Saturday (4/25) News: “Trump Isn’t Thinking Strait”; “Trump and the White House Correspondents’ Dinner Deserve Each Other”

by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Saturday, April 25.

• Curiosity rover detects building blocks of life in first-ever experiment on Mars
• The Next El Niño Could Lock Earth Into a Hotter Climate (“The Pacific heat pulse is temporary, but scientists warn that its climate impacts are not.”)
• France drops climate from G7 environment talks to appease Trump administration (UGH)
• Trump news at a glance: as president’s relations with Nato fray, EU leaders explore their options (“Brussels officials will draw up a plan on how to use the EU’s little-known mutual assistance pact in the event of a foreign attack – key US politics stories from Friday 24 April”)
• Ukraine Is Europe’s War Now (“The European Union signed off on loans to keep Kyiv afloat—but it may not be enough” The minute Democrats regain power, they need to pass a MASSIVE aid program for Ukraine, also crack down on Russia in every way/shape/form!)
• Trump has paused 3 Mideast wars, but the grievances remain and could reignite them
• Trump Isn’t Thinking Strait (“The president is disengaged from his disastrous war.”)
• Iran’s foreign minister in Islamabad as Pakistan pushes to restart peace talks
• Trump Seeks to Abolish Iran’s Atomic Program, a Problem He Helped Create (“President Trump withdrew from the Obama-era nuclear accord in 2018. But Iran responded with an enrichment spree that haunts the negotiations to this day.”)
• Senate Armed Services chair: Trump should resume strikes on Iran (“Sen. Roger Wicker said the administration needs to ‘finish destroying Iran’s conventional military capabilities.'”)
• Iran says no direct talks planned as U.S. envoys set to leave for Pakistan
• Rubio’s Absence From Iran Talks Highlights Stay-at-Home Role (“President Trump has outsourced much of his diplomacy to others, while Mr. Rubio focuses on his second job as national security adviser.”)
• Iran caused more extensive damage to U.S. military bases than publicly known (“U.S. bases and equipment across the Middle East came under attack — including from an Iranian F-5, despite American air defenses — and repairs could cost billions of dollars.”)
• Let’s Hope America’s Dumbest War Doesn’t Become Its Most Tragic (“Almost nine weeks in, let’s remind ourselves: Trump strengthened Iran and then came back and told us Iran was too strong!”)
• Iran’s Leadership Divisions Frustrate Efforts to Make Progress in Talks
• Middle East crisis live: Palestinians vote in first elections since outbreak of war; Israel strikes Lebanon despite ceasefire
• Trump Stumbled Into a Global Economic War. Xi Jinping Was Ready
• AIDS Creeps Back in Parts of Zambia, a Year After U.S. Cuts to H.I.V. Assistance (As Jamelle Bouie noted yesterday, Elon Musk needs to face a Nuremeberg-style tribunal for his crimes against hunanity…)
• Thankless task awaits Charles as soft power of crown meets mercurial Trump
• US military kills two more people in strike on alleged drug boat in Pacific (“Small boat destroyed in video posted on social media as US campaign has killed at least 178 people since September” Every one of these needs to be investigated for possible/likely war crimes.)
• In El Salvador, shackled prisoners watch their mass trial on a big screen (Crazy.)
• Appeals court clears way for U.S. to reopen border for asylum seekers
• Jet Fuel Shortages Could Make Travel a ‘Total Mess’ This Summer
• Don’t count on rate cuts just yet: Warsh as Fed chair may not lead to big policy changes
• DOJ drops criminal probe into Fed chair Jerome Powell
• The ‘Lasting Damage’ of Pirro’s Abandoned Fed Investigation
• Pirro could reopen Fed probe at any time, Democratic senators warn
  
