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by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Sunday, May 24.
- Rafe Pomerance, who helped sound the alarm on climate change, dies at 79
- Climate change threatens global plant species as habitats shrink
- Climate change’s worst-case scenario is officially canceled (“What comes next will depend on us.” Meanwhile, REALLY BAD scenarios remain, including the baseline scenario – the one we’re currently on. So do NOT think this is some sort of vindication or anything, because it’s absolutely not.)
- Malnourished Gray Whales of the Eastern North Pacific Are in ‘Serious Trouble’ (“The population has plummeted over the past seven years as climate change triggers mass starvation in warming Arctic waters.”)
- Former prosecutor calls for EU statute blocking US sanctions on ICC members (“US imposed sanctions on nine judges and a prosecutor after ICC issued arrest warrants for members of Israeli cabinet”)
- ‘There is profound disappointment in him’: mood in Russia turns against Putin (“Increasingly isolated president is determined to press on with Ukraine war, say well-placed sources, despite ailing economy…there is a growing realisation that utterly senseless, self-destructive decisions keep being made. People who once defended Putin no longer do. Any sense of a future has disappeared.”)
- Russia uses hypersonic Oreshnik missile in mass attack on Kyiv (Putin is evil incarnate.)
- Large-scale Russian attack on Ukraine leaves four dead and dozens injured (Russia is a terrorist nation.)
- Ukraine war briefing: Zelenskyy sounds warning on Oreshnik missiles as Russia strikes Kyiv (“Ukrainian president says any use of such weapons ‘sets a global precedent for other potential aggressors’ as blasts heard throughout the capital. What we know on day 1,551”)
- China Eliminates Tariffs on Africa to Outmaneuver Trump (“Beijing’s ‘politically astute’ move contrasts with U.S. tariff barrage”)
- With oil markets nearing the danger zone, a US-Iran deal can’t come soon enough (“Global prices are approaching a tipping point that could trigger inflation, shortages and, over time, recession”)
- Exclusive: What’s inside the Iran deal Trump is close to signing (“The agreement the U.S. and Iran are close to signing involves a 60-day ceasefire extension during which the Strait of Hormuz would be reopened, Iran would be able to freely sell oil, and negotiations would be held on curbing Iran’s nuclear program, according to a U.S. official.” So, Trump accomplished…uhhhh….nothing?)
- Iran War Live Updates: Trump Says Peace Deal Is Near (The media continues to go with their favorite “Trump says” formulation…)
- Iran Agreed to Give Up Enriched Uranium in Deal Announced by Trump, U.S. Officials Say
- Exclusive: Trump says he’s “50/50” on Iran deal, decision by Sunday
- GOP War Hawk Lindsey Graham Is Having Doubts About Iran War He Cheered On
- Steven Cheung Blows Up At Mike Pompeo Over Iran Deal Criticism: ‘No Idea What The F**k He’s Talking About’
- Fact Check: NO Reputable Poll Shows Trump Has 99% Support In Israel — Polls Show 69% to 79% (Still, 69%-79% approval shows you where Israelis’ heads are at, and it’s REALLY REALLY REALLY not good!)
- ‘Every health facility said they were full’: alarm over rapid spread of Ebola in DRC (“New strain of virus, aid cuts, and cultural norms around burials and touch add to difficulties in stemming outbreak”)
- ‘Canada is handing people over to ICE’: refugees rejected at border face US detention
- Trump Is Setting His Sights on Restricting Legal Immigration (“After a year focused on immigrants here illegally, the Trump administration is now making it harder for legal migrants to stay in the country. It is a risky pivot.” Remember how Republicans used to claim that they ONLY cared about ILLEGAL immigration, and specifically the fact that it was ILLEGAL – even saying things like “what part of ILLEGAL don’t you understand”? – it turns out they simply don’t like immigration, including LEGAL immigration, unless maybe it’s by white Afrikaners or whatever.)
- The Stock Market Has Never Been So Good When People Have Felt So Bad (“Stocks are partying like it’s 1999, but Americans haven’t been this gloomy in 70 years.”)
- Americans are feeling inflation’s pinch into the holiday weekend. Here’s where prices are rising the most
- Trump talks up his ballroom plan, Americans struggle to get by (“Anxious Republican lawmakers and White House aides worry that the billionaire president’s focus on a vanity project does not play well with voters struggling to afford gasoline months before elections that will determine which party controls Congress.”)
