Friday (3/20) News: “Iran Leaves an Isolated Trump Grappling With Historic Oil Crisis”; “Heatwave scorching US west ‘virtually impossible’ without climate crisis”

by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, March 20.

• The Weather Is Getting Wilder, and Some See a Dire Signal in the Data (“Several of the Earth’s systems are changing faster than predicted as global temperatures rise, scientists say.”)
• What fossil madness is this? Wars can’t interrupt flow of wind and the sun, but all we hear is drill, baby, drill
• Saudi Arabia Sees a Spike to $180 Oil if Energy Shock Persists Past April (“Prices at such a level could lead the kingdom to be vilified and trigger a recession or consumer changes that crush demand.”)
• Oil rises to $110. Goldman Sachs says we’ll be in the triple digits for years
• China has been preparing for a global energy crisis for years. It is paying off now (“As other Asian economies race to conserve energy, China has huge reserves of oil and gas as well as alternative energy sources like wind and solar”)
• Scenes from the Death of the Pax Americana (“I’m feeling almost speechless right now”)
• U.S. War Planes and Helicopters Kick Off Battle to Reopen Hormuz
• Iran Continues Gulf Strikes After Israel Vows to Spare Energy Sites
• U.S. weighs lifting Iranian oil sanctions to keep price in check
• Strike on key Iranian gas field is a new phase of the war. Trump blames Israel. (“Israel’s targeting of the South Pars gas field is a major escalation in the war that energy watchers feared could turbocharge the economic disruption.”)
• What the War Has Done to Iranians (“A civilian in Tehran chronicles a country trapped between bombardment and repression—too terrorized to move, let alone start an uprising.”)
• Fox’s Brian Kilmeade claims if we put Marines on Iranian islands, “you’re not really in Iran,” suggesting it wouldn’t be boots on the ground (Hahahahahahaha, wuuuuut???)
• Tulsi Gabbard just shattered Sean Hannity’s case for the Iran war (Sean Hannity has done enormous damage to the United States for decades. Horrible, horrible person.)
• Israeli Officials Said U.S. Was Told About South Pars Attack (“President Trump first said the United States ‘knew nothing’ about an attack on the gas field in Iran, which sent global oil and gas prices soaring. He then said he cautioned Israel against it.”)
• Iran Leaves an Isolated Trump Grappling With Historic Oil Crisis
• Trump is poised to take Iran’s Kharg Island. Here’s what could unfold next. (“The president’s attacks on Iran’s oil infrastructure could determine the course of the war — and its domestic political fallout.”)
• Americans think Trump will send ground troops to Iran and don’t support it, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds
• Middle East crisis live: Trump reportedly considering plans to occupy or blockade Iran’s Kharg Island
• ‘Doomsday scenario’: a visual guide to the oil and gas site attacks in the Middle East
• The Danger of Declaring ‘Once and for All’ in the Middle East
• Are US and Israel aligned on Iran war? Deciphering Trump’s post after gas field attacks
• Trump is further testing an already fraught US-Israel relationship (“The president and those around him have gestured at Netanyahu being mostly to blame for major inflection points in the war”)
• Trump’s War With Iran Is a Product of His Deep Stupidity (“There’s a simple and obvious reason we’re in this mess.”)
• Republicans balk at going it alone on Iran war funding (“Key lawmakers doubt budget reconciliation is a viable path for a $200 billion Pentagon infusion.”)
• House GOP welcomes $200B Pentagon request to jump-start reconciliation 2.0
• Trump stretches ‘America First’ on Iran. His voters are going along with it. (“Still, his hold could grow more tenuous if the number of U.S. casualties rises and the war stretches into the summer.”)
• Here’s how Iran could become a “forever war”
• Father of service member killed in Iran war said he never told Pete Hegseth to ‘finish’ the job (“Hegseth said ‘family after family’ of service members killed urged the administration to ‘not stop until the job is done.’ President Donald Trump made a similar claim earlier this month.”)
• The GOP is dismissing Joe Kent. They might come to regret it. (“The ideological fault line Joe Kent’s defection exposed this week is proving hard for the GOP to paper over.”)
• Fears of an all-out Israeli invasion mount in Lebanon (“More than 1,000 people have been killed and more than 1 million displaced by Israeli air attacks and ground operations in southern Lebanon, according to government figures. But residents and analysts believe a more significant push into the country is likely imminent.”)
• Using Charm and Restraint, Japan’s Leader Mostly Avoids Trump’s Wrath (“During her first visit to the White House, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi drew praise from President Trump. The war in the Middle East will test their relationship.”)
• Trump Jokes About Pearl Harbor in Meeting With Japan’s Leader (“Breaking a taboo, President Trump needled Japan’s prime minister about the World War II attack, as she widened her eyes and appeared to take a deep breath in the Oval Office.”)
• Trump compares Pearl Harbor to strikes on Iran in meeting Japan’s leader (Trump is an eternal embarrassment and disgrace to our country.)
• In Japan, Trump’s Pearl Harbor Joke Elicits Scorn and Dismay
• Delcy Rodríguez replaces Venezuela’s top military commanders (“Interim president announces changes after firing defence minister, who was close to Maduro, the leader ousted by US”)
• U.S. says Cuba is prohibited from taking Russian oil as two tankers head to island
• ‘Trump’s favorite Democrat’ Fetterman bails out pick to replace Noem at DHS in Senate cliffhanger (F*** Fetterman.)
