Wednesday (4/15) News: “Iran’s Regime Has Changed—for the Worse”; “Republicans’ big 2026 problem: An unhinged Trump who doesn’t seem to care about them”

by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Wednesday, April 15.

• Sperm whales’ communication closely parallels human language, study finds (“Analysis shows whales’ coda vocalizations are ‘highly complex’ and remarkably similar to our own”)
• Global Finance and Energy Leaders Warn of Potentially Dire Impacts From Iran War (“Reports from the International Monetary Fund and the International Energy Agency warn of possible global recession as the U.S. enacts a blockade at the Strait of Hormuz.”)
• Vance Says the Pope Should Be More Careful When Talking About Theology (“The vice president, who is Catholic, took issue with Pope Leo XIV’s statement that disciples of Christ are ‘never on the side of those who once wielded the sword and today drop bombs.'” Of course, Vance is f’ed up and the Pope is right.)
• Iran war escalation could trigger global recession, IMF warns
• US allies won’t join Trump’s war — but they can’t escape the fallout
• Trump Is Waging One Big War Against the Rest of the World (“The bombings, assassinations, and kidnappings that have defined much of Trump’s second term make more sense understood together, rather than as disparate events.”)
• Trump Hints at War’s End as Hormuz Standoff Chokes Oil Flows (“The shift in the narrative from Washington has left many questions unanswered, including the fate of Iran’s enriched uranium.”)
• Iranian sea trade blocked as six ships forced to turn back, U.S. military says
• Hopes rise for renewed talks as US military says Iran blockade is in force
• Iran’s Regime Has Changed—for the Worse (“The U.S.-Israeli attack fast-tracked the ascent of hard-liners and apocalyptic religious followers, raising doubts about a lasting peace”)
• Trump says talks could resume this week as Vance says US wants ‘grand bargain’ with Iran
• Europe Is Accelerating a NATO Fallback Plan in Case Trump Pulls Out (“The Continent is drawing up a contingency for greater European involvement as tensions rise over Iran war”)
• Russia offers China energy lifeline as the Iran war strangles global supply
• Exclusive: U.K.-Ukraine duo beats Americans at their own drone game
• Scoop: U.S. suggests Cuba complicit in helping Russia fight Ukraine (Well, Trump’s effectively helping Russia as well, so…)
• Cuba could beat US energy blockade with $8bn investment in renewables, says thinktank
• North Korea rapidly expanding nuclear weapons capability, UN watchdog warns
• Magyar meets Hungarian president as Trump says next PM ‘a good man’ (“President Tamás Sulyok, who has refused Magyar’s demand to step down, is widely expected to nominate Magyar as the next prime minister. Magyar has said he needs to be in office by about 5 May”)
• Hungary’s New Leader Reveals Viktor Orbán Was Paying CPAC (“Péter Magyar called the payments a ‘crime’ and said his government would stop the funds.”)
• US military says it killed four more people in a boat strike in the eastern Pacific (These are almost certainly crimes; at the minimum, they’ll need to be investigated if/when Democrats are back in power…)
• 250 missing after migrant boat sinks in Indian Ocean (Horrible.)
• ‘Humiliated, broken, powerless’: Sudan enters fourth year of war (This horrible war should be getting a TON more attention than it is.)
• ICE deported 442k people in fiscal year 2025 (“The top-line figure is about 171,000 people more than the fiscal year before, but far short of Trump’s campaign promise to deport one million people a year.”)
• GOP leaders struggle to keep $75B immigration plan narrow
• French woman, 86, held by ICE after moving to US to marry 1950s sweetheart (“The family of Marie-Thérèse, from Brittany, fear for her health after she was cuffed and placed in a detention centre”)
• Trump’s Catholic Border Czar Melts Down at the Pope: ‘Stay Out of It’ (“Tom Homan is the latest Trump administration figure to come out fighting against Pope Leo.”)
• Trump’s Fed Pick Discloses Vast Wealth Ahead of Confirmation Hearing (“Kevin M. Warsh vowed to divest a substantial amount of his more than $100 million in assets as he faces a complicated path to becoming the next chair of the Federal Reserve.”)
• Prosecutors Make Surprise Visit to Fed as Pirro Defends Investigation (It’s completely indefensible and disgraceful.)
• Jeanine Pirro’s Prosecutors Make Surprise Visit to Fed Headquarters (“A pair of Pirro’s deputies were turned away after showing up at the construction site for central-bank renovation project”)
• Inside a jubilant DC conference where ‘the climate deniers are in charge now’ (Climate denial should, in a sane country, be an automatic disqualifier for holding any public office – or any position of power – EVER.)
