by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, April 3.
- Economists Once Dismissed the A.I. Job Threat. Not Anymore. (“Artificial intelligence hasn’t disrupted the labor market, economists say. But they are increasingly convinced that it will, and that policymakers are unprepared.”)
- Artemis II astronauts rocket toward the moon after spending a day around Earth
- Rival Nations Seize On Choke Points to Counter Trump
- Brent oil spot price for actual cargo soars to $141, highest level since 2008 financial crisis
- As U.S. bombs Iran, Pope Leo criticizes those who would use God for war
- Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth’s Warped Vision of the Iran War (“The two men might wish that they lived in a world where whoever dropped the most bombs got whatever he wanted. But the war has shown that this isn’t true.”)
- Exclusive: US intelligence assesses Iran maintains significant missile launching capability, sources say
- Trump heralds regime change, but Iran’s leaders remain hard-liners (One of Trump’s WILD lies here; in fact, there has NOT been regime change in Iran, other than killing some of its leaders and seeing them replaced by others from the same regime.)
- Control Over Strait of Hormuz Will Determine Who Wins the War (“Iran seeks permanent leverage over the Middle East with new rules for the strategic waterway”)
- Iran Beefs Up Defenses, Recruits Children as It Prepares for Ground War
- “I Don’t Worry About Markets”: Trump Talks to Vanity Fair The Day After His Iran Address (Vanity Fair should note that this is a WILD LIE!)
- Trump says US ‘hasn’t even started destroying what’s left in Iran’ after major Tehran bridge hit (“Meanwhile, Iranian state media released photos of what it claimed is the wreckage of a downed US fighter jet. CNN has asked the US military for comment.”)
- U.S. bombs Iran’s civilian infrastructure for first time after “Stone Ages” threat
- Why Trump’s ‘2 to 3 week’ timeline for the Iran war’s end sounds familiar (“The two-week timeline is a favorite refrain of the president’s, but it rarely correlates to reality.”)
- Live updates: Iran launches missiles at Israel and Gulf states as explosions heard around Tehran
- Trump’s surreal speech on Iran shed no light on his goals (“The US president couldn’t give a single coherent reason for why this aggressive war of choice must still be prosecuted”)
- Hegseth has intervened in military promotions for more than a dozen senior officers (Politicizing the US military is really, REALLY bad. Disastrous, actually.)
- Hegseth forces out Army’s top general, two other senior officers (“Gen. Randy George’s ouster is the latest clash between the Pentagon chief and the service’s senior leadership, and comes during the war in Iran.”)
- Hegseth asks the Army’s top uniformed officer to step down while US wages war against Iran
- An Army Shake-Up in the Middle of a War
- Hegseth removes Army’s top general during Iran war
- How Israel Is Taking Control of Southern Lebanon
- ‘You have to be serious’: Macron criticises Trump’s mixed messages about Nato and Iran (“Speaking in South Korea, the French president defended the transatlantic alliance and called for return to peace”)
- Hungary elections: what is at stake and who is likely to win? (“Viktor Orbán, an icon for the global far right, could face defeat despite an electoral system weighted in his favour”)
- Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing appointed president after ‘sham’ election (Total farce, 100% illegitimate.)
- ‘I will not yield’: Taiwan convulsed by 17-year prison sentence for populist opposition figure
- Costa Rica strikes deal to accept third country deportees from US (“Central American country to receive up to 25 migrants a day expelled as part of Trump’s immigration crackdown”)
- Canadian woman held with daughter by ICE is released after nearly three weeks of detention (“Tania Warner is fitted with ankle monitor and released along with seven-year-old daughter Ayla Luca after being deemed not a flight risk”)
- US ICE detains Islamic Society of Milwaukee President Salah Sarsour, mosque says
- Despite signaling change, ICE still arrests many immigrants with no record
- Drive-by Detention: 800 New Yorkers Swept Up in ‘Collateral’ ICE Arrests (“One in four ICE arrests were of people who weren’t targeted, and three quarters of targeted arrests involved people with no criminal convictions or pending charges.” Lawless, unconstitutional, unAmerican, etc.)
- Johnson Wavers on Ending the Shutdown, Reflecting His Weak Hold on Power
- What to expect from the jobs report t
- Mortgage Rates Climb for 5th Week as Iran War Weighs on U.S. Housing Market
- Trump Is Silencing Government Warning Signals of an Economic Crash (“His administration is decimating two vital federal bodies that were created in response to the Great Recession—because that’s what the bankers want.”)
- Trump Struck Iran. Now American Farmers Are Paying the Price.
- The Supreme Court Might Still Screw Up Birthright Citizenship (“At oral arguments this week, a few questions from the justices ought to remind observers that it’s possible to rule against Trump while inviting other sorts of legislative or legal challenges to the policy.”)
- John Roberts told Donald Trump exactly what he thinks
- Pam Bondi’s Many, Many Failures (“She was in office only a year, but she left permanent damage at the Justice Department”)
- Pam Bondi’s ouster makes Trump’s Justice Department even more dangerous (“The best thing about Bondi was her incompetence”)
- Pam Bondi’s firing won’t have the effect Trump desires (“If the idea was to try to shed some of the liabilities of the Epstein scandal by firing Bondi, the move seems likely to backfire”)
- Trump news at a glance: president gives his loyal enforcer the boot (“US attorney general Pam Bondi failed to please a president fixated on prosecuting political enemies –”)
- Pam Bondi was destined to fail. But she also made it worse
- Lawmakers vow to force Pam Bondi to testify despite ouster
- Pam Bondi fails Trump’s loyalty test (“The criminal cases Trump demanded his attorney general bring stalled or failed to get off the starting line.” I despise Bondi, but those are NOT HER FAULT – they’re Trump’s fault for pushing insane cases with zero evidence or backing in the law.)
