by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Wednesday, March 4.
- Coal Prices Rise as Iran Conflict Stokes Fears of Energy Crisis (“European thermal-coal prices have surged to their highest level since October 2023”)
- Energy Price Fears Ripple Through Global Markets
- Global economy must stop pandering to ‘frivolous desires of ultra-rich’, says UN expert (“Olivier De Schutter says new economic agenda needed to tackle crises of rising inequality and ecological collapse”)
- How the Iran War Is Choking Off the World’s Oil and Gas
- Global stock markets tumble as Trump bid to avert oil crisis in strait of Hormuz fails to reassure
- Iran War Oil Shock Threatens to Unleash Wave of Global Inflation
- Oil Pares Gains, Markets Steady After Report of Iran Outreach
- Reality Sets In on Trump’s New War (“Surprise! War in the middle of the world’s most important oil fields has consequences”)
- Trump’s Iran attack rattles Russian hardliners who call for Putin to double down on war in Ukraine
- Middle East conflict offers economic lifeline to Russia’s flagging war machine (“With much of the world’s oil supplies out of action, Russia could step in to meet demand in China and India”)
- How Trump’s war on Iran could succeed — or go disastrously wrong
- Israel targets Iran’s security forces and leadership as Iran presses attacks across the region
- Live updates: Iran moves to pick new supreme leader, Israel says he will be ‘a target for elimination’
- Trump Weighs Backing Militias to Dislodge Iran’s Regime (“The president, who hasn’t made a decision, also says ‘somebody from within’ would be the best option to lead the country”)
- CIA working to arm Kurdish forces to spark uprising in Iran, sources say
- Exclusive: The Trump-Netanyahu call that changed the Middle East (“Last Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called President Trump with a stunning tip: Iran’s supreme leader and his top advisers were all set to meet at one location in Tehran on Saturday morning.”)
- Trump Lays Out His ‘Worst Case’ Scenario in Iran (“Who will lead Iran once the war is over? ‘Most of the people we had in mind are dead,’ says President Trump.”)
- Trump is running out of time to sell his rationale for Iran war (“Senior officials keep offering justifications for the conflict with Tehran that the president upends.”)
- Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s Son Emerges as Leading Choice to Be His Successor (“If Mojtaba Khamenei is chosen by Iran’s senior clerics, it may signal a victory for hard-liners, an analyst said.” Gack.)
- Iran ‘close’ to choosing new leader as sources say Khamenei’s son is alive
- Israel Is Blowing Up Iran’s Police State to Clear the Way for a Revolt (“Airstrikes have targeted organizations responsible for suppressing protests and cracking down on separatists; analysts are skeptical the strategy will work”)
- Trump’s Iran War Is Built on Lies and Fantasies (“The White House seems to have no clear objective in mind, let alone a plan to achieve an endgame for the violence it has unleashed”)
- Military Commander Tells Troops Bombing Iran Is ‘Part Of God’s Divine Plan’ (“One commander had a “big grin” on his face while saying Donald Trump “has been anointed by Jesus to light the signal fire in Iran,” a service member said.” This person sounds insane; why is he a commander?)
- Americans Stranded in the Middle East Are Having a Hard Time Getting Help From the State Department
- Kuwaiti Fighter Jet Mistakenly Shot Down American F-15s, Initial Reports Say
- Emotional tributes pour in after four US soldiers killed in war with Iran identified
- How Anonymous Bettors Cashed In on the Iran Strike, Just Hours Before It Happened
- The Trump administration still can’t decide why it’s doing this (“Four days in, Trump’s Iran explanations aren’t getting any clearer.”)
- Attacking Iran’s nuclear programme could drive it towards a bomb, experts warn
- Senate to vote on war powers resolution to prevent Trump from continuing Iran conflict (“Republicans are set to vote down the resolution introduced by Democrats, who have condemned Trump for launching strikes without Congressional approval”)
- On Iran, Vance Balances Between Trump and the Anti-Intervention Right
- House Intel Member: There’ll Be an Iran Investigation if Democrats Win the Midterms (“There are things we have to look at that people don’t even know about.”)
- Spain’s Sanchez to Trump: ‘You cannot play Russian roulette with the destiny of millions’
- House Dems fume at Trump admin’s “bullsh*t” Iran briefing
- The Republican Meltdown Over Iran Is Just Beginning (“Right-wing criticism of Trump’s war has mostly come from familiar MAGA cranks like Steve Bannon and Tucker Carlson. But it could quickly spiral out of control.”)
- Trump Tries to Quiet Claims Among Supporters That Israel Dragged Him Into War
- U.S. Opens Military Action in Ecuador Against ‘Terrorist Organizations’ (“America First” strikes again, huh?)
- Iran conflict fails to move Democrats in DHS shutdown fight (Nor should it!)
- Senators Question Kristi Noem on ICE Immigration Tactics
- Tillis threatens to hijack Senate business amid frustrations with Noem (“The retiring North Carolina Republican lashed the embattled DHS chief during her testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee.”)
- Support for abolishing ICE reaches 50%
- Inspector General Says Kristi Noem’s DHS Has ‘Systematically Obstructed’ Its Work (“Letter outlines 11 instances of agency allegedly blocking information, including in criminal inquiry” Noem is lawless, plus pure evil.)
- DHS launches investigation into Greg Bovino’s alleged remarks about Jewish lawyer – report (At best, Bovino is a fascist; at worst he’s a neo-Nazi.)
