glenn Youngkin presented the choice for voters as one between a ‘fork of light’ and a ‘fork of darkness.'” WTF is a “fork of light” or “fork of darkness?” These people are so weird. See video clip, below…)
- Who’s more excited to welcome this Trump ally to Virginia — Democrats or Republicans?
- 2025 VA Dem Lt. Gov. Nominee Ghazala Hashmi Strongly Calls Out “antisemitic rhetoric from both extremes of the ideological spectrum”, “slogans such as ‘globalize the intifada’”; Warns That “criticism of Israel’s government often crosses the line into antisemitism”
- VA Flip and Defend-a-District 2025: Del. Michael Feggans (HD97), Del. Phil Hernandez (HD94), Jon Lucci (HD32), Joshua Outsey (HD45)
- Editorial: As early voting starts, time for Virginians to tune into campaigns (Sure, better late than never, but ideally everyone should be informed/engaged in the civic life of our nation and our state year-round.)
- The money race | A look at how Democrats are supporting our local House candidates
- Election 2025 | Stuarts Draft’s Makayla Venable represents youth in run for Virginia House
- Norfolk eyeing the creation of an entertainment district around new casino, Harbor Park
- CWG Live updates: Clouds hang around today. Some sun tomorrow before midweek showers
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