by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, March 27.
- The Iran War is Revealing the Messy Middle of Our Renewable Energy Transition
- Antarctic whales’ remarkable comeback is threatened by krill fishing (“Huge industrial trawlers are competing for krill – the main food source for whales – in the Southern Ocean, removing vital nutrients from the ecosystem” Heinous.)
- Scientists Discover a New Branch of Life in the Deep Sea (“Researchers identified 24 new creatures and an entire superfamily of species in the Pacific, all while NOAA moves to fast-track deep-sea mining permits there.”)
- Beavers ‘breathe new life’ into Dorset as dams built and biodiversity returns (“National Trust says one year after reintroduction they are enriching habitats and may be having kits this summer”)
- Oil prices climb to $110 as Trump’s Iran deadline extension fails to allay supply fears
- ‘I have no idea what they are trying to do’: Allies say Trump sends mixed signals on Iran (“The administration’s mixed messaging has spooked U.S. partners and allies fearful of worsening economic fallout if the president intensifies the war on Iran”)
- Trump faces new oil shock threat as Iran eyes second strait (“A major shipping choke point on the Red Sea could come under Iran-sponsored attack to further disrupt global energy supplies.”)
- Exclusive: Pentagon Weighs Sending Another 10,000 Ground Troops to the Middle East (Ee gads.)
- The Countdown to a Ground War (“The president wants to avoid a long, messy entanglement, but all of the ground options promise to be just that.”)
- Ukraine war briefing: Pentagon reportedly considering whether to divert aid from Ukraine to Middle East (“US military stockpiles are under strain as a result of Iran war, Washington Post reports; Volodymyr Zelenskyy meets Saudi crown prince in Jeddah.”)
- Trump extends deadline for Iran negotiations
- The U.S. Military Assets Damaged or Lost in the Iran War (“Radar systems and aircraft worth billions of dollars have been damaged and destroyed by Iranian attacks, friendly-fire incidents or accidents”)
- Rubio heads to Europe to try garner support for Iran war
- Saudi Arabia urging US to ramp up Iran attacks, intelligence source confirms (“Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is said to view US-Israeli war as ‘historic opportunity’ to remake Middle East”)
- U.S. uses hundreds of Tomahawk missiles on Iran, alarming some at Pentagon
- Donald Trump Is Breaking Up with Europe (“And the war in Iran is helping him do it.”)
- ‘Nothing is normal’: diary of Iranian president’s son reflects hopes and fears of ordinary citizens (“Yousef Pezeshkian’s daily social media posts reveal no state secrets, but expose questions dominating Iranian society”)
- U.S. and Israel Have Pounded—but Not Eliminated—Iran’s Missile Threat (“Even in small numbers, the weapons have helped Tehran achieve its goals—prolong the conflict, raise the economic costs for the U.S. and Gulf countries, and survive to fight another day.”)
- A War No One Wants to Defend (“And frankly, who can blame them?”)
- Standoff With Iran Raises Fresh Doubts About Trump’s Freestyle Diplomacy (The NY Times’ new euphemism – “freestyle?” LOL)
- Trump interrupts a Cabinet meeting dealing with the Iran war and rising prices to talk Sharpies (Nutjob. Also, just imagine if Joe Biden, Kamala Harris or Barack Obama had ever done something like this???)
- “Margin Call” in the age of “Epic Fury” (“What separates the bankers of 2008 from the people running the Iran War? The difference between cynicism and cruelty.”)
- Hegseth prays at Pentagon service for ‘overwhelming violence’ against enemies (Hegseth is a psychopath, for sure.)
