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by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Wednesday, December 31 – let’s hope for a happier New Year in 2026 nationally, although certainly Democrats did well in Virginia in 2025 (let’s keep that latter part going next year)!
- ‘A Wake-Up Call’: Scientists Find 2025 Among Hottest Years on Record
- Trump’s war on the climate demands resistance (“The antidote to climate despair is collective defiance”)
- Iceland has hottest Christmas Eve ever with temperature of 19.8C recorded (“Meteorological office reports high temperatures across country and record measured at Seyðisfjörður in east”)
- EU legislation intended to fight deforestation has been effectively ‘dismantled’ (Awful.)
- World’s Richest Added a Record $2.2 Trillion in Wealth This Year (“Just eight billionaires accounted for about a quarter of 2025’s gains”)
- The Separation: Inside the Unraveling U.S.-Ukraine Partnership
- Russia claims to have moved nuclear-capable missile system into Belarus
- Taiwan stays on high alert as Chinese ships pull back after massive drills
- Xi Declares China’s Economy Set to Hit 5% Growth Goal in 2025
- Jailed HK tycoon’s ‘teeth rotting and fingernails falling off’, daughter tells BBC (Trump’s buddy Xi is responsible for this.)
- Iran’s government offers dialogue as protests spread to universities
- Israel to ban dozens of aid agencies from Gaza as 10 nations warn about suffering (“Failure of groups including MSF and ActionAid to hand over staff details means they will not be able to operate in Gaza, say Israeli officials”)
- Israel says it will halt operations of several humanitarian organizations in Gaza starting in 2026
- France fears ‘era of Trumpism’ as public broadcaster comes under fire from right
- Trump’s Latest Venezuela Tactic: Revealing a Secret Strike to World (“CIA attack on Venezuelan soil represents a major escalation in the U.S. pressure campaign”)
- CIA behind strike at Venezuelan dock that Trump claims was used by drug smugglers, AP sources say
- CIA strike brings Trump closer to grave new year decisions on Venezuela (“The president’s lack of transparency is notable, especially after a CIA strike on a Venezuelan port facility”)
- Unsealed court order suggests Trump officials pushed to prosecute Abrego Garcia after wrongful deportation
- Despair for would-be US citizens as American dream blocked by Trump (“Aspirant Americans tell of exclusions from ceremonies by sudden policy introduced on ‘security’ grounds”)
- Judge temporarily halts Trump’s move to end protected status for South Sudanese immigrants
- ICE plans $100 million ‘wartime recruitment’ push targeting gun shows, military fans for hires (This is going to be REALLY bad.)
- ICE accuses Politico reporter of ‘inciting violence against federal agents’
- Trump administration can share certain Medicaid information with ICE, judge rules
- Trump Admin Audits Cases Of Somali U.S. Citizens For Potential Denaturalization (“Trump’s administration said on Tuesday it was auditing immigration cases involving U.S. citizens of Somali origin to detect fraud that could lead to denaturalization, or revocation of citizenship.”)
- Stephen Miller Is The New Republic’s 2025 Scoundrel of the Year (“He was counting on a nation of haters. He was wrong.”)
- Flu activity is surging across US: Here’s what to know
- Dr. Oz calls flu vaccine ‘controversial of late’ (This guy is a f’ing disgrace.)
- U.S. measles cases reach highest level in over 30 years: CDC (Anti-vaxxers are the worst.)
- U.S. vaccination rates are plunging. Look up where your school stands.
- The Trump Administration’s Most Paralyzing Blow to Science (“Cuts to research may have spoiled the country’s appetite for bold exploration.”)
- A.I. Held Up Wall Street in 2025. Will That Continue?
- Donald Trump’s Golden Age of Awful (“A damage assessment of the President’s first year back in the White House.”)
- Tilting at windmills: Trump laments death of bald eagle in the US … which was really a falcon in Israel (“A pity that Trump, or one of the 18 intelligence agencies reporting to him, did not trace the image back to its source” Trump just constantly spreads misinformation/disinformation. Truly egregious and disgraceful.)
- Hero of 2025: Civil Servants (“They make America greater, but the Trump administration wants them traumatized.”)
- When Trump’s Term Is Finally Up, We Must Burn His Legacy to the Ground (“We don’t need to “heal.” We don’t need to focus on “kitchen-table issues.” We need to divert the river to clean out the stables.”)
