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by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Tuesday, April 21.
- Clean energy generation exceeded rise in global electricity demand in 2025 (“Output from solar farms rose by a third while electricity from fossil fuels fell, research from thinktank reveals”)
- How 12 Climate Tech Startups Are Shaping the $2.3 Trillion Energy Transition
- At the UN, Indigenous leaders tackle how to enforce global climate court rulings (“The gap between what international courts say and what governments do is stark.”)
- EU optimistic over approval of €90bn loan for Ukraine following Orbán defeat (“EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas confirms she expects ‘some positive decisions tomorrow’ on the €90bn loan”)
- US spending on ‘reckless’ Iran war could have saved 87m lives, says UN
- Eight Weeks In, Trump May Be Headed Toward An Iran Deal Similar To Obama’s (“Sanctions relief in return for a moratorium on nuclear fuel enrichment is the exact arrangement that Trump and many Republicans criticized for years.”)
- ‘New cards on the battlefield’: U.S., Iran ratchet up rhetoric with peace talks in limbo
- Live updates: US-Iran talks in question as ceasefire is set to expire
- Even Trump’s most basic claims about the Iran war can’t be trusted (“False claim after false claim from Trump”)
- Trump’s statements on Iran increasingly contradict each other
- Distrust, dishonesty and Trump’s elusive Iran deal
- Trump rages at Iran war criticism: “Time is not my adversary” (Yeah, it very much is!)
- Trump offers mixed messages about path ahead for US war against Iran
- Iran war accelerates America’s breakup with the world (“President Donald Trump’s erratic moves aren’t helping.”)
- Trump’s Hormuz Blockade Is a Catch-22 (“Successfully blocking Iran’s ports will drive up global energy prices even more.”)
- The Aides Keeping the President in the Dark (“Donald Trump’s advisers are treating him like he can’t handle the reality of the war in Iran. They might be right—but that fact is a danger to the constitutional order.”)
- Vance to depart for Iran peace talks in Pakistan, source says (“Iran’s attendance remains uncertain, as Trump says he expects fighting to resume if there’s no deal.”)
- Trump’s Spider-Ridden Brain Is Cracking Under the Pressures of War (“The president is screaming at aides and getting barred from the Situation Room. This isn’t how our government is supposed to work.”)
- Trump and Netanyahu Have Royally Screwed Each Other Over (“The Iran war has not turned out the way they promised, and they’re suffering major political blowback as a result.s”)
- Israeli soldiers using sexual assault to force Palestinians out of West Bank, report says (“Experts say attacks, also carried out by settlers, are leading girls to quit school and enter early marriages” Appalling and wildly unacceptable.)
- Fired former UK official says he felt political pressure to approve Mandelson as US ambassador
- Nine lessons for the US from Viktor Orbán’s defeat (“As US elections approach, the Hungarian prime minister’s loss is a reminder that history does not march relentlessly toward autocracy”)
- Hungary’s Magyar announces ministers after landslide election win
- EU top court strikes down Hungary’s anti-LGBTQ+ rules
- Mexico’s Sheinbaum demands explanation after U.S. officials die assisting in operation in Chihuahua
- Trump’s cruel “dual state” runs into a legal wall (“The president touted his judges. Now they’re standing up on immigration and democracy”)
- Federal agents detain wife of another US army member: ‘ICE is out of control’ (“Jose Serrano, a sergeant, said Deisy Rivera Ortega, his wife, was arrested at an immigration appointment”)
- Trump administration begins refunding more than $166bn in tariffs
- Kevin Warsh’s Finances Likely to Play Key Role in Confirmation Hearings (“Staff memo shows Democrats might focus on Fed nominee’s opaque investments as they try to rally opposition in Tuesday’s confirmation hearing”)
- Trump’s Pick to Lead Fed Will Face Senators at a Tricky Moment
- Fed chair nominee Warsh set to commit to be ‘strictly independent’ on rates (Not believable.)
- Leaked Memos Reveal Just How Much the Supreme Court Has Betrayed the Constitution (“All in service of its corporate patrons.”)
- The Supreme Court’s Shadow-Docket Secrets Have Been Spilled (“The leaked memos from a 2016 EPA case expose the spurious reasoning behind one of the justices’ most consequential decisions of the past decade.” John Roberts is pure slime.)
- Some Republicans Fear They’re Making a Big Mistake on Reconciliation (“‘We better do something to bring costs down, because it’s tough sledding right now,’ Sen. Josh Hawley said.”)
- The Vindication of Bidenomicsf
- Johnson faces political gauntlet as legislative fights collide
- Speaker Johnson’s beginning of the end (“Trump’s elfish toady is quickly losing control of the House.”)
- Climate groups sue US government over approval of new BP project in Gulf of Mexico (“Advocates expressed alarm as new project drills deeper into ocean bed, pointing to company’s failures at Deepwater Horizon spill”)
- Five Trump Scandals You’ve Probably Missed (“Swirling scandals—from the Pentagon to DHS to the IRS to the Labor Department—that represent basic betrayals of public office, trust, and confidence-in-leadership that should be the table stakes of good government.”)
- Trump labor secretary leaving Cabinet after abuse of power allegations
- Trump Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer resigns (“Her tenure was dogged by allegations of an inappropriate relationship with her subordinate and sexual misconduct by her husband.” Disgraceful people.)
