Thursday (4/16) News: “Done and Dusted? Trump’s Portrayal of the War in Iran Collides With Reality”; “Trump messed with the wrong pope”

by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Thursday, April 16.

• Critical Atlantic current significantly more likely to collapse than thought (“Scientists say finding is ‘very concerning’ as collapse would be catastrophic for Europe, Africa and the Americas” In a sane world, we’d be in the midst of an emergency, crash program to get off of fossil fuels ASAP! But we do NOT live in a sane world by any means.)
• $30m an hour: big oil reaping huge war windfall from consumers, analysis finds (“Exclusive: Climate action blockers including Saudi Arabia, Russia and major fossil fuel firms set to make extra $234bn by end of 2026”)
• Trump administration pushes nations to sign ‘trade over aid’ declaration (“In a cable sent to U.S. embassies, Secretary of State Marco Rubio called on countries to approve a measure that explicitly rejects America’s history as a leading provider of humanitarian assistance and other support to the developing world.” Appalling.)
• Vance questions the pope on just war theory hours after Leo honored its founder (Vance is unhinged.)
• Donald Trump messed with the wrong pope
• Exclusive: Iran offers proposal allowing ships to exit Oman side of Hormuz free of attack, source says
• Done and Dusted? Trump’s Portrayal of the War in Iran Collides With Reality.
• Iran’s War-Shattered Economy Means It Has an Urgent Reason to Negotiate
• It’s Not Just Iran. Trump Is Flailing on Multiple Fronts. (“The president is on a losing streak, and even some of his aides are dismayed by his choices.”)
• US, Iran Weigh Longer Truce as Pakistan Boosts Mediation Efforts
• The gamble in Trump’s Iran blockade that could decide the war (“The president’s bet on economic warfare rests on an assumption that has repeatedly led the US astray in the Middle East”)
• Stephen Miller Threatens Horrifying Timeline for Trump’s War (“Indefinitely”???)
• Congress Will Not Stop the War With Iran (Obviously not.)
• Senate Republicans Again Block Bid to Limit Trump’s Iran War Powers
• Israel hits a low point with Democrats in Congress (This is overwhelmingly Netanyahu’s fault, going back to the Obama administration when he worked to undermine the Iran nuclear deal. Just an absolute disaster in every way; WTF have Israeli voters been thinking???)
• The Extremes of Israeli Public Opinion (“Israeli voters are against a ceasefire with Iran, and think Benjamin Netanyahu has not gone far enough.” YIKES!)
• Israel-Lebanon talks will happen today, Israeli minister says, after Beirut casts doubt on plans
• Trump would “welcome” Israel-Lebanon ceasefire: U.S. official
• Bernie Sanders’ effort to block US weapons sales to Israel fails in Senate (“Senator’s fourth attempt for resolutions fails, but votes show growing appetite among Democrats to impose limits”)
• Wave of Russian drone and missile attacks kill at least 16 in Ukraine
• Russia ‘does not deserve’ lifting of sanctions, Zelenskyy says, after deadly overnight strikes in Ukraine
• US launches fifth strike on alleged Pacific drug boat in a week, killing three (Probable crime.)
• White House calls oil CEOs as energy prices squeeze voters
• Stocks Hit Record High as Wall St. Looks Beyond War
• House opposes Trump on immigration with move to help Haitians
• In the House, Republican Plans Go Awry Amid Party Divides (“Fresh off a two-week break, lawmakers returned to turmoil in the House, where legislation to reopen the Department of Homeland Security is stalled and the G.O.P. is struggling to keep its agenda on track.”)
• A journalist filmed an ICE protest at a Minnesota church. Then federal agents showed up at her door (Completely, wildly unAmerican and total bullshit.)
• How Trump Is Sabotaging Himself on the Federal Reserve (“The president wants Jerome Powell out of the way. He’s making that outcome less and less likely by the day. “)
• Tillis holds the cards in Trump Fed clash — and won’t fold (“The outgoing North Carolina Republican isn’t relinquishing his leverage as he pushes the DOJ to drop its investigation into Fed Chair Jerome Powell.”)
• Tillis vows to keep blocking Fed nominee and says Trump should apologize for pope attacks (“In an exclusive interview with NBC News, retiring Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said he’s lost his ‘filter’ and weighed in on Trump’s war with Iran, Jerome Powell and the November elections.”)
• Jesus Memes, Threats and a War in Iran: A Portrait of Trump Under Pressure (“President Trump has lashed out at enemies, allies and even the pope, and made it harder for Republicans to keep the focus on economic issues in a midterm election year.”)
• Justice Jackson chides Supreme Court conservatives over ‘oblivious’ pro-Trump emergency orders
• Justice Sonia Sotomayor issues unusual apology over ‘hurtful’ remarks about colleague Brett Kavanaugh
• Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas blasts progressivism as threat to America (Clarence Thomas WILDLY wrong yet again.)
• Trump leans in on a major 2026 issue: possibly replacing Justices Alito and Thomas
• At Least 88 Profitable U.S. Corporations Paid Zero Federal Income Tax in 2025
• Trump believes diet soda kills cancer cells, Dr Oz reveals (Trump is BY FAR the stupidest president – idiocracy, basically – in modern US history, certainly in the 20th and 21st centuries…)
• Trump Has Become What He Most Despises: A Loser (“There’s nothing more central to fascist authoritarianism than being proud of being a grievance-fueled failure.”)
• Scoop: Trump discussed “Jesus” meme with Bill Pulte before posting it, sources say (This Bill Pulte character is bad, BAD news.)
• Trump tests loyalty of Christian supporters as erratic behavior escalates
• Russ Vought Confronted By Democrats For Constantly Breaking Laws (This guy seems completely detached from reality, also a fanatic.)