- Court orders Vought to keep CFPB funded while case is underway (“The order from a DC District Court judge also casts doubt on the Trump administration’s efforts to shutter the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.”)
- 5 takeaways from the 2025 elections (“Democrats find their momentum”)
- Trump Posts Traditonal Unhinged ‘Happy New Year’ Rant
- Bruising on Trump’s left hand sparks renewed questions about his health
- The Incident That Prompted Trump to Ban Epstein From Mar-a-Lago’s Spa (“Mar-a-Lago sent an 18-year-old spa worker on a house call to Jeffrey Epstein in 2003. She complained to her bosses that Epstein pressured her for sex.”)
- Justice Dept. Now Said to Be Reviewing 5.2 Million Pages of Epstein Files
- The turbulent trajectory of Trump’s ‘Nazi streak’ acolyte (“Paul Ingrassia’s almost Trumpian survival demonstrates how ideological affinity and personal loyalty can outweigh all other considerations in this administration.”)
- Kennedy Center changed board rules months before vote to add Trump’s name (“The cultural center said only trustees appointed by the president could vote, barring other members, including seats held by Democrats, from decisions.” Insane.)
- George Clooney: ‘Bari Weiss Is Dismantling CBS News as We Speak’
- The End of CBS News (“Why corporate media won’t come to save us.”)
- Demuth: GOP caucus directed YouTuber to Minnesota. A professor explains why it went viral
- HHS freezes all child care funding for Minnesota
- Democrat wins Iowa state Senate race, blocking GOP from regaining supermajority (Another big Democratic “overperformance”)
- Trump Delivers Cruel Insult to Freshly Bereaved Kennedy Clan
- Tatiana Schlossberg, a granddaughter of the late President John F. Kennedy, has died at 35 (Ugh…)
- Hey Jon Stewart, Jokes About Wearing Masks Aren’t Funny (Not cool at all.)
- Mamdani to be sworn in as New York mayor in abandoned subway station (“Mamdani to take oath of office on New Year’s Eve in gilded age subway station beneath city hall”)
- Editorial: Congressional irresponsibility brings higher health costs to Va. (HORRIBLE headline – it’s not “Congress” generically, it’s 100% *REPUBLICANS IN CONGRESS*. Say so!)
- The year began with 25 questions for 2025. Now we have 25 answers.
- Virginia in 2025: Water woes, Spanberger’s sweep and Trump’s tumult
- Governor-Elect Spanberger Announces Dr. Sesha Joi Moon as Virginia’s Next Chief Diversity Officer and Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (Dr. Moon “most notably served as Chief Diversity Officer of the U.S. House of Representatives during the 117th & 118th Congresses”)
- Governor-Elect Spanberger Announces Matt McGuire as Counsel to the Governor (“McGuire brings a broad record of experience across public and private practice, including his service to the Commonwealth as Principal Deputy Solicitor General in the Office of the Attorney General”)
- Here’s who Virginia’s next governor has chosen for her Cabinet so far
- 4 seeking chairmanship of Republican Party of Virginia (Cameron Hamilton, Mike Clancy, Nicholas Proffitt, Lynne Bogle)
- Virginia anti-violence programs slashed in federal cuts
- Federally Qualified Health Centers in Va. sue state for low Medicaid reimbursements
- JLARC: Gun violence down across the state, though homicides in some cities ‘relatively high’
- Balcony solar. Plug in solar. Whatever you call it, it might be coming to Virginia.
- Virginia set to receive $189.5 million from federal Rural Health Transformation Fund, but experts worry about rapid rollout, yearly reassessment and sustainability
- Virginia DMV launches new online system for highway safety grants (“eGrants platform will open Feb. 1 as agency begins accepting applications for federal funding aimed at reducing traffic deaths and injuries.”)
- A driving force: Donald Caldwell, Roanoke’s chief prosecutor, retires after nearly a half-century in office
- Ex-Portsmouth council member who lost mayoral bid will run for council next year
- $20M suit: Amazon’s high-pressure delivery practices to blame in Isle of Wight wreck (“A Smithfield woman is suing Amazon and its local delivery partner for 20 million dollars, claiming that the pressures the e-commerce giant places on its delivery drivers caused a 2022 crash that left her with brain injuries.”)
- CWG Live: Less chilly today, but a fresh blast of cold air to start 2026
