Saturday News: “24 hours that showed the limits of Trump’s power”; “Where states stand on redistricting after critical blow to Trump agenda”; “Not in any photos with Jeffrey Epstein”; “Are the MAGAs on UVA Board of Visitors still trying to hire a new president?”

by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Saturday, December 13.

• ‘A shift no country can ignore’: where global emissions stand, 10 years after the Paris climate agreement (“The watershed summit in 2015 was far from perfect, but its impact so far has been significant and measurable”)
• The Paris climate treaty changed the world. Here’s how (“There’s much more to do, but we should be encouraged by the progress we have made”)
• Polar bears are rewiring their own genetics to survive a warming climate (“Researchers say the findings, the first documented case of rising temperatures driving genetic change in a mammal, offer a ‘glimmer of hope’ for the Arctic species, which is facing possible extinction this century.”)
• Russia again targets Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in ‘massive attack’
• Secret meetings between FBI and Ukraine negotiator spark concern (“FBI Director Kash Patel and his deputy, Dan Bongino, met with Kyiv’s top peace negotiator amid a U.S. pressure campaign to end the war.”)
• Witkoff to meet Zelensky for latest Ukraine war talks (“Donald Trump’s envoy will meet the Ukrainian president and European leaders in Berlin to discuss the latest peace plan.”)
• Europe Sees a Trojan Horse for Russia in Trump’s Ukraine Plan
• Thailand-Cambodia fighting continues after Trump says countries agree to ceasefire
• New Israeli barrier will slice through precious West Bank farmland (“Palestinians who have worked the ‘breadbasket’ area for generations face being replaced by Israeli settlers” Unacceptable.)
• Exclusive: US briefly withheld some intelligence from Israel during Biden era
• Venezuela oil exports reportedly fall sharply after US seizure of tanker
• Venezuela Oil Tanker Seized by U.S. Was Part of Effort to Finance Cuba
• The global shadow economy behind Trump’s latest move on Venezuela (“A black market has been growing for years. This escalation puts a new spotlight on it.”)
• U.S. Pours More Firepower Into the Caribbean as Trump Ramps Up Threats
• DOJ seeks to boot Judge Boasberg from pursuing contempt hearings
• Fiasco for Trump as Judge Issues Harsh Rebuke in Ábrego García Case (“Judge Paula Xinis’s ruling temporarily freed Kilmar Ábrego García from custody. It also savagely indicted Trump’s lawless handling of this whole affair from start to finish.”)
• Rising tensions and finger-pointing at DHS amid pressure to ramp up deportations (“Some DHS officials have threatened to quit and are concerned their emails are being monitored, sources say.”)
• Immigration Agents Are Using Air Passenger Data for Deportation Effort (“The Transportation Security Administration is providing passenger lists to Immigrations and Customs Enforcement to identify and detain travelers subject to deportation orders.”)
• Gun-Toting Border Patrol Goon Unmasked as Racist Online Troll (“An agent criticized for his role in a violent arrest boosted racist and anti-LGBT posts on his X account.”)
• The Bondi Memo’s Quiet Rewriting of Domestic Terrorism Rules (“A leaked directive recasts counterterrorism around ‘Antifa,’ hollowing out post-Church Committee safeguards while the administration claims restraint.”)
• US set to lose measles elimination status: The ‘house is on fire’ (F’ing anti-vaxxer imbeciles.)
• Trump says Kevin Warsh is at top of Fed chair candidate list, president should be consulted on rates
• Trump Says He Is Leaning Toward Warsh or Hassett to Lead the Fed (Gack.)
• Donald Trump is losing. (“Seven conclusions as 2025 winds down.”)
• 24 hours that showed the limits of Trump’s power (“The president got a series of rebukes in his efforts to dominate both the Republican Party and American politics”)
• House will vote on Obamacare extension next week (“GOP leaders expect the amendment to their broader health care package will fail.”)
• Speaker Johnson unveils health care plan as divided Republicans scramble for alternative
• House Republicans propose healthcare plan with no extension of tax credits
• Justice Department sues 4 more states for access to detailed voter data
• In Trump’s Justice Dept., Failing in Court Might Be Better Than Bucking the Boss
• Scoop: New Justice Department Voting Rights Chief Had Prior Job Suspension for Ties to Election Deniers (“California prosecutor Eric Neff relied on a right-wing group’s intel to bring charges. Now, he’s apparently in charge of voting rights at the DOJ.”)
• Trump Is Already Discussing Preemptive Pardons For His Lawless Administration (“The revelation comes as Pete Hegseth faces scrutiny for a possible war crime, and as a judge pursues a contempt inquiry into the defiance of his order.”)
• President Trump Is Now Triggering His Very Own MAGApocalypse (“The horror! The horror!”)
