by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Wednesday, February 11.
- Record heat and raging fires ring in 2026 across the Southern Hemisphere
- Climate crisis linked to fall in southern right whale birth rates as researchers raise ‘warning signal’ (“Lead author of Australian study says breeding slowdown is linked to climate-driven changes in ‘magnificent’ whale’s foraging grounds”)
- Some of world’s oldest trees hit by climate-fuelled wildfires in Patagonia
- ‘The trend is irreversible’: has Romania shattered the link between economic growth and high emissions?
- See how climate change is accelerating
- Ukraine war briefing: UK promises to double troop numbers in Norway to deter Putin
- Russian strikes on Ukraine kill four amid reports Zelenskyy considering elections and peace deal referendum
- America Won’t Be Easily Forgiven—Even After Trump Is Gone (“The president’s belligerence against Greenland and Canada was no joke to Europeans and Canadians, some of whom say they’ll never trust or visit the U.S. again.” Agreed – there’s no reason to EVER trust the United States again. Trump and MAGA have destroyed our reputation indefinitely.)
- How an Icy Town of 20,000 Became a Testing Ground for the New World Order (“Canada’s muscular anti-Trump foreign policy debuts in Greenland.” Canada should probably consider building nuclear weapons as well.)
- Iran’s shadow fleet of old tankers a ticking bomb for sea life, say experts (“Exclusive: Analysts say there will be oil spill catastrophe that could be far bigger than Exxon Valdez disaster”)
- Netanyahu to meet Trump as Iran nuclear talks reach critical stage
- Netanyahu to push Trump to take tough Iran stance during White House visit (“Israeli PM is expected to press the president to take a harder line over Iran’s nuclear program”)
- The Epstein files might bring down a government. Just not the US government. (“British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is hanging by a thread.”)
- Trump tries and fails to extort Canada (“It’s Bridgegate 2.0, only much dumber.”)
- In His Latest Deranged Rant, Trump Shows He Knows as Much About Hockey as He Does About Tariffs (“Which is to say, nothing at all.”)
- Bridge Owner Lobbied Administration Before Trump Blasted Competing Span to Canada (“A Detroit billionaire met with Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary, hours before President Trump said he would block the opening of a new bridge connecting Detroit to Canada, officials said.” Massively corrupt.)
- 10 dead, including suspect, and at least 25 injured in mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, B.C. (“6 victims, 1 suspect found dead inside local high school; student says classmates hid in barricaded room”)
- ICE director refuses to commit to pausing operations for 2026 World Cup
- A 14-year-old girl described being zip-tied during Idaho raid, sparking fresh questions about ICE tactics (Anyone who would actually do that to a 14-year-old girl is EVIL.)
- Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino praised agent after shooting Marimar Martínez in Chicago, evidence shows (Beyond disgusting.)
- ICE Is Expanding Across the US at Breakneck Speed. Here’s Where It’s Going Next (“ICE plans to lease offices throughout the US as part of a secret, monthslong expansion campaign. WIRED is publishing dozens of these locations.”)
- As ICE expands, an AP review of crimes committed by agents shows how their powers can be abused
- Trump’s Immigration Officials Don’t Want to Talk About the Cruelty (“In a three-hour hearing, Trump’s ICE, CBP, and USCIS heads drank up praise, deflected blame, and fast-talked about accountability.” Heinous people.)
- Poll: Trump’s ratings on immigration tumble as Americans lose confidence in his top issue
- We Have to Face What ICE Has Done to Us
- Major corporations bankroll “America First” propaganda (“Mastercard, Deloitte, and ExxonMobil are spending millions to promote events supporting Trump and his divisive political agenda.”)
- GOP revolt sinks effort to block votes on Trump’s tariffs (“The procedural measure failed 217-214.”)
- The delayed January jobs report will be released Wednesday. Here’s what to expect
- Navarro says expectations for monthly jobs numbers must be reduced ‘significantly,’ citing deportations (Navarro is an imbecile and a liar. The media should point that out, not just regurgitate what he has to say.)
- America Isn’t Ready for What AI Will Do to Jobs (“Does anyone have a plan for what happens next?”)
- FDA won’t review Moderna application for first mRNA-based flu vaccine (“The decision, which shocked company officials, comes as the FDA says it will take a stricter approach to federal vaccine approvals” Why is Moderna “shocked” that the batshit-crazy Trump administration would do something insane, anti-science, etc?)
- Moderna says FDA refuses its application for new mRNA flu vaccine (“The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is refusing to consider Moderna’s application for a new flu vaccine made with Nobel Prize-winning mRNA technology, the company announced Tuesday.”)
- RFK Jr’s Nutrition Chatbot Recommends Best Foods to Insert Into Your Rectum
- EPA to repeal its own conclusion that greenhouse gases warm the planet and threaten health (“Known as the endangerment finding, the decision is the legal framework that allows the EPA to regulate emissions. Its reversal could upend many climate change policies.” THIS IS INSANE!)
- Why Dems think they have the upper hand at Pam Bondi’s big Hill hearing (“The attorney general could have to answer for the Trump administration’s handling of immigration enforcement, military action in Venezuela and the Epstein files.”)
- Pam Bondi to face questions from House lawmakers about her helm of the DOJ (Remember, media: every word Pam Bondi says will be a lie, distortion, evasion, etc. Report it accordingly!)
- Thune: ‘Not even close’ to enough votes to change filibuster rule to enact voting reform (“The Hill” is normalizing/whitewashing/sanewashing this assault on our democracy as “voting reform.” Yes, ladies and gentlemen, our political media is F***ED!)
- Trump instructs spy agencies to provide intelligence to his ‘Stop the Steal’ lawyer (The “spy agencies” should refuse to cooperate.)