• Trump Told Inner Circle Some Mass Deportation Policies Went Too Far (“President directs a new approach as some advisers believe immigration is no longer as strong a political issue for Trump”)
• The people dying in ICE custody (“ICE detentions are up. So are deaths.”)
• Los Angeles man blinded by officer’s projectile at anti-ICE protest, claim says (“Jesus Javier Gomez Islas, 23, says in filing against LAPD he has permanently lost vision in one eye due to unjustified munition fired at his face”)
• People of Twin Cities awarded JFK Profile in Courage Award over resistance to ICE surge
• The Worst-Case Economic Outcome of Trump’s Iran War (“Oil shocks don’t only raise prices. They also destroy growth and jobs.”)
• Heatwave scorching US west ‘virtually impossible’ without climate crisis, say scientists (“Unseasonably warm and even dangerous temperatures this week were up to 30F above average for the time of year” Really, really bad.)
• Senate GOP plows forward on SAVE America Act amid pressure from right (Nothing about this monstrosity would “save America” – quite the opposite.)
• Judge Rules That R.F.K. Jr. Overstepped on Transgender Care
• TSA official: Airport security problem ‘going to get worse before it gets better’
• The Humiliation of Tulsi Gabbard (“Trump’s director of national intelligence has spent her career arguing against a war with Iran. Now, she’s the public face for one, and her former allies are furious.” She has no moral core whatsoever.)
• Scoop: Anthropic meets with House Homeland Security behind closed doors
• Lawsuit Accuses Justice Dept. Leadership of ‘Political Retribution’
• Trump’s regulators approve TV merger that set off conservative media feud (“The Nexstar-Tegna approval casts aside long-held media ownership restrictions that prevented a broadcaster from reaching more than 39 percent of households.” This is really, really bad.)
• State AGs suing to block Nexstar takeover of Tegna: Trumpers aiming to create TV monopoly
• James Comey subpoenaed in alleged “grand conspiracy” against Trump (In fact, it’s not a “grand conspiracy,” it’s that Trump is corrupt and criminal on a massive scale.)
• What One Key Loss in Illinois Signals for Pro-Israel Lobby in Midterms
• Democrats aim to turn Trump’s tariffs against GOP in campaigns for governor
• US Mint can begin producing Trump commemorative gold coin after arts commission approves design (Disgusting.)
• Fine arts panel urges Mint to make Trump gold coin ‘as large as possible’ (Pathetic loser.)
• Trump-appointed panel approves 24-karat-gold coin featuring his image (“Federal law says living presidents can’t appear on currency, but commission approves design for US’s 250th birthday”)
• Bluesky announces $100M Series B after CEO transition
• Second top Republican retires in battleground Wisconsin, fueling Democratic hopes
• GOP Candidate Wore Confederate Uniform Multiple Times (“Brandon Herrera participated in Sons of Confederate Veterans activities for years” Of course he did!)
• Pentagon plans to keep National Guard in DC into 2029, 2 US officials say (There’s zero good reason for this.)
• Video: Sen. Mark Warner Says He’s “very reluctant to provide additional funding for [Iran] war…until [Trump] lays out what we’re trying to accomplish & when we’re going to be done with it” (Sen. Warner also says “everyone” knew that Iran would shut down the Strait of Hormuz, so how could Trump not have known that???)
• Video: Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-VA11) and Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA10) on Pam Bondi’s “secret briefing”/”fake hearing” (Will Chairman Comer move “directly to criminal contempt charges” against Bondi, given the Clintons precedent?)
• One on one with Suhas Subramanyam
• Virginia redistricting backers say a yes vote could change Congress for the better (“Four Virginia districts would likely elect new US representatives if voters approve the constitutional amendment on April 21.”)
• Virginia’s redistricting referendum still sparking fierce partisan debate
• What could Virginia’s redistricting amendment campaigns learn from the Afroman trial
• Pope & Schapiro: Budget overtime and the 1,200 bills on Governor Spanberger’s desk
• Here’s how Va. lawmakers suggest the next state budget handle federal health care funding fallout
• Medical malpractice in Virginia was nearly overhauled. What happened? (“When the House’s substitute was up for public comment, representatives for health care providers said they were worried about liability coverage potentially being too expensive and out of their reach”)
• Virginia General Assembly Sends Bills to Gov. Spanberger to Protect Affordable Housing, the Rights of Tenants, etc. (“In 2025 polling, 37% of Virginians identified high housing costs as the top issue facing the Commonwealth”)
• Virginia has reached the part of the data center boom where the numbers stop adding up | Guest column
• As Virginia governor considers marijuana legislation, when would the marketplace open?
• UVA set to honor Chief Trump Enabler John Roberts in the name of Thomas Jefferson (“UVA and the Thomas Jefferson Foundation at Monticello just rendered their supposed highest honor, a Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medal, utterly meaningless, with the move to give one of their 2026 medals to Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts.”)
• Attorney general asked to weigh in on Lynchburg Republicans’ firehouse primary attempt (“Del. Dan Helmer, who authored a state law that effectively bans such nominating contests, has asked for an opinion from Attorney General Jay Jones.”)
• Days after deadly shooting, ODU asks students to disclose their criminal histories (“An emailed questionnaire billed to students of Old Dominion University asked recipients to disclose their criminal histories.”)
• Video shows officer shoot man who police say was stabbing his third victim
• The greatest win in VCU history? NCAA tournament comeback vs. North Carolina shocks world
• CWG Live: Spring starts off warmer today and into the weekend (“We’ve got weather to match the season type. Feeling appropriately springlike in the days to come.”)