Tuesday News: “The Supreme Court Is Trump’s Partner in Crimes Against America”; “Trump’s Chicago invasion is now upon us”; “The Epstein Letter Is Real, and It’s Bad”; Earle-Sears Refuses to Comment on Rollback of School Vaccine Mandates

by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Tuesday, September 9.

• Geoengineering Won’t Save Us From Global Warming (“New research by a team of top ice and climate scientists debunks some speculative technological climate fixes for preserving the polar ice caps.”)
• Heroes and villains: Russia braces for eventual return of its enormous army (“Some returning veterans have committed serious crimes; Kremlin is working to ensure any mass return is smooth; Putin wants to ensure society is not destabilised – sources; Views differ on potential scale of risk to society”)
• Russian aerial bomb kills at least 21 civilians in rural Ukrainian village, Zelensky says (Putin is a war criminal and terrorist.)
• Majority in EU’s biggest states believes bloc ‘sold out’ in US tariff deal, poll finds
• Norway ruling Labour Party wins reelection while populists score gains
• Nepal PM Oli quits as anti-corruption protests spiral
• At least 60 people were killed in an overnight rebel attack in eastern Congo
• French government collapses as PM François Bayrou loses confidence vote (Ugh, not good.)
• Palestinians say ‘there’s no place left’ as Israel orders all residents to evacuate Gaza City
• Israel orders full evacuation of Gaza City as Netanyahu warns ‘this is only the beginning’ (What a nightmare.)
• Potential Trump tariff refund bill could top $1 trillion as Supreme Court fight looms
• The Supreme Court’s Constitutional Treason (“How Conservative Justices Legalized the Tyranny Our Founders Died to Prevent”)
• Chief Justice John Roberts Is Trying His Darnedest to Make Trump a Dictator
• Can a Despised Autocrat Consolidate Power? (“are cowardly elites and a compliant Supreme Court that keeps granting emergency powers enough to let a president who has not yet established a widespread climate of fear, who has low and declining public support, consolidate his position as autocrat?”)
• The Supreme Court Is Trump’s Partner in Crimes Against America (“Instead of trying to rein in Trump’s authoritarian urges, the justices have become his accomplices”)
• US supreme court allows Trump to remove Democrat from FTC post for now (“Court’s action gives the justices additional time to consider Trump’s formal request to let him fire Rebecca Slaughter”)
• Supreme Court upholds ‘roving patrols’ for immigration stops in Los Angeles
• SCOTUS tells ICE it can target people based on race (“ICE gets the go-ahead for indiscriminate immigration stops in LA.”)
• ICE launches ‘Operation Midway Blitz’ targeting immigrants in Chicago
• Chicago mayor says city “received no notice” ahead of Homeland Security’s “Operation Midway Blitz” announcement
• Trump’s Chicago invasion is now upon us
• DHS launches immigration crackdowns in Chicago, Boston
• Meet the New ICE Recruits
• Charlotte leaders criticized over killing of Ukrainian woman as Trump, MAGA target another Dem city
• How states can protect vaccines from RFK Jr. (“The window for a counteroffensive is closing fast.”)
• 
  As Covid surges in the US, Americans can’t get vaccinated: ‘terrified I might kill somebody’ (“The FDA is allowing the vaccine for people 65 and older, but younger people need to have an underlying condition”)
• Trump shares video highlighting discredited theory linking vaccines to autism (Insanity.)
• White House Prepares Report Critical of Statistics Agency
• Staffing Crisis Unfolds at BLS With a Third of Leadership Jobs Now Vacant (This is REALLY bad.)
• Project 2026: Trump’s Plan to Rig the Next Election (“From nationalizing voter suppression to flooding the streets with federal agents, the president and his allies are using all the tricks in the authoritarian playbook to tilt the midterms in their favor.”)
• Trump Administration Quietly Seeks to Build National Voter Roll
• On Shutdowns, Get the Wording Right and Other Thoughts (“I was very pleased to see that Ezra Klein has joined the ranks of those who think that Democrats need to gird themselves for a fight in the budget showdown coming at the end of this month. I have various disagreements with Klein, some rooted in policy and others more attitudinal, temperamental. But his influence within the Democratic elite is unrivaled. His words really matter. They matter enough to make me think Senate Dems may actually shift in time to make a difference here. His essential point is irrefutable. None of the arguments for standing down from back in March, which were at least arguable then, hold up anymore.”)
