Friday News: “Hegseth Defense Collapses as Dems Reveal Horrific Video Strike Details”; “The Roberts Court Just Helped Trump Rig the Midterms” – “Full Steam Ahead” in VA; “Trump’s Pardons Cover Every Conceivable Form of Corruption”; “Norfolk grand jury declines to indict Letitia James in mortgage fraud case”

by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, December 5.

• Global Scientists Anticipate Less Reliance on the United States in Future Carbon Monitoring (“With Trump’s budget knife still poised over NOAA’s climate research operations, international researchers see a reduced role for the nation that pioneered CO2 measurement.”)
• 60,000 African penguins starved to death after sardine numbers collapsed – study (“Climate crisis and overfishing contributed to loss of 95% of penguins in two breeding colonies in South Africa, research finds” Ugh.)
• Musk’s X Fined €120 Million by EU in First Content-Law Penalty (Good!)
• Exclusive: US sets 2027 deadline for Europe-led NATO defense, officials say
• How Russia keeps raising an army to replace its dead (“An online bazaar of freelance headhunters finds new recruits to fight Ukraine, emboldening Vladimir Putin at the negotiating table and scaring European leaders about what his growing army might do next.”)
• US Urged Europeans to Oppose EU Plan for Loan to Support Ukraine (WTF???)
• Putin says Russia ready to supply ‘uninterrupted’ fuel to India despite objection from Trump
• Zelensky’s Government Sabotaged Oversight, Allowing Corruption to Fester
• Trump’s Boat Strikes Corrode America’s Soul
• Second Strike Scrutiny Obscures Larger Question About Trump’s Boat Attacks (“Congress is focusing on two deaths in one strike. But nine other people died in that attack, and the U.S. has killed 87 in all. Were any of those killings legal?”)
• US strikes another boat in the Eastern Pacific, killing four, amid escalating questions about its counter-drug offensive
• Hegseth Defense Collapses as Dems Reveal Horrific Video Strike Details
• Video shows second strike hit before survivors could flip boat, lawmakers say (And by “boat,” they mean “wreckage of what WAS a boat?)
• Exclusive: Survivors clinging to capsized boat didn’t radio for backup, admiral overseeing double-tap strike tells lawmakers
• “Impermissible”: Congress fumes over Hegseth’s Venezuela strike secrecy
• War Is Peace, the Dozing Don Edition (“The outcry grows over Trump’s undeclared war in the Caribbean.”)
• Admiral says there was no ‘kill them all’ order in boat attack, but video alarms lawmakers
• Assad’s exiled spy chief and billionaire cousin plot Syrian uprisings from Russia (“From exile in Moscow, ex-intel chief Kamal Hassan and Assad cousin Rami Makhlouf are spending millions in competing efforts to build fighting forces to lead a revolt along Syria’s coast. The government has deployed another former Assad insider – a childhood friend of the new president – to neutralize the plotters.”)
• US raid allegedly killed Syrian undercover agent instead of Islamic State group official (WTF???)
• Trump hails ‘historic’ peace deal between DR Congo and Rwanda (This is stenography.)
• RSF massacres left Sudanese city ‘a slaughterhouse’, satellite images show (“Up to 150,000 residents of El Fasher are missing since North Darfur capital fell to paramilitary Rapid Support Forces” HORRIBLE!)
• On Immigration, Stephen Miller Is no Calvin Coolidge
• Somali Americans Aren’t Afraid of Trump’s Bigotry
• ICE arrests Afghan national accused of ISIS ties in Waynesboro (“ICE agents arrested Afghan national Jaan Shah Safi in Waynesboro on Wednesday. Safi is accused of supporting a branch of the ISIS terror group.”)
• Waynesboro: Afghan man detained by ICE for allegedly supporting ISIS (“‘I know him personally — he believes in democracy, he is not a terrorist, and he has always been a loyal friend and a patriotic Afghan. I am confident that the truth will prove his innocence,’ wrote Javid Safi. ‘He always believed the U.S. was his second home. Now I see he is accused of supporting ISIS? This is unbelievable.'”)
• Investors Await Key Inflation Data
• Dec 04 Challenger Report: 71,321 Job Cuts on Restructurings, Closings, Economy
• Trump’s Affordability “Con Job” (“He pooh-poohs cost complaints as a ‘hoax.’ Here’s what the numbers say.”)
• The Roberts Court Just Helped Trump Rig the Midterms
• Supreme Court allows Texas to use a congressional map favorable to Republicans in 2026
• Supreme Court Clears the Way for Republican-Friendly Texas Voting Maps
• Supreme Court Conservatives Reinstate Texas’ Gerrymandered House Map (They’re not really “conservatives,” actually, they’re far-right radicals/extremists with zero respect for the constitution.)
