| Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... |
by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Sunday, May 3. Also, check out SNL’s “Hegseth and Patel Iran Press Briefing Cold Open.”
- A New Climate Democracy Is Taking On the Petrostates (“Nearly 60 countries gathered in Santa Marta to chart a path away from fossil fuels—even as oil shocks tighten their grip on the global economy.”)
- Hope out of chaos: how the dark era of Trump is creating a new approach to global politics (“There is cautious optimism that ‘a majority of multilateralists’ may be able to enduringly reshape the world order”)
- The Iran war has strengthened Ukraine in surprising ways. Could a ceasefire with Russia be closer?
- Trump Is Coming to a China That Has Moved On
- Trump says Iran has not yet ‘paid a big enough price’ as he reviews new peace proposal (“Iran says the ‘ball is in the United States’ court’ as Trump says he is likely to reject new proposal from Tehran”)
- Trump says new strikes possible if Iran “misbehaves”
- Iran submits 14-point response to U.S. proposal to end war
- With Iran, the U.S. Stands to Lose Its Reputation, Its Friends or Its Soul (In fact, it’s not “or,” it’s “and” – and it doesn’t “stand to,” it’s already happened. Other than that, great headline, NY Times! LOL)
- U.S. Fast-Tracks Arms Deals Valued at $8.6 Billion to Mideast Partners (“The Persian Gulf countries and Israel have faced repeated Iranian attacks during the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran. The State Department move bypassed congressional review.”)
- America Will Pay Dearly for Its Energy Arrogance (“The American preoccupation with producing, consuming and controlling oil may ultimately prove a misplaced priority: a scramble to control the energy resources of the 20th century, as the rest of the world embraces the cleaner technologies that will power the 21st century.”)
- European Commission says will ‘keep our options open’ over Trump tariff threat
- Germany and Europe Have Bigger Trump Problems Than U.S. Troop Withdrawal (“President Trump’s move to pull troops from Germany adds to a split leaving Europe’s economy and security dangerously exposed.”)
- Trump Says U.S. Will Reduce Number Of Troops In Germany ‘A Lot Further’ Than Withdrawal Of 5,000
- Trump’s war of words with Friedrich Merz takes toll on US-German relationship
- The Last Time We Reduced Troops in Europe, a War Broke Out (” I remember a warning from the then-president of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, who told me plainly that if we pulled that kind of capability out of Europe, Moscow would act. He was right.”)
- It’s Only 5,000 Troops, but America Will Come to Regret Its Rash Withdrawal From Germany
- Germany troop cuts send wrong signal to Russia, say two top US Republicans (“The chairs of the House and Senate armed services committees said withdrawing 5,000 service personnel risked undermining deterrence.”)
- Israel Said It’s Applying the Gaza Model in Lebanon. This Is What the Devastation Looks Like. (“Satellite images, photos and videos show the scope of widespread demolitions in southern Lebanon.”)
- Mexican governor and mayor indicted by US for drug trafficking step down (“Two members of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum’s party in Sinaloa state have temporarily stepped down after the US charged them with drug trafficking”)
- Greg Bovino Calls Minneapolis Protestors ‘Cannon Fodder’ in New Interview (Appalling as always from this guy. And remember, Trump gave him a major role in immigration policy; that’s highly revealing and massively f’ed up!)
- Event With Links to Oil Industry Teaches Judges “Healthy Skepticism” of Climate Science (Horrendous.)
- Trump flexes executive power with unprecedented flouting of lower court rulings (This AP headline is pathetically bad.)
- Trump administration is increasingly ignoring US courts, new analysis shows (“Critics warn that respect for rule of law could break down as executive branch flouts judicial decisions”)
- The Supreme Court keeps overturning precedent. It swears that it’s not (Massive “gaslightling” by these corrupt extremist sociopaths.)
- John Roberts Is Either Dumb or Racially Obtuse. And He’s Not Dumb. (“After the Supreme Court struck down school integration, guess what happened in the schools? The same thing that’s about to happen with congressional districts.”)
