by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Saturday, April 11. Remember, today is “Super Saturday” – tons of jurisdictions will now have early voting (and expanded satellite locations) available for the redistricting referendum – so make sure you go and vote YES, today if possible!
- Splashdown Of Artemis II Astronauts Concludes 10-Day Moon Mission
- Artemis II’s record-breaking journey around the moon ends with dramatic splashdown
- Artemis II mission was a triumph. Now comes the hard part (“To get boots on the lunar surface, Nasa needs a lander. The US space agency has contracted two private companies to build them: Elon Musk’s SpaceX, whose lunar version of its Starship rocket will stand 35 metres tall, and Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin, whose Blue Moon Mark 2 craft is more compact but just as ambitious. Both are well behind schedule.”)
- The new oil world order (“The energy shock from the Iran war may drive long-lasting change in how the global multitrillion-dollar oil market operates — turning a relatively open and smoothly functioning system into something weaponized and fractured. Such a reordering would mean, at a minimum, higher energy prices and inflation, and in the long term could even shake the foundations of the dollar-based global economy and with it, U.S. power.”)
- Pope Leo Criticizes Religious Language Used by Trump on the War
- The Era of Free Seas Is Unraveling—and Now Everyone’s Going to Pay (“Iran’s “toll booth” in the Strait of Hormuz is shattering the U.S.-led maritime system that enriched the world for decades”)
- Wars Don’t Work (“Full-blown war is no longer an effective tool for superpowers to get what they want.”)
- Iran Unable to Find Mines It Planted in Strait of Hormuz, U.S. Says (“The lost mines have prevented Iran from quickly complying with President Trump’s demand to allow more ships to pass through the waterway.”)
- Iran Has Thousands of Missiles and Could Retrieve Launchers, U.S. Intelligence Finds (“White House says devastating attacks on Iran have strengthened its hand in coming talks, but some officials say Iran could still field more missiles”)
- Iran Has Been Consistent in War. Will It Be Consistent in Peace Talks?
- Chairman of the Joint Chiefs is enabling Trump’s immorality (Agreed.)
- There’s One Huge Flaw With TACO and It May Soon Explode in All of Our Faces (“There are still nearly three years left in his term. That is not a formula for civilizational security, and whatnot.”)
- Is Iran Trump’s Suez crisis, or just a passing thunderstorm? (“Britain’s standing in the world was never the same after its assault on Egypt in 1956. Now the US risks repeating history in the Middle East”)
- The New Iran-US Talks Look a Lot Like the Old Iran-US Talks
- Iran’s new supreme leader has severe and disfiguring wounds, sources say (“Mojtaba Khamenei is recovering from facial and leg injuries suffered in the airstrike that killed his father at the beginning of the war, three people close to his inner circle told Reuters.”)
- World anxiously waits to see if US-Iran peace talks can deliver. Here’s what we know
- Is America Losing a War — or Something Bigger?f
- U.S.-Iran talks set to begin in Pakistani capital after delegations arrive
- Israel’s new strategy: Lean on Trump, pressure Iran, keep the military option (“Israeli officials say the real test is whether military pressure and nuclear talks can produce a more durable outcome with Iran — and avoid another costly cycle of escalation.”)
- Vance heads to high-stakes Iran talks: “JD is going to the Super Bowl” (Vance is a pathological liar with zero moral core, etc. Nobody should believe a word he says on ANYTHING!)
- ‘I’m Fed Up.’ Frustrated With Trump, Starmer Embraces Other Allies.
- Vance and Kushner Clash as Trump’s Iran Strategy Unravels (“Trump’s team is headed into high-stakes talks in Iran, but is divided on what they’re even demanding.”)
- Trump’s peace board faces cash crunch, stalling Gaza plan, sources say
- In New War With Israel, Hezbollah Defies Notion That It Was Crippled
- What China Just Learned From the Iran War (“A blockade of Taiwan would hurt the global economy more than Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.”)
- An environmental disaster in Moldova has Russia’s fingerprints all over it
- Viktor Orbán Could Actually Lose (“The Hungarian leader faces an energized opposition—and questions about whether he would accept defeat.”)
- Final push for votes as challenger to Hungary’s Orbán senses victory
- Explosives found near pipeline in Serbia probably ‘Russian provocation’, says expert (“Former Ukrainian major general says 4kg of material was most likely an attempt to influence Hungary’s election”)
- Zebras, wealth and power: Hungary’s election tests Orbán’s grip on power
- Democratic lawmaker calls Alligator Alcatraz ‘inhumane’ after unannounced visit (Headline should read, “After unannounced visit, Democratic lawmaker calls…” The media has such bad headline writers.)
- Grim new economic numbers highlight how Trump is losing leverage against Iran
- Here’s the inflation breakdown for March 2026 — in one chart (“The consumer price index rose 3.3% year over year in March 2026, up from 2.4% in February, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Iran war has caused oil prices to spike — raising prices for gasoline and airfare, and leading to higher prices for food and e-commerce purchases.”)
- US inflation soars in March as war on Iran drives economy into uncertainty
- Will more Americans embrace renewable energy after the latest oil price surge?
- After the Great EV Slowdown, High Gas Prices Are Tempting Americans Back (“Electric- vehicle sales plunged after president ended $7,500 tax credit, but high gas prices just helped drive 12% jump in used EV sales”)
- Fox promised oil and gas prices would quickly drop once US attacks on Iran ended. Analysts say prices will be elevated well into next year.
- As Election Looms, Washington Wonders if Trump Will Get a New Supreme Court Pick (“Justice Samuel Alito is the subject of intense speculation about whether he will retire in the coming months and give President Trump a fourth nominee.”)
- How Did Samuel Alito Become This Angry? (“A quiet, bookish justice’s personal leanings have become ever more overt.”)