- Once Dismissed As Weeds, Native Plants Are Flying Off the Shelves (“Gardeners are flocking to climate-resilient species amid concerns about extreme heat, flooding, and pollinator survival.” Also, if everyone got rid of their @#%! lawns, that would be a great thing to do for the environment – remember, lawns require massive amounts of water, fertilizer, poisons, etc. to be lush green; in fact, if you see a lush green lawn and no native plants at someone’s house, you pretty much know they’re an environmental disaster.)
- Trump’s $1.776 billion ‘anti-weaponization’ fund leaves legal firestorm at feet of lawmakers
- Trump Administration Chips Away at Last Traces of Broad Inquiry Into Jan. 6 (“Two recent moves aligned the department ever more closely with President Trump’s own efforts to whitewash the events of that day.”)
- AI is breaking our political reality (“AI-generated ads and deepfakes are being deployed in congressional races — and are confusing voters”)
- Stop Whining About Guardrails. Become One Yourself. (Not sure it’s “whining,” but yes…we all need to step up to defend our democracy.)
- Permitting reform: Washington’s elusive bipartisan dream (“Permitting reform is a top legislative priority for both Democrats and Republicans this year. It may still not get done.”)
- Suspected gunman dies after exchange of fire with Secret Service agents at White House checkpoint
- Chilling New Details Revealed About Suspected White House Gunman (“The suspected shooter had allegedly been barred from the White House complex before the shooting.”)
- Secret Service says officers fatally shot a person who fired at them near White House
- Gunman dead after exchanging fire with Secret Service near White House, agency says (“A bystander was also struck by gunfire, according to federal law enforcement. No Secret Service personnel were injured, and President Donald Trump, who was in the White House at the time, was not affected.”)
- Man killed in shooting outside White House had previously tried to get inside, had mental health concerns
- A Democratic populist tries a comeback in a red state (“Sherrod Brown, a lifelong politician, is trying to pull off a “change” message and reclaim a Senate seat in Ohio, which has trended increasingly conservative.”)
- Ken Paxton Is Actually Doing This (“The Texas Senate primary exists in an alternate reality.”)
- Trump Endorsed Ken Paxton in Texas. But John Cornyn Isn’t Going Quietly. (“Incumbent GOP senator is fighting to the end, and Democrats sense opportunity in November if Paxton wins”)
- ‘It has undermined whatever credibility the DNC had left’: Dems fret over chair after autopsy
- California governor declares state of emergency over looming chemical disaster
- Elise Stefanik Cozied Up to Trump. Where Does She Go Next? (She sold her soul almost literally to the devil; maybe she would like to hang out with that guy?)
- Feds subpoena Hasan Piker, Medea Benjamin over Cuba trips
- How Fred Trump’s Mysterious KKK Riot Arrest Resonates Almost a Century Later (“Trump may not have been part of a Klan contingent that brawled with the police in 1927, but the violent moment shows the roots of political tensions that linger today.”)
- Sewage and Fuel Leaks Contaminate the Potomac River, Source of Drinking Water for More Than 5 Million People (“Observers believe regulatory failures contributed to catastrophic sewage and fuel leaks in the watershed. The river was recently named the most endangered in the nation.”)
- Colbert Trolls Bosses Who Fired Him With New TV Gig
- Report: Gas Prices in Hampton Roads Jump as Jen Kiggans and Congressional Republicans Abruptly Cancel Iran War Vote and Leave Washington (WAVY: Hampton Roads’ Thursday average at $4.45, up 14 cents in one day)
- Ivy Main Asks, “Why should we…be stuck with 30 years of paying for a honking-big, fracked-gas-burning, climate-change-driving monstrosity” to power “the tech companies’…advanced chatbots?” (A few thoughts, including on a major new energy/climate report by BNEF)
- Word for the good guys who oppose the Next Era-Dominion merger: Good luck
- New education state laws include allowing students to substitute specific history classes
- What’s missing from the Virginia Manufactured Housing Board: People with lived experience
- ‘How welcoming’: White supremacist group marches down Virginia Beach Oceanfront
- A Black community fled a Virginia island. Reclaiming their history opened old wounds. (“The fight to recognize the Black residents of Gwynn’s Island, Virginia, who disappeared a century ago revealed wounds in a contested community.”)
- Loudoun Co. schools say Title IX probe opened over alleged restroom recordings at Freedom High
- Williams: The Diamond District won’t shine without youth baseball
- CWG Live updates: Warmer and less wet today; scattered showers likely Memorial Day (“Warmer 70s to near 80 tomorrow through midweek as shower chances persist.”)
