by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Sunday, December 21.
- Countries Want Debt Relief for Conservation. Is China Ready to Play a Role? (“‘Debt-for-nature’ swaps are helping some lower-income countries increase conservation. The world’s largest nation-state creditor has the leverage for deals—if it chooses to use it.”)
- Putin wants all of Ukraine – and more, US intelligence warns
- US, Russian officials meet in Florida for more Ukraine talks
- US tech enabled China’s surveillance empire. Now Tibetan refugees in Nepal are paying the price
- Israeli troops kill six Palestinians sheltering in Gaza school, say hospital chiefs (“Attack brings total number of Palestinians killed by Israel to 401 since October ceasefire took effect” UGH.)
- Netanyahu plans to brief Trump on possible new Iran strikes (“Israeli officials believe Iran is expanding its ballistic missile program. They are preparing to make the case during an upcoming meeting with Trump that it poses a new threat.”)
- Land Grab: Israel’s Escalating Campaign for Control of the West Bank (“Israeli seizure of Palestinian lands, often brutally, has accelerated, raising doubts about the prospects of a peaceful solution to the conflict.” 100% unacceptable.)
- Trump faces narrowing options on Venezuela action (“The administration’s death toll from strikes on alleged drug boats crests 100 as it ratchets up a unilateral blockade of sanctioned Venezuelan oil tankers.”)
- Exclusive: US seizes vessel off Venezuelan coast, officials say (The tankers we SHOULD be seizing are the ones exporting Russian oil.)
- US seizes another vessel off Venezuela as Trump administration ramps up pressure on Caracas
- U.S. Oil Blockade of Venezuela Pushes Cuba Toward Collapse (“The Communist-ruled island was already suffering from food shortages, blackouts and an exodus of people; now it faces the loss of cheap oil from Nicolás Maduro”)
- BREAKING: Proof Blanche was involved in the decision to prosecute Abrego
- The Fight Over the Next Fed Chair Is Spilling Out Across D.C. and Wall Street
- RFK Jr. wanted to endorse the Danish vaccine schedule. He was forced to pull back.
- Trump Takes America’s ‘Imperial Presidency’ to a New Level
- Congress leaves town until 2026 with no health care deal, forcing premium hikes (“Four Republicans teamed up with Democrats to require a vote to revive ACA funds in the new year — but Senate Republicans say the bill is dead on arrival.”)
- The Growing Sign of Mike Johnson’s Weak Grip on Power (“He may not survive until, much less beyond, the midterms”)
- The Nine Worst Trump Scandals of 2025 (“Trump’s second term has been so lurid in its corruption that it was genuinely hard to narrow this list down.”)
- The year Trump broke the federal government (“How DOGE and the White House carried out a once-unthinkable transformation of the nation’s sprawling bureaucracy.” This is such a lame, whitewashed subheader.)
- Elon Musk, tariffs: The two Trump own goals that doomed his second term
- Trump news at a glance: Anger grows about redactions, apparent removal of Epstein files from DoJ website
- Available to download Friday, some Epstein files no longer there Saturday afternoon
- Epstein Files Photos Disappear From Government Website, Including One of Trump
- At Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest, the Epstein Files Landed with a Thud
- Trump’s Epstein Coverup Is Just Getting Started
- Epstein files offer scant new insight into his crimes or how he avoided serious prosecution
- For Trump, the Epstein Files Won’t Go Away
- Bill Clinton spokesperson says White House is using him as scapegoat after Epstein files release
- Outrage and legal threats: Trump justice department slammed after limited Epstein files release
- Epstein files include child porn complaint a decade before federal investigation
- From praise to rage: conservative response to Epstein release is mixed
- Trump Now Shares One More Thing in Common With History’s Worst Dictators
- Republican women shrinking their ranks in Congress (Another one who badly needs to go is Rep. Jen Kiggans in VA02)
- Charlie Kirk’s Empire Is Lining Up Behind a JD Vance Presidential Bid
- Exclusive: Trump appointee inspired by conservative media outlet to push for probe of Democratic congressman
- There’s a 92 Percent Chance Trump Is Making It Up (“His fixation on the number between 91 and 93 has been a feature for a while.”)
- Democrats second-guess DNC decision to end autopsy of losses to Trump, GOP
- Williams: Barbara Johns is a heroine for our age
- Video: Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-VA11) Says “It’s enormously frustrating,” as “the law is clear…the full files were supposed to be released [yesterday] and the Trump administration is not in compliance with that law” (“Trump has done everything in his power to block these files from being released.”)
- House Democrat: DOJ ‘absolutely’ violated law with limited Epstein files release
- Youngkin says he lived up to ‘education governor’ title (“Gov. Glenn Youngkin says his K-12 education legacy is reestablishing expectations of excellence.” The RTD’s headline and subheader are pure stenography…)
- U.Va. leaders react to Beardsley’s presidential appointment (“Student and faculty push back against the timing of the appointment of the University’s tenth president”)
- Democratic political staffer charged with distributing child pornography (Absolutely horrendous, pure evil really.)
- CWG Live: Seasonable with some sunshine today; chilly on Monday (“A spotty wintry mix, or perhaps just a little rain, is possible Monday night into Tuesday morning.”)
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