- Trump Promises Mass Pardons to Staff Before Leaving Office (In other words, Trump is saying ‘don’t worry, break as many laws as you want, be as corrupt as you want, I’ve got your back!”)
- RFK Jr. has turned corporate America’s name to mud, POLITICO Poll finds (“Most Americans, especially Republicans, want to regulate food and drug makers now.”)
- On the campaign trail, every Democrat is a “fighter” now
- Trump Tirade at MAGA War Critics Accidentally Makes Surprise Admission (“The president just referred to Alex Jones’s Sandy Hook conspiracy-mongering as ‘horrendous.’ Funny thing—he didn’t seem to think so at the time.”)
- Trump Says First Lady ‘Had a Right’ to Talk About Epstein
- Melania Throws Donald Under the Bus (“And just like that, the Epstein files are back in the news.”)
- Democratic leaders navigate minefield amid liberal clamor to remove Trump (The problem is, there is literally ZERO chance that impeachment would be succesful.)
- Senators Demand Bill Pulte Explain Allegations From Mother Jones Story (“…our February reporting found that One World Love does not appear to be a nonprofit and is instead a corporate entity with ties to the law firm that represented President Donald Trump in his efforts to prove election fraud and to avoid paying damages after the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol.”)
- Harris gives her clearest signal she is mounting a 2028 presidential bid (“She has toyed with the idea before, but her comments Friday took on a new meaning in front of an audience full of Black power brokers.”)
- Kamala Harris ‘thinking about’ running for president again in 2028 (“Former vice-president teases White House bid while Pete Buttigieg also suggests he may launch campaign”)
- Northeast States Set Big Climate Goals. Now Those Plans Are in Trouble.
- Swalwell campaign imploding after new sexual assault allegation (“Multiple people resigned in advance of a report that an ex-staffer accused him of sexual assault.”)
- Exclusive: Four women describe sexual misconduct by Rep. Eric Swalwell, including a former staffer who says he raped her (Sounds like the end of Swalwell’s career.)
- Ex-staffer says Eric Swalwell, candidate for California governor, sexually assaulted her
- Jeffries, Pelosi and other Democrats call on Eric Swalwell to end governor campaign
- Allies yank support for Swalwell’s California governor run after sexual assault allegations
- How Bluesky earned its reputation — and why it could be the way of the future (“…thanks to an accident of timing and the uniquely open digital framework, or protocol, on which it operates, Bluesky has become one of the rare social media startups to grow large enough to compete with the likes of Meta and X, garnering some 40 million users in just two years. Many of them are Twitter refugees who skew left, but that’s not all the app has to offer.”)
- L’Arc de Trump: Commission unveils plans for 250-foot arch (“The proposal faces legal and congressional hurdles as President Donald Trump pushes to reshape Washington’s landscape.”)
- Column | America fought to defeat fascism. This ‘triumphal arch’ reeks of it
- Sen. Tim Kaine: VA Tech President Tim Sands’ Departure “has the earmarks of previous well-publicized efforts to oust Presidents at other Virginia public universities—VMI, UVA and George Mason” (Sen. Mark Warner: Sands “has led a period of major growth and transformation at Virginia Tech”)
- Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-VA02) Denies Reality, Namely That Prices Have *Risen* Under Trump (and with Her in Lockstep Support of Trump’s Policies) (Is Kiggans simply incapable of telling the truth about ANYTHING?)
- Video: Roland Martin Hosts Vote YES Livestream Featuring Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, Speaker Don Scott, Rep. Jennifer McClellan, etc. (“We cannot play around. This is not the time.”)
- Video: As YES Campaign Prepares to Launch “Super Saturday” Blitz, We Hear From Sen. Tim Kaine, Rep. Jennifer McClellan and LG Ghazala Hashmi (Sen. Kaine: “It’s time to align our actions with our state motto, sic semper tyrannis”)
- ‘We have to do something’: Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder supports Virginia redistricting
- Gov. Abigail Spanberger Vetoes Bill to Legalize “Skill Games” (“Senate Bill 661 would strain an already fragmented system and introduce thousands more machines without a comprehensive regulatory structure.”)
- Spanberger vetoes bill to legalize skill games in Virginia
- DOJ threatens to sue over proposed bill banning assault rifles in Virginia (“Spanberger has until Monday night to sign, veto or amend the bill.”)
- New public safety laws focus on gun violence prevention and support for law enforcement (“Fate of bills to ban assault-style weapons still pending; governor’s action deadline is April 13.”)
- Indivisible Charlottesville: “Trump is coming to Charlottesville TODAY, April 10! Let’s show him how unwelcome he is!” (“Join the protest at one of 3 locations starting around 4:30 PM”)
- Trump in Charlottesville, to try to cock block congressional redistricting
- ‘Don’t Fairfax Me’: How Virginia’s largest county became center of antiredistricting campaign (Utterly moronic; in fact, Fairfax County is one of the best places to live in the country, with great schools, Metro, public amenities, jobs, etc, etc.)
- SCC approves Loudoun transmission line, nixes undergrounding; final route to be determined (“The Golden-Mars high-voltage transmission line was approved by the SCC, but the final route depends on if the Loudoun County School Board will grant easements”)
- Pilot from Virginia part of team bringing Artemis II astronauts home (“A Navy pilot from Henrico County, Lt. Cmdr. Sam Martinette, and his team are part of the recovery team for the four astronauts aboard the Artemis II.”)
- Why Tim Sands is stepping down at Virginia Tech: It’s not politics, it’s football
- CarMax Park will cost $140 million, more than previously estimated
- CWG Live: Pleasantly comfortable through the weekend before heat arrives (“Near 70 today, a little warmer tomorrow, then feeling like summer into next week.”)