• Indiana’s rejection of new voting map shows Trump’s might is not unlimited (“Defeat complicates the picture for Republicans across the US as they seek to redraw districts in an increasingly messy battle”)
• Where states stand on redistricting after critical blow to Trump agenda
• Hooray for Hoosiers, cynical GOP redistricting fails (“Cynical” isn’t really the right word to describe it, but…sure.)
• Republican lawmakers tell Trump something he’s not used to hearing: No
• Trump was unable to insult his way to victory in Indiana redistricting battle
• The Indiana Vote Is an Inflection Point (“The spines of the state’s Republicans stiffened where so many others snapped.”)
• Trump’s Indiana primary threats risk fracturing GOP
• Senate Democrats likely to block Trump favorite Halligan
• Trump administration moves to nix TSA union contract — again (“A prior attempt was halted by a federal judge.”)
• House Democrats release photos of Trump, Clinton and Andrew from Epstein’s estate
• More Epstein Photos Were Just Released. I’m Not Surprised by Who’s in Them.
• New photos released from Epstein’s estate showing Trump, Bannon, Bill Clinton and other high-profile people
• Comer threatens the Clintons with contempt for refusing to be deposed in Epstein probe
• Steve Bannon, Woody Allen, Bill Gates, and More: The New Set of Jeffrey Epstein Photos
• Court orders DOJ to return data seized from Comey friend
• VA plans to abruptly eliminate tens of thousands of health care jobs
• Brendan Carr, GOP huddle ahead of Senate showdown on his Kimmel threats (“The FCC chair is privately meeting with several Republicans ahead of next week’s hearing.”)
• Trump is whitewashing American history (“The death of Viola Fletcher, the last survivor of the Tulsa Race Massacre, underscores what Trump is attacking”)
• The Washington Post Editorial Board Is Spectacularly Awful at Legal Analysis (It’s hot garbage.)
• The New York Times Spread Dangerous Health Disinformation, Erased It, Hopes You Don’t Notice (“This November, the New York Times published an article with a frame that strongly implied COVID-19 vaccines kill children. The next day the piece was rewritten with an entirely different, more responsible frame, but readers were given no indication of the change. “)
• A Fascinating Primary Is Brewing in Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn (“The face-off between Brad Lander and Dan Goldman in NYC’s ritzy 10th District has it all.”)
• Amid Fractures on the Right, Tucker Carlson Continues His Attacks
• Kaine predicts small chance of a Senate vote to extend health care subsidies in community roundtable (This headlines hould say, “In community roundtable, Kaine predicts…”)
• Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine Endorse Former Reps. Elaine Luria and Tom Perriello for VA02 and VA05, “citing their proven judgment and steady leadership on national security”
• Video: Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA10) Says “we’ve only gone through about a fourth of the 95,000 [Epstein file] images and documents”; “Donald Trump keeps coming up” (“I’m hoping in the next week we can get everything we need to be able to release…to the public at that point.”)
• Democrat: Latest Epstein photo cache shows ‘people engaged in sexual acts’ (“Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (D-Va.) on Friday said some of the photos found in the home of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein depict ‘people engaged in sexual acts.'”)
• Some Virginia Dems eye tweaks to Youngkin’s school accountability system (“Lt. Gov-elect Ghazala Hashmi, the outgoing chair of the Senate Education and Health Committee, said the system needs to give more weight to students’ progress, not just their proficiency.”)
• Spanberger wants more electricity generation; former Gov. McAuliffe says natural gas is a short-term fix (McAuliffe is absolutely wrong about this; in fact, new natural gas-fired power plants take 4-8 years or more, and are VERY expensive, especially counting the fuel cost – which solar doesn’t have, obviously, since the sun is free.)
• Spanberger Inaugural Committee Announces Inauguration Weekend (Friday 1/16-Sunday 1/18) Schedule of Events (“At noon on Saturday, January 17, Governor-elect Spanberger will be sworn in as the 75th Governor of Virginia, along with Lieutenant Governor-elect Ghazala Hashmi and Attorney General-elect Jay Jones.”)
• VA Speaker Don Scott Calls HD11, HD23 Special Elections for 1/13/26; Last Day to File as Candidates Will Be This Coming Wednesday (12/17) (These two special elections were triggered by Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger naming Del. David Bulova and Del. Candi King to her administration)
• More special elections loom in Virginia House amid Democratic turnover
• Fairfax Democrats quickly schedule primary for Jan. election to replace Bulova
• Are the MAGAs on UVA Board of Visitors still trying to hire a new president?
• A (long) day at the Blacksburg mayoral recount: Sutphin prevails
• Man accused of killing Gloucester-area program director was angry about probation violation, court docs say
• Virginia mosque attacked, Muslim advocates call for hate crime charges
• Neighbors band together to clean up vandalized Norfolk mosque
• CWG Live: Snow tonight with light accumulation, then frigid Sunday into Monday