- Why the journalistic ‘center’ cannot hold
- Frantic Trump, 79, Rages at ‘LOSERS’ in Late-Night Meltdown (Unhinged, dangerous individual.)
- Many Americans question Trump’s temperament amid Iran war, pope spat: Reuters/Ipsos poll (“The six-day public opinion poll, concluded on Monday, showed only 36% of Americans approve of Trump’s job performance, unchanged from a month earlier.”)
- Why is the Maga project teetering? Because not even Trump supporters voted for this dysfunction (“The president’s fixation on culture-war grievances is a colossal misreading of voters who just want prices to come down. He has forgotten why he was re-elected”)
- House barrels toward rare double expulsion votes
- Democrats prepare to abandon Cherfilus-McCormick en masse
- Kash Patel sues the Atlantic over article alleging excessive drinking (“Magazine has stood behind the story, which was written by veteran national security reporter Sarah Fitzpatrick” Discovery should be fascinating on this one!)
- Kash wants cash: Inside the FBI Director’s $250 million defamation lawsuit
- Palantir manifesto described as ‘ramblings of a supervillain’ amid UK contract fears (“Alarm caused by posts of Alex Karp, tech firm’s CEO, championing US military dominance and of AI weapons”)
- Apple enters post-Cook era chasing its next hit
- The Rise of Apple’s New CEO: A Hardware Expert Takes Over in the AI Era (“John Ternus must help Apple catch up in the AI race as it looks for its next big hit”)
- Tim Cook to become Apple Executive Chairmanp; John Ternus to become Apple CEO
- How the California Governor’s Race Is Changing Post-Swalwell
- What We Learned From a Secret Deposition of Ken Paxton (“Previously hidden document sheds new light on ethical questions surrounding the GOP Senate candidate and Texas attorney general”)
- ‘Jarring disconnect’: Maine voters at odds with Democratic leadership in high-stakes Senate primary (Platner is an unmitigated disaster – misogynistic, homophobic, racist, you name it.)
- The Onion Has a New Plan to Take Over Infowars (“A new deal, which would allow The Onion to use the Infowars name and website address, must be approved by a Texas judge.” LOL)
- Mike Johnson Can’t Even Muster Up a Respectable Response for a Mass Shooting in His Own District (“Thoughts and prayers aren’t going to cut it, Speaker Moses. What about gun control?”)
- Sen. Mark Warner and His Wife, Lisa Collis, Announce the “passing of our beloved daughter, Madison, 36, after a decades-long battle with juvenile diabetes and other health issues” (Deepest condolences; may her memory be a blessing)
- Sen. Mark Warner announces death of eldest daughter from Type 1 diabetes
- NEW: Donald Trump, Mike Johnson Swoop Into Virginia on Eve of Vote (“Republicans have spent nearly $34 million spreading MAGA misinformation”)
- Redistricting Referendum (4/21/26): Open Thread (Virginians need to stand up “against Donald Trump’s tyranny”)
- In Virginia redistricting election, 4 House seats at stake as voters go to the polls
- Virginia voters face choice that could alter congressional balance
- Virginia voters to decide whether to allow a new Democratic-drawn map for the midterms
- Editorial: Voters will decide fate of constitutional amendment about redistricting
- Virginia voters to decide on new House map with major midterm implications
- Early voting numbers show rural Virginia energized by redistricting vote. Rural turnout up, urban crescent turnout down. (This guy will be SO happy if the amendment loses; let’s make sure it wins instead!)
- MAGA leaders who pushed GOP gerrymanders now tell VA not to redistrict
- Voters say they feel confused and misled on Virginia’s redistricting vote (Horrible headline; in fact, voters are being misled only by one side in this, the NO side.)
- Nearly 1.4 million Virginians voted early in redistricting referendum, close to 2025 total
- Virginia votes Tuesday on congressional redistricting. Here’s what voters need to know.
- Skill games likely to remain outlawed in Virginia
- As feds suggest easing coal ash clean up regulations, Va. maintains stringent standards
- Unemployment rises in Northern Virginia as federal workforce changes ripple outward
- Spanberger announces four appointments to Virginia Tech Board of Visitors
- Spanberger’s amendment would change who investigates VMI. Critics say that waters down the bill. (“Del. Dan Helmer, D-Fairfax, patroned a bill to create a task force to investigate racism and sexism on the VMI campus. An amendment by Gov. Abigail Spanberger would put the VMI Board of Visitors in charge of that effort. Helmer says he’s OK with that.”)
- Martinsville’s suspended mayor fights petition to remove him in a recall trial by jury, a rarity in Virginia (“A jury trial on a petition to remove a public official is unusual in Virginia, but two such cases are currently on commonwealth dockets. One of them, in Martinsville, involves Mayor L.C. Jones, whom a circuit judge suspended pending trial, despite the lack of criminal charges.”)
- Forensic audit: Former Martinsville city manager had more than $15,000 in credit charges where no business purpose could be found (“The manager’s credit card charges cover expenses ranging from hotel rooms to Uber rides. The audit says it shows ‘inadequate or non-existent internal controls as there are transactions that are in direct violation of the City’s purchasing card policy.’ However, the lack of paper trails does not prove fraud or abuse, it says.”)
- Virginia Beach police charge Facebook blogger with violating Oceanfront curfew, highlighting First Amendment concerns
- CWG Live: After cold start, warming trend takes hold
