by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Monday, February 2.
- As the Arctic Grows Noisier, Narwhals Are Becoming Quieter (“Scientists say increasing shipping traffic is interfering with the whales’ ability to hunt and communicate. To protect the animals, conservation groups are urging the International Maritime Organization to instate mandatory measures to reduce underwater noise.”)
- Battery prices plunge 60 pct in two years, changing face of grid and the nature of contracts (Amazing.)
- Slump in commodities rattles global markets (“Commodities markets slumped, led by deep losses in gold, silver, oil and industrial metals, as the choice of Kevin Warsh as the next Fed chair unleashed selling in risk assets that sent precious metals tumbling for a second session.”)
- Inside Musk’s bet to hook users that turned Grok into a porn generator (“Under pressure to boost its popularity, Elon Musk’s xAI loosened guardrails and relaxed controls on sexual content, setting off internal concern.”)
- ‘Enemy’ insults and questioning Putin: Steve Rosenberg on tightrope of reporting from Russia
- To Build a Fire (“How Russian military intelligence is recruiting young people online to carry out espionage, arson, and other attacks across Europe.”)
- NATO Is Doing Military Exercises—Without America. That Does Not Mean Anything Good.
- Trump says if Iran doesn’t agree to nuclear deal, ‘we’ll find out’ whether U.S. attack would spark a regional war (“The escalating rhetoric from both leaders comes as the U.S. has sent a carrier strike group and air defense systems to the Middle East.”)
- Gaza Crossing to Egypt Reopens in Step Forward for Fragile Cease-Fire
- U.A.E. Firm Quietly Took Stake in the Trump Family’s Crypto Company (Wildly corrupt, definitely “emoluments” and thus impeachable.)
- Mexico moves to combat pollution following Guardian investigations (“After stories revealed high levels of contamination in neighborhood around factory processing US toxic waste, government announces sweeping array of tactics”)
- ‘Toxic Colonialism’ on the Bay of Bengal (“Despite new international safety standards, the beaches of South Asia remain the destination for environmentally destructive and dangerous shipbreaking.”)
- Why This Might Be a Grim Week for the Haitians of Springfield, Ohio (“Their Temporary Protected Status ends at midnight on Tuesday. And now the question is: What will happen in Springfield on Wednesday?”)
- Two CBP Agents Identified in Alex Pretti Shooting (“The two federal immigration agents who fired on Minneapolis protester Alex Pretti are identified in government records as Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection officer Raymundo Gutierrez.” Murderers.))
- Accountability for ICE and CBP (“However bad you think the corruption and misconduct at ICE and CBP is — the reality is far far worse.”)
- ICE halts “all movement” at Texas detention facility due to measles infections (This whole situation is utterly disgraceful and unacceptable.)
- Source: Measles outbreak reported at ICE’s Dilley family detention facility
- The Second Amendment Failed Alex Pretti (“The Minneapolis nurse’s death at the hands of federal agents has exposed the contradictions at the center of the gun rights debate.”)
- House Dem divisions over DHS funding spill out in private call
- She Ran DHS. Now She’s Watching It Mishandle Minnesota. (“Former DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano offers a candid take on recent events and the path forward.”)
- Expected House Vote to End Partial Shutdown Turns Dramatic (“Democrats pushing for immigration-enforcement changes say they won’t help GOP pass funding measures”)
- 5-year-old boy and father return to Minnesota after release from immigration custody
- After Liam Ramos’ release, Dems turn focus to other ICE-detained kids
- 5-Year-Old Liam Conejo Ramos And Father Return To Minnesota From ICE Facility In Texas
- Music’s biggest stars use the Grammys stage to protest Trump’s immigration crackdown (Everyone with a public platform should be speaking up.)
- Ammon Bundy Is All Alone (“The anti-government militia leader can’t make sense of his allies’ support for ICE violence.”)
- Speaker Johnson faces tough choices as partial government shutdown drags and debate over ICE deepens
- House GOP seeks to push funding bill through its razor-thin margin (“House Democrats have indicated privately that they do not plan to support the plan, leaving Republicans to go it alone.”)
- Bad Bunny Slams Trump’s Agenda In Grammys Speech: ‘We Are Not Aliens’ (“The Latin music superstar doubled down on his anti-ICE stance ahead of his Super Bowl halftime performance.”)
- Federal Agents Launch Tear Gas at Nonviolent Anti-ICE Protesters—Including Children (WILDLY illegal and unconstitutional!)
- How Trump Appears in the Epstein Files (“The New York Times found more than 5,300 files with references to Mr. Trump and related terms. They include salacious and unverified claims, as well as documents that had already been made public.”)
