Thursday (5/14) News: “Thucydides Trap”; “China gains major edge on U.S. amid Iran war”; “Media parrots Pentagon’s low-ball cost estimate for Iran War”

by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Thursday, May 14.

• UN members prepare for pivotal vote on landmark ICJ climate justice ruling (“If resolution is passed, governments will recognise their legal responsibility to cut greenhouse gas emissions”)
• Brazil’s Atlantic forest records lowest deforestation in 40 years (“Environmentalists hail decline but warn weakened laws could reverse gains” Good, but we need REforestation, not just a slowdown to DEforestation.)
• Rescuers pull dead from rubble of Kyiv flats after massive Russian strikes (Putin is pure evil.)
• Why Xi Doesn’t Need a Deal With Trump (“President Xi Jinping of China is buying time for Beijing and may see an opening with a U.S. president weakened by the war in Iran.”)
• Live Updates: Xi Warns Trump on Taiwan at Beijing Summit (“Xi Jinping, China’s leader, told President Trump that if the Taiwan issue were handled poorly, it could lead to a clash with the United States. It was a reminder of longstanding tensions on a day laden with pageantry.”)
• A Failing, Flailing President Supplicates Xi (“Why China has contempt for Donald Trump”)
• Xi warns Trump that mishandling Taiwan could spark ‘conflicts’ (“The statement from China’s leader as a summit opened in Beijing added to tensions over a contested island long supported by the United States.”)
• China gains major edge on U.S. amid Iran war, intelligence report finds (“A confidential assessment, circulating as President Donald Trump begins his highly anticipated trip to Beijing, shows shifts in several key areas of competition.”)
• Trump Invites Xi to Visit White House in September
• Xi’s Taiwan Warning to Trump Highlights Tensions in Beijing Summit (“Chinese leader raises issue that clouds Trump’s hopes for ‘best summit ever’”)
• Xi asks Trump if U.S. and China can avoid ‘Thucydides Trap’ at high-stakes summit (“Xi asked whether the U.S. and China could avoid the ‘Thucydides Trap,’ which refers to how tensions historically between a rising and ruling power have often resulted in a war.”)
• America’s angry voters are the X factor in Trump’s high-stakes meeting with Xi
• Xi warns Trump of ‘clashes and even conflicts’ with US over Taiwan (“Chinese president’s comments published after two-hour meeting with his US counterpart during Beijing summit”
• Trump’s Chronic Health Problem Takes Center Stage on His Big Trip (“The president is trying to assert himself as the world’s toughest leader—while covered in bruises.”)
• The Trump Counterterrorism Strategy Makes America More Vulnerable (“The policy is unfocused, run by amateurs, and concerned more with the president’s many grievances than with the security of the United States.”)
• Gen. Caine’s Silence on Iran War Leaves Questions About Military Strategy
• Senate fails to curb Trump’s war on Iran even as Republican opposition grows (“Resolution fails by 49-50, with Lisa Murkowski and fellow GOP members Rand Paul and Susan Collins voting in favor”)
• UPDATE: Media parrots Pentagon’s low-ball cost estimate for Iran War
• Surprise! Iran Is Much Stronger Than Trump Has Been Claiming. (“A new report shows that Operation Epic Fury is neither epic nor furious enough to slow down the Iranian military.”)
• US Efforts to End Iran War Stumble as Ship Seized Near UAE
• Ship is reported seized off the coast of the UAE and is heading toward Iran
• Trump’s killer quote exposes his bind on Iran and inflation
• 3 GOP senators break with leadership, vote to advance resolution to end Iran war (While John Fetterman voted to continue the war.)
• Dozens of Polymarket Bets Show Signs of Insider Trading, The Times Finds (“Dozens of long-shot bets on Polymarket, from the war with Iran to the cryptocurrency market, have defied the odds, according to a New York Times examination.”)
• US Army abruptly cancels deployment of 4,000 soldiers to Poland
• Cuba says oil and diesel supplies have run dry under U.S. sanctions
• Canada court quashes bid by Alberta separatists for independence referendum (“Alberta judge ruled provincial government must consult with First Nations before collecting signatures for a proposed referendum”)
• Cartel corruption claims push US-Mexico relations to breaking point (“With Mexico under pressure from Trump to tackle drug trafficking groups, analysts say ‘it’s the most tense situation since the 1980s’”)
• Immigrants Detained in Chicago Military-Style Raid Seek Millions in Damages (“New accounts from 17 men, women and children taken in a midnight raid paint a violent, terrifying portrait of the federal agents’ alleged actions. These descriptions form the basis of claims filed this week against DHS and other federal agencies.” Anyone involved in that raid should face criminal prosecutions as well.)
• Supreme Court faces new criticism for redistricting decisions so close to the 2026 elections (This Court is an unmitigated disgrace, illegitimate, corrupt, extremist, etc.)
• Why Is John Roberts in a Rush All of a Sudden? (“The Supreme Court in Roberts’ hands has become a chaos agent in elections. Whatever the rush, that will be one of his primary legacies.”)
