Friday (5/22) News: “Trump self-deals, lies and seems to fall asleep in meetings. The media treats it all as ‘priced in’”; “Dumb and dumber, Republican-style”

by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, May 22. But first, check out excerpts from last night’s finale for Stephen Colbert’s show…and yes, FU CBS, Paramount, Trump, the Ellisons, etc.

• Risk of snakebites increasing as reptiles adapt to changing world, says study (“Research led by WHO predicts hotter climate will lead to more contact between humans and venomous snakes”)
• Donald Trump, Accidental Environmentalist (“By driving oil prices through the roof, he’s finally giving alternative energy some badly-needed stimulus. Too bad the economic benefit goes mainly to China.” Yes, but renewable energy is NOT “atlernative energy,” and hasn’t been for years; now it’s mainstream, cleaner-and-cheaper, ubiquitous energy. Why call it “alternative”?)
• China’s Shark Finning Could Lead to US Seafood Sanctions (Shark finning is heinous.)
• Acting Navy secretary: Taiwan weapons sales paused to ensure munitions for Iran war (Yes, we are living in a bizarre, f’ed-up alternate timeline.)
• G.O.P. Pulls Measure to End Iran War, Lacking Votes to Defeat It (“House Republican leaders abruptly scrapped a planned vote on a measure to direct President Trump to end the conflict or win authorization for it, amid party defections and absences.”)
• Trump’s Endgame Is Surrender
  (“He seems to hope to slip away without Americans noticing the magnitude of this defeat.”)
• Exclusive: Supreme Leader says enriched uranium must stay in Iran, Iranian sources say
• U.S., Iran signal peace progress — but remain at odds over enriched uranium, Strait of Hormuz tolls
• Attack on UAE Nuclear Plant From Iraq ‘Warning Shot’ by Iran
• Iran Moved Billions Through Binance to Fund Regime—Continuing Into This Month (“Transactions on world’s largest crypto exchange took place despite repeated red flags; Binance says it has ‘zero-tolerance for illicit activity’”)
• U.S. bears brunt of Israel’s missile defense, Pentagon assessments show (Why don’t we do this for UKRAINE, given that Russia’s invasion is an orders-of-magnitude greater threat than Iran posed to US national security???)
• The New Blood Libel (It’s not a blood libel, of course, if it’s true, and there’s TONS of evidence of Israeli severe mistreatment of Palestinian prisoners.)
• Trump, facing GOP blowback, sends 5,000 troops to Poland
• NATO allies bewildered by Trump’s about-face on US troop moves in Europe
• Trump’s ‘disappointment’ with Nato lays groundwork for ‘one of the most important’ summits ever, Rubio says (“The US secretary of state said that leaders will have to respond to Trump’s ‘disappointment’ with the alliance’s ‘response to our operations in the Middle East’” The response should be F*** YOU TRUMP!)
• Trump Has Finally Found a Small Enough Enemy (“He’s “happy” to “do something” about Cuba—an island lacking fuel, power, and food—starting with its 94-year-old ex-leader.”)
• Rubio doubtful of diplomacy with Cuba as Trump renews threat of military action (“US secretary of state says president would like a negotiated agreement with Havana but likelihood ‘is not high’”)
• Rubio says Cuba is threat to US as Havana accuses him of ‘lies’
• Venezuelan makeup artist who was deported to El Salvador seeks asylum in Spain: ‘I feel safe here’ (“Andry José Hernández Romero was deported from the US to El Salvador’s notorious Cecot prison before he was allowed to return to Venezuela”)
• 6,000 refugees entered the U.S. since October. All but 3 are South African. (Pure, unadulterated white supremacy.)
• Homeland Security’s Plan to Squeeze International Flights (“DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin told travel executives he may target airports in cities that don’t help ICE.” WTF???)
• Suicides rise in ICE detention; 911 calls detail serious cases of self-harm (“More than 1,000 emergency calls were made over the last year from at least six detention centers around the country, according to call logs obtained by NBC News.”)
• US homeland security put out alert on comedian who created parody ICE tip website
• Poll shows economic confidence plunging, a potential midterm problem for Trump
• The $5.02 ghost: Trump’s team faces a symbolic blow to one of its favorite economic talking points (“Trump officials are ‘absolutely, totally freaked’ about the political symbolism of breaking Biden’s high gas price record.”)
• Republicans punt on reconciliation amid furious disagreement over ‘anti-weaponization’ fund
• GOP calls off votes after contentious meeting on ‘anti-weaponization’ fund (“Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche spent more than an hour sparring with Republican senators behind closed doors.”)