- Epstein Files Release Exposes Names of at Least 43 Victims, WSJ Review Finds (“Justice Department failed to redact dozens of Epstein victims’ names, including more than two dozen who were minors” Horrible.)
- Todd Blanche says review of Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking case ‘is over’
- The Government Published Dozens of Nude Photos in the Epstein Files (“The photos, which showed young women or possibly teenagers with their faces visible, were largely removed after The New York Times began notifying the Justice Department.”)
- Trump Rages at ‘Total Loser’ Grammys Host After Epstein Joke
- New Epstein files reveal he may have trafficked girls to others despite official denials
- US committee is reconsidering all vaccine recommendations (“Move is dramatic departure for advisory group under Kirk Milhoan, who says he doesn’t like the term ‘established science’”)
- Kevin Warsh and Weathervane Economics (“A man with his finger in the political wind”)
- Propaganda in cinemas, newsrooms slashed: this is the US media under Trump and his tech barons
- The regime moves to make journalism a crime (“But try as they might, they won’t silence the voices of dissent.”)
- How the Supreme Court Secretly Made Itself Even More Secretive
- Classified Whistleblower Complaint About Tulsi Gabbard Stalls Within Her Agency (“Congress hasn’t seen the complaint, which was filed eight months ago with the U.S. intelligence community’s watchdog office”)
- The Education Department’s efforts to fire staff cost over $28 million, watchdog says
- R.N.C. Enters 2026 With Nearly $100 Million Edge on D.N.C.
- Trump endorses John E. Sununu in New Hampshire Senate race over Scott Brown (Politico actually calls hardass conservative John Sununu a “moderate.” Just a flat-out, wild lie by Politico.
- How Jon Stewart created Tucker Carlson
- Fear and Anger Grow as Thousands Remain Without Power in the South
- Is Jeff Bezos going to destroy the Washington Post? It sure looks like it
- The “Melania” movie is empty, foul and worse than we imagined
- Trump Says Kennedy Center Will Close for 2-Year Reconstruction Project (“The president’s announcement came after the center has been rocked by cancellations and boycotts by performers, contributors and audience members.”)
- Trump plans to close Kennedy Center for about two years, starting in July
- 4Q25 Fundraising Reports: Massive $$$ Lead for Sen. Mark Warner; Republican Reps. Rob Wittman, Jen Kiggans, John McGuire, Ben Cline All Outraised By Their Leading Dem Challengers
- Macy and Perriello have more money than Cline and McGuire, but will new Democratic maps put them in same district?
- It’s Not Likely, But What IF We Were to See 30-Point (or Even Half That) Democratic “Overperformances” This November in Virginia? (In that case, Dems could get to 9D-2R even WITHOUT redistricting)
- Va. bill to boost local approvals of solar projects advances
- Video: VA Del. Jessica Anderson Pushes Back on Right-Wing “Ragebait,” “Wild Assumption[s],” Distortions and Hyperbole, etc. Against Random Bills (Trump, for instance, falsely claimed that Spanberger “came in & in one swoop…raised everything up higher than it ever was”)
- Virginia House debates noncompete ban for some doctors
- Bill seeks to end $2.7M cap on malpractice damages for children outside the delivery room
- Thousands welcome ‘Walk for Peace’ monks in Chester
- Millions of dollars in RGGI money has been appropriated for flood mitigation projects in Southwest Virginia. Many of those projects are still in early stages. Here’s how it works
- International enrollment in Virginia postgraduate programs falls by 13% (“Some experts and schools attribute the dip to federal immigration policy.”)
- Arlington Public Schools closed Monday, ‘limited’ trash collection to resume
- State lawmakers respond to Board resignations and Spanberger’s new appointees (“Democrats expressed confidence in the new appointments to the Board of Visitors, while Republicans criticized Spanberger’s actions as political”)
- Augusta County, 73 percent Trump in 2024, on proposed ICE facility: NIMBY
- Fairfax case alleging school-assisted abortions now in federal court (“A public statement from superintendent Michelle Reid claimed that Perez’ allegations are ‘based largely on statements that were misinterpreted, mistranslated, taken out of context, or in some cases knowingly fabricated.'”)
- Norfolk council members losing patience with community funder’s failures
- Casino revenue to exceed expectations in Danville. City Council will consider putting excess toward economic development
- Buchanan County ponders whether $6 million will save Appalachian School of Law. Here are some questions it should ask.
- Dry air reduces snow totals for region; warmer temperatures expected this week
- CWG Live: Less cold before midweek snow chance and another bitter blast (“Highs should finally eclipse freezing this week; if not today, then tomorrow.”)
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