| Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... |
by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Wednesday, March 25.
- Epic river migrations of fish rapidly collapsing, UN report finds (“Vast journeys, among world’s great wonders, found to be under threat as freshwater fish populations crash by 81%” UGH!)
- The frantic, high-tech fight to stop climate-fueled dengue fever
- For Putin, the War in Iran Changed Everything
- How the War in Iran Became a Race to Stabilize the Global Economic Order (“The country is in survival mode, and effectively fighting back by shutting down the Strait of Hormuz and blocking the transport of much of the world’s oil supply.”)
- The Oil Supply Crunch Is Spreading From the Gulf to the Rest of the World (“Unless peace talks pan out fast, traders say record high prices for specific grades of Middle Eastern crude cargoes will soon cascade to the U.S. and elsewhere”)
- ‘The worst I’ve seen’: Oil industry grapples with the fallout from US-Israel war with Iran
- Israel Hits Russian-Iranian Weapons Smuggling Route in the Caspian Sea (“Moscow and Tehran have used the world’s largest inland sea to move everything from drones to oil and wheat”)
- Iran’s military rejects Trump’s talk of negotiation, Israel and Iran launch airstrikes
- Around 2,000 U.S. Paratroopers to Be Sent to the Middle East
- Iran suspects Trump’s peace talk push is another trick
- Administration hasn’t learned lessons of Iran’s decades-old stalemate with neighbor
- Blockade Iran’s Oil
- Trump gets a daily video montage briefing about the Iran war (“The montage, which typically runs for about two minutes, has raised concerns among some of the president’s allies that he may not be receiving the complete picture of the war.” Pathetic.)
- Trump news at a glance: president claims victory in Iran war as US prepares to deploy more troops (“President continues to tout ‘very good’ talks with Iran, which Iranian officials continue to deny”)
- This Is the First War of My Lifetime That Lacks Even a Phony Justification
- Mysterious trading patterns follow Trump into war
- Live updates: Iran receives 15-point US ceasefire proposal from Trump administration, Pakistan officials say
- Trump’s rehashed 15-point Iran plan unlikely to appease Tehran (“Diplomats say US president’s latest claimed plan probably based on now outdated framework put forward in May 2025”)
- Iranian military says US is ‘negotiating with itself’ after Trump says Tehran wants deal ‘so badly’
- JD Vance role touted as Pakistan attempts to broker US-Iran peace talks (“Diplomatic sources say negotiations may begin in Islamabad next week, though no formal agreement is in place”)
- U.S. awaits Iran’s response on peace summit as Israel watches warily
- UPDATE: After sending billions to Kushner and Trump, Saudis lobby to escalate Iran War
- Fears rise that Iran’s missile stockpile may overwhelm Israel’s vaunted air defense (“Concern that Iran was amassing missiles to overwhelm defenses was a key factor in the push for war, officials said, and recent strikes laid bare Israel’s vulnerability.”)
- No Israel prosecutions for killing Palestinian civilians in occupied West Bank since start of decade (Totally f’ed up.)
- Group claiming Europe antisemitic attacks tells CBS News it will target “U.S. and Israeli interests worldwide”
- The U.S. Said It Helped Bomb a Drug Camp. It Was a Dairy Farm (“The Times visited a village where the United States and Ecuador said they destroyed an armed group’s training camp. Residents said it was actually a dairy farm.” My god…)
- Welcome to America! Trump names ‘manosphere’ troll as tourism envoy (“Australian-born Maga influencer Nick Adams appointed to role for tourism, exceptionalism and American values” INSANE.)
- Recession odds climb on Wall Street as economy shows cracks beneath the surface
- DHS funding proposal falls flat as Democrats, conservatives and Trump raise doubts
- Deal to fund DHS falters amid bipartisan pushback (“Momentum toward reopening DHS evaporated Tuesday as Democrats drew a hard line on reforms to ICE, swiftly rejecting a proposal that GOP senators had only just persuaded President Trump to entertain.”)
- GOP’s reconciliation hopes are easier dreamt than done (“‘Scope creep’ is among the pitfalls as Republicans look for ways to enact their election-year agenda without Democrats’ help.”)
- Does John Thune Think His Job Is to Entertain the President’s Bizarre Obsessions? (“The Senate majority leader has forgotten that he’s the head of an equal branch of government—not Trump’s doormat.”)
- What the Hell Is Going on in America’s Airports? (“TSA’s funding has been blocked, ICE agents have been deployed, and long lines continue amid the congressional funding standoff”)
- ICE at airports: Trump’s troll move backfires (“The deployment isn’t triggering the liberals. But it may anger some voters Republicans need in November”)
- Prosecutor conceded lack of criminal evidence in Federal Reserve investigation, transcript shows (Of COURSE there’s no evidence; it’s an unhinged Trump witch hunt!)
- Where Do Conservative Supreme Court Justices Get Their Information? (“The recent oral arguments in an important voting rights case suggest that the right wing of the high court has a suspect media diet.”)
