by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Tuesday, January 6. And yes, it’s really been five years since one of the darkest days in U.S. history – and yes, in this f’ed-up timeline, Trump did NOT go to prison, let alone within days or weeks, for attempting a violent coup against our government and our democracy. It’s utterly f’ed up, there’s no other way to put it. Oh, and here in Virginia, just 11 months after 1/6/21, the voters “in their infinite wisdom,” as the sarcastic saying goes, actually elected the Trump-endorsed (and Trump-praising) Glenn Youngkin as governor. That was a crystal clear sign, not that anyone in the “mainstream media” (which was in overdrive whitewashing Youngkin as a “moderate”) raised the alarm, that we were in deep, DEEP trouble as a nation.
- Macron hosts Ukraine and allies to try to cement security guarantees
- Selfies and smiles: South Korea seeks ‘new phase’ in ties with China
- The president is rejecting the past 80 years of US postwar leadership using multilateral organizations in favor of raw power
- US raid on Venezuela ‘undermined a fundamental principle of international law’, says UN rights body
- Trump Chooses the Path of Hitler, Stalin and Genghis Khan (“Worse than the attack on Venezuela is the dangerous idea behind it”)
- Donald Trump was never a dove (Anyone who believed that is, bluntly stated, an IMBECILE.)
- Trump Blurts Out Dark Truth about Venezuela Plan—and about MAGA Voters (“To some critics, it’s about plunder. To others, it’s about hemispheric hegemony. Actually, it’s about both.”)
- Trump’s Venezuela adventure is already a propaganda disaster (“Nobody is buying it, and they don’t even know what they’re trying to sell.”)
- Trump administration’s capture of Maduro raises unease about the international legal framework
- US is making plans to intercept Venezuela-linked oil tanker that Russia has claimed jurisdiction over, sources say
- Trump’s Retro Imperialism (“The president holds some misguided views about wealth, power, and natural resources.”)
- Latin America silent as Trump menaces Cuba, Colombia and Mexico (“The silence marks a sharp departure from the widespread and passionate condemnation this weekend of the U.S. capture of former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.”)
- Rebuilding Venezuelan oilfields won’t be easy or cheap, analysts say
- MAGA media link Trump’s overthrow of Maduro to 2020 election conspiracy theories
- Security forces patrol Venezuelan streets as opposition leader says new president ‘can’t be trusted’
- Venezuela’s New Leader Is Who Global Oil Wanted All Along (“A cadre of oil industry insiders made their case to anyone who would listen: Delcy Rodríguez should fill Maduro’s shoes.”)
- Big Oil doesn’t share Trump’s dream of making Venezuelan oil great again
- An exhausted strongman invades Venezuela (“Trump’s political style requires force and swagger. His ‘splendid little war’ was meant to prove he still has both”)
- Trump’s ‘Mission Accomplished’ Moment
- Don’t Call It Regime Change. This Is Something Else Entirely. (“Trump has often said that America is done being the world’s policeman. Mission accomplished: It’s now a mafia instead.”)
- Donroe Doctrine: The war for minerals, oil and AI
- Trump’s Betrayal of Venezuela’s Democracy Movement Is Hard to Overstate
- CIA Concluded Regime Loyalists Were Best Placed to Lead Venezuela After Maduro
- Trump says the U.S. is not at war with Venezuela
- Trump says the U.S. government may reimburse oil companies for rebuilding Venezuela’s infrastructure (WTF???)
- Trump says he’s prepared to send more US troops to Venezuela if interim president doesn’t cooperate
- Inside Congress’ deep split after marathon Venezuela briefing
- The One Secret Memo That Trump Thinks Justifies His Venezuela Invasion
- Venezuela Braces for Economic Collapse From U.S. Blockade
- Justice Dept. Drops Claim That Venezuela’s ‘Cartel de los Soles’ Is an Actual Group
- Maduro opponent Machado vows to return to Venezuela, wants election
- Venezuela detains journalists and seizes communication devices after Maduro’s removal
- Trump news at a glance: Maduro appears in US court as nations condemn president’s attack on Venezuela (“Trump’s moves spark global wave of revulsion and fears that similar actions could happen in other countries”)
- ‘Greenland belongs to its people’: European leaders unite over Trump’s threats to annex territory
- Danish prime minister says a US takeover of Greenland would mark the end of NATO
- Trump Seizing Greenland Could Set Off a Chain Reaction (“After Venezuela, Europeans are taking the president’s threats seriously.”)
- Stephen Miller Asserts U.S. Has Right to Take Greenland (Miller is an insane extremist.)
- Why Israel Is Divided Over How to Investigate Oct. 7 Failures
- After Venezuela, Trump’s cartel threats put Mexico on edge
- After Venezuela raid, Trump team puts a target on Cuba
- US abandons child exploitation and drug cases to prioritize ICE, Democrats allege (“Exclusive: Letter decries ‘stunning abdication of basic responsibilities’ and demands to know how many officers diverted”)
- 2,000 federal agents deploying to Minneapolis in immigration crackdown, fraud probe (Crazy.)
