by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Tuesday, April 7. Two weeks until the 4/21 referendum; have you voted yet? Also, if you need a good laugh, check out the following video clip of Glenn Youngkin talking to his BFF Sean Hannity about 2028 (“Vice President Vance would make a great nominee”: “I think [Marco/JD] would be a great ticket”). LOL
- How Forests Start to Fail, One Leaf at a Time (“In a Swiss forest lab, scientists tracked how beech and oak leaves cool themselves and pinpointed the moment heat and drought push them past their limits.”)
- Artemis II breaks Apollo 13’s distance record with daring moon flyby that included a solar eclipse
- Artemis II crew head for home after travelling further from Earth than anyone before
- War in Iran is boosting profits for oil and defense companies as US gas prices soar (“As Americans struggle with rising prices, Lockheed Martin, Shell and other companies are experiencing gains”)
- As Iran war exposes global dependence on fossil fuels, the biggest emitters are reaping the rewards (“Worst polluters hold world’s future in their hands as they benefit from higher fossil fuel prices, but global trends favour renewables”)
- Ukraine Ramps Up Attacks on Russian Oil, Aiming to Curb Iran War Windfall
- Exclusive: Russia supplies Iran with cyber support, spy imagery to hone attacks, Ukraine says
- Trump’s deadline looms but Asian nations already have deals with Iran
- Allies Fear They Are Tied to an Erratic U.S. and Now Have Nowhere to Turn (“Friendly countries in Europe, Asia and the Middle East are frustrated with President Trump but also reliant on the U.S. for their security”)
- Trump renews threats to destroy Iran’s bridges and power plants as his deadline for a deal approaches (Those would be *war crimes* and the media should say so, right in their headlines, and not pussyfoot around the point.)
- Trump threats cause dilemma for US officers: disobey orders or commit war crimes (“Legal experts say attacking Iran’s infrastructure would constitute a war crime – but would military officers be held responsible?”)
- Trump’s tipping point: Destroy Iran’s infrastructure or give talks a chance
- Trump Floats Seizing Iran Oil as He Weighs Chinese Leverage Play
- Iran defiant as Trump warns ‘entire country’ could be taken out if no deal reached by Tuesday (“Meanwhile, Israel’s military warns Iranians ‘your presence on trains and near railway lines endangers your life.'”)
- Hopes Fade for Deal With Iran Ahead of Tuesday-Night Deadline (“Trump has said the U.S. would bomb bridges and power plants if Tehran didn’t reopen the Strait of Hormuz”)
- Editorial: President’s war crime threats demand congressional intervention (“None of this inspires confidence in the leadership or direction of these operations, or that they will result in a stronger, more secure nation”)
- Down the rabbit hole: Trump offers dark Iran warnings after Easter bunny act (“President’s press conference after White House Easter egg roll did little to dispel fears he has lost touch with reality”)
- Middle East crisis live: Trump says he is ‘not at all’ worried about possible war crimes as his deadline for Iran nears
- Right-wing media figures castigate Fox News for pushing “blatant propaganda” on the war in Iran
- Is Trump About To Nuke Iran? (“The fact we can’t say ‘no’ for sure should terrify us.”)
- Iran’s 10-Point Proposal Demands an End to Attacks and Sanctions (“As President Trump’s deadline for new attacks loomed, Iran conveyed its conditions through Pakistani intermediaries.”)
- The Next Target for the U.S. and Israel Is Iran’s Economy (“The two allies have been steadily stepping up attacks on Iranian infrastructure and are planning to hit energy facilities”)
- All the President’s Bullshit (on Iran) (“Looking at everything he’s demanded, all at once.”)
- What international law says about Trump’s threats to bomb Iran’s bridges and power plants
- Trump says God supports U.S. cause in Iran war as he threatens wider bombing
- Trump seizes on rescue of downed airman to recast unpopular Iran war
- Trump threatens to jail journalists in hunt to find leaker of Iran fighter jet story
- Hegseth Likens Easter Rescue of U.S. Airman to Resurrection of Jesus Christ (Hegseth is bonkers.)
- Trump Says Iran Proposal Isn’t Enough to Stop Attacks on Bridges and Power Plants (“President Trump has told Iran it must open the Strait of Hormuz by 8 p.m. Eastern time on Tuesday or face the consequences, although he has delayed previous deadlines.”)
- One gunman killed, two others ‘neutralised’ in shooting at Israeli consulate in Istanbul, governor says
- MAGA’s global model faces existential test in Hungary (“Vice President Vance on Tuesday will plunge into Europe’s most volatile election in years — a Hungarian campaign engulfed by spy scandals, sabotage and unprecedented peril for MAGA’s favorite foreign ally.” Vance is EVIL.)
- Hungary’s foreign minister says JD Vance’s visit signals ‘golden age’ of Hungarian-US relations
- US is ‘using Mexico as a garbage sink’ leading to ‘toxic crisis’, UN expert says
- Government shutdown enters eighth week as Johnson faces GOP revolt over DHS funding deal –
- Poll: Here’s what MAHA actually believes
- Trump’s offshore wind opposition was never really about the whales (“The administration has made false claims that offshore wind hurts whales. It didn’t flinch when lifting protections for endangered whales to boost oil and gas.”)