- Three charts that are warning signs flashing for Trump on Iran war
- Trump’s Iran war has no clear endgame
- As war frays Trump’s power, new political forces erupt
- Fox News’ united front in support of Trump’s Iran war may be breaking down (“Host Laura Ingraham warns escalation could produce ‘cascading problems for the region,’ political turmoil for the GOP”)
- Republicans Know This War Is Going Badly
- War between Hezbollah and Israel deepens fractures in Lebanon
- How Russia’s threat has seen a German become Europe’s most important soldier
- China Starts Trade Probes Against US Before Xi-Trump Summit
- Gulf of Mexico oil spill spread hundreds of miles, killed wildlife and polluted Mexican reserves (Oil is disgusting. Also note that solar and wind don’t “spill”…)
- Venezuelans deported by US detail fresh claims of torture and abuse at El Salvador mega-prison (There needs to be a Nuremberg-style tribunal for Donald Trump, Kristi Noem and anyone else involved in this.)
- How climate change has powered the heat wave blanketing much of the U.S.
- Senate unanimously moves to fund most of DHS, except ICE and border patrol, in rare overnight session
- Senate agrees to end shutdown for most of DHS (“The House could act as soon as Friday to reopen most parts of the sprawling agency…Senate Republicans accepted what Democrats have been offering for weeks — cash for all of DHS except for ICE and part of Customs and Border Protection.”)
- Trump to sign executive order to fund TSA agents amid DHS shutdown
- Republicans Push White House to Declare National Emergency to Pay TSA Agents
- US House speaker gives Trump so-called ‘America First’ award amid global chaos (“Critics mock Mike Johnson and Republicans for presenting the president with the newly concocted award”)
- House Republicans huddle with Johnson to plot party-line package
- US markets see biggest slump since start of US-Israel war on Iran (“Dow closed 450 points down and S&P dipped 1.7% while Nasdaq fell 2.3% into correction territory”)
- Kennedy’s Vaccine Agenda Hits Roadblocks, Diminishing His Clout (“Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s vaccine skepticism is posing challenges for the Trump administration. Top health jobs are unfilled, and a court has blocked his vaccine schedule changes.” RFK Jr. is absolute evil.)
- Trump’s horrors keep accumulating. We need the No Kings protests more than ever (“Thousands of No Kings events will be fueled by anger over ICE violence, the Epstein files released and a war in Iran. These protests have power”)
- Trump isn’t hiding his election power grab. He’s bragging about it.
- Where Trump Has Installed Election Deniers in Government (None of these people should be anywhere near the government.)
- Epstein survivors sue Trump administration and Google over release of private information (“The class action suit seeks at least $1,000 per survivor from the DOJ and a court order for Google to immediately and permanently take down their personal info.”)
- Hegseth Strikes Two Black and Two Female Officers From Promotion List (“Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s highly unusual decision to remove officers from a one-star promotion list has spurred allegations of racial and gender bias.”)
- Judge pauses Pentagon’s punishment for Anthropic (“By granting Anthropic’s request for a preliminary injunction, U.S. District Judge Rita Lin gave the company something tangible to show customers as it tries to recover its business and reputation.”)
- Everyone Cheering The Social Media Addiction Verdicts Against Meta Should Understand What They’re Actually Cheering For (“…the legal theories that were used to nail Meta this week don’t stay neatly confined to companies you don’t like. They will be weaponized against everyone. And they will functionally destroy Section 230 as a meaningful protection, not by repealing it, but by making it irrelevant.”)
- Exclusive: Donald Trump to Add His Signature to US Currency, a First For a Sitting President (“As Vanity Fair can exclusively report, Trump’s Treasury Department plans to add his signature to all denominations of US dollar bills.”)
- Trump signature to appear on US currency, ending 165-year tradition
- David Sacks says his time as Trump’s crypto and AI czar has ended (This guy is HORRIBLE.)
- House Ethics Panel Holds Rare Public Hearing on Democrat’s Conduct
- Platner holds commanding lead over Mills in Maine Senate race: Poll (How any Democrat could support Platner is beyond me…the guy’s a hot friggin’ mess on almost every level.)
- The Education Department is poised to lose its longtime HQ (“After making deep staffing cuts to the Education Department, the agency said nearly 70 percent of the headquarters space ‘is not being utilized.'”)
- Kennedy Center to start layoffs ahead of planned closure for renovations (“It wasn’t immediately clear how many workers would be affected. The arts center has employed more than 2,000 people in recent years.”)
- Kennedy Center begins layoffs, rocking institution ahead of two-year closure
- The Kennedy Center’s longest-serving volunteer fears ‘this is the end’ (“Marilyn Schoon has given her heart to the national cultural center since 1972, a year after its inception. But she no longer fully trusts it.”)
- Sen. Tim Kaine reacts to DHS funding saga amid partial government shutdown
- Video: Sen. Mark Warner Talks About Iran War Disaster After 1 Month; the Trump-Caused Mess (Including ICE Agents) at Airports; Data Centers and AI; etc. (Also warns: “I think we’re going to see a record number of college graduates coming out graduating in May of this year without jobs.”)
- ‘Rep. Kiggans isn’t listening, and families like mine could pay the price’
- With 26 Days Until the Virginia Redistricting Referendum on 4/21, Where Do Things Stand? (According to L2 Political’s model and VA Speaker Don Scott (citing internal polling), “YES” is up ~18 points (but don’t get overconfident, of course!))
- Video: At “Veterans Vote YES” Press Conference, VA Speaker Don Scott Declares “This is Virginia, we don’t like kings”; Fmr. Gov. Ralph Northam Rips Trump’s “power grab…attack on our democracy” (Northam also calls out Youngkin and Republicans for “the greatest example of hypocrisy that I can even imagine”)
- Northam tells Virginia voters to stand up to Trump’s ‘power grab’ (“Former Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam says redrawing the congressional map would right a wrong by the Trump administration.”)
- Pope & Schapiro: Referendum campaigns heat up (This is really, REALLY bad “analysis” – just abysmal.)
- Critics say Virginia anti-redistricting fight is a MAGA misinformation effort (Here we go with the weak/b.s. “critics say” formulation; in fact, there really IS a MAGA misinformation effort!)
- Drumroll please: the 2026 VAPLAN scorecard is live!
- Republicans protested the number of tax bills introduced during the 2026 legislative session. Few passed the Democrat-controlled General Assembly. (“Among the handful of bills that passed the General Assembly that do create new statewide taxes is an effort to legalize retail cannabis, which includes a 6% to 9.5% sales tax; a 25% tax on skill game revenue; and a 10% tax on fantasy gaming revenue. These taxes coincide with newly legal retail and gaming items — cannabis would be legal in Virginia for the first time, along with so-called skill games.”)
- Virginia hospitals amplify risks federal shifts pose to patient care
- Virginia bill targets vape shops that sell to underage buyers
- Early Valley Link outreach finds growing opposition in Central Virginia (“The proposed transmission line could cross up to nine rural Virginia counties.”)
- Google makes Botetourt data center plan official, promises ‘water stewardship’
- Hampton Roads now has the deepest port on the East Coast (“The effort to deepen the Norfolk Harbor and Thimble Shoals Channel was completed on Feb. 28, making the Port of Virginia the deepest on the East Coast and allowing for the largest ships in the world to pass through safely.”)
- Newport News police officer gave drunk woman a ride to her hotel — then raped her, court docs say
- At Tysons rally, labor groups press Spanberger to sign Fairfax casino bill
- Fairfax County school board backs plan to explore selling naming rights for athletic facilities (“Two of the board members say selling athletic facility naming rights could help address a $400 million maintenance backlog without raising taxes.”)
- UVA pauses search for provost, which is what they should have done with the president
- AR-15s, iced paintball: Locals post online threats to Staunton No Kings protesters
- ODU Faculty Senate ‘exploiting’ tragedy for ‘personal agenda,’ board rector alleges
- CWG Live: Periods of rain today with much cooler air taking over (“Temperatures could end up more than 30 degrees colder than yesterday by afternoon.”)
