Wednesday News: “Trump accuses Xi of conspiring against US with Putin and Kim”; Court Blocks Trump Use of Alien Enemies Act; “Frantic Trump Tries to Kill Vote to Force Open Epstein Files”; “Survey, handwritten note out Winsome Earle-Sears as anti-LGBTQ+ bigot”

by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Wednesday, September 3.

• Pope Leo, in climate push, to open Vatican-run ecological training centre
• Ukraine war briefing: No action from Trump as another Putin deadline passes (“US president ‘very disappointed’ in Russian ruler; Trump had promised to get Putin to negotiating table with Volodymr Zelenskyy. What we know on day 1,288”)
• Xi, Putin and Kim: behind the choreographed image that could symbolise a shift in the global balance of power
• Xi’s Historic Meet With Putin and Kim Showcases Unity Against US (This is largely Trump’s doing.)
• Trump accuses Xi of conspiring against US with Putin and Kim
• ‘A clear message to Trump’: BBC correspondents react to China’s military parade
• Kim promises to help Russia with ‘everything’ as Putin thanks North Korea for war aid (“Axis of Evil”, anybody?)
• America’s biggest adversaries “conspire” in Beijing (And Trump not only does nothing to stop it, he has been a major force ENCOURAGING this!)
• Xi, flanked by Putin and Kim, hosts China’s largest-ever military parade
• Robot wolves and missiles to counter US: What China’s new weapons tell us
• This Trump Admin Move Speaks Volumes About His Plans for Gaza (“The Trump administration has announced that it will deny visas for Palestinian Authority officials who want to attend next week’s high session of the U.N. General Assembly. Examined closely, the move marks a clear sign that President Donald Trump endorses the Israeli government’s desire to expel Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank—the entire area that the Jewish state’s far-right nationalists call ‘Greater Israel.'”)
• With Israel’s offensive drawing close, Palestinians in Gaza City fear permanent displacement
• Burkina Faso parliament passes law outlawing LGBTQ practices (“The Persons and Family Code law, making Burkina Faso the latest in a series of African countries to criminalise lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender activity, also tightens rules on nationality and stateless people.” Disgraceful.)
• Meet the Canadian Aiding Trump’s ‘Insane’ War on Climate Science (“Ross McKitrick claims his views have long been ‘overlooked.’ Now his work is helping guide the MAGA assault on climate regulations.”)
• Was fatal US strike on Venezuelan ‘drug boat’ legal?
• US military kills 11 in strike on alleged drug boat tied to Venezuelan cartel, Trump says (Key words: “kills” and “alleged”)
• As Rubio Visits Mexico, Its President Walks a Political Tightrope
• Shortly after laying off hundreds, State hires new class of foreign service staff (“The hiring-firing combination is ‘the definition of wasteful government spending,’ according to one staffer.”)
• Trump team’s contentious climate report ‘makes a mockery of science’, experts say (“Over 85 top climate specialists lambasted administration’s review, calling it a ‘shoddy mess’ that downplays risks”)
• Dozens of Scientists Call DOE Climate Report ‘Fundamentally Incorrect’
• Dozens of scientists find errors in a new Energy Department climate report (The Department of Energy under the Trump administration’s “leadership” is a f’ing disgrace. And I say this as someone who worked at the US Energy Information Administration for 17+ years.)
• Scientists Denounce Trump Administration’s Climate Report (“Scores of researchers reviewed the Energy Department’s argument about greenhouse gases and found serious deficiencies.”)
• Trump Says America’s Oil Industry Is Cleaner Than Other Countries’. New Data Shows Massive Emissions From Texas Wells.
• Lawyers for 5 men deported to an African prison accuse Trump’s program of denying them due process
• Trump cannot use Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelan gang members, appeals court rules (“2-1 decision from fifth circuit is the first federal appeals court ruling on presidential proclamation invoking 1798 law”)
• Appeals Court Blocks Trump’s Use of Alien Enemies Act to Deport Venezuelans (“The case appears set to return to the Supreme Court in a decisive battle over President Trump’s use of the 18th-century law to deport migrants.”)