- Exclusive: ICE arrested more than 800 people after tips from US airport security agency
- ICE’s story of a Minneapolis shooting fell apart. New video shows what happened before an agent fired
- She Testified About Being Raped. Then ICE Showed Up.
- She Helped the Authorities Deport Her Abuser. Then They Deported Her Back to Him. (HORRENDOUS.)
- Trump proposes to cut 9,400 TSA workers, $1.5 billion from budget
- he Forest Service—a Force Across Rural America—“Reorganizes” Under Trump (“Lots of room for lumber lobbyists, less for forest science.”)
- How the media should cover this deranged president (“Three suggestions—with illustrations—to counter the rampant ‘sane-washing'”)
- AP says it will offer buyouts as part of pivot away from newspaper-focused history (“The news organization is becoming more focused on visual journalism and developing new revenue sources, particularly through companies investing in artificial intelligence, to cope with the economic collapse of many legacy news outlets. Once the lion’s share of AP’s revenue, big newspaper companies now account for 10% of its income.”)
- Trump administration terminates agreements to protect transgender students in several schools
- How the Internet Fringe Infiltrated Republican Politics
- Social media has become a freak show (“The ecosystem is unhealthy, especially on Twitter, and that’s producing some strange beasts among the most influential accounts.”)
- The man who watches Trump all day, every day (“Aaron Rupar spends up to 80 hours a week following the US president, from meandering speeches to impromptu press conferences. He says it’s ‘pretty bleak’”)
- Photos of Trump’s Monday, talking Iran at Easter Egg Roll and mimicking a sniper in the press room
- Trump Rambles About Autopen, Joe Biden To Table Full Of Kids At Easter Event (“Random kid: ‘What?'”)
- Democrats are turning Republicans’ arguments against them in midterm races (“Republicans won in 2024 by promising to cut the cost of living, but high gas prices are frustrating voters and providing a potent line of attack ahead of this year’s elections.”)
- The Democrat vying to replace Marjorie Taylor Greene faces a tall task, but Republicans are still watching closely
- DeSantis signs Florida law to label groups as terrorists and expel student supporters (Youngkin’s role-model governor strikes again.)
- Wisconsin votes in supreme court race amid threat of midterm election attacks (“Liberals see chance to strengthen majority in state where Trump and allies could try to overturn election results”)
- Scoop: Platner declares Mills nearly finished in Maine Senate primary
- Second staffer says Rep. Tony Gonzales sent her sexually explicit text messages
- Michigan muscles its way to program’s 2nd national title, beating stubborn UConn 69-63
- Video: Fmr. Rep. Denver Riggleman (R-VA05) Says Trump, Hegseth et al Are “almost like Caligula’s court on crack…making decisions on what’s happening in the [Iran war] airspace”
- Smitty Connolly and Michelle Moore: “This Is OUR Democracy—Virginia Is Taking a Big Step toward Protecting It” (“Early voting is underway in this Vote Yes campaign; we have just over 2 weeks to win this special election”)
- Trump’s election order will not impact voting in Virginia’s ongoing redistricting referendum
- How a trash-talking, meme-posting great-grandmother pulled Virginia into a fight that could define the midterms
- Democratic VA State Sen. Saddam Salim Announces His Candidacy for the New VA07 (*if* the Redistricting Amendment passes on 4/21) (Pledges to “Champion Empathy, Justice, and Progress”)
- Enough With the Nepo Candidates, Democrats (“I wish Ms. McAuliffe well. But I’m rooting for her path to take her somewhere other than Congress…Polling shows people disgusted with the political status quo. Voters are sending strong signals that they want fresh faces and fresh ideas. Yet Nancy Pelosi, the formidable speaker emerita, has already endorsed Ms. McAuliffe.”)
- In latest attack on overseas voters, Republicans sue Virginia
- A Few Thoughts on This Morning’s WaPo/Schar Poll, Which Has Spanberger at 47% Approval-46% Disapproval (It’s definitely not about generic “partisanship”…and the redistricting referendum is at +9 (RVs) or +5 (LVs) – higher than her +1 net approval)
- Gov. Abigail Spanberger Signs Bills Into Law Welcoming 3,250 New Jobs, $7.1 Billion in Business Investment to Virginia (“Attracting New Businesses and Jobs to Virginia is a Core Focus of My Administration”)
- Spanberger signs into law big business deals made by her predecessor
- Spanberger signs bipartisan bills tied to billions in business investment across Virginia
- Funding cuts, state error strain Virginia’s HIV care system
- Virginia hospitals filed more than 1 million medical debt lawsuits since 2010, a new report finds
- Virginia Redistricting: Who’s running in which Northern Virginia district
- Glenn Youngkin goes on Sean Hannity podcast to plead for job with Trump (PATHETIC!)
- Youngkin on political future: ‘I have more to give’
- Virginia’s probation reform was tested, refined and agreed upon. Now it should be signed. |
- Researchers study long-term health effects of Hurricane Helene across central Appalachia (“Research has found that life expectancies can decline for more than a decade in communities hit by severe flooding. A new study seeks to explore why that happens.”)
- The Roanoke Valley once struggled to create a new economic sector. Now it has one, but challenges with city revenues and downtown remain.
- Lynchburg: School bus driver in custody after alleged strangulation of student
- CWG Live: Cool and dry through midweek, but brace for freezing tonight (“Prepare for a perfectly pleasant weekend as a sharp warming trend begins Thursday.”)