• As Trump Officials Pushed Health Savings Accounts, RFK Jr. Aide Ran Wellness Company Poised to Benefit
• Trump Bizarrely Ties Politically-Motivated Prosecution of the Southern Poverty Law Center to Having the Results of the 2020 Election Be “wiped from the books and be of no further force or effect”
• What’s Wrong With The SPLC Indictment (“DOJ’s indictment of the Southern Poverty Law Center is a critical moment in the administration’s war on democracy”)
• MAGA media gaslights on Charlottesville (“The right seizes on indictment to claim white supremacy only exists due to the Southern Poverty Law Center”)
• Mike Johnson faces “hell week” as Republicans defy Trump
• Senate Republicans Bench Trump’s Voting Bill (“Republican lawmakers do not have the appetite to bring the SAVE America Act back to the floor. ‘That horse has left the barn,’ one of them told NOTUS.”)
• Congress keeps holding all-nighters, creating dysfunction after dark (Dumb headline, fails to point the finger at REPUBLICANS, who control both the Senate and House, and also at Trump.)
• Atlantic writer sued by Kash Patel says she’s been ‘inundated’ with new sources corroborating her reporting (“Sarah Fitzpatrick reiterates that she stands by ‘every single word’ of her story and says the people she spoke to were ‘frightened’ by the FBI director’s alleged conduct creating a national security vulnerability”)
• Staff decry ‘constant turbulence’ under Trump’s labor secretary, as she blames ‘deep state’ in resignation (“Lori Chavez-DeRemer resigned amid allegations of an affair and steering grants to politically connected figures”)
• Trump’s political headwinds pile up after gerrymandering, Iran setbacks
• Trump Voters Are Over It (“A shocking number of the president’s supporters have turned against him.”)
• Republicans retool midterm strategy: Trump’s policies, but less Trump
• There’s Something Different About This Version of the Democratic Party
• Democrats could actually retake the Senate. Here are the races to watch. (“The map still favors Republicans, but Trump’s declining popularity — particularly on the economy — makes Democrats’ once long-shot bid to retake the Senate more feasible than ever before.”)
• Nobody is laughing at Donald Trump anymore (“The media-obsessed president’s first White House Correspondents’ Dinner is going to flop. It’s not because of the crowd.”)
• Trump and the White House Correspondents’ Dinner Deserve Each Other (“People really seem worked up about the president ruining this weekend’s big party. But you can’t ruin something that’s already rotten to the core.”)
• An anti-press president is coming to a pro-press dinner. What could go wrong? (“Donald Trump attending the White House correspondents’ dinner could be awkward – and lead to blowback” F*** every single one of these “journalists”)
• Matt Gertz on the Fox News presidency (“The way he gets information continues to be Fox News.”)
• DOJ wants to shield its lawyers from outside scrutiny. Critics worry about oversight
• DOJ recommends bringing back firing squads in federal executions (“In a new report, the Justice Department noted the challenges of procuring the drugs needed for lethal injections.”)
• Trump’s Justice Department is bringing back firing squads for federal executions
• Inside Trump and David Ellison’s Private Party in Washington (“The president spoke for nearly an hour at a Paramount-hosted event that raised questions about journalistic and regulatory conflicts of interest” MASSIVELY corrupt.)
• Exclusive: Swalwell accuser cooperating with Manhattan DA investigation
• Trump Aide Called GOP Candidates ‘Fat Jewish Zionist F*cks’ in Leaked Group Chat: Report
• Republican lawmaker who’s missed a month of votes dealing with ‘health matter,’ Johnson says (“Rep. Thomas Kean Jr. hasn’t personally provided explanation for his absence.”)
• After Mass Deaths at ‘Sloth World,’ 13 Surviving Animals Are Transferred to a Florida Zoo (“The move comes days after an Inside Climate News investigation found that more than 31 sloths had died at the planned Orlando animal attraction.” HORRIBLE!)
• After a GOP loss in Virginia, a push to make D.C. square again (Insane.)
• Video: Rep. Eugene Vindman (D-VA07) Says Trump Likening Soldier’s Polymarket Bet on Maduro Raid to Pete Rose Is “Outrageous”; “This is life and death…it is not a game.” (“There ought to be at least a thorough investigation & consideration of prosecution”)
• Video: Following Historic Victory in Redistricting Referendum Sen. Louise Lucas, Speaker Don Scott on Winning Despite “squishy bedwedding Democrats”; “If you try to rig the system, we fight back”
• Ahead of Monday’s hearing, former Virginia AG Cuccinelli backs legal challenge against redistricting (Of course he does.)
• Sam Rasoul says he’s not running for redrawn Roanoke congressional seat
• Iraq War ‘Weapons of Mass Destruction’ Spokeswoman to Host Fundraiser for Virginia Democrat Dorothy McAuliffe (“As chief Pentagon spokesperson at the start of the second Gulf War, Torie Clarke had been criticized for building the false Bush-era narrative that fueled a war against Iraq.”)
• Breaking Down Virginia’s Close but Clear Redistricting Vote (“So, to sum up the whole statewide picture, the pro-Democratic Yes coalition—which benefitted from a solid showing in Northern Virginia and was bolstered by strong support among minority voters throughout the state—remained durable enough to offset a turnout differential that gave Republicans a boost.”)
• White House directs post-Virginia ire at Youngkin
• Local governments race to attract data centers, often in spite of concerns from their constituents (“As more information about the operation of data centers becomes publicly available, communities are sounding the alarm on an industry that stands to have a far greater impact beyond the walls of its warehouses.”)
• Can a newspaper have no reporters and still be a newspaper? (“Now, the NV literally has nobody in news, which you can tell when you go to their website, which features, under the Local News tab, news that is local to readers in Nelson County, Charlottesville, Roanoke, Richmond, but not Waynesboro. This is the fault of Lee Enterprises, the Iowa-based publisher that owns several newspapers in Virginia, and has stripped them all down to the studs.”)
• Affordability a ‘monster’ challenge in Hampton Roads’ housing market in 2025, report says
• ‘No ICE facilities in Suffolk’: Community members protest plans for potential office
• CWG Live: Showers become likely this afternoon as cooler air takes control (“No more 80s for now. After some needed rain today, there are more chances ahead.”)