Friday (5/15) News: “Trump wraps up warm China trip with few clear wins”; SCOTUS “Keeps Mifepristone Available For Now”

by Lowell

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

• Coal plants persist as a large barrier to the global solar energy transition
• Prostate cancer screening can save lives but ‘absolute benefit is small’, study says (“Although blood test reduces deaths by two for every 1,000 men screened, many could face unnecessary treatment”)
• At least 24 killed in Kyiv in one of deadliest Russian attacks since start of war (Putin is pure evil.)
• Trump, Xi wrap up summit claiming progress stabilizing US-China relations but differences persist
• Trump aims to defy gravity with Beijing friendship summit (Yeah, won’t work.)
• China Widens Its Clean Energy Lead (“Chinese companies account for more than half of global investments in clean energy manufacturing since 2019, while new U.S. investments declined last year.”)
• Xi takes Trump on tour of Communist Party’s seat of power in Beijing
• Live updates: Trump wraps up warm China trip with few clear wins (“The president’s two-day summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping saw praise and claims of progress from both sides, but also persistent differences on Taiwan and other key issues.”)
• Trump-Xi summit: the 3 big takeaways from historic meeting in Beijing
• Trump leaves China, short on deliverables but with signs of a stabilized relationship
• Trump’s Bonkers Question to Xi Jinping on Private Tour in China Revealed (“The U.S. president just wanted to feel special.”)
• Trump-Xi accord on Iran elusive as US president’s China trip winds down (“China calls for ceasefire and opening of seaway, while Donald Trump says Xi feels ‘very similar’ about ending the war in Iran”)
• For anxious Taiwan, Trump’s silence after Xi talks is best possible outcome (“Island breathes sigh of relief as fears recede that US could jettison longstanding support”)
• Trump, Xi Want to Stabilize U.S.-China Ties. Now Comes the Hard Part.
• Beijing’s ‘Industrial Policy of Everything’ Leaves Rest of the World in the Dust(“Government support encompasses the old, the new, goods and services, micro and macro. Nothing Trump elicits in China will alter this.”)
• In pageantry and politics, China summit yields Xi’s goal — equal footing with U.S.
• House Republicans narrowly block effort to end Trump’s war with Iran
• UAE Tried in Vain to Get Saudis to Coordinate on Iran Response
• Trump Says He Wants Iran’s Uranium Mostly for ‘Public Relations’ (Again, imagine if Obama or Biden had said this.)
• Trump says he and China’s Xi agree Iran cannot have nuclear weapons
• ‘No idea it was coming’: Pentagon officials stunned by Hegseth decision on troops in Poland (“It wasn’t clear why the Defense secretary issued the order not to send troops on a routine mission to a country the administration refers to as a ‘model ally.'”)
• Keir Starmer Won’t Survive This (“After a disastrous set of election results, the British Prime Minister’s authority is in tatters.”)
• The Guardian view on a cabinet resignation: Labour’s leadership crisis is really an identity crisis (“The prospect of a contest exposes a deeper truth: the party’s problems go far beyond Keir Starmer”)
• The Guardian view on life after Orbán: Péter Magyar’s fast start bodes well for Hungary and for Europe (“The new government in Budapest has already made an impact in Brussels. At home, the new prime minister is so far doing and saying the right things”)
• Orban’s media empire crumbles after Hungary election defeat
• 13 men killed by US military boat strikes identified: ‘These were flesh-and-blood people’
• C.I.A. Director Visits Cuba as Tensions Rise and Island Runs Out of Oil (“John Ratcliffe, the C.I.A. director, is the highest-ranking official in the Trump administration to visit the country.”)
• U.S. moving to indict Cuba’s Raúl Castro, sources say
• Protests Erupt in Cuba as Fuel Runs Out (“Extensive blackouts and a collapsing economy spark unrest in Havana. ‘We have absolutely no fuel,’ said the country’s energy minister.”)
• Senate rulekeeper deals blows to GOP’s immigration enforcement package (“The parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough, found that four parts of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee’s portion of the legislation will need to be reworked — or risk Democrats forcing a floor vote on each provision that would be subject to a 60-vote threshold, according to a statement from Budget Committee Democrats Thursday night.”)
• ICE moving forward with warehouse detention plan despite lawsuits, probe (“New warehouse contracts in Texas are expected to be awarded after Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin initially called for a review of the plan. “)
• The New Boss at DHS Is Trying to Clean House After Kristi Noem (“Secretary Mullin faces a difficult task: improve the department’s image while still implementing Trump’s promise of mass deportations”)
• Border Patrol chief resigns in latest immigration team shakeup (“Mike Banks’ departure comes weeks before the administration’s ICE director steps aside.”)
• Mifepristone survives another Supreme Court scare — for now (“Only Thomas and Alito publicly dissented.”)
• Supreme Court preserves access to widely used abortion pill, while lawsuit plays out
• Supreme Court Keeps Mifepristone Available For Now While Alito and Thomas Seethe in Dissent
• Powell’s legacy at the Fed to be shaped by his misjudging inflation and standing up to Trump
• As Powell Steps Down, the Fed Confronts ‘Regime Change’
• Trump Doesn’t Want to Fight Inflation (“He was elected to tackle one problem. Instead, he’s made it worse.” So dumb in every way; for starters, inflation was very LOW in the final couple years of the Biden administration, with no sign of picking up, so why on earth would that have been a big issue, let alone one where many voters thought Trump of all people might be an improvement??? Utter idiocy.)
