by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Wednesday, January 21.
- Half of world’s CO2 emissions come from just 32 fossil fuel firms, study shows (“Critics accuse leading firms of sabotaging climate action but say data increasingly being used to hold them to account”)
- An exclusive look inside the largest effort ever mounted to keep the Great Barrier Reef alive (“Australia is doing absolutely everything to protect its most iconic ecosystem — except, perhaps, the one thing that really matters.”)
- Chinese EVs Blow Past Tesla and Tariffs En Route to Global Reign
- Russia Cheers the Growing NATO Rift Over Greenland (“Putin has long sought to undermine the Western alliance that he sees as a threat.”)
- My survival guide to the Kremlin’s winter of terror in Kyiv (“POLITICO’s Ukraine correspondent describes life in a shivering but resilient city under relentless Russian assault.”)
- Putin meeting set for Thursday, Witkoff says, with Ukraine ‘land deals’ on the table (Trump is a traitor.)
- Trump’s Politics Are Not America First. They’re Me First. (“Donald Trump is the most un-American president in our history. And in his second term, there is no one to constrain his un-American impulses.”)
- Pentagon moves to cut U.S. participation in some NATO groups (“The planned reductions to parts of the alliance’s force structure and some advisory groups mark the Trump administration’s latest move to scale back military investment in Europe’s defense.”)
- World leaders in Davos must stand up to Trump. This is their chance
- This Is the End (“Putinism abroad always morphs into Putinism at home. And we chose this path. Why? Because something-something the price of eggs.”)
- Trump’s Greenland crusade pushes European allies to a breaking point
- EU moves closer to using its trade bazooka against the US
- Scott Bessent says U.S. is unconcerned by Treasury sell-off over Greenland, calls Denmark ‘irrelevant’ (F*** Scott Bessent.)
- EU chief says Europe needs to abandon caution after US treasury secretary calls Denmark ‘irrelevant’
- Trump’s Greenland Threats Spark Outrage From EU And Test Longtime NATO Alliance
- Gov. Newsom Warns European Leaders That Trump Is Playing Them For Fools: ‘He’s A T-Rex’
- Epstein continues to explain everything about Trump (“From Greenland to Minneapolis, it’s all rooted in his predatory ways”)
- Conservative Military Archbishop Says Catholic Troops Can Defy Trump Orders on Greenland
- Trump’s Greenland Threat Is Stirring Up Europe’s Deepest Divisions
- Trump says he’ll ‘acquire’ Greenland. Here’s what the Constitution says
- Trump Predicts Greenland Deal That Will Make NATO ‘Very Happy’ (Yeah, riiiiight.)
- Trump’s Threats to Allies Stir Worry That U.S. Has Lost Its Way (“Worries?” There’s zero question that the US has lost its way, disastrously, with Trump as president.)
- Live updates: Trump to meet world leaders at Davos amid clash over Greenland (“The president was set to arrive later than scheduled at the gathering in Switzerland after Air Force One turned around due to a ‘minor electrical issue.'”)
- Air Force One Turns Back With Trump After Electrical Issue
- Markets plunge as Trump reignites fears of a trade war over Greenland
- Some Republicans Begin to Echo Trump’s Case to Acquire Greenland
- Danish pension fund to sell $100 million in Treasurys, citing ‘poor’ U.S. government finances
- Israel agrees to join Trump’s Board of Peace as some western European nations say no
- Trump says Iran would be ‘wiped the off face of this earth’ if something happens to him (“President Trump on Tuesday warned Iran that continued assassination threats made by leaders in Tehran would be met with the country getting ‘blown up.'”)
- Trump Seeks ‘Decisive’ Options for Iran as Assets Move Into Middle East
- Iran’s top diplomat issues most direct threat yet to US as crackdown over protests squeezes nation
- Photos leaked to BBC show faces of hundreds killed in Iran’s brutal protest crackdown
- Japan restarts world’s largest nuclear plant (Crazy it took 15 years…should have restarted much faster.)
- ‘Nostalgia is not a strategy’: Mark Carney is emerging as the unflinching realist ready to tackle Trump
- Canada Flexes on Global Stage With an Eye to Its Own Survival
- At Davos, Canada’s prime minister warns of ‘rupture in the world order’
- Prosecutors Subpoena Minnesota Democrats as Part of Federal Inquiry
- Minnesota Democratic Officials Subpoenaed by Justice Department
- Exclusive: Justice Department leadership pushed FBI to investigate campaign contributions to Minnesota officials
- Vance to visit Minneapolis as tensions escalate over immigration operations
- Trump Marks First Year In Office With Unhinged Racist Rant Targeting ‘Very Low IQ’ Somalis
- Trump Calls Renee Good’s Killing a ‘Tragedy’ and Says ICE Agents Will Make Mistakes
- ICE targeted off-duty police officers in Twin Cities, local police say (“The police chief of one Minneapolis suburb said all of the officers who had been stopped there by Immigration and Customs Enforcement were people of color.” ICE is a total disaster.)
- House Democrats’ support for impeaching Kristi Noem is exploding
- I’ve Covered Police Abuse for 20 Years. What ICE Is Doing Is Different.
- Supreme Court appears sympathetic to gun owners’ challenge to Hawaii law (Of course they do.)
- The Supreme Court’s entire framework for Second Amendment cases is coming apart (“It’s obvious that the Court isn’t actually trying to come up with a legal rule that makes sense.”)
- Supreme Court considers Trump’s attempt to fire the Fed’s Lisa Cook (“The dispute over presidential power has taken on greater importance after it emerged that the Justice Department is also investigating Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.”)