• RFK Jr. Swaps Vaccine Talk for Healthy Foods and Reading to Tots in Push To Woo Voters (F*** RFK Jr.)
• How Eight Tumultuous Years Pushed Jerome Powell and the Fed to the Limit (“The pandemic, inflation and White House pressure tested the central bank’s leader as never before”)
• US Senate confirms Kevin Warsh as Federal Reserve chair, replacing Jerome Powell (“Warsh will serve four-year term as chair, taking over amid rising inflation and pressure from Trump to lower rates”)
• War, inflation and Trump’s tariffs have shaken the US. Why does the stock market keep going up? (“Wall Street has proved incredibly resilient to instability, and while consumer confidence has dipped, shares have soared”)
• Is Trump Tuned Out to Americans’ Financial Needs? A Remark Suggests Yes.
• White House has few tools for gas-price relief as Iran war drags on
• The real reason Americans hate the economy so much (“Did decades of low inflation make the public far more unforgiving when it finally did surge?”)
• The President May Settle His Own Lawsuit With Your Money (“The DOJ—led by Trump’s former personal defense attorney—is reportedly negotiating a $10 billion payout for Trump from the IRS.” That’s beyond unacceptable – wildly criminal!)
• Trump’s Plot to Pocket Billions in Taxpayer Dollars Just Might Succeed (“The president’s $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS is unique in that both negotiators are working for the same side.”)
• ‘Crush their souls’: Map losses spur Dem rage (“‘We’re going to win in November, and then we’re going to crush their souls as it relates to the extremism that they are trying to unleash on the American people,’ House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Wednesday.”)
• Democrats get a last-minute reprieve on 2026 redistricting
• Stacey Abrams on why gutting of the US Voting Rights Act is ‘evil’ – Stateside with Kai and Carter
• Trump Admin Has Up to 120,000 Pages of Documents on Ghislaine Maxwell’s Prison Transfer
• Lutnick sought to clean up Epstein revelations in closed testimony to House committee
• White House Explores 250 Pardons to Mark America’s 250th Birthday (That definitely won’t be corrupt, right? LOL)
• DOJ considers settling Trump’s IRS lawsuit which could send taxpayer money directly to the president’s pockets: report
• Chris Van Hollen Is Awaiting Kash Patel’s Alcohol Abuse Test Results (“The FBI director said he’d take the test if the Democratic senator did, too. On Wednesday, Van Hollen posted his results.”)
• Elon Musk Said He’d Stop Political Spending. He’s the Third-Largest Donor in the Midterms
• ‘Irresponsible’: backlash as Utah approves datacenter twice the size of Manhattan (“Facility would require more power than entire state uses and suck up vast amount of water in drought-stricken area” Completely insane.)
• Editorial: USS Ford’s extended deployment shouldn’t be repeated (“Our service members volunteered to serve their nation, have families at home and shouldn’t be asked to spend nearly a year at sea.”)
• House launches bipartisan push to combat sexual misconduct in Congress
• Kemp calls special session to redraw 2028 maps, overhaul voting process
• 
  McMaster plans to call special session to redraw South Carolina House map
• Mississippi Governor Vows Thompson’s ‘Reign of Terror Is Over,’ But Cancels Redistricting Plans (“Reign of Terror” – WTF???)
• At Least We Know the Washington Post Isn’t Buying Views (“Turns out anyone can make a podcast. That doesn’t mean anyone is going to listen.”)
• Sen. Rand Paul’s Son William Hurled Antisemitic Insults at Rep. Mike Lawler (Ron Paul was batshit crazy – conspiracy theorist, anti-Semite, etc. – Rand Paul is batshit crazy, and William Paul is batshit crazy. Sensing a pattern here?)
• Miami residents sue to stop Trump’s presidential library from taking prime waterfront plot
• Miami Residents Sue Over Trump’s Plan to Make His Library a Hotel
• “Shame”: VA Gov. Abigail Spanberger Betrays More Than Half a Million Public Service Workers By Vetoing Historic Collective Bargaining Legislation (“The Governor thinks she knows what is best for workers, and that is precisely the problem. She is not listening to workers.”)
• BREAKING: Spanberger to veto collective bargaining, according to Virginia lawmaker (“Virginia Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell says Gov. Abigail Spanberger told him Wednesday that she plans to veto legislation to expand collective bargaining rights to hundreds of thousands of public employees.”)
• Opinion | The return of the moderate Spanberger (I’m including this Bezos Post editorial simply to highlight how badly that paper’s editorial page sucks…”libertarian” or whatever it is.)
• Spanberger will veto collective bargaining bill, future of cannabis legislation uncertain (“Gov. Abigail Spanberger has 10 days left to act on bills sent back to her after the April 22 reconvene session.”)
• Gov. Abigail Spanberger Signs Bills to Cap Cost of Insulin, Lower Healthcare & Prescription Drug Costs (“No Virginian should be rationing insulin because of what it costs at the pharmacy counter”)
• With governor’s signature, healthcare affordability bills become law (“Reforms to insurance claims and targeted prescription affordability measures build on promises by the governor, lawmakers”)
• Gov. