by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Saturday, October 4.
- Ukraine war briefing: ‘Political will’ needed to restore external power to Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, UN watchdog says
- Europe needs to ‘get serious’ about threat posed to it by Russia, Ukraine minister says (“Sergiy Kyslytsia says Kremlin already at war with Europe and predicts that Vladimir Putin will ‘escalate escalating’”)
- “‘I’m leaving,’ Trump said. ‘There’s no reason to be here any more’”: inside the meeting that brought Nato to the brink (“Former secretary general Jens Stoltenberg recalls the rollercoaster ride of dealing with Donald Trump – and how close the US president brought the alliance to the point of collapse” Trump is insane.)
- Saudi Arabia Takes a Risk in Boosting Oil Production—and Gives Trump a Win (“Crude prices have fallen this year as Riyadh has raised output, but risks abound for the oil-producing kingdom.”)
- Japan’s ruling party elects Sanae Takaichi as new leader, likely to become first female PM
- As America fumbles, China races ahead (“Xi is building the future while Trump pushes tariffs and fights Harvard.”)
- Trump orders Israel to stop bombing Gaza after Hamas partially accepts his peace plan
- Hamas Is Still at War With Itself Over Terms of Trump’s Peace Plan (“Political leaders in Qatar are leaning toward accepting President Trump’s plan, but military commanders in Gaza are resisting surrendering arms and giving up hostages.”)
- Israel and Hamas Say They’ll Work With Trump on Gaza Plan, but Gaps Remain
- How Fury Over Israel’s Qatar Attack Pushed Netanyahu on Gaza (The Qatar attack was a MASSIVE f’up by Netanyahu.)
- Israel strikes Gaza after Trump calls for end to bombardment
- Hamas Agrees to Release Israeli Hostages But Sets Conditions
- Israel’s army says it will advance preparations for the first phase of Trump’s plan
- Manchester synagogue terrorist was on bail for alleged rape (“Exclusive: Jihad al-Shamie had been under investigation over alleged sexual attack earlier this year, sources say” Horrible person.)
- Donald Trump believes he has a license to kill (“After saying the U.S. is at war, POTUS takes out another Venezuelan boat”)
- U.S. Military Attacked Boat Off Venezuela, Killing Four Men, Hegseth Says (“It was the fourth strike in the Trump administration’s legally disputed campaign targeting suspected drug runners in the Caribbean Sea.”)
- Getting Away with Murder (“Trump has now ordered the killing of at least seventeen people on the high seas—with no accountability.”)
- Supreme Court Lets Trump Revoke Deportation Protections for Venezuelans
- Judge Finds ‘Likelihood’ That Charges Against Abrego Garcia Are Vindictive (“The ruling was an astonishing rebuke of both the Justice Department and some of its top officials, including Todd Blanche, the deputy attorney general.”)
- Trump officials discussed sending elite Army division to Portland, text messages show (That’s INSANE. And fascistic.)
- Trump Goon Leaks Bonkers Plan for 82nd Airborne in Blue City
- Portland braces for federal troops as protests escalate and a conservative influencer is arrested
- “Attack on Free Speech”: Journalist Mario Guevara Deported After Covering Anti-Trump Protest
- Chicago alderperson says federal agents handcuffed her at Humboldt Park medical facility
- Welcome to the Era of “Kavanaugh Raids” (“ICE crosses another big, important line.”)
- The Sufferable Evil (“Chicago and the End of American Liberty.”)
- On MSNBC, Chris Hayes says the recent ICE raid in Chicago is the “most egregious abuse of our basic rights in America that I’ve seen in a long time — maybe in my lifetime”
- Kennedy’s Ties to Ally Leading Vaccine Lawsuits Raise Ethical Concerns (“Aaron Siri is leading legal efforts on policies that dovetail with parts of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s government agenda.”)
- The shutdown meant no jobs report. Here’s what it would have said about the economy
- Federal-Worker Buyouts Are Kicking In, Darkening the U.S. Employment Picture
- The Supreme Court Could Make It Easier to Bring a Gun Everywhere (“The justices just took up a challenge to a Hawaii law that bars people from carrying guns on private property against the owner’s wishes.” You have to let someone carry a gun into your house???)
- Bid to end shutdown fails in Senate; Trump freezes aid to Chicago
- House GOP cancels more votes in escalation of shutdown strategy
- House will stay out of session next week as Senate works to solve shutdown
- House GOP cancels more votes in escalation of shutdown strategy
- Democrats’ Shutdown Strategy Might Actually Work Out
- Mike Johnson Snaps When Shutdown Comments Thrown Back in His Face (“Press secretary Karoline Leavitt also struggled to defend Republicans’ comments.”)
- Treasury Department Has Plans To Mint Dollar Coin Featuring Donald Trump’s Likeness (“The minting of this coin, while Trump is alive, appears to be illegal. The Thayer amendment, added by a Republican representative to a federal appropriations bill in 1866, states explicitly that ‘no portrait or likeness of any living person shall be engraved or placed upon any of the bonds, securities, notes, or postal currency of the United States.’ A resource page on the website of the U.S. Treasury Department once confirmed this law, near the top of a section of frequently asked questions about portraits and designs”)
- AP reader question: Have agencies violated the Hatch Act by using Democrat-blaming language online? (Yes, obviously.)
- FBI agent relieved of duty over refusing Comey perp walk, four people familiar say
- The FBI is weighing an arrest and perp walk for Comey — and suspended an agent for refusing to help, sources say
- Trump is finally ready to talk about Project 2025 (Trump was lying about Project 2025 all along, and the f’ing media let him do it!)
- When will US generals stand-up to Trump?
- Trump says he will join military leaders in Norfolk on Sunday (“President Donald Trump announced Friday evening that he will be at Naval Station Norfolk on Sunday to host a 250th anniversary celebration for the service.”)
- Hegseth fires top Navy official (“Defense Secretary Pete Hesgeth on Friday fired Navy chief of staff Jon Harrison, an unusually powerful top aide who had orchestrated a reshuffle of the service’s bureaucracy. The sudden ouster, according to two defense officials and a former defense official, follows the confirmation this week of Navy Undersecretary Hung Cao.” We are living in an evil mirror universe, no question about it.)
- They Radicalized Themselves (“Watching Donald Trump piss on the Constitution is sadistic fun for all of MAGA, but there’s a palpable difference between Trump loyalists who make no bones about it and those who evince some awareness that they’ve chosen an evil course.”)
- Fired national security prosecutor warns colleagues in note on way out (“Michael Ben’Ary says he was fired based on a social media post by a January 6 conspiracy theorist”)
- Kavanaugh’s attempted assassin sentenced to 8 years in prison
- How Maga cheerleaders have infiltrated the White House press corps (“Trump administration has transformed tone and tenor of media interactions by centering rightwing voices and reporter sycophancy”)
- This billionaire Trump ally and his son are building an unprecedented media empire (“Larry and David Ellison’s holdings span movies, TV networks, CBS and soon a stake in TikTok, in a paradigm shifting portfolio with huge influence.” Disastrous.)
- Journalists at 3 Newspapers Quit Over Edits to a Charlie Kirk Story
- Bari Weiss Doesn’t Want You to Read This (“Her reported hiring at CBS News is the latest example of corporate media capitulating to Trump. We need media organizations that aren’t intimidated into doing the president’s bidding.”)
- ‘It’s not a good place right now’: CBS News staffers are ‘literally freaking out’ about Bari Weiss taking over newsroom (Everyone needs to quit, ASAP.)
- Bari Weiss Is Simply Unqualified to Run CBS News (“The gazillionaires who hired her expect a conservative monitor. They’re getting an ideological chameleon instead.”)
- Trump Administration Reverses $187 Million in N.Y. Counterterrorism Cuts (“Gov. Kathy Hochul had said the cuts, which would have devastated New York’s intelligence and counterterrorism operations, made ‘all of America more vulnerable to terrorist attacks.'”)
- Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs sentenced to more than four years in prison on prostitution-related charges (“Federal prosecutors had pushed for a jail term of 11 years and three months of a possible 20 after music mogul’s conviction”)
- The Politics Hour: What a federal government shutdown means for the region
- On the Chesapeake Bay, there’s lots of finger-pointing as the iconic striped bass is in trouble again
- Democrats introduce bill to ease TSP withdrawals, loans during shutdowns (“Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., this week introduced new legislation aimed at making it easier for federal workers to take advantage of the federal government’s 401(k)-style retirement savings program to help make ends meet during government shutdowns.”)
- Henrico County Prosecutor Shannon Taylor Raises Nearly $350,000 in Just 3 Weeks Since Launching Campaign for Congress to Unseat Rep. Rob Wittman (R-VA01)
- Spanberger Statement on Trump’s Visit to Norfolk While He Threatens DOGE 2.0 (“Unfortunately…as Donald Trump threatens to enact DOGE 2.0, Lieutenant Governor Earle-Sears refuses to do her job and stand up for Virginia jobs.”)
- WaPo/Schar Poll: Spanberger 55%-Earle-Sears 43%; Hashmi 49%-Reid 45%; Jones 51%-Miyares 45% (Trump at 43%-55% approval; Youngkin’s 50%-46% approval the worst of any governor at this point in at least 28 years)
- Spanberger holds wide lead in Virginia governor’s race, Post-Schar School poll finds
- Earle-Sears dodges questions about Trump administration layoffs of federal workers (“Virginia Republican gubernatorial nominee Winsome Earle-Sears says she supports President Donald Trump’s job cuts.”)
- Democratic nominee for Virginia attorney general once suggested a top Republican should get ‘bullets to the head,’ text messages show
- Only On 8: Jay Jones speaks for first time about ‘disturbing’ texts he sent about top Virginia Repub
- Jay Jones and political violence (“The Democratic nominee for Virginia attorney general apologizes after he expressed violent sentiments in texts.”)
- Immediately, if not sooner | Jay Jones needs to end his attorney general campaign (This is by a strong Democrat, Chris Graham of the Augusta Free Press. The problem is it’s too late to get someone’s name off the ballot, as voting is underway…)
- Jay Jones’s 2022 text messages roil race for Virginia attorney general (“Jay Jones, the Democratic nominee for Virginia attorney general, sent text messages in 2022 describing a hypothetical scenario of shooting the state’s then-House speaker, a Republican.” The WaPo covers THIS, as it should, but not John Reid’s scandals. Interesting, huh?)
- Jones ‘regrets’ texts where he fantasized about shooting Speaker of the House. But he still showed disdain toward a beloved Southwest legislator.
- Jay Jones texts from 2022 describe wanting to shoot former Virginia House Speaker (The Virginian-Pilot also covers this, as it should, but not John Reid’s candals.)
- The John Reid gay porn thing got weirder | Would you believe, gay Nazi porn?
- Virginia legal team wins one for immigrants locked up by ICE
- 4 Virginia newspapers cut back on print editions (“Daily newspapers in Richmond, Roanoke, Lynchburg and Fredericksburg will publish print editions six days a week, eliminating Mondays.”)
- CWG Live updates: Warming up this weekend into early week