• Trump Administration Halts I.R.S. Crackdown on Major Tax Shelters
• ‘Man has a little fight with the wife’: Trump downplays domestic violence at Bible event
• Most US adults think individual choices keep people in poverty, new AP-NORC/Harris poll finds (That’s overwhelmingly NOT what keeps people in poverty.)
• In a Trump era, Black students flock to HBCUs, ‘where their history isn’t being erased’, says Spelman College president
• Epstein Birthday Letter With Trump’s Signature Revealed (“The 2003 birthday book also includes a letter that references Trump with a crude joke about a woman from another Epstein associate”)
• A Visual Breakdown of the Trump Birthday Letter to Epstein (“An analysis of the text and drawing long hidden in a 2003 birthday book” As always, just imagine the reaction by Republicans and the media if this story were about Joe Biden, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, etc.)
• House committee releases more Epstein documents, including ‘birthday book’ (“The book contains a sketch and note allegedly contributed by Donald Trump, though White House officials denied the president contributed to the book in any way.” Who cares if “White House officials denied the president contributed to the book in any way?” They are pathological liars, and that should be prominently noted in the news story!)
• In Epstein’s ‘Birthday Book,’ a Celebration of His Lecherous Exploits
• Trump’s Epstein letter denial just suffered another huge blow
• Johnson office clarifies claim that Trump was an ‘FBI informant’ in Epstein case (So lying is now called “clarifies claim?” This is our media.)
• Why the Media Allows MAGA to Cover Up Their Lies With More Lies (“The MAGA movement can ‘walk back’ outrageous statements, and the press hardly asks a follow-up.”)
• Trump and Johnson likely doomed in effort to stop Epstein files vote
• Trump Denies Epstein Birthday Drawing, but Signature Matches Personal Letters (That’s definitely Trump’s signature.)
• House Democrats release lewd birthday message Trump allegedly sent to Jeffrey Epstein
• The Epstein Letter Is Real, and It’s Bad (Trump is evil and always has been evil. Anyone who voted for him, let alone still supports him, needs to do some serious soul searching. But they probably won’t.)
• White House Melts Down Over Proof of Trump’s Gross Letter to Epstein (“White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt’s latest attempt to defend her boss contains zero evidence.”)
• Congress Reveals Epstein Birthday Note Trump Said Doesn’t Exist (“The president sued The Wall Street Journal for a story on his lewd letter to the convicted sex offender”)
• Appeals Court Upholds Carroll’s $83 Million Judgment Against Trump
• Senate Republicans eye ‘nuclear option’ for rules change to speed up Trump nominees (“On Monday, Senate Majority Leader John Thune took the first step in the process to change the Senate’s rules, which would allow Republicans to confirm Trump nominees in blocs.”)
• Pentagon told trans troops to get diagnosed. It’s using the paper trail to kick them out
• Lachlan Murdoch Secures Control Of Family’s Media Empire In Blockbuster Conclusion To Succession Fight
• Lachlan Murdoch Secures Control of Fox and News Corp, Ending Succession Fight (“Lachlan Murdoch will take control of a new family trust in a deal worth $3.3 billion, ensuring that his father’s media empire will retain its conservative slant.” Gotta love how the NY Times whitewashes Fox “News'” firehose of disinformation, lies, insanity, extremism, etc. as “conservative slant.” What a bunch of crap.)
• CBS Taps Conservative Policy Veteran for New Ombudsman Role
• CBS News Hires Ombudsman From Conservative-Leaning Hudson Institute (So much for CBS “News”)
• Trump’s Takeover of DC: Traffic Stops Turn Into Immigration Arrests for Delivery Riders and Workers
• DC crime falls, but tourism takes a hit too as Trump’s federal surge reaches one-month mark
• Sen. Mark Warner talks about affordable housing
• At Housing Summit, Sen. Mark Warner Charts What He Calls a “Comprehensive Path for Addressing National Housing Crisis” (Good ideas, but ultimately we’re going to need to deal with things like NIMBYism, exlusionary zoning, obstacles to “smart growth,” subsidies for sprawl, etc.)