• Hegseth Borrows Violent Prayer from ‘Pulp Fiction’ to Bless Iran War at April Pentagon Worship Service (Hegseth is a seriously, seriously f’ed-up/broken person.)
• Reports of a MAGA civil war over Iran are greatly exaggerated (Agreed; people pushing this are really off base.)
• Key Trump lawyer who tried to overturn 2020 election permanently disbarred (This takes WAAAAYYY too long; should have been immediate back in 2020.)
• John Eastman loses his law license in California over 2020 election scheme
• Republicans worry White House ‘nonsense’ is hurting midterm prospects
• Talarico Leads a Democratic Cash Surge: 7 Takeaways From 2026 Filings (“Democrats in key Senate races out-raised their Republican rivals, but super PACs on the right are poised to play a powerful role in the midterms, new campaign finance filings showed.”)
• California Knife Fight: These Democrats Are Vying for Swalwell’s Voters (“Now that the congressman has suspended his gubernatorial campaign, the field is suddenly wide open—though some political operatives aren’t impressed: ‘This is the best we got?'” Agreed – super, super lame.)
• I Was Falsely Accused of “Censorship” in The Free Press. Then Their Editors Censored The Truth. (The “Free Press” is basically the opposite.)
• The Deepfake Nudes Crisis in Schools Is Much Worse Than You Thought (“An analysis by WIRED and Indicator found nearly 90 schools and 600 students around the world impacted by AI-generated deepfake nude images—and the problem shows no signs of going away.”)
• ‘I dig it’: Graham Platner praised Hamas tactics in 2014 graphic video of murders of Israeli soldiers (Platner is a warped, sick dude.)
• Hampshire College was ‘a magical place’ for a progressive education. It couldn’t survive this era (“Hampshire is latest school to fall to declining enrollment amid a decades-long crisis affecting liberal arts colleges”)
• Yale Report Finds Colleges Deserve Blame for Higher Education’s Problems (They presumably bear some blame, but the right wing has viciously assaulted higher education as well.)
• Sen. Warner: Voting ‘yes’ on redistricting referendum is best way to stand up to Trump
• Video: Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA03) to Russ Vought – “So everybody thinks [the Big Ugly Bill’s] going to add about $4 trillion to the debt & you think it’s going to save money” (Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-VA11): “Contrary to Vought’s statements today…DOGE took a wrecking ball to our nonpartisan civil service”)
• Largely secret donors pour millions into election that could tip Congress (“Most of the almost $100 million raised to influence the vote, heavily favoring Democrats, comes from nonprofits that don’t have to disclose their donors.”)
• State Navigate Poll: Virginians are Divided on Governor Spanberger and Redistricting Referendum
• Podcast: What’s at stake in the April 21 redistricting referendum
• New State Navigate Poll on Virginia Redistricting Referendum: YES 51%-NO 45% (Poll finds Abigail Spanberger (at 47%-47%) is “one of the most unpopular Governors in the country”)
• Poll: ‘Yes’ holds narrow lead, while Spanberger approval/disapproval tied (And the Cardinal News uses the phrase “both sides” in its subheader, because of course it does, lol.)
• Big spending for big stakes in Virginia redistricting campaign
• Multilingual Grassroots Coalition Outreach Campaign for “Fight Back Vote YES” (“First-of-its-Kind Video Series Reaches Virginia Voters in Five Languages Across Virginia’s Diverse Communities”)
• Va. Lieutenant Governor Ghazala Hashmi urges voters to back redistricting referendum
• Analysis: Looking at turnout data to forecast the April 21 referendum (“My quick math on this has things right at the 52 percent-48 percent line, assuming the Dems can continue their late trends in turnout in NoVa.”)
• Spanberger’s first 100 days are flashing a warning Virginia Democrats should not ignore (“Virginia does not reward governors who confuse their base with their coalition, writes guest columnist Tommy Turner.” This is almost certainly NOT what the problem is for Spanberger – basically,. that she should have had rural sheriffs at a signing ceremony for some gun bills and shouldn’t have done it 11 days before the redistricting referendum, even though she literally HAD TO take action on bills prior to the redistricting referendum??? – but…sure, ok, whatever, hahahaha. Seriously, though, the Virginia Mercury saw fit to publish this?))
• Governor amends bills that shift costs onto data centers. Critics say her tweaks weaken them.
• Virginia Democrats spar with governor over money to pay looming bills
• Lawmakers do not expect a budget agreement before the special session next week
• Spanberger suggests ‘significant policy shifts’ to Dominion regulation bills
• Virginia Governor Ends Tax Breaks for Confederate Groups
• Unions Representing Hundreds of Thousands of Virginia Workers Call on General Assembly to Reject Anti-Worker Changes Gutting Collective Bargaining Bill (“The dozens of changes made to the bill weaken the ability of workers to bargain meaningful contracts”)
• For Miyares, the redistricting special election seems a way to jump-start a 2029 gubernatorial run (The thought of Jason Miyares as governor of Virginia is just….shudddderrrr.)
• Spanberger’s casino veto is a win for Virginia Democrats
• Editorial: Affirm support for our international partners at Norfolk NATO Festival (“NATO membership may seem abstract to many Americans, but not so in Hampton Roads, which is home to the alliance’s operations in North America.”)
• Virginia Beach Oceanfront business owners rattled by shootings, proposed curfew
• ‘Let’s go, Norfolk!’: Mayor touts crime reduction, business investment
• CWG Live: Highs near record levels again today, then a little less hot Friday (“It’ll stay well above normal for temperatures through Saturday. Cooler weather arrives thereafter.”)