- US hits 1 year of measles spread, CDC’s No. 2 calls outbreaks ‘cost of doing business’
- Trump’s E.P.A. Has Put a Value on Human Life: Zero Dollars
- Trump Started the Year With Two Big Blows to Climate Progress (“The administration will reportedly stop considering how many lives are saved by pollution regulations” Absolutely insanity.)
- The consequences of Trump’s war on climate in 7 charts (“Seven snapshots reveal how climate rollbacks altered the trajectory of U.S. energy, environmental protection, and economic security.”)
- Trump administration claims offshore wind poses a threat. But it won’t say how. (They’re just COMPLETELY FULL OF SHIT – say so, NPR!)
- Congress releases massive funding bill ahead of shutdown deadline as ICE clash looms (Democrats shouldn’t vote to fund ICE.)
- How Mike Johnson plans to beat the deadline on a government shutdown
- Trump’s deeply unpopular presidency so far
- The 25th Amendment Isn’t Going to Work (“As grim as it may sound, there is no practical constitutional way to remove a president whose cheese is slipping inexorably off his cracker.”)
- Trump, 79, Rambles About Sinks and Straws When Asked About His 2026 Agenda (He’s demented.)
- The President Isn’t Even Trying to Sound Coherent Anymore (“At a White House press conference, Trump simply read documents to himself. Just, wow.”)
- Trump administration concedes DOGE team may have misused Social Security data (In any normal administration, that would be a MASSIVE scandal!)
- Trump and Vance Are Turning the Country I Joined Into One I Can’t Recognize
- Trump blows off Senate Republican leaders on critical endorsements
- Comer Rejects Clinton Interview on Epstein, Setting Up Contempt Vote (Comer is evil, an absolute disgrace to his office.)
- He Voted to Impeach Trump. Then He Spent Half a Decade Seeking Forgiveness. Here’s How That Worked Out. (“The president neither forgets nor forgives, and—as Sen. Bill Cassidy has found out—no amount of supplication can change that fact.” F’ing dumbass.)
- JD Vance and His Wife, Usha, Pronatalism’s Poster Couple, Are Having a 4th Kid (Usha Vance could have left her sociopathic, fascist husband, but…nope, instead she’s having another kid with him???)
- Forecasters warn of a ‘potentially catastrophic’ storm from Texas to the Carolinas
- Navy admiral removed by Hegseth announces run for Congress (“Nancy Lacore served in the Navy for 35 years as a helicopter pilot.”)
- University of Pennsylvania Rebukes Trump Administration for Demanding Information About Jewish Staff
- Lindsey Halligan departs Justice Department hours after Trump-appointed federal judge calls her leadership a ‘charade’
- Federal judge says Trump-appointed federal prosecutor in Virginia is ‘masquerading’ in the job
- Lindsey Halligan out as U.S. attorney following pressure from judges
- ‘A cable news talk show’: How federal judges pressured Halligan to leave as U.S. Attorney
- Maryland governor looks forward to working with Virginia’s Spanberger
- Sen. Tim Kaine: Tommy Tuberville “brands [Ghazala Hashmi] an ‘enemy.’ Because she’s an immigrant? A Muslim? A woman? A poet?” (Meanwhile, has a SINGLE Virginia Republican condemned Tuberville’s noxious Islamophobia and/or defended Hashmi???)
- Alabama senator calls Hashmi ‘the enemy … inside the gates.’ Here’s the American history he apparently never learned.
- Reps. Jen Kiggans (R-VA02) and Rob Wittman (R-VA01) Have Failed to Lower Costs: Virginia Families Are Paying $1,200+ More Due to Inflation (Among other things, “Kiggans, Wittman, and Republicans let ACA tax credits lapse, causing premiums in Virginia to skyrocket.”)
- Ousted under Trump’s trans military ban, retired Space Force Col. Bree Fram launches bid for Congress
- Editorial: Spanberger’s inaugural made history. Now the hard work begins. (“Gov. Spanberger will be judged on her actions in the next four years, not the history she made by winning election in November.” Agreed.)
- Scott feels even more confident in redistricting now that Spanberger is “100% behind” it
- Attorney General Jay Jones says he’ll be ‘putting Virginia first’
- A bill to extend standard deduction fails, Democrats and Republicans sound off on paid family medical leave, $15 minimum wage moves forward
- VA State Sen. Schuyler VanValkenburg & Del. Dan Helmer: Tackling the Housing Crisis in 2026 (Lawmakers “are championing three pieces of legislation this year to tackle the housing crisis from the bottom up”)
- Voting access bills move forward as Democrats block GOP early voting limits
- Virginia House committee advances $15 minimum wage
- Virginia Democrats want to limit immigration arrests in and around courthouses
- Virginia Democrats target military college’s funding after anti-DEI push (“Democrats launch effort that could ultimately end Virginia Military Institute’s status as a state-funded university.” Good.)
- Another Virginia child comes down with measles after travel abroad (“The Virginia Department of Health reported Tuesday evening that another child has come down with the highly contagious illness after traveling internationally.” Get vaccinated!)
- Child in Northern Virginia diagnosed with measles, exposure sites released
- 4 Va. lawmakers target rising Appalachian Power bills
- Bipartisan group of Virginia legislators target Appalachian Power bills
- Bipartisan group of lawmakers look to curb southwest Virginia utility bill costs
- JUST IN: Councilman Kirk McPike wins Democratic firehouse primary for delegate seat
- Alexandria Councilman R. Kirk McPike Wins Democratic Firehouse Primary for Virginia House District 5
- Democrats win another Virginia state House special election (Congrats to Delegate-elect Garrett McGuire)
- Major snow for Hampton Roads? A winter storm could hit this weekend.
- CWG Live: Really cold again this morning, warmer tomorrow; watching weekend snow threat (“Warmer highs near 50 tomorrow before we trend colder Friday and really cold this weekend. There is potential for significant snow between late Saturday and early Monday.”)
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