by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Monday, December 22.
- World’s largest grid battery has been completed – in the oil capital of the world (“The world’s biggest battery energy storage system – a 7.8 gigawatt-hour behemoth – has been completed in Saudi Arabia, and will now start the process of powering up.”)
- Russia Dismisses Reports of Progress in Ukraine Peace Talks (“Proposals that emerged in recent negotiations with the United States were ‘rather unconstructive,’ a Kremlin official said on Sunday.”)
- Car bomb kills Russian general in Moscow
- The EU’s deeds as much as Putin’s words will ensure the war in Ukraine continues (“A €90bn loan is a lifeline for Zelenskyy. But make no mistake – the bloodshed won’t end while the Russian president believes he can still win”)
- Steve Witkoff and Marco Rubio’s clashing diplomacy on Russia-Ukraine (“Apart from disagreements about peace efforts, Witkoff has been at loggerheads with Rubio and State Department officials about the way he handles security.”)
- In rebel-held Myanmar, civilians face devastating air strikes and a sham election
- Congolese rape survivors search in vain for medicine after USAID cuts (Trump and Musk did this.)
- Orban’s giveaways still not turning election tide in Hungary
- Trump names Louisiana governor as Greenland special envoy, prompting Danish alarm (“Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said on Monday he would summon the U.S. ambassador to Copenhagen, saying he had been particularly upset by Landry’s support for Trump’s aim of making Greenland part of the United States. Greenland’s prime minister reiterated that the island would decide its own future.”)
- Trump removes nearly 30 career diplomats from ambassadorial positions (“The Trump administration is recalling nearly 30 career diplomats from ambassadorial and other senior embassy posts as it moves to reshape the U.S. diplomatic posture abroad with personnel deemed fully supportive of President Donald Trump’s ‘America First’ priorities.”)
- Japan prepares to restart world’s biggest nuclear plant, 15 years after Fukushima
- U.S. Coast Guard ‘in active pursuit’ of third vessel off Venezuela
- Trump Has Intercepted Two Oil Tankers Off Venezuela This Weekend (“The blockade, which is not approved by Congress, is considered by some international treaties as an act of war.”)
- Israel approves 19 new settlements in occupied West Bank (Illegal.)
- Land Grab: Israel’s Escalating Campaign for Control of the West Bank
- Syrians emptied Assad’s prisons. They’re filling up again, and abuse is rife (“A year ago, Syria’s new leader pledged to ‘close the notorious prisons’ run by Bashar al-Assad. But prisons and detention centers are again operating. And beatings, extortion and other abuses have reappeared.”)
- Bondi Beach Terror Suspects Condemned ‘Zionists’ and Amassed an Arsenal (Referring to all Jews as “Zionists” is a dead giveaway that you’re anti-Semitic.)
- NPR analysis shows skyrocketing number of ‘no-shows’ in immigration court
- Exclusive: How immigration swallowed up federal gun crime efforts
- Trump set to expand immigration crackdown despite backlash
- The Biggest Threat to the 2026 Economy Is Still Donald Trump (“Many analysts are predicting an election-year upturn, but they aren’t accounting for the President’s ability to cause more chaos.”)
- US farmers say Trump’s $12bn package not enough to undo damage from tariffs (Perhaps they shouldn’t have voted for Trump.)
- The Economy Survived 2025, but Many Americans Say It’s Not Working For Them (“A feared recession didn’t materialize, but unemployment rose, wage growth slowed and affordability challenges are mounting.”)
- Conservatives Want the Antebellum Constitution Back (“The Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments are in trouble.”)
- How much of Project 2025 has actually been accomplished this year?
- Trump’s shuttering of the National Center for Atmospheric Research is Stalinist (“This is the latest in the relentless purge of climate researchers who refuse to be co-opted by the fossil fuel industry”)
- Thanks to Donald Trump, 2025 was a good year … for white-collar criminals
- Jeffries says House ‘will pass’ ObamaCare subsidies extension ‘with a bipartisan majority’
- Senate stares down fraught health care battle with ObamaCare subsidies set to expire
- Democrats are united in bashing GOP on Obamacare. Medicare for All could reopen a rift.
- Democrats renew government shutdown threat as tensions flare with Trump
- Trump’s favorite excuse in 2025: “I don’t know” (“From Epstein to MRIs, the president fakes ignorance”)
- Hundreds of Big Post-Election Donors Have Benefited From Trump’s Return (“The Times analyzed more than $500 million in donations from 346 donors. Some have received pardons, jobs, access to President Trump and other valuable gains.” MASSIVE corruption!)