• Sen. Tim Kaine Rips SCOTUS for Decision – “without even hearing oral arguments first” – to “allow racial profiling in immigration enforcement activity” (Rep. Eugene Vindman (D-VA07) says SCOTUS is “hand[ing] Trump an authoritarian regime on a silver platter”)
• Video: Henrico County’s “Top Prosecutor” Shannon Taylor Announces Run for Democratic Nomination to Face the Abysmal Rep. Rob Wittman (R-VA01) Next Year (“I’m ready to prosecute the case against Rob Wittman. Because honesty, integrity, and the rule of law should mean something.”)
• Henrico prosecutor joins Democrats aiming to unseat Wittman in Congress (“Shannon Taylor becomes the 10th Democrat challenging Rep. Rob Wittman (R) next year in Virginia’s 1st Congressional District, which has been solidly Republican.”)
• Henrico Commonwealth Attorney Shannon Taylor is running for Congress
• Election 2026 | Shannon Taylor launches campaign for First District seat
• Who’s running to challenge Rob Wittman in Virginia’s 1st US House District? (“So far, 10 Democrats have entered the race to unseat the GOP incumbent in 2026.”)
• Virginia governor candidates duel over transgender participation in youth sports (That’s a really inaccurate, sanitized headline by CNN. In fact, what’s happening is the Earle-Sears campaign wildly fear mongering on this, even as there are only a handful of transgender student athletes in Virginia K-12 schools, while Spanberger is overwhelmingly focused on the economy, jobs, etc.)
• On the record: Abigail Spanberger (“Part two of The Virginia Mercury’s On the Record series examines Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger’s positions on some of the state’s most pressing issues: immigration, education, energy and environment, health care, housing, criminal justice and policing, voting rights and elections”)
• Three Rural Healthcare Clinics in Virginia Close Because of Trump Tax Law Which Earle-Sears Crazily Claimed Is Doing “So Many Great Things” (Spanberger: “unlike my opponent, I will never be afraid to stand up to the White House”)
• Three Va. health clinics close as Trump tax law squeezes system
• Three Virginia rural health clinics closing due to Trump’s budget law
• GOP lieutenant governor nominee John Reid calls for ‘alternatives’ to public schools
• Jobless rates in Virginia are rising fastest in populous, Democratic localities. That’s a problem for Republicans.
• CASEY: Confusion reigns in Virginia regarding the latest COVID vaccine (This is a much better headline than the following one, by the RTD. “Those eligible include anyone 65 or older or anyone 12 to 64 with a qualifying condition.” And there are a gazillion qualifying conditions…)
• For now, Va. residents need prescription to get a COVID vaccine (I literally just got my Covid shot at a “Minute Clinic” with no need for a prescription. So…not sure the RTD is correct here.)
• The state of Virginia’s vaccine requirements (“Republican gubernatorial candidate Winsome Earle-Sears did not respond to multiple requests for comment on the issue.” That’s disqualifying right there.)
• Virginia Beach wants federal judge to dismiss election lawsuit (“The latest exchange in arguments are unfolding in the federal lawsuit, decided in 2021, that led the city to change its election system to district-based representation. The case was revived this summer after the Virginia Beach City Council decided to hold a referendum vote in November on how it elects its City Council and School Board members.”)
• Regional tourism has grown faster than the hospitality industry. Roanoke and its neighbors are working to draw more hotels to the valley.
• Special prosecutor to be requested in Martinsville city manager investigation
• Labor union sues Port of Virginia, CEO over alleged contract violations and negotiation interference
• Getting to know Jena Crisler | Democrat running to give voters an alternative in the 35th
• Blacksburg candidates debate housing shortage
• Augusta Health closes three clinics, citing One Big Beautiful Bill Act
• CWG Live updates: Endlessly nice weather (“Days and days of low humidity, plentiful sunshine and comfortable temperatures are in the forecast.”)