- The world’s deadliest infectious disease is on the rise in the US (“vWe discovered its cause 144 years ago. It’s still a massive problem.”)
- Key Adviser Quits Federal Vaccine Panel (“Dr. Robert Malone, vice chair of the committee, was appointed by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. after a purge of the previous advisers.”)
- Trump administration’s $1B deal to stop offshore wind shows an evolution in its anti-wind strategy
- The War on Wind Continues (“The burn, baby, burn compulsion persists amid a fossil fuel crisis”)
- Judge questions Pentagon’s “troubling” Anthropic actions
- Exclusive: Trump’s approval hits new 36% low as fuel prices surge amid Iran war, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds
- Meta ordered to pay $375m after being found liable in child exploitation case
- Unanswered questions about Epstein’s final hours: A ‘flash of orange,’ a Google search, a makeshift noose (“Members of Congress examining Jeffrey Epstein’s suicide in a Manhattan jail in 2019 are seeking testimony this week from the last guard to see him alive.”)
- ‘He liked the fear in our eyes,’ Epstein survivors tell BBC
- Epstein’s accountant and lawyer tell Congress they were never interviewed by federal investigators (“The revelations came during closed-door depositions with Richard Kahn and Darren Indyke.”)
- Raskin says he has “damning” memo on Trump classified docs case
- How Jack Smith connected the dots between GOP lawmakers, Trump aides in 2020 election probe (“New documents reveal the extent of the former special counsel’s efforts to investigate the president.”)
- Democrat Emily Gregory will flip deep-red Florida House district that includes Mar-a-Lago, CNN projects
- Florida Democrats flip Donald Trump’s home district in Palm Beach (“Emily Gregory will now represent Mar-a-Lago—and Trump himself”)
- Democrat flips Republican-held Florida state House district that includes Trump’s Mar-a-Lago (“Democrat Emily Gregory narrowly won the special election for the district Tuesday night, The Associated Press projects. Trump carried the area in 2024.”)
- Trump-endorsed North Carolina state Senate leader loses by 23 votes (“Phil Berger conceded the race to Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page.”)
- Oklahoma hands over voter rolls to Trump DOJ, including personal data (Appalling.)
- Video/New Ads: “Protect Our Care” Holds Reps. Jen Kiggans (R-VA02) and Rob Wittman (R-VA01) Accountable for Ripping Coverage Away, Making Health Care More Expensive for American Families
- Video: Rep. Eugene Vindman (D-VA07) Says “Mike Johnson Has a Problem,” That Several House Rs Have Told Him “boots on the ground [in Iran] is a red line for them” (“This administration is winging it. It sounds pretty bad, because it is. I don’t think they have a plan”)
- Reps. James Walkinshaw (D-VA11, Eugene Vindman (D-VA07) Lead Colleagues Demanding Answers on Delays for Ukrainians Seeking Parole and Work Authorization (“Lawmakers warn USCIS delays are leaving Ukrainian families in ‘legal and economic limbo'”)
- Video: VA Gov. Abigail Spanberger Hits the Airwaves Urging Virginians to Vote YES on Redistricting Amendment (“It’s directly in response to…a president who says he’s, quote, ‘entitled’ to more Republican seats before this year’s midterms.”)
- Game plans put to test in Virginia’s redistricting referendum fight (Hahahaha, this article LITERALLY uses “both sides” language/framing. What a joke.)
- Legislation levying more restrictions on federal immigration authorities awaits Spanberger decision (“The legislation does not forbid local governments from cooperating with federal immigration authorities, but it does lay out how they have to operate, forcing them to identify themselves and obtain judicial warrants”)
- Spanberger creates ‘chief energy officer’ role and fills job (“Gov. Abigail Spanberger has named a Charlottesville-based environmental lawyer as the first “chief energy officer,” a new cabinet-level job that she will create by executive order on Wednesday.”)
- As immigration enforcement advocates push 287g agreements, one conservative Virginia locality says no
- Editorial: Lawmakers’ habit of adjourning without a budget must end (Whatever; it happens all the time, and there’s really no harm as long as a budget is passed by the deadline July 1.)
- U.S. Supreme Court may nix counting mail ballots after Election Day. The Virginia math says it doesn’t matter. (“The number of mail ballots that arrive and get counted after Election Day is less than 1% of the total number of votes cast. While those could matter in a close election, in practice, they haven’t.”)
- Dominion produces first power from Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project
- [Loudoun] School Board Cancels April 21 Classes for Redistricting Referendum
- 7 things to watch as Roanoke begins discussions of its proposed budget
- Former Rockingham County teacher sentenced to prison for sex acts with student (Horrible.)
- At a Virginia vineyard, volunteers band together to fight lanternflies
- CWG Live: A little warmer today, and much warmer 70s tomorrow (“Spring is back in full force tomorrow. A cold front brings showers and falling temperatures Friday.”)