• Trump’s $1.8B fund isn’t officially open yet. That hasn’t stopped applications. (“No commissioners have been chosen, a requirement before claims can be processed, an administration official told NBC News. The Justice Department says millions are eligible.”)
• Exclusive: Michael Cohen says he will apply for payments from DOJ’s ‘anti-weaponization’ fund
• Bipartisan House effort aims to kill ‘anti-weaponization’ fund
• GOP Rep. won’t rule out tapping into DOJ fund
• Ex-Proud Boys Leader: Jan. 6 Rioters Will Use Govt. Payouts for ‘Campaigns’ and ‘Organizations’ (“Trump’s allies are lining up to receive taxpayer cash from the $1.8 billion slush fund”)
• Right-wing media react to Trump’s slush fund for allies with unquestioning loyalty — and some vague skepticism
• Trump’s new ‘slush fund’ for his pals | Politics Weekly America
• In a Rarity, Republicans Stand Up to Trump (“President Trump faced a wall of opposition from Senate G.O.P. lawmakers, in part over his plan to create a $1.8 billion fund to reward his allies.”)
• Inside the Senate G.O.P. Meltdown Over Trump’s Fund (“Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general, went to Capitol Hill to allay Republicans’ concerns over a fund to pay people who claim government mistreatment. It did not go well.”)
• RFK Jr. announces ‘the largest autism fraud bust in American history’ and it’s in Minnesota (Everything RFK Jr. is bad, a joke, or both.)
• Trump news at a glance: Republicans find their red line against their president: taxpayer money for his ballroom (“Senate will not pass $70bn homeland security bill that includes $1bn for security measures for controversial project – key US politics stories from Thursday, 21 May”)
• How Trump lost Senate Republicans
• Dumb and dumber, Republican-style (“Purging Sens. John Cornyn and Bill Cassidy sacrifices intelligence in scarce supply in the GOP.”)
• Trump’s EPA to roll back refrigerant rule for grocery stores in push it claims will lower prices (The headline should say FALSELY claims, or at least WITH NO EVIDENCE.)
• Trump yanked AI order after David Sacks raised industry concerns
• Trump’s second term is increasingly about one thing: Trump
• Behind the Curtain: Trump’s unprecedented profit and protection (“In doing so, he has set a precedent — once so unfathomable as to be laughable — that it’s OK for presidents and family members to make billions off deals affected by government decisions, then use the Justice Department to secure lifetime protection from scrutiny of their past tax returns.”)
• Trump self-deals, lies and seems to fall asleep in meetings. The media treats it all as ‘priced in’
• Stomachs are Turning at Trump’s Latest Sweetheart Deal
• Audit Immunity for Trump Family Puts I.R.S. in a Bind (“Federal law prohibits the Internal Revenue Service from halting an audit at the direction of the president or his aides.”)
• Exclusive: Trump officials tried to ban half of US voting machines, citing conspiracy theories
• The Election Fraudsters Who Will Follow in Tina Peters’s Footsteps (“We can debate all day whether Colorado Governor Jared Polis should have commuted her sentence. Meanwhile, state and local officials are openly preparing to meddle in the midterm elections.”)
• The Agony Around the Democrats’ Mysterious, Ridiculous Autopsy
• Democrats’ Draft Report on 2024 Loss Reopens Political Wounds Ahead of Midterms (“An incomplete examination of what went wrong for the Biden and Harris campaigns in 2024 was released after it had become an embarrassment for the Democratic National Committee.”)
• Autopsy of the autopsy: How the DNC’s 2024 post-mortem turned into a crisis
• ‘A huge omission’: Everyone is baffled by the exclusion of Gaza in DNC autopsy (It’s just a sloppy, poorly written, incomplete document, not worthy of being taken seriously.)
• A Message from DNC Chair Ken Martin on the DNC’s 2024 After Action Report (Total fiasco.)
• ‘The report’s so stupid’: The DNC 2024 autopsy is roiling Democrats
• DNC Releases, Then Disowns, 2024 Election Autopsy
• Trump Says He Will ‘Try and Make’ Son’s Wedding, but Timing ‘Not Good’
• Donald Trump Jr.’s wedding will be on a small island in the Bahamas — without his father present, sources say
• Americans oppose spending $1 billion on White House ballroom 68% to 21%
• Federal Panel Approves Trump’s Plans for a 250-Foot Arch in Washington (“The panel, whose members were selected by President Trump, has an advisory role on the design of the project but no enforcement power.”)