• Trump cannot use Alien Enemies Act to deport members of Venezuelan gang, appeals court rules
• ICE Barbie Kristi Noem’s Ugly New Attack on CBS Exposes Big Trump Scam
• Activists Decry New Border Wall’s Impact on Wildlife (“Construction in Arizona’s San Rafael Valley grasslands will prevent cross-border movement of endangered jaguars and other animals.” F’ed up and heinous.)
• Pentagon authorizes up to 600 military lawyers to serve as temporary immigration judges
• Putting Military Lawyers in Charge of Immigration Courts Is Problematic—and “Unlawful” (“Trump’s latest move is an ‘essential component of martial law,’ notes one expert.”)
• The Supreme Court Is Backing Trump’s Power Grab (Maybe people like Ezra Klein should have thought about this a few years ago – and done everything they could to prevent Trump from returning to power, instead of constantly bashing, criticizing, undermining, etc. Joe Biden? Just a thought.)
• The Posse Comitatus Act comes for Trump’s authoritarianism (“Trump’s efforts to go after U.S. cities — first Los Angeles and D.C., with, it appears, Chicago next — are alarming. A lot happened, as to all three cities, on Tuesday.”)
• Judge rules Trump can’t act as national police chief (“The president broke the law when he deployed troops to Los Angeles, Judge Charles Breyer ruled.”)
• Trump says he’s set to order federal intervention in Chicago and Baltimore, despite local opposition
• After Trump Says ‘We’re Going In’ to Chicago With Troops, Illinois Officials Slam Plan
• Fed Governor Lisa Cook ‘did not ever commit mortgage fraud,’ her lawyer says
• Key GOP senator declines to elaborate on planned ‘oversight’ of RFK Jr. after CDC exodus (Pathetic.)
• Trump Wants Proof That Covid Vaccines Work. It’s Easy to Find. (“In a post on Truth Social, the president suggested that the C.D.C. was being “ripped apart” over a question that was answered long ago.”)
• Prominent critic of RFK Jr. blocked from FDA vaccine committee (“Paul Offit, a pediatrician and co-inventor of the rotavirus vaccine, can no longer participate in the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee.”)
• Paul: Gay CDC official’s ‘lifestyle’ disqualified him from government (“In 2021, Daskalakis posed for the cover of Plus Magazine wearing a leather harness, an article of clothing popular among gay men and tied to the gay leather and BDSM communities. The cover and other posts Daskalakis made on social media have come under scrutiny in conservative media since his resignation.”)
• Appeals court blocks Trump from firing FTC commissioner
• Federal Appeals Court Reinstates an F.T.C. Commissioner Fired by Trump
• State of Permanent Fake Emergency (“Today, the structure of law granting exceptional emergency powers is a grave threat to democracy and an avenue toward authoritarian rule.”)
• The Anti-Trump Strategy That’s Actually Working (“Lawsuits, lawsuits, and more lawsuits”)
• Trump’s long weekend of humiliation (“The harder he tries to be a dictator, the more he’s mocked by both Americans and foreign leaders”)
• Google avoids break up, but has to give up exclusive search deals in antitrust trial (Very weak.)
• Google Avoids Harshest Penalties in Landmark Search Monopoly Ruling (“Judge Amit P. Mehta said the company must hand over some of its search data to rivals, but did not force other big changes the U.S. wanted.” Lame.)
• Trump Is Moving the Least Important Branch of the Military to the Perfect Place
• Trump announces Space Command HQ will switch to Alabama from Colorado (“President says national security operations in space will be based in state he won comfortably, reversing Biden decision”)
• Tick tock: Congress has 14 legislative days to stop a government shutdown
• Trump, who questioned his opponents’ health, rebuffs rumors about his own (“Online speculation and conspiracy theories about Trump’s health exploded over the holiday weekend after the spotlight-loving 79-year-old spent a few days out of the public eye.”)
• President Trump Is Alive. The Internet Was Convinced Otherwise. (“In the world of presidential health, distrust and speculation run so rampant that even Mr. Trump’s online assurance that he was fine was immediately explained away as part of a cover-up.”)
• As many as 100 Epstein victims will attend Washington rally Wednesday (Just a reminder: Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell were/are both monsters – and Trump was pals with them.)