- Lawmakers say White House ‘covering up things’ in release of Epstein files
- Image in Epstein files that features Trump reinstated after backlash
- The DoJ failed to comply with Epstein files law – can Congress do anything? (“Lawmakers threatening legal action face major obstacle: those with legal power in this case are the ones accused of failing to follow the law”)
- Khanna and Massie say they’re considering contempt charges against AG Pam Bondi
- Files release illuminates Maxwell’s tactics to lure teens into Epstein’s orbit (“Documents allege Epstein’s accomplice and ex-girlfriend ‘normalized’ his grooming and ‘directed’ girls on what to do”)
- Top Trump administration official defends partial release of Epstein files as Democrats cry foul (Classic “both sides” reporting/framing.)
- Deputy AG says removing photos from Epstein files release has ‘nothing to do’ with Trump (Laughable.)
- Where is the footage Jeffrey Epstein secretly recorded of people in his houses?!
- The Pitiful Childishness of Donald Trump (“The president’s appetite for plastering his name on every available surface appears insatiable.” But it’s also sinister.)
- ‘They’re attacking their own’: DC Democrats irked by surge of left-wing challengers with House majority on the line (Of course, like 99% of incumbents won renomination in 2024, so…)
- Ted Cruz weighs another presidential run, setting up clash with Vance (“Cruz has feuded with Tucker Carlson and privately criticized the vice president, touting traditional GOP foreign policy and warning of the party’s rising antisemitism.”)
- Vance refuses to set red lines over bigotry as conservatives feud at Turning Point
- Charlie Kirk’s Death Was Always Going to End This Way (“Republicans hoped his killing would galvanize a new era of MAGA dominance. Instead, they got a lot more Candace Owens.”)
- Vance tries to weather the MAGA storm at Turning Point
- MAGA media mess deepens at Turning Point convention (“MAGA speakers torched each other as pompous, cancerous cowards at this weekend’s 30,000-person Turning Point USA AmericaFest, accelerating the right’s media meltdown over Israel, hate speech and more.”)
- CBS Boss Censored ‘60 Minutes’ for Not Interviewing Miller (“The Trump goon was suggested as a talking head for a report on a brutal prison.”)
- CBS News chief Bari Weiss pulls ’60 Minutes’ story, sparking outcry
- CBS shelves ‘60 Minutes’ story on Trump deportees at the last minute: ‘People are threatening to quit,’ staffers say (“’60 Minutes’ just suffered a severe blow to its credibility. Now one of its own correspondents fears the program is being “dismantled,” and some employees are threatening to quit.”)
- ‘60 Minutes’ Pulled a Segment. A Correspondent Calls It ‘Political.’ (“Sharyn Alfonsi, a “60 Minutes” correspondent, criticized the network’s decision to remove her reporting from Sunday’s edition of the show.”)
- ‘60 Minutes’ correspondent says CBS’s Bari Weiss abruptly pulled segment on Trump deportations (“The segment on the deportation of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador’s CECOT prison was pulled after the Trump administration refused to grant the network an interview.”)
- ‘60 Minutes’ Abruptly Pulls Segment on Trump Deportees Sent to El Salvador Megaprison (“CBS says the segment, which had been heavily promoted, needs ‘additional reporting’ and ‘will air in a future broadcast'” Bari Weiss, not surprisingly, is destroying CBS News.)
- My Resignation From The Heritage Foundation (Continued turmoil at Glenn Youngkin’s favorite think tank.)
- Video: Sen. Tim Kaine on “Meet the Press” Says DoJ Not Complying with the Law on Release of ALL the Epstein Files, But Argues “I think [impeachment/contempt for DoJ officials is] premature” (“And meanwhile, the American public is watching the news of this week – Venezuela, the Kennedy Center renaming, the Epstein situation….we want you to focus on making life better here at home for Americans.”)
- Kaine says Clinton ‘should address’ questions on Epstein files (THIS is what the media focuses on. VERY telling!)
- Va. delegation teams up to back reauthorization of NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office amid budget cuts
- AG Miyares sues pharmacy benefit managers, drug firms over soaring insulin prices
- Future of federal support for Va. minority-, women-owned businesses in transportation in question
- Spanberger inaugural committee announces ticket lottery
- Northern Virginia and the Richmond exurbs subsidize the rest of the state. Here’s the math. (He means “suburbs and exurbs,” but yeah.)
- A federal lawsuit is seeking judicial oversight of the Virginia Department of Corrections
- Leslie Mehta: Affordability is the name of the game
- NEWS VOICES: NEPA officials tour Northern Virginia’s Data Center Alley in Loudoun County
- How much did City Hall employees make in 2025? Search our database. (“Records show the city’s personnel totals have shrunk slightly, decreasing from 4,279 workers in 2024 to 3,978 this year. Despite that, total employee wages increased from $307 million to $332 million.”)
- CWG Live: Starting bright but chilly today. Light rain or wintry mix arrives late tonight. (“Highs are a bit below average today before a warmer Tuesday through Christmas Day.”)
********************************************************
