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by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Tuesday, December 23.
- Climate Change Is Coming for Christmas (“Stunted trees, pricey chocolate, threatened reindeer, scant snow—warming is taking a toll.”)
- Major central banks deliver biggest easing push in over a decade in 2025
- Russia hits Ukraine with ‘massive’ attack, says Zelensky, after he warned of Christmas strikes
- Trump and Putin share a craving for status. That’s why they both want to destroy Europe (“Liberal democracies view Putin’s Russia as a bully – and Trump’s US as an angry drunk with a bazooka. The response is pure venom”)
- Poll: Major allies see US as unreliable and destabilizing
- Ex-aide says Netanyahu tasked him with making a plan to evade responsibility for Oct. 7 attack (The fact is, one of the worst days in Israel’s history occurred on Netanyahu’s watch. What ever happened to “the buck stops here?”)
- Venezuela Is on the Verge of a Major Humanitarian Tragedy (“While the media sleeps, the beginning salvos of Trump’s regime change war is already pushing the nation into crisis.” The media is SO selective in what they cover, how intensively they cover it, etc. And it’s DEFINITELY NOT objective, as they absurdly claim.)
- Russia and China pledge support for Venezuela as Trump ratchets up pressure on Maduro
- Trump on seized Venezuelan oil: “We’re gonna keep it”
- Trump says US will keep oil and ships seized near Venezuela (Is that legal???)
- US strikes another alleged drug-smuggling boat in eastern Pacific
- The Right Wing Rises in Latin America (“The new President of Chile joins a new class of leaders trying to seize the future by rewriting the past.” Latin America is f’ed.)
- Trump administration plans to promote loyal diplomats after recall of 30 ambassadors, sources say (“Move comes as union representing US diplomats said it was ‘deeply concerned’ by the process, which could ‘politicise’ foreign service”)
- ‘We have to have’ Greenland, says Donald Trump (“US president claims Danish territory is needed ‘for national security’” This guy is completely insane.)
- Greenland PM rebukes Trump special envoy overture
- Inside the Deportation Machine (“An analysis of data on every ICE arrest, detention and deportation in the U.S. reveals the complexity and reach of President Trump’s immigration crackdown.”)
- Federal judge says U.S. must give due process to deported Venezuelans
- ICE traps immigrants at green card interviews
- WATCH: The 60 Minutes CECOT Segment
- ‘It’s a war’: Inside ICE’s media machine (“Internal messages show how ICE’s public affairs team has coordinated with the White House to satisfy Trump administration demands for viral arrest videos.”)
- Oregon couple deported, forced to leave toddler behind (Just cruel. Why???)
- Number of people in ICE detention hits record high, data shows
- Revealing the Fed’s quiet fight to protect its independence
- The culture war is consuming the Supreme Court (“The Court’s overall docket is shrinking, even as it hears more and more cases dealing with Republican cultural grievances.”)
- How Trump’s First Year Reshaped U.S. Energy and Climate Policy (Very weak headline.)
- Pausing offshore wind projects is a blow to America’s energy future (It’s damaging and totally insane. Also illegal.)
- ‘Incredibly reckless’: Trump’s wind halt stuns even some allies
- Senate Democrats cut off permitting talks after Trump’s newest ‘assault’ on wind
- New trove of apparent Epstein files posted on DOJ site disappears (“Justice Department spokespeople didn’t respond to POLITICO’s requests for comment on the new documents. The material included tens of thousands of government documents and emails, as well as several dozen videos from the Bureau of Prisons.”)
- Second big batch of Epstein files includes many mentions of Trump (“The Justice Department had been heavily criticized on Capitol Hill for including few Trump-related documents in its first release of files.”)
- Vast new Epstein batch released by US justice department includes emails and videos
- Justice Department releases new batch of documents in Epstein investigation
Trump flew alone on jet with Epstein and unnamed 20-year-old, files suggest- Trump complains Epstein files are damaging people who ‘innocently met’ him (“In his first comments since the release, the president expressed sympathy for high-profile figures, including Bill Clinton, who have come under scrutiny”)
- Biden stopped the executions of 37 men. Trump’s DOJ wants to punish them
- Editorial: President deceives with announcement of ‘warrior dividends’ (“The members of our armed forces deserve straight talk from their commander-in-chief, not lies and budgetary illusions.”)