• Dozens of Project 2025 proposals appear to be included in the Trump administration’s newest budget (We are living in a nightmarish, dystopian timeline.)
• Thune says Senate GOP ‘prepared’ to fill potential Supreme Court vacancy (“The president is interested in Sen. Ted Cruz as a potential pick” Hell f’ing no.)
• White House favors Erica Schwartz, former deputy surgeon general, to lead CDC (“Schwartz would be Trump’s third nominee to lead the CDC. She left government in 2021, after the Biden administration passed her over for acting U.S. surgeon general”)
• Even some in right-wing media are now asking questions about Trump’s age and mental acuity
• Republicans’ big 2026 problem: An unhinged Trump who doesn’t seem to care about them
• Johnson says he told Trump to take down image of president-as-Jesus
• ‘They’re not getting what they voted for’: Jesus meme lays bare GOP frustrations with Trump (“The president’s attacks on the first American pope and a deleted Jesus meme are deepening fractures within his MAGA coalition.”)
• President, Extremely Normal Brain-Wise: Pope Weak On Crime, Also I’m Dr. Jesus Christ
• Trump is right: He is MAGA’s Jesus (“The president’s blasphemy exposes the truth about the Christian right” Gotta love how they went with the antithesis of Jesus to be their Jesus. At best, they’re f’ing morons.)
• Trump’s Latest Meltdown (“Attacking the pope was only part of the president’s disturbing night on Truth Social.”)
• Trump’s Blasphemy Is a Warning (I hate linking to Ross Douthat, but we’ll give him one this time.)
• 
  Trump may believe he is the messiah – but his attack on the pope could prove costly for JD Vance (“The president’s attack on the head of the Catholic church and the AI depiction of himself as a Christ-like figure have not gone down well with one of the largest groups of swing voters in the US”)
• Trump Is Not a Man in Control of Himself
• Another pardoned Jan. 6 rioter to admit guilt in child sexual abuse case (“David Daniel has reached a plea agreement with federal prosecutors after a judge ruled that President Donald Trump’s pardons in the Capitol attack didn’t apply to child exploitation.” If you stormed the US Capitol on 1/6/21, you are pretty much the worst of the worst – and OBVIOUSLY SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN PARDONED BY THE F’ING PRESIDENT!)
• SpaceX Is Basically a Huge Meme Stock (“The company may be losing money, but it will soon be the most expensive big stock in the market.” Crazy.)
• Justice Department moves to toss seditious conspiracy convictions of Oath Keepers and Proud Boys (Absolutely APPALLING!)
• Trump’s Bottomless Nihilism Is Eating Our Future (“While a few lucky insiders may be getting rich from this misrule, the rest of us are watching the needless destruction of our collective future.”)
• Ilhan Omar Pushes Democrats To Embrace Marjorie Taylor Greene, Other MAGA Stars Ditching Trump (Absolutely not re: embracing Marjorie Taylor Greene!)
• JD Vance Would Make a Horrible Presidential Candidate (“He’s unpopular and unlikable. No amount of Vancewashing in the news is going to change that.” Vance is one of the most odious people in America, and that’s saying a lot.)
• Vance Heckled in Antiwar Protest at Turning Point USA Event
• Erika Kirk withdraws from event with JD Vance over threats, VP says
• JD Vance Humiliated by Embarrassing Crowd Size at Free Show
• FEMA Official Gregg Phillips—the Waffle House Guy—Has Been Saying Even Crazier Stuff Than We Thought (“He’s since been quietly sidelined from his post, which is probably for the best.”)
• Woman accuses Eric Swalwell of rape in 2018, reports it to authorities (Swalwell sounds truly evil and dangerous. Which raises the question, how the HELL did nobody notice this – or if they did, why didn’t they report it to the police? – all these years???)
• Gallego Dismissed Rumors of a ‘Flirty’ Swalwell, Highlighting a Culture of Silence (This “culture of silence” has to end, whether in Congress or in Richmond or wherever.)
• Sen. Ruben Gallego alleges Eric Swalwell ‘lied’ and ‘betrayed’ him, says he never saw inappropriate behavior (Hard to believe…)
• Swalwell and Gonzales resign from Congress under threat of expulsion
• Swalwell departure helps Democrats narrow field in California race
• Florida’s planned special session on redistricting just got a bit murkier (“Gov. Ron DeSantis sidestepped questions on whether he would give lawmakers a proposed map to work with once the session does begin and contended the Legislature will pass a new map in the next ‘couple of weeks.'”)
