Thursday News: “Nuclear Arms Control Era Comes to an End Amid a Global Rush for New Weapons”; “Two-thirds of Americans say ICE has ‘gone too far'”; WaPo “Dies in Daylight”; “Spanberger ends Virginia’s agreements with ICE”; SCOVA to Hear Redistricting Case

by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Thursday, February 5.

• Flawed economic models mean climate crisis could crash global economy, experts warn (“States and financial bodies using modelling that ignores shocks from extreme weather and climate tipping points”)
• Exclusive: EU rethinks climate diplomacy after bruising COP30 summit, document shows
• Nuclear Arms Control Era Comes to an End Amid a Global Rush for New Weapons (“Beijing, Moscow and shaken American allies are seeking new warheads as President Trump ends more than 50 years of nuclear arms control with Russia.”)
• As the West goes after Russia’s oil fleet, Moscow fears for its war funding (“New European measures to crack down on Russia’s shadow fleet could devastate its economy at a time when it is looking increasingly vulnerable.” Great, but this should have happened in year #1 of Russia’s invasion.)
• The Assault on Ukraine’s Power Grid (“How Russia has weaponized the most frigid winter in more than a decade.”)
• Ukraine, Russia agree to exchange prisoners after ‘productive’ talks with US
• US must be prudent when supplying arms to Taiwan, Xi tells Trump
• China’s Xi Presses Trump on Taiwan in Phone Call(“Both leaders gave versions of what they discussed, but Xi Jinping’s take made clear the issue of the island was front and center.”)
• The American and Chinese Economies Are Hurtling Toward a Messy Divorce
• The Black Market for Russian and Iranian Oil Is in Trouble
• U.S.-Iran nuclear talks back on after Arab leaders lobby White House
• Elon Musk, State Department workers to be deposed over DOGE dismantling USAID
• Poll: Two-thirds of Americans say ICE has ‘gone too far’ in immigration enforcement (And the other third are fascists.)
• 61% Of Voters Think The Trump Administration Has Not Given An Honest Account Of The Fatal Shooting Of Alex Pretti, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; 58% Of Voters Think DHS Secretary Kristi Noem Should Be Removed
• Trump’s border czar is pulling 700 immigration officers out of Minnesota immediately (“About 700 federal officers — roughly a quarter of the total deployed to Minnesota — will be withdrawn immediately after state and local officials agreed over the past week to cooperate by turning over arrested immigrants, Homan said.” That still leaves a lot of these goons there.)
• ICE agents can’t make warrantless arrests in Oregon unless there’s a risk of escape, US judge rules
• Prosecutor Fired After Voicing Frustration With Immigration Caseload (“The prosecutor, Julie T. Le, told a judge that she and her colleagues in the U.S. attorney’s office were overwhelmed by the White House’s immigration operation in Minnesota.”)
• The unfathomable Minnesota transcript that must be read, as it tells the reality of America today (“‘I am not white, as you can see,’ Julie Le — a government lawyer — told a federal judge on Tuesday. ‘And my family’s at risk as any other people that might get picked up too …'”)
• ‘This job sucks’: Government lawyers, drowning in immigration cases, have had it (“Government lawyers say they’re overwhelmed and can’t get a response when they tell ICE to comply with judges’ orders.”)
• Exclusive: Justice Department unit on police misconduct sees staffing plunge and probes scaled back
• Trump’s occupation of Minneapolis has broken the Justice Department (“This DOJ is no longer capable of doing its job.”)
• Six Ways to Reform ICE and CBP (“And why congressional ‘reform’ isn’t actually the real problem….”)
• Steve Bannon calls for immigration agents at polling sites during midterms (“Ex-Trump adviser adds to elections officials’ concern about potential interference from Trump administration in voting”)
• Steve Bannon calls for Trump to deploy ICE and military troops to polling sites (“The Trump ally was one of few GOP voices to support the president’s push to nationalize voting.”)
• Trump Wants Republicans to Take Over Elections. GOP Lawmakers Have Their Own Plan. (“It’s not quite what the president is asking for, but it serves a lot of the same ends.”)
• Democrats Soften Their Demand To Ban Masks For ICE (“Masks might still be OK in ‘extraordinary and unusual circumstances,’ Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said.” That’s a huge loophole!)
• Minnesota girl, 10, released from ICE custody after a month in detention (“Elizabeth Zuna Caisaguano and her mother released from Texas facility to head back home to reunite with her father”)
• Supreme Court allows new California congressional districts that favor Democrats
• They said Trumpism was fading (“Mainstream commentators said Donald Trump’s authoritarian campaign was exhausted. They were very wrong”)
• Trump Administration to Make It Easier to Fire 50,000 Federal Workers (“A rule expected to be completed on Thursday would create a government-employee category that offers fewer job protections.”)
• Negotiators Say Talks to Restore ACA Subsidies Likely Dead
• Trump says the Federal Reserve is ‘in theory’ an ‘independent body’ (“The president told NBC News in an exclusive interview that he wouldn’t have tapped Kevin Warsh to be the next Fed chair if he didn’t support cutting interest rates.”)
• Americans are exceptionally anxious about their political system, new Gallup polling shows
• Trump talks Minneapolis, Joe Rogan, the Fed, AI and 2028 in a wide-ranging interview (“Trump sat down with “NBC Nightly News” anchor Tom Llamas and shared where his immigration crackdown is going, whether Americans will get rebate checks and more.”)
• One of CIA’s oldest and most recognizable intelligence publications, The World Factbook, has sunset. (“There’s not even a hint as to why they decided to stop maintaining this publication, which has been their most useful public-facing initiative since 1971 and a cornerstone of the public internet since 1997. In a bizarre act of cultural vandalism they’ve not just removed the entire site (including the archives of previous versions) but they’ve also set every single page to be a 302 redirect to their closure announcement.”)
• Whistleblower complaint centers on sharing of classified intelligence and reporting of a potential crime, watchdog says
• Congress Receives Redacted Version of Whistleblower Complaint Against Gabbard
• Exclusive: US spy chief’s office investigated voting machines in Puerto Rico (WTF???)
• ‘Can You Shut Up?’: House Democrats and Scott Bessent Get Into Shouting Matches During Hearing (Bessent is heinous.)
• Nancy Pelosi warns press freedom is ‘under siege’ after arrest of journalist (“Ex-House speaker says at dinner ‘facts are challenged, truth is distorted and press is treated as enemy’ by those in power”)
• Georgia Fort: I Was Arrested for Doing My Job as a Reporter. Who’s Next?
• Editorial: Journalists’ arrests mark obvious violation of First Amendment (“The arrests of journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort mark a new and alarming development in the administration’s assault on press freedom.”)
• How Jeff Bezos Brought Down the Washington Post (“The Amazon founder bought the paper to save it. Instead, with a mass layoff, he’s forced it into severe decline.”)
• Mass layoffs fuel fears of ‘death spiral’ at Washington Post
• It’s Time to Pay Our Last Respects to The Washington Post (“Democracy, the Post says, dies in darkness. Nowadays, newspapers are murdered in broad daylight.”)
• The Murder of The Washington Post (“Today’s layoffs are the latest attempt to kill what makes the paper special.”)
• ‘It’s an absolute bloodbath’: Washington Post lays off hundreds of workers (“Former Post executive editor blasts owner Jeff Bezos’s ‘sickening efforts to curry favor’ with Trump”)
• With “Sweeping Layoffs,” “Bezos is not trying to save The Washington Post. He’s trying to survive Donald Trump” (“Once considered a historic newspaper success story, the Post has devolved into a shell of itself”)
• As Washington Post downsizes, media experts react with concern about future of news coverage
• How Jeff Bezos Brought Down the Washington Post (“The Amazon founder bought the paper to save it. Instead, with a mass layoff, he’s forced it into severe decline.”)
• The Washington Post Dies in Daylight (“Civic vandalism and the mutilation of a great paper.”)
• Jeff Bezos-owned Washington Post conducts widespread layoffs, gutting a third of its staff (And the WaPo doesn’t cover it.)
• Trump says America should move on from Epstein – it may not be that easy
• Epstein files rife with uncensored nudes and victims’ names, despite redaction efforts
• ‘Do you think you’re the devil himself?’: highlights from the bizarre, newly released Bannon-Epstein interview (“The interview,⁠ revealed in the latest tranche of Epstein files, was reportedly intended for a sympathetic documentary”)
• Williams: Peace isn’t passive. Let’s walk the talk.
• Federal agency probes Nike over alleged discrimination against White employees
• Republicans fear Trump backlash could cost them Senate control
• The Second Death of Charlie Kirk (“The activist’s assassination unleashed anti-Semitism that is pulling the Trump coalition apart.”)
• Scoop: Cornyn unloading $10 million in last-minute ad blitz
• This Is Not the Kennedy Center (“Trump’s vision for the arts is nothing like what John F. Kennedy’s was.”)
• Brad Karp Resigns as Paul Weiss Chairman Amid Epstein Fallout (“Last March, Mr. Karp faced intense scrutiny within the legal community and Paul Weiss after the firm reached a deal with President Trump to sidestep an executive order that could have harmed its business by effectively barring the firm from representing clients before the federal government.”)
• Trump says he’ll stay out of the Netflix-Paramount fight over Warner Bros.
• Scoop: FBI chief heads to Tucson as Trump pledges help to find Savannah Guthrie’s mom
• Exclusive: Sen. Kaine seeks to strip Robert E. Lee’s name from Arlington House historic site
• Reps. James Walkinshaw and Steny Hoyer, Sen. Chris Van Hollen Launch the Federal Workforce Caucus (Also joining: Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine; Reps. Bobby Scott, Jennifer McClellan, Eugene Vindman, Don Beyer, Suhas Subramanyam)
• Macy says ‘political factions in Richmond and Washington’ want to ‘draw maps in backrooms to favor career politicians’ (The amusing thing here is that the only chance Democrats like Macy have of winning VA06 is by politicians “draw[ing] maps in backrooms” LOL)
• Virginia Supreme Court will hear redistricting challenge
• Virginia Court of Appeals asks SCOVA to take over redistricting case
• While tensions cool between Democrats, Spanberger has received the referendum legislation
• Gov. Abigail Spanberger: “Virginia law enforcement does not engage in fear-based policing,” Is “No Longer Under Federal ICE Control” (Law enforcement must “uphold the U.S. Constitution and the Constitution of Virginia.”)
• Spanberger takes further steps to remove Virginia from ICE operations
• Spanberger ends Virginia’s agreements with ICE
• Spanberger orders state law enforcement to exit federal immigration agreements
• Spanberger Ends agreements between ICE and Virginia law enforcement agencies
• Spanberger orders state agencies to end agreements with ICE
• Spanberger ends agreement between state law enforcement agencies and ICE (“This won’t affect the almost two dozen agencies in Southside and Southwest Virginia that have entered into agreements with ICE.”)
• Panel shelves bill to end mandatory minimum sentences for certain crimes
• Fmr. Rep. Denver Riggleman (R-VA05) Calls VA House of Delegates Floor Speech by His Predecessor, Fmr. Rep. Tom Garrett (R-VA05), “so unhinged it’s hard to put into words” (Riggleman: “I never thought Tom would go down this hole. He needs help. Truly.”)
• As legislators hammer out details of marijuana marketplace, advocates worry about recriminalization (“Members of the Virginia General Assembly are considering a plan to create a new regulated marketplace for marijuana.Advocates are unhappy with potential new penalties.”)
• House committee nixes bill to limit biometric data collection without consent
• The Pentagon tweet about VMI could be a threat. It could also be an opportunity. Here’s how.
• Injured Virginia teacher deserves every penny of $10 million verdict (“Thoughts from Mister Roger’s neighborhood: quick hits by your intrepid Virginia Mercury columnist, Roger Chesley.”)
• UVa details first phase of DEI purge in report to DOJ
• Hampton Roads mayors want Virginia localities to keep control over collective bargaining
• Hampton Roads law firm buys naming rights for Virginia Beach’s Dome venue
• CWG Live: Friday’s arctic front to deliver snow showers and a frigid weekend (“It’s near freezing today and a little milder Friday. Then the bottom drops out.”)