by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Sunday, March 8. But first, check out the video from last night of SNL’s “Pete Hegseth” and “Kristi Noem” – they really nailed it!
- The case for scrubbing the seas to save the climate (“We can extract CO2 from the ocean. Can it turn into a business?”)
- Tech oligarchs reshape humanity while billionaires of old seem quaint (“From Gates to Musk and Altman, today’s ultra-rich steer AI and tech, raising questions about who decides the future”)
- Evidence Grows That Google’s AI Overviews Have Eviscerated the Media Industry (“It’s hard times for the digital media-sphere.”)
- Why an Iran war inflation shock could wreck global economic recovery
- Iran war spreading economic damage far beyond oil and gas markets
- Oil Crises, Past and Possibly Future (“What the 70s can and can’t teach us”)
- UAE and Kuwait Start Oil Output Cuts After Hormuz Blockage
- China’s foreign minister says Iran war ‘should never have happened’ (“Wang Yi cautioned against a return to the ‘law of the jungle’ but stopped short of criticising Trump directly”)
- U.S. Military Is Focused on Iran. Its Biggest Challenge Is China. (“President Trump’s war is the latest campaign that has drained missile stockpiles and stretched American forces thin.”)
- China warns ‘flames of war’ spreading and calls on US to help manage differences ahead of Xi-Trump meeting
- Allies fear Iran war will leave them without US weapons they bought (“European and Asian countries worry the Pentagon is burning through munitions so fast that it won’t have enough to send the weapons they have purchased.”)
- Iranian projectiles continue to strike Gulf countries; Tehran says new leader appointed
- What Iran Might Do When It Has Nothing to Lose (“The risk of a retaliatory attack outside the Middle East is growing.”)
- Trump’s Iran options include special operations raid on nuclear sites
- Iran Could Retrieve Uranium at Site U.S. Bombed Last Year, Officials Say (“The fate of the highly enriched uranium and the options for securing it have become critical issues for the Trump administration.”)
- U.S.-Israeli Strikes Grow as Fuel Depots Burn in Tehran (“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attacks on fuel storage, an expansion of the bombing campaign, were aimed at helping destabilize Iran’s government. Iran’s de facto leader vowed to seek vengeance for the killing of the nation’s supreme leader.”)
- U.S. weighs sending special forces to seize Iran’s nuclear stockpile
- In War’s First Week, a Punishing Military Campaign With No Coherent Endgame (“The U.S. and Israel have pounded Iran’s leadership and undercut its defense capabilities, but President Trump has offered wildly different explanations for what he hopes to achieve.”)
- Netanyahu Finally Got What He Wanted on Iran by Appealing to an Audience of One (“The Israeli prime minister won President Trump’s support for his effort to remake the Middle East by playing to Trump’s instincts.”)
- For Israel’s Netanyahu, Trump grants prayers — with caveats (“Trump and Netanyahu, two political high rollers, are seen as more of an odd couple than Roosevelt-Churchill or Clinton-Blair. The war in Iran is their biggest gamble yet.”)
- Trump confronts ‘the bad part of war’ as troops killed in Iran conflict return home
- Iran Has Chosen a New Supreme Leader, Local Media Says
- Offer from Iran’s president not to attack neighbours provokes internal backlash (“As Masoud Pezeshkian tries to de-escalate conflict, hardliners urge installation of new supreme leader to marginalise the president”)
- How Trump’s War in Iran Has Echoes of Putin and Ukraine
- Iranian clerics say next supreme leader chosen as Tehran’s fuel supplies hit by strikes (“Israel has vowed to target Tehran’s new leader and Gulf nations have reported a new wave of drone and missile strikes.”)
- Iran’s Historic Capital Is Ground Zero for the U.S.-Israeli Air War (“Thousands of munitions have damaged not only military installations in Tehran but also sports stadiums, a centuries-old palace and tourist attractions”)
- Where Is the Iran War Headed? (“President Trump has both called for Iranians to rise up and oust the ruthless theocracy and said that he’s fully prepared to deal with a new religious leader.”)
- Trump Says Iran Launched Deadly Strike That Hit Girls’ School (This is a CLASSIC case of media failure, where they should MAKE CLEAR IN THE HEADLINE that what Trump’s saying is wildly false. Why don’t they do that???)
- Under threat, Iraqi Kurds resist pressure to join Iran war
- Exclusive: Saudi has told Iran not to attack it, warns of possible retaliation, sources say
- Trump Finds Jaw-Dropping Way to Disrespect His Own War Dead
- Living in a Time of Lunatics and Monsters (“Let’s be honest about the roots, costs and consequences of the Iran War”)
- ‘A very dangerous person’: alarm as Pete Hegseth revels in carnage of Iran war (Hegseth is a deranged fascist and war criminal.)
- Trump vows to use US military force against cartels across Latin America
- Judge Voids Mass Layoffs at Voice of America (“The ruling, which said that Kari Lake’s appointment to oversee V.O.A.’s parent agency was invalid, was a major rejection of President Trump’s attempts to dismantle the government-funded news group.”)