• 8 Democrats Help Pass GOP Bill Forcing Teachers To Out Transgender Students (“What’s more, three of those Democrats — Gillen, Gluesenkamp Perez and Vindman — are members of the Congressional Equality Caucus, which advocates for LGBTQ+ rights.”)
• South Carolina MAGA congressman says Jan. 6 was ‘made up,’ ‘staged’ (So, Ralph Norman is an insane person.)
• Texas runoff roiled by shadowy spending and a call to imprison ‘American Zionists’ (This woman is completely unhinged – as is anyone who votes for her.)
• Kean says he expects full recovery, confirms re-election bid (“New Jersey congressman battling a health issue since March will return to Washington in the next few weeks, vows to fully disclose details of his illness soon” Bizarre.)
• Stephen Colbert joined by Sir Paul McCartney for The Late Show finale
• ‘We were lucky’: Stephen Colbert’s ‘Late Show’ bids farewell in final broadcast on CBS
• Trump Flips Out At ‘Total Jerk’ Stephen Colbert In 2 A.M. Rant After Final ‘Late Show’
• In Letter to Acting AG Todd Blanche, etc., Sen. Mark Warner “Demands Transparency About $1.776 Billion [Trump] Slush Fund” (“How does the Department of Justice define ‘lawfare’ and ‘weaponization’?”)
• Video: On 1-Year Anniversary of Rep. Gerry Connolly’s Death from Esophageal Cancer, Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-VA11) Says It’s a “hard day for all of us who loved him” (It’s also “a day to celebrate his legacy and his accomplishments and the impact he had.”)
• Late Rep. Gerry Connolly’s final bill in Congress heads to president’s desk
• Eugene Vindman votes with MAGAs on the Don’t Say Trans and Forced Outing Bill
• Notes from the Square: What a week, Virginia
• Democratic candidate shake-ups in 6th District clear way for Beth Macy
• Fact Check: Governor Spanberger’s Veto Statement and the Misinformation Around the Affordable Medicine Act (“Because of this veto, hundreds of thousands of Virginians will need to wait at least another year to see substantial savings on prescription drugs.”)
• Spanberger doesn’t understand why labor critics see ‘betrayal’ on collective bargaining (“Not exactly the hardest-hitting interviewer, this Jonathan Capehart guy. He let Spanberger get away with actually saying this to conclude the discussion of the matter:”)
• Virginia falls further behind on lowering cost of prescription drugs | Guest column
• U.S. education department plans to close office for English learners, raises concerns for Virginia (“The planned dissolution of the office is part of a larger plan by President Donald Trump’s administration to abolish the Department of Education.”)
• ‘Not alone’: Va. health agencies launch postpartum depression resource campaign (“State’s new maternal mental health campaign includes resources and a database of support groups around the state hosted by hospitals or nonprofits.”)
• Virginia class action proposal dies after Spanberger veto (“Lawmakers rejected the governor’s narrower rewrite of the bill, extending a yearslong debate over consumer lawsuits and business liability.”)
• Pope & Schapiro: Spanberger vetoes, the budget standoff, and the Dominion merger
• DOGE’d Virginians one year later
• Cabinet secretary: Southside county loses two economic development prospects due to uncertainty over data center taxes (“Secretary of Finance Mark Sickles says a data center company looking to build two projects in Greensville County has scratched Virginia from its site list. Southside officials say they’re being denied economic opportunity.”)
• Southwest Virginia needs to solve its housing shortage if it wants economic growth, new jobs, governor says (“Later in the day, the governor attended two health-related events in Abingdon.”)
• Southwest Virginia Field Notes: Years-long I-81 widening project is finally done (“Plus: a skate park opens in Big Stone Gap, and the Birthplace of Country Music Museum offers free tours for veterans.”)
• Judge dismisses all charges against former Richneck assistant principal
• Judge dismisses case against former Richneck Elementary assistant principal accused of failing to prevent shooting
• Fort Monroe’s redevelopment was a $400 million dream. It went into the ground.
• ‘Shame on you, city council’: Norfolk’s School Board conflicted over budget changes
• Virginia Democrats call on NPS to restore Arlington House language
• Editorial: Newport News sets sights high as ‘Noodle’ convention set to launch
• Randall Reflects on Loudoun’s History in State of the County
• CWG Live updates: Wet today and a soaker on Saturday (“This round of cool air may stick around many days.”)