- Abortion pill maker asks US supreme court to halt ban on mail-order access (“Danco Laboratories files emergency appeal after lower court blocks telemedicine providers from prescribing”)
- Supreme Court asked to pause ruling blocking telehealth and mail access to abortion pills
- It Just Got Harder to Get an Abortion for Every Woman in America
- Democrats erupt over abortion pill block: ‘We won’t stop fighting’
- Medicare portal database exposed Social Security numbers: Reports
- The new surgeon general nominee has a MAHA problem
- More Than Three Million People Have Lost Federal Food Aid (“Tighter rules have resulted in higher than expected declines, analysts said”)
- For a Time, the U.S. Protected Democracy (“A requiem for the Voting Rights Act”)
- Two-thirds of Americans say country is headed in the wrong direction: ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll
- Trump’s disapproval rating reaches new high, Post-ABC-Ipsos poll finds (“Democrats now hold a five-point advantage in support for Congress, up from two points in February.”)
- Hegseth tightens control at Pentagon, defiant and more confident than ever (“Trump’s combative defense secretary has grown more self-assured of his job security despite his early missteps in the role, people familiar with the matter said.”)
- Military’s independent newspaper captured by MAGA (“Stars and Stripes is the latest casualty in the Trump administration’s Pentagon purge”)
- Solar booms in industrial US midwest as energy crisis persists (“Electricity has become one of the most important commodities in the region thanks to demand from datacenters, Iran war and rising utility charges”)
- Inside Democratic Fundraiser ActBlue’s Big Spending and Internal Drama (“The group faces investigations from the Justice Department and congressional Republicans six months before the 2026 midterms.”)
- These six primaries are the key ones to watch in May
- The Great Antifa Hoax (“Yes, it exists. It’s not really a threat to anyone except neo-Nazis—but that’s all the excuse the Trump administration needs to turn the machinery of federal law enforcement loose on anyone with “dangerous” ideas.”)
- Data centers used to be a prize. States are having second thoughts. (“Legislators in at least 28 states this year introduced bills that would roll back tax incentives for the energy-hungry facilities.”)
- Spirit Airlines shuts down after failing to reach a bailout deal, ending discount travel era (“The airline failed to reach a deal for a lifeline bailout, people familiar with the matter told CNBC. The carrier is in its second bankruptcy in less than a year and faced the added challenge of a spike in jet fuel prices amid the Middle East conflict.”)
- Spirit Closure Sets Off Airline Scramble for Stranded Travelers
- Political blame game begins and passengers left adrift after Spirit ceases operations
- New Jersey governor is down to join redistricting wars, following Supreme Court gutting of Voting Rights Act
- The Ruby Red Farm State That Is Now a Political Battleground (“Iowa has trended red for a decade, but Democrats are showing signs of life, and that could help their party reclaim Congress and maybe even a governorship”)
- Louisiana Republicans eliminate elected position days before an exoneree was set to take office (“Calvin Duncan, who spent nearly 30 years behind bars for a crime he did not commit, easily won election to the criminal court clerk position in November, beating the incumbent and earning more than two-thirds of the vote. He had been set to take office next Monday and has asked a federal judge to allow him to take office as scheduled.”)
- Trump’s D.C. Redesign Is a Betrayal of America’s Founding Values (“The nation’s capital was designed as a visual rebuke to monarchy. Trump wants to turn it into Versailles”)
- New Video Analysis Suggests Suspect in Correspondents’ Dinner Attack Fired First (“A Times analysis of footage released by the F.B.I. on Thursday night appears to show the assailant shot at a Secret Service officer, who then returned fire.”)
- Tucker Carlson Discusses Breaking With Trump, the Iran War and Antisemitism (They NY Times should make clear that this guy is evil. But they don’t, of course.)
- Kaine calls BS on Trump effort to evade congressional approval deadline in Iran
- Video: Rep. Eugene Vindman (D-VA07) Rips Trump’s, Hegseth’s “preposterous statement saying that the ceasefire is a termination of the conflict” as “just absolute nonsense” (Also slams “the cavalier attitude that [Hegseth] and the president have displayed to American casualties”)
- Pricey transmission upgrades are stalling much-needed energy projects in Virginia, report says (“Dozens of projects withdrawn from the connection queue in recent years would have powered more than a million homes.”)
- Future power demand for Virginia data centers enough to power 12.75M homes, Dominion says (That’s bonkers; obviously, far more homes than exist in Virginia.)
- Is King George court case a bellwether for data center fight?
- A wicked winter pummeled palm trees at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront
- CWG Live: Breezy sunshine closes out the weekend with a warm-up on the way (“After a cool start today, trending warmer through Tuesday as high pressure keeps us dry. Rain chances return Wednesday.”)