• Pittsburgh Post-Gazette announces it has found a buyer to keep the newspaper open
• Maine Lawmakers Pass Ban on Large Data Centers (“The bill, which blocks centers that draw over 20 megawatts of power until late 2027, heads to Democratic Gov. Janet Mills”)
• Sen. Mark Warner Demands DHS Accountability: Calls on New Secretary to Restore Oversight, Fully Cooperate with Congress and IG (“I expect your leadership of DHS to differ from your predecessor”)
• Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, D-Va., on ethics and the resignations of 2 congressmen
• McClellan Joins ERA Symposium to Give Closing Remarks
• McClellan Wants to Make Childbirth Free on InvestigateTV+ (Classic example of poor syntax in a headline; obviously, McClellan doesn’t want to just make childbirth free *on InvestigateTV+”; she wants to make it free EVERYWHERE. LOL)
• Worried about the midterms, Republicans mobilize rural Virginia voters against redistricting (Those rural voters, by the way, will get FAR FAR BETTER representation from a Democrat over their current horrible Republican, for instance Tom Perriello over Ben Cline!)
• Democrats line up to run in Virginia congressional districts, even before voters approve them
• All eyes on Virginia as redistricting battle enters the final stretch (Gotta love that expression, “all eyes on”; in fact, hardly anyone in the rest of the country is paying attention to this.)
• Olivia Troye, Trump aide turned critic, launches Virginia congressional bid
• Olivia Troye, Ex-Pence Aide, Runs for the House as a Democrat (“After spending most of her Washington career as a Republican, she joins a crowded field of Democrats running in a Virginia district that doesn’t exist yet.”)
• Virginia Governor Ends Tax Breaks for Confederate Groups
• Spanberger proposes big changes to bills including cannabis, assault firearms and sick leave
• Gov. Spanberger Proposes Amendments to Keep Virginians Safe (Includes bills on future sales of assault weapons, working with ICE, officers covering their faces, a legal retail market for marijuana, etc.)
• Gov. Spanberger Proposes Amendments to Protect Workers & Support Employers (“…my amendments are about making sure that when these laws take effect, they work — for workers, for businesses, and for the localities and the Commonwealth that will implement them.”)
• Freedom Virginia Says Gov. Spanberger’s Amendments to the Affordable Medicine Act “gutted this landmark legislation of its integrity and effectiveness” (On a more positive note, “Freedom Virginia Celebrates Progress as Paid Family and Medical Leave Heads Back to General Assembly”)
• Virginia Senate Democratic Caucus Delivers on Affordability Legislation as Governor Signs Key Bills into Law (“This is what governing looks like when you put people first.”)
• Spanberger proposes amendments to immigrant protection bills (“Lawmakers say the governor’s changes do not meet the urgency of the moment.”)
• Spanberger amends, signs sweeping gun legislation reshaping Virginia’s firearm laws
• Governor pitches amendments to Prescription Drug Affordability Board bill that some say ‘nullify’ it
• Spanberger proposed amendments to paid family medical leave
• Lots of amendments to General Assembly bills, some rufflled feathers
• Spanberger counters false GOP claims of tax hikes: ‘A desperate tactic’ (“Republicans keep criticizing Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger over proposed tax increases by Democratic legislators that never passed and that she never endorsed.” Excellent subheader – miraculously?!? – by the Bezos Post> Up next, pigs and cows fly? LOL)
• Virginia Democrats spar with governor over money to pay looming bills
• 7 things to know about Spanberger’s action on bills the General Assembly passed (“Spanberger signed most of the bills you’d expect a Democratic governor would…Some Democratic legislators aren’t happy with Spanberger…Spanberger still has a Lucas problem”)
• Aird and Krizek push back on Spanberger amendments to retail marijuana market
• Spanberger proposes delaying legal cannabis market in Virginia
• Could new gambling options, all but dead legislatively, patch holes in Virginia’s budget?
• Megasite project could be in jeopardy if data center tax exemptions are ended, finance secretary warns (“The project, which is expected to bring more than 2,000 jobs and $73 billion in investment to Pittsylvania County, could “go away,” Mark Sickles told state senators.”)
• Voters turn on data centers in this hot spot for the facilities, poll shows (“Virginians previously embraced the facilities, but a Post-Schar School poll finds they are now almost as undesirable as nuclear plants.”)
• Virginia Tech’s Board of Visitors discusses details of their search for a new president
• Virginia Beach to weigh Oceanfront curfew for all ages
• Roanoke Rambler’s new owner says changes necessary for sustainability (“Ollie Howie, an entrepreneur and investor who grew up in Roanoke, said the publication’s expenses have been exceeding its monthly revenue.”)
• Buck-Hayes set to make plea in case of setting council member on fire (This guy should stay in prison for a loooong time.)
• CWG Live: April heat could break records today and tomorrow; warm through Saturday (“Highs head for near to above 90 today and tomorrow.” That’s f’ed up.)