- Pam Bondi begged Trump not to fire her during dramatic White House showdown as insider reveals his final straw
- Pam Bondi Wanted a Graceful Exit. But Trump Wanted Her Gone. (“Pam Bondi had a feeling her days as attorney general were numbered. But she didn’t expect President Trump to drop the curtain quite so soon. “)
- Trump’s Purge May Be Just Beginning (“After Pam Bondi’s ouster, other top administration officials could be in jeopardy.”)
- ‘I Think It’s Time’: The Inside Story of Pam Bondi’s Ouster (“The attorney general was always on the ropes but thought she was finally on safer footing. She wasn’t.”)
- Trump Ousts Attorney General Pam Bondi (“At the Justice Department, Bondi tried to deliver on president’s priorities but ultimately failed to appease him”)
- Sorry, Pam Bondi. Trump has no loyalty
- Trump fires Pam Bondi: Don’t celebrate too much, because they have to hire somebody else (Exactly!)
- Pam Bondi Proves That for Trump, You Can’t Debase Yourself Enough (“The fierce loyalist committed herself to Trumpian theatrics—and lost the job anyway.”)
- ‘Todd’s sort of lead horse’: Trump’s former criminal defense lawyer ascends DOJ (“Todd Blanche will be the first acting attorney general in modern history to have been the president’s personal criminal defense lawyer.”)
- After the release of the Epstein files, why have there been so few arrests?
- Hegseth lifts ban on service members carrying personal firearms on base (Bizarre.)
- Google to tap into gas plant for AI datacenter in sharp turn from climate goals (“Texas power plant would emit 4.5m tons of carbon dioxide per year, more than that of the entire city of San Francisco”)
- What to Know About the ‘Massive’ Military Bunker Beneath Trump’s Ballroom
- Trump is turning the White House into another tacky development (“The president’s ballroom plans don’t even live up to his own federal standards.”)
- Trump’s ballroom design gets final OK from planning commission (A commission that’s been totally stacked in favor of Trump.)
- ‘Incredibly chilling’: Advocacy groups raise alarm over Trump’s demand for list of Jewish faculty at Penn
- Tiger Woods Called President Donald Trump From Scene After Flipping Car (This says a LOT – all VERY bad! – about Tiger Woods, and also about Donald Trump.)
- Warner, Schiff probe potential insider trading in government
- Virginians’ Reactions to Trump’s Firing of “one of the worst AGs in history,” Pam Bondi (“She openly violated the law repeatedly and aided one of the most corrupt administrations in modern history”; “Now release ALL of the Epstein files”)
- 1Q26 Fundraising Numbers for Virginia Congressional Candidates Starting to Come In… (Fmr. Rep. Elaine Luria Raises >$1.75M, Has Over $2M Cash-on-Hand)
- Cline, Kiggans propose legislation to reinstate police partnerships with ICE
- Del. Adele McClure (D-Arlington) Announces Her Candidacy for U.S. House in the New VA07 (If the Redistricting Amendment Passes on 4/21) (Other Dems who have announced for VA07 include Del. Dan Helmer and fmr. VA First Lady Dorothy McAuliffe…)
- Poll: Virginia voters narrowly support redistricting to favor Democrats (“A slight majority of Virginia voters supports giving Democrats a temporary edge in congressional maps, but opponents are more motivated in new Post-Schar School poll.”)
- Gerrymandering Foe Predicts Measure Will Pass (“On a hot mic, Brian Cannon says he believes the Yes campaign will win about 53 percent of the vote” LOL!)
- NAACP warns against ‘misleading’ referendum mailers from PAC linked to tech billionaire
- Virginia sees 33,000 ACA enrollment drop since subsidies expired, more likely on the way (“Premium spikes after federal subsidy lapse force residents to weigh insurance against rent, food and other essentials.”)
- Gov. Abigail Spanberger Signs Bipartisan Bills to Keep Virginia Students Safe at School (Bills Will “Strengthen Emergency Training for Teachers, Invest in Greater Support for Students, & Modernize Internet Safety Education”)
- Pope & Schapiro: Spanberger signs first bills into law
- Spanberger signs school safety legislation into law
- Spanberger signs bipartisan school-safety, student support bills into law (“Measures expand thread assessment training, mental health resources, internet safety and emergency preparedness in Virginia schools.”)
- Spanberger signed into law a batch of education bills aimed at student safety
- Video – Lt. Gov. Ghazala Hashmi Mocks First Lady Melania Trump’s Suggestion that AI Robots Should Replace Educators in the Classroom (“Why don’t we try this: Plato, which president incited a coup attempt?”)
- Virginia higher education takes hit from drop in foreign students
- Appalachian journalist: Virginia’s coalfields are losing the race against time
- Bar association says newly created judgeship was filled without its input (“State Sen. Mark Obenshain of Rockingham County was admonished by the local bar association for not notifying it before the 26th Judicial District judgeship was created and filled.”)
- FOIA Friday: Richmond demands $5.7K for records it’s required to make public
- Lynchburg Republicans confirm firehouse primary plan as questions of party loyalty heat up (“The firehouse primary, scheduled for May 30, will determine which Republican candidates in a divided Republican party will secure a spot on the ticket for three open Lynchburg City Council seats.”)
- Lynchburg Republicans test the law on nominations. This likely will set a precedent however it goes.
- Virginia Beach woman arrested after kicking truck during No Kings protest, police say
- CWG Live: Warmth returns as highs rebound near or above 80 today and Saturday