• Trump’s FEMA Is an Unnatural Disaster (“The president has staffed the agency in charge of federal disaster response with a rotating cast of fools—and it’s showing.”)
• How a year of gerrymandering has further slashed competitive House seats
• What the Gerrymandering Wars Mean for the Midterms—and 2028 (“Nate Cohn, the New York Times’ chief political analyst, on whether the Democrats can match the G.O.P. in the fight over redistricting.”)
• The Men Who Want Women to Be Quiet (“A virulent form of misogyny has become the single most important force holding together the American right.”)
• The Christian right hijacks America’s 250th (“Trump’s Rededicate 250 event erases the U.S.’s secular history”)
• Southern Poverty Law Center Got Rich Opposing Trump. Now He’s Trying to Crush It. (“SPLC faces federal charges and has come under fire for accumulating a nearly $800 million war chest”)
• Trump Bought Corporations’ Stock as His Administration Boosted Their Business (Wild corruption!)
• Trump misses deadline to disclose tens of millions of dollars in stock trades
• Trump poised to drop IRS suit, launch $1.7B ‘weaponization’ fund for allies: Sources (“The commission overseeing the compensation fund would have the total authority to hand out approximately $1.7 billion in taxpayer funds to settle claims brought by anyone who alleges they were harmed by the Biden administration’s “weaponization” of the legal system, including the nearly 1,600 individuals charged in connection with the Jan. 6 Capitol attack as well as potentially entities associated with President Trump himself. ” OUTRAGEOUS!)
• Key Jeffries ally endorses aggressive tactics to create more blue seats (“Even if majority-minority districts need to be redrawn, Rep. Greg Meeks said, ‘We’ve got to get more Democrats.'”)
• Emails show FBI Director Kash Patel’s Hawaii trip included ‘VIP snorkel’ at a Pearl Harbor memorial
• Gateway co-founder detailed his romantic relationship with Ghislaine Maxwell in House testimony (“Transcripts reveal billionaire Ted Waitt’s relationship with Epstein accomplice and $7.2m breakup payout” Uh, ok…)
• Nervous GOP weighs options on ballroom
• Scoop: Trump allies want D.C.’s July 4 fireworks to set world record
• A GOP senator defied Trump on impeachment, and voters haven’t forgotten (“Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana faces two challengers — one endorsed by the president — in Saturday’s primary, five years after voting to convict Trump.”)
• South Carolina governor calls for a special session on redistricting
• The Mystery of a Congressman’s Absence Deepens (“Representative Thomas Kean Jr. last voted in Washington on March 5, citing a medical issue. An appearance planned for late May has been canceled.” WTF?)
• Rep. Frederica Wilson eyes reelection despite Hill absence (Nah.)
• House Ethics panel investigating Chuck Edwards for sexual misconduct
• The Right’s Worst New Star Just Shot Someone (“Meet ‘Chud the Builder.'” The worst people in America…)
• DOJ says Yale medical school discriminated against Asian, White applicants (Yet another example of a media headline in which they simply regurtigate/amplify what the pathological liars in the Trump administration “say”, instead of actually DOING THEIR JOB as journalists.)
• VA Sen. Tim Kaine calls for another war powers vote
• Audio: VA07 GOP Candidate Doug Ollivant Says VA Sen. Tara Durant (R) Has a “Thin” Resume, “five years ago she was a part-time librarian” (Also: “I just don’t think there’s any world in which Tara beats Eugene Vindman in [November]”)
• Republican legislators urge justices to leave Virginia Supreme Court’s redistricting ruling in place
• GOP tells U.S. Supreme Court that Democrats are out of time for their map
• Virginians for Reproductive Freedom Campaign Manager Talks About Saturday’s Kickoff Campaign Rally for the Historic Virginia Reproductive Freedom Amendment on the Ballot This Fall (Polling shows overwhelming support, but of course we should never take anything for granted…)
• NEW POLLING: 82% of Virginians Support the Affordable Medicine Act; 71% Want Spanberger to Sign (“49% of voters would disapprove if Gov. Spanberger vetoed the bill” (only 8% would approve))
• Virginia AFL-CIO Charges Gov. Abigail Spanberger With Having “turned her back on working people”; Vows “Virginia’s labor movement will not forget this moment” (“…we believed we finally had a Governor who understood the dignity of work”)
• NAACP asks US Supreme Court to overturn Virginia redistricting decision (“Filing says nullifying the April referendum ignores the will of millions of Virginia voters.”)
• Pope & Schapiro: Spanberger and a looming collective bargaining bill veto
• Spanberger vetoes collective bargaining: Who does she think she’s fooling?
• Virginia assault weapons ban hit with lawsuit before Spanberger’s signature dries
• Drought warning advisory expands to cover most of the Commonwealth
• Drought update: Pretty much all of Virginia needs some damn rain
• Methane, federalism and Earth’s fragile moment: Va. must take legislative action on climate change (“Gov. Spanberger has until May 23 to approve or reject a bill that could help reduce landfill methane pollution.”)
• Dominion pitches new natural gas plant, renewables to address increased demand (New fossil fuel-fired power plants should be illegal.)
• Video, Highlights as House GOP Attempts to “bully and scapegoat” Fairfax County, While NOT Talking About “the unconstitutionality of this administration’s policies” (Fairfax Sheriff Stacey Kincaid: “unfortunately, we live in a time when such tragedies are used for political blame”)
• Fairfax Co. parents concerned about students accessing ‘Five Nights at Epstein’s’ game at school
• Editorial: Hampton Roads influences history, arts, government and culture
• CWG Live updates: 70s today, 80s Saturday and near 90 Sunday