- Razor Wire and Clearcutting at the Border Threaten Native Rio Grande Habitat (This is absolutely appalling.)
- Justice Alito’s Latest Opinion Is a Very, Very Bad Sign for Voting Rights (“A decision upholding a New York GOP congressional district could be a prelude to killing the Voting Rights Act.”)
- Scoop: Lutnick volunteers to testify on Epstein ties
- House Asks Bill Gates, Leon Black and Goldman Lawyer to Testify on Epstein (“Oversight Committee chair sent letters seeking testimony from seven Epstein associates; Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has also agreed to testify”)
- There Are 47,635 Epstein Files Offline for Review, DOJ Says
- Trump Administration, in Reversal, Tries to Continue Fight Against Law Firms (“The administration told a court on Monday that it was abandoning its defense of executive orders targeting the firms. But on Tuesday, the Justice Department abruptly changed its position.” WTF?)
- ‘Cheap’ and ‘Appalling’: Trump’s Ballroom Plans Receive a Flood of Negative Comments (” The National Capital Planning Commission received about 32,000 messages during its public comment period. Suffice it to say: Many people are not happy with the president’s ballroom plans. — ‘Gaudy and cheap.'” That’s Trump for you.)
- Takeaways from the first elections of the 2026 midterm campaigns
- Cornyn, Paxton in ugly runoff: 5 takeaways from Texas, North Carolina primaries
- Talarico Defeats Crockett in Texas Senate Democratic Primary (Now Democrats need to unite, enthusiastically, to defeat Cornyn or Paxton in November!)
- Texas GOP Senate primary heads to runoff, with Cornyn, Paxton on ballot
- In the Texas Primaries, a Good Night for James Talarico, and a Bad One for John Cornyn (Actually, I’d say it was a pretty good night for Cornyn…)
- Cornyn did so well that Trump could finally endorse him
- Republican congressman accused of affair with late aide to face runoff election
- Steve Toth wins Republican primary, unseating U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw (“Steve Toth, one of the most conservative members of the Texas House, framed his challenge of Dan Crenshaw as a referendum on the ideological future of the Republican Party.”)
- Rep. Dan Crenshaw ousted by primary challenger to his right (Insanity.)
- Democrat Roy Cooper and Republican Michael Whatley set to face off in key North Carolina Senate race
- Video: A “Shaken” Sen. Mark Warner “Pray[s]” We Won’t Have American “Boots on the Ground” in Iran; Says “we didn’t have to be here” (Also: “This President is never careful with his words or his threats or his boasts…”)
- ‘This is a war of choice’ by Trump and Netanyahu, Sen. Warner says after Iran briefing
- Reps. Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA10), Don Beyer (D-VA08) Slam Trump Administration “Incompetence” for Stranding Americans in Middle East Region (“…if we’re going to attack Iran, why didn’t we have a plan to get American citizens out of the region?”)
- A mid-decade remap is an awful idea. Almost as awful as the insanity Republicans started in Texas (“Redistricting efforts in Virginia and elsewhere in response to Trump-fueled gerrymandering in other states has produced a malicious strain of politics in a state once known for respectful public discourse — or at least the veneer of it, columnist Bob Lewis writes.”)
- Early voting will begin everywhere Friday except in Tazewell County. Is that legal? (Bizarre.)
- Chesterfield educator and veteran explains her support for redistricting referendum (“Tiawana Giles of Midlothian said, ‘If we continue to let other states outpace us and change those boundary lines and change the maps, then Virginia won’t be represented.’”)
- Virginia AG Jones is ready to enforce Virginia’s consumer protection laws
- Bill to require factual teaching about U.S. Capitol attack clears Va. General Assembly (The fact that Republicans voted AGAINST this tells you everything you need to know about that FUBAR party.)
- Editorial: Legislation to ease Virginia’s housing crunch remain priorities (“Housing bills this session offer hope that commonwealth leaders are focused on fixing a problem that’s also plaguing much of the nation.”)
- Bills aimed at lowering utility bills also renew pricey power line burial program
- State lawmakers are divided over a massive tax break for data centers
- Virginia to utilities: Do more with the existing power grid (“Amid rising energy costs, the state just passed a first-of-a-kind bill that would force utilities to quantify and examine ways to reduce waste on the grid.”)
- Virginia Democrat unphased after appearing on anti-weed group’s rolling ad
- A bill cracking down on livestreaming while driving is likely moving forward
- Alexandria joins N. Va. opposition to bill that would allow by-right housing in commercial zones
- Fairfax County doesn’t need a casino to thrive. It needs honest answers
- Virginia legislator pushes casino proposal that many in his wealthy county detest (“Should Surovell’s bill be made into law, I’d wager a ton of Benjamins that Fairfax County voters will soundly reject it, columnist Roger Chesley writes.”)
- New Poll: VA07 Dem Primary Voters Oppose Fairfax Casino Project by a 66%-28% Margin; Want Candidate Who Shares Their Views (Also, see video of Sen. Scott Surovell making the case FOR the casino…)
- Some Confederate statues will soon get hauled off Capitol Square. Who should take their place?
- Richmond School Board approves $550M budget for FY2027
- BREAKING: Democrat-endorsed Tom Dannan wins Braddock seat on school board
- William & Mary on Pentagon’s list of ‘toxic indoctrination’ colleges, losing its support
- CWG Live: Cloudy with occasional showers today; warming into the weekend