• Jeffrey Epstein accusers urge Trump to release all the case files and rule out a Ghislaine Maxwell pardon
• MAGA splinters as Epstein fight returns to Congress
• House committee releases first batch of Epstein documents (Democrats decried the release as largely recycling public information. “Don’t let this fool you,’ one Oversight Committee members said.”)
• Massie vows to press forward with Epstein discharge petition
• Epstein Prison Video Blows Up Bondi’s ‘Missing Minute’ Explanation (“The footage that Trump’s attorney general said didn’t exist has just been released.”)
• Frantic Trump Tries to Kill Vote to Force Open Epstein Files
• Trump says video showing items thrown from White House is AI after his team indicates it’s real
• Bowser to provide indefinite coordination with federal law enforcement (I guess she has few good choices, but still…this is very jarring/disturbing.)
• Underwater grasses decline in parts of Chesapeake Bay, tributaries (Not good.)
• Mark Warner calls out MAGA bridge troll Laura Loomer over canceled meeting
• With Trump tariffs in legal limbo, Va. economy shows damage
• Carville: Virginia’s Spanberger ‘delivering a masterclass’ for Democrats on crime (“She talks about what it means to wear the badge, and what it meant to see her dad put one on every day when he went to work,” he said, referring to Spanberger’s father’s status as a former federal law enforcement officer.”)
• Governor’s office responds to Senate Dems’ ‘illogical’ rejection of Youngkin appointees (There’s absolutely NOTHING “illogical” about it; Youngkin should stop appointing unqualified people, anti-public-education fanatics, etc. Also, as VA Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell said, “The lights are on at our house, but one of the things we’ve learned in the last three and half years is that the governor doesn’t have a lot of interest in working with the legislature on anything.” Worst Governor in decades.)
• Poll Sponsored by Right-Wing Group Has Abigail Spanberger Up 12 Points; Ghazala Hashmi and Jay Jones Up 5 Points Each (Dems lead by 10 points in the House of Delegates)
• VA State Sen. Adam Ebbin Says That As the “first openly gay member of the General Assembly,” He’s “horrified that Winsome Earle-Sears…believes that being gay is an ‘immoral lifestyle choice’”
• Survey, handwritten note out Winsome Earle-Sears as anti-LGBTQ+ bigot
• Video: VA Democratic AG Nominee Jay Jones Releases Ad, “Too Weak,” Highlighting “Jason Miyares’ failure to stand up to President Trump while Virginia’s economy suffers” (The ad will run as part of “a robust, six-figure buy going up across the Commonwealth.”)
• Federal, state lawmakers call on Va. hospitals to ‘be transparent’ about federal funding changes
• Virginians express concern on Dominion rate increases as SCC hearing begins
• As electricity demand surges, Youngkin looks to secure legacy through nuclear (Tim Cywinski of the Sierra Club nails it: “We think that energy growth should be predicated on proof, and the problem with SMRs and nuclear energy of the type that they’re trying to build is that they haven’t proven to work. They haven’t been proven to deliver energy to customers.” Also, they are SUPER expensive, FAR more so than energy efficiency, utility-scale solar, onshore wind, etc.)
• House of Delegates District 57 race presents stark choice on reproductive rights (“Virginia Republican Del. David Owen, who opposes abortion, is facing a competitive challenge from Democrat May Nivar.”)
• Amazon to receive first public dollars from Arlington for HQ2 (“The Northern Virginia county’s subsidies were set up with the expectation that Amazon would boost hotel tax revenue. That didn’t happen until this year.” It’s kinda crazy to be subsidizing one of the most profitable, wealthiest companies – and gazillionaires, namely Jeff Bezos – in the world.)
• Harsh reality | 1 in 9 in the Shenandoah Valley are food insecure (And Republicans certainly aren’t going to help with this problem.)
• Virginians protest Trump’s anti-worker policies at Richmond Labor Day rally
• VCU hauls in $257M in donations, its second-best total
• CWG Live updates: Wonderful Wednesday; scattered showers possible Thursday and Saturday (“Warmer highs in the 80s tomorrow through Saturday, maybe near 90 Friday, cool to the 70s on Sunday.”)