• How RFK Jr.’s Vaccine Policy Put a Doctor-Turned-Senator in a Political Bind
• Trump’s Pardons Cover Every Conceivable Form of Corruption (“He is doling them to crooks, cronies, campaign contributors, violent insurrectionists, child sex offenders, convicted drug dealers, and others”)
• Trump Is Trying to Legalize Corruption by Abusing His Pardon Power (“The president has issued over 2,000 pardons since taking office, many to loyalists convicted of serious crimes”)
• National parks change prioritizes Trump birthday over days honoring Black people (Three words: 1) racism; 2) North; 3) Korea)
• Trump’s Approval Rating Dips as Views of His Handling of the Economy Sour
• The GOP Women Are Humiliating Mike Johnson (“Move aside, Freedom Caucus. There’s a new House Republican insurgency in town.”)
• Mike Johnson scrambles to pass Pentagon bill as GOP ranks seethe
• DOJ orders prison inspectors to stop considering LGBTQ safety standards
• Trump administration plans to end prison rape protections for trans and intersex people, memo says (Disgusting and dangerous.)
• Trump hires new White House ballroom architect
• Trump is dragging the White House press corps into the gutter (“I guess the barrage of lies and insults aren’t enough. Now Trump wants the media’s complete submission”)
• Vance says antisemitism isn’t ‘exploding’ on the right (The media really should, but won’t, but “pathological liar” or whatever in the headline when they stenographically write things like “Trump claims” or “Vance says”)
• Florida House barrels ahead on redistricting despite DeSantis’ proposed timeline
• Norfolk grand jury declines to indict Letitia James in mortgage fraud case
• Grand jury declines to indict N.Y. Attorney General Letitia James, less than two weeks after the first case was dismissed
• Scoop: Security upped for Rep. Jamie Raskin after alleged incident (“Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) had his security increased this week after a pardoned Jan. 6 defendant who was previously convicted of threatening him and former President Obama allegedly showed up near his house Monday night, Axios has learned.”)
• Justice Department urges judge to jail former Jan. 6 defendant after alarming return to DC
• It was already a hard year for Northern Virginia’s Afghan community. Then came a shooting in D.C.
• Surovell: Redistricting is “full steam ahead”
• Video: Sen. Mark Warner Says He Wants to Ask Admiral Bradley “how many strikes,” “under what orders was he operating, “was there not the order to kill them all regardless”; etc. (Also: “[Hegseth’s] actions potentially put pilots in harm’s way. Don’t believe me? Believe the inspector general. And it is so obvious on its face.”)
• Will Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-VA02) Sign Discharge Petition to Force a Vote on a 3-Year ACA Tax Credit Extension? Or Is She COMPLETELY Full of You-Know-What? (Same question applies to Rep. Rob Wittman (R-VA01) and other House Republicans)
• Pope & Schapiro: Spanberger’s cabinet, Warner’s campaign, and a possible pause on data centers
• Video: Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA10) Says Pete Hegseth “Probably Is” Still Using Signal on “His Personal Device”; This Is “especially dangerous to our men and women in uniform” (Also: “I want to know why it’s taken so long to identify the [1/6/21 pipe bomb] suspect and bring him in for questioning.”)
• These 2 Southwest Virginia Democrats are running to unseat Morgan Griffith in 2026
• Kiggans leads bipartisan effort to temporarily extend ACA tax credits (I’m including this Virginian-Pilot headline as a classic example of a gullible, credulous media acting as mindless stenographers for right-wing BULLSHIT. In fact, Kiggans has stated that she wants to get rid of the Affordable Care Act, is only doing this cynically to try and save her own hide. If she were actually serious, she’d sign the Democrats’ discharge petition on ACA subsidies, but of course she didn’t sign, because she IS NOT SERIOUS – and the headline should make that clear!)
• Roanoke College poll: Trump is much more unpopular in Virginia than during his first term (One huge caveat: Roanoke College “polling” is really, really bad.)
• New Analysis: Virginians Could Save $712/Year by 2030 by Building More Clean Energy, Requiring Large Data Centers to Supply Their Own Clean/Affordable Power, etc. (“As a new administration and General Assembly prepare to take office, Virginia has a pivotal opportunity to deliver immediate relief for families and businesses and set the stage for lasting reform.”)
• Lt. gov.-elect backs energy policy ideas aimed at lowering costs
• Lt. Governor-elect Hashmi pitches quick, cost saving energy fixes
• Governor-Elect Spanberger Announces Stanley Meador as Her Pick for VA Secretary of Public Safety & Homeland Security (“In 2021, Meador was named Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Richmond Field Office”)
• Virginia could tweak its eviction diversion program law next year, legislators say
• Virginia Regulators Approve First New Gas Plant Since Passage of Clean Economy Act (That was on 11/25…and it’s not final unless/until the plant gets an air permit.)
• ‘Balcony solar’ bill among state commission’s energy recommendations to General Assembly (“Virginia’s Commission on Electric Utility Regulation on Thursday recommended state lawmakers take up a slate of bills related to energy when they convene in January.”)
• Amid federal investigations, George Mason leaders say negotiations continue with Dept. of Justice
• Southsiders will vote in ‘firehouse primary’ on Sunday for Hashmi’s Senate seat
• ‘Friends’ no more: Gardner’s attack ad upends SD-15 Democratic race
• Lynchburg looks to fill 2 top public safety roles after fire chief retires amid external review
• CWG Live: Cold Friday as light snow messes with the morning commute (“About 0.5 to 2 inches expected today, with midwinter chill in town. Milder this weekend.”)