- What the overhaul of U.S. vaccine guidance means for public health
- U.S. overhauls childhood vaccine schedule, recommends fewer shots (At this point, trust your pediatrician and the professional pediatric organizations; do NOT trust guidance from the Trump/RFK Jr.-led federal government!)
- Cassidy rips RFK Jr. vaccine schedule change, says it’s ‘based on no scientific input’ (Cassidy voted to confirm RFK Jr, so this is in significant part his fault.)
- Why Democrats Aren’t Threatening Another Shutdown This Time
- Jamie Raskin: Jan. 6 Never Ended (Exactly – they never stopped, and our institutions failed to hold them to account.)
- There Is a Sickness Eating Away at American Democracy
- The most shameful day in American history (“We will never forget, and we will not let the nation or the world forget.”)
- For Many Jan. 6 Rioters, a Pardon From Trump Wasn’t Enough
- Is This What Patriotism Looks Like? (“Why an ex–police officer assaulted a fellow cop on January 6”)
- The Triumph of Indecency (“Or, the importance of being appalled”)
- Trump’s airbrushed version of Jan. 6 distorts history. See the evidence for yourself
- Back in power 5 years later, Trump has all but erased the stain of Jan. 6 (“In the years since the Capitol riot, Trump has learned it’s nearly impossible to punish a president who decides to test the limits of the Constitution.” Nope, it was VERY possible…Garland et al just failed to do it.)
- Day of Infamy (“Unfortunately, this isn’t a bad dream”)
- Jack Smith Found Plenty of Damning Evidence Against Trump. If Only That Mattered Now.
- Trump administration to freeze billions in childcare funding in five states (WTF???)
- How Trump Derailed a NOAA Pioneer’s Move From Climate Impacts to Solutions (“Libby Jewett founded the U.S. ocean acidification program and had begun work on offshore wind energy. But she joined the past year’s historic exodus from the agency, the impacts of which are still not clear.”)
- A data center backlash is growing across the political divide
- 2 GOP senators caution Hegseth on punishing Kelly (Only two??? It should be ALL of them!)
- Corporation For Public Broadcasting Is Dissolved After 58 Years Of Service (“The effort to defund CPB was led by Office of Management and Budget director Russ Vought, who has been downright gleeful about haphazardly slashing billions from federal programs.”)
- Trump officials sue California cities over laws to restrict fossil fuels
- Inside Tim Walz’s dramatic political fall
- Tim Walz’s 17-Month Roller Coaster: A Sudden Rise, Then a ‘Tough Fight’
- The Tim Walz Saga Shows Why Debunking Conspiracy Theories Doesn’t Work
- MAGA-Coded CBS Anchor Falls Apart in Evening News Debut (“Tony Dokoupil had a rough go of it during his first official night in the anchor’s chair.”)
- Sen. Tim Kaine: “[Trump] has ushered in a Vice President who was Maduro’s right-hand woman, who yesterday claimed that the attack was motivated by Zionists (!)”
- Video: Sen. Mark Warner’s Reactions to Trump Wanting to Over Greenland – “One is holy crap, what would that mean? Would NATO completely disintegrate? Would our…whole sense of Western alliance be destroyed?” (Are Republicans going to “keep rolling over?…If the checks and balances that were set up don’t hold, then we’re in a very different kind of country.”)
- Video: Sen. Mark Warner Says “I desperately hope that my Republican friends…will do the right thing and actually step up…and do the kind of oversight that our system was set up for” (“I’ve got a lot of questions I need to get answered, particularly since so many Virginians are already in harm’s way”)
- Sen. Mark Warner: Trump Is Talking About Invading U.S. Allies
- Beyer picks up another challenger, an Arlington resident, in Democratic primary (Beyer’s got to be very happy; the more challengers, the less chance any of them has of beating him. Plus, of course, 98% or whatever of incumbents win re-nomination, so…)
- VA Gov.-Elect Abigail Spanberger Announces Senior Staff Appointments in the Office of Governor, State Agencies, & Secretariats (Spanberger will be inaugurated in just 12 days)
- Spanberger names former Hampton superintendent as secretary of education (“Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger announced Tuesday that she has chosen Jeffrey Smith, former superintendent of Hampton schools, to serve as Virginia’s next secretary of education.”)
- VDOT pauses minority-, women-owned businesses program activities amid federal changes
- Democrats could put four constitutional amendments on the ballot this spring (We’ll see; I’ve heard they will NOT put all four on the ballot this spring, but maybe they’ll change their mind?)
- Hegseth to Newport News shipbuilders: ‘You are building a shield for our nation’
- Franklin County supervisors choose board’s new chair, vice chair
- Trump is ramping up federal immigration enforcement. How’s it impacting trust in Fairfax County police?
- Fairfax Dems to endorse Braddock school board candidate with open caucus
- A year after Richmond water crisis, leaders tout improvements, hold out hope for state funding
- A year in review with Richmond Mayor Danny Avula
- Stuart Community Hospital opens for emergency and inpatient care (“Patrick County had been without a hospital since 2017. Braden Health bought the property at auction in late 2024 and spent a year and $15 million renovating and refitting it.”)
- CWG Live: Warming trend starts today despite clouds; 60s possible by Friday (“Sunshine surges back Wednesday and probably Thursday before shower chances Friday into Saturday.”)
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