- Trump To Announce Navy Will Buy New ‘Battleship’ (“President Trump will announce on Monday a new fleet of large warships he is calling ‘battleships,’ according to a U.S. official and another official familiar…”)
- Trump Is Naming a New Class of Navy Battleships After Himself (This is North Korea-style shit.)
- Trump’s new ‘Trump-Class’ battleship will carry nuclear weapons (Everything about this timeline is deeply disturbing.)
- Trump’s new battleship plan could transform the US Navy – or sink it
- Trump’s 10 Biggest, Most Shameful Billionaire Toadies
- JD Vance’s 2028 strategy: Be even worse than Trump (“Vance sees a future in people who call Hitler ‘a great leader'”)
- JD Vance Has Nearly Completed His Quest to Become the Most Unlikable Person in Politics (“During his speech at Turning Point USA’s loony fest, the vice president embodied everything wrong with American politics today.” Vance is utterly repulsive.)
- J. D. Vance Cozies Up to Anti-Semitism
- 5 turning points that explain MAGA’s civil war
- The Donald J. Trump Center for Everything (“Only Congress has the authority to rename the Kennedy Center.”)
- House Democrat sues to stop “Trump-Kennedy Center” renaming
- Department of Education to investigate Brown security following mass shooting (“If Brown is found to have violated federal campus safety regulations, the University could face fines and lose access to federal financial aid.” Seriously???)
- Trump critic George Conway files papers for U.S. House bid in New York
- Turmoil at CBS News After Bari Weiss Pulls a ‘60 Minutes’ Segment (Bari Weiss is an unmitigated disaster.)
- The Kill Switch (“How Bari Weiss handed the Trump administration a veto over CBS News”)
- Is CBS News censoring 60 Minutes? (“Bari Weiss blocked a critical story about the Trump administration — as CBS’s billionaire backers seek Trump’s help.”)
- CBS Frantically Tries to Stop People From Seeing Censored ‘60 Minutes’
- Breaking: Cully Stimson and Hans von Spakovsky Resign From Heritage (Glenn Youngkin’s favorite think tank continues to unravel.)
- The Heritage Foundation Blows Up (“Its conservative scholars jump to Mike Pence’s policy shop after being stifled at the think tank.”)
- Exclusive: Resignations Continue at Heritage Foundation amid Frustrations with Leadership
- [UPDATED] After Dept. of Interior Puts Hold on Five East Coast Offshore Wind Farms, Including Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind, VA Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell Rips “Trump’s blatantly illegal political payback to VA for voting for [Abigail Spanberger]”
- Trump administration ‘pauses’ Virginia’s offshore wind project (“The federal Department of the Interior announced Monday that all five U.S. offshore wind projects were to halt, citing undisclosed national security concerns. The pause could last for three months, according to Dominion Energy.”)
- Dominion offshore wind project paused over cited national security concerns (The media is maddening; in fact, the “cited national security concerns” are 100%, wildly FALSE – why doesn’t the headline SAY SO???)
- Gov.-Elect Abigail Spanberger Announces Retired U.S. Army Major General Timothy P. Williams as Virginia’s New Secretary of Veterans and Defense Affairs (Williams: “I share Governor-elect Spanberger’s focus on making sure Virginia communities have the resources they need to keep their citizens safe”)
- Spanberger names Del. Mark Sickles as next finance secretary (“Del. Mark Sickles, D-Fairfax, a 22-year veteran of the House of Delegates and a House budget negotiator since 2018, will be Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger’s finance secretary.”)
- Spanberger names Traci Deshazor to serve as the next Secretary of Administration
- CASEY: Secrecy started early in efforts to bring casino gambling to the Star City
- CWG Live: Light rain or mix this morning; less chilly through Christmas Day (“Sunnier Wednesday, then cloudier Christmas Day with the chance of a few light rain showers in the morning. Some cold rain or wintry mix is possible Friday.”)