- Georgia Ballot Inquiry Originated With Election Denier in Trump White House (“A newly unsealed affidavit showed that a criminal investigation into the 2020 election in Fulton County, Ga., relied heavily on claims about ballots that have been widely debunked.” Someone like that should be nowhere near the White House!)
- ‘An absolute travesty’: Critics slam affidavit behind Fulton raid for relying on 2020 election lies
- The FBI’s Fulton County Raid Was Based on Debunked Claims By Election Deniers (“The evidence provided for seizing 700 boxes of ballots was shockingly thin.”)
- Dems slam Trump admin after grand jury refuses to indict lawmakers
- Grand Jury Rebuffs Justice Dept. Attempt to Indict 6 Democrats in Congress (“The rejection was a remarkable rebuke, suggesting that ordinary citizens did not believe that the lawmakers had committed any crimes.” Quite the contrary, these people are heroes; the ones committing crimes are Donald Trump, Pete Hegseth, etc.)
- Trump administration fails to secure indictment in connection with Democrats involved in ‘illegal orders’ video
- Trump to direct Pentagon to buy coal to revive industry, Bloomberg News says (F’ing moronic.)
- The Banality of MAGA Evil (“Instead of criminal masterminds we got amoral, stupid grifters like Howard Lutnick”)
- ‘It’s despicable’: Republicans question how long Lutnick can survive his Epstein crisis (Lutnick is pure scum.)
- What Jamie Raskin saw in the unredacted Epstein files
- House Dem identifies ‘wealthy, powerful men’ DOJ redacted in Epstein files (“Rep. Ro Khanna read out the names of the six individuals on the House floor, where they will now be entered into the Congressional Record.”)
- GOP senator on Epstein files: ‘Now I see what the big deal is’ (DUH!)
- What the Trump team claimed vs. what the Epstein files show (The media could save itself a LOT of trouble if it just assumed EVERYTHING Trump says is a lie, bullshit, etc.)
- Evangelicals won’t dump Trump over his racist Obama video (“A few spoke out, but most right-wing Christians quietly support the president’s ugly views”)
- Annual governors’ gathering with White House unraveling after Trump excludes Democrats (“The National Governors Association said it will no longer hold a formal meeting with Trump when governors are scheduled to convene in Washington later this month, after the White House planned to invite only Republican governors. On Tuesday, 18 Democratic governors also announced they would boycott a traditional dinner at the White House.”)
- MAGA-Coded CBS Anchor Hit With Mass Exodus Weeks Into Tenure (No self-respecting journalist should want to work at CBS “News” anymore.)
- Activist Investor Pushes Warner to Walk Away From Netflix Deal (“Ancora builds a roughly $200 million stake in Warner Bros. Discovery and favors a deal with David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance”)
- Epstein engineered intimate relationship for Tesla’s Kimbal Musk, emails show (“Elon Musk’s younger brother and the woman were involved for about six months between 2012 and 2013”)
- Republicans alleging obscenity demand FCC investigate Bad Bunny halftime show (Hahahahahahahaha.)
- Nancy Guthrie case: Person released as search for ‘armed individual’ continues (“Earlier Tuesday, the FBI released images of a masked figure.”)
- D.C. will finally thaw after its coldest, iciest stretch in decades
- Senators Mark Warner, Alex Padilla Demand Tulsi Gabbard, Intel Officials Brief Senate on Election Security After Fulton County Raid (“Voting in the first Congressional primary election begins imminently. We request that you work to schedule this briefing no later than February 27, 2026.”)
- Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, D-Va., talks about viewing the unredacted Epstein files
- Rep. Subramanyam on viewing unredacted Epstein files: “A lot of redactions that were not necessary”
- DCCC Adds VA-05 To Districts In Play As Democrats Further Expand Battlefield for 2026 Midterms (“[Rep. John McGuire (R-VA05)] has put his own extreme politics ahead of Southside Virginians.”)
- Democrats target the 5th District as a winnable district. If so, do they need redistricting?
- Virginia Democrats quickly approve proposed redistricting map (“Democrats in the Virginia General Assembly approved proposed congressional maps that favor their party, setting the stage to send sending the matter to Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D).”)
- Spanberger tells Jewish advocates she’ll stand by Israel and confront antisemitism (“At Virginia Jewish Advocacy Day in Richmond, new AG Jones pledged to continue antisemitism task force started by GOP predecessor”)
- Virginia Senate President claims “only near-term reduction in power bills” for 2026 session (“‘It’s a short-term fix to skyrocketing capacity prices and a short-term fix to bringing these data centers online and generate revenue,’ one lobbyist said on behalf of Dominion Energy.”)
- Bill would put more energy costs on data centers, slash residential customers’ rates
- Virginia Senate bill would shield Dominion customers from some data center costs
- Democrats celebrate a handful of housing affordability bills clearing the House of Delegates
- Virginia Dems pass slate of housing bills
- Why Virginia’s public universities need their own lawyers
- Bennett-Parker wins Va. Senate District 39 special election
- Mathews County’s top prosecutor found dead in her home (“The State Police did not elaborate on how the shooting occurred, but added that ‘there is no indication a suspect is involved.'”)
- Mathews County Commonwealth’s Attorney dead from gunshot wound (“WTVR reported she died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.”)
- Animal rights group: Lynchburg animal shelter is a model for Danville and others to follow (“So how does Lynchburg’s shelter, and countless other shelters save so many lives? They have evolved to embrace modern sheltering practices.”)
- Update: Virginia police officer now in custody after off-duty shooting incident
- CWG Live: Staying less chilly ahead of Sunday storm chance; even warmer next week
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