- Judge says Kari Lake’s tenure atop US media agency was improper, voids actions as ‘acting CEO’ (Remember, Glenn Youngkin campaigned in 2022 for this extremist lunatic, gushed that she supposedly was AWESOME! Yet the political media kept acting like Youngkin was some sort of “moderate” – because the political media is badly, disastrously broken.)
- A Year After His Arrest, Mahmoud Khalil Lives in Limbo and in Fear
- DHS Wants to Build a System to Surveil Americans’ Travel Records (“Previously unreported documents show the agency has asked companies for input. Last year, a similar program was shuttered over public outcry.”)
- Trump cannot end protections for 350,000 Haitians, US appeals court rules
- New Footage Yet Again Contradicts DHS Claims About Its Killing of a US Citizen (“Body camera video obtained by CBS News in the Ruben Ray Martinez case is another example of the administration misrepresenting lethal action from immigration agents.” If/when Democrats get back into power, there needs to be accountability for ALL OF THIS.)
- Americans Are Now a Target in Trump’s Immigration Crackdown
- How D.H.S. Retreated on Immigration Tactics After Minneapolis
- At Largest ICE Detention Camp, Staff Bet on Detainee Suicides, AP Reports (“Camp East Montana has received several 911 calls in the span of five months about immigrants trying to harm themselves.”)
- ICE Detention of Teen Musicians Distresses Texas Mariachi Community
- Oil prices are soaring, but Trump is downplaying the need to tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve
- Gas Prices Continue to Surge in U.S., Rising 14% in a Week
- Why the Oil Shock Probably Won’t Derail the Economy. And One Way It Might. (“The U.S. is a net petroleum exporter and productivity is improving, but the bigger risk is stubborn inflation.”)
- EPA Hits 40-Year Lows in Staffing After Trump Targets Its Public Health Experts (“An Inside Climate News analysis of just-released federal workforce data shows more than 4,000 employees departed between January 2025 and January 2026, including a majority of team leaders.”)
- ‘We were ready’: Democratic attorneys general lead fight to stop Trump
- DOJ docs, FBI interview, raise new questions about Epstein’s “suicide” (“Notes from an FBI interview indicate that prison guards discussed ‘cover-up'”)
- January 6 commemorative plaque appears in Capitol after years of delay
- Texas primaries raise GOP alarm about Latino voters (“Strong Democratic turnout last week in heavily Latino parts of Texas has some Republicans fearing they will struggle to maintain the coalition Trump built in 2024.”)
- How Talarico Won Texas Democrats With Love, Luck and a Little Restraint (“A carefully disciplined campaign that capitalized on viral media, months of organizing and strong outreach to Latino voters helped propel James Talarico to the center of Texas politics”)
- Gonzales is out in Texas, and Dems see a chance to beat ‘The AKGuy’ (“Brandon Herrera’s controversial online presence and hardline politics could open another opportunity for House Democrats in a deep-red district.”)
- Two in custody after ‘suspicious devices’ lit outside Gracie Mansion amid anti-Islam protest (“The anti-Islam protest was led by right-wing influencer Jake Lang. Police said two counterprotesters were taken into custody in connection with the devices.”)
- Opponents of VA Redistricting Amendment Send Out Mailer/Text Falsely (and Offensively!) Claiming That Fighting Trump’s Assault on Our Democracy Is “Just Like Jim Crow” (Note that many of the most prominent supporters of this amendment – Barack Obama, Louise Lucas, Don Scott, etc. – are African American)
- Charlottesville City Council Member Lloyd Snook Explains Why “I don’t like gerrymandering one bit, but I’m voting ‘yes’” on the Redistricting Amendment (As for Republicans, they’re basically arguing, “We’re bringing a knife to this fistfight, but you can’t.”)
- Virginia Republicans Air Frustrations With GOP Star Glenn Youngkin (“One imperiled lawmaker says the former governor is ‘missing in action’ as Democrats use redistricting to eliminate red House seats”)
- In General Assembly’s final sprint, lots left to do
- Trump disses Richmond MAGA radio host over son’s baseball career (“Funny that Trump doesn’t remember the guy at all, which we found out when it was Fredericks’s turn to ask a question at the Friday presse”)
- Virginia could miss complying with court order on services for the disabled, advocates say
- UVa board affirms Beardsley selection, but vows to review process that selected him
- Hampton Roads flood protection funding faces uncertain future this session
- He reported racism at VMI. Now he’s lobbying to cut its Confederate ties. (“Jeremiah Woods, a Black 21-year-old who transferred out of the Virginia Military Institute this year, is trying to change the oldest state-supported military college.”)
- Pentagon eyes Virginia Tech for senior officers in place of ‘woke’ Ivy League
- Woodbridge candidates share views on Digital Gateway, school funding (“Write-in candidate Pam Montgomery leads fundraising with $30K from data center developers”)
- Virginia Beach proposes multi-million dollar settlement with surf park operator
- CWG Live: Milder today despite lingering clouds; sunny and warm early this week (“Highs in the 70s to near 80 midweek before much cooler air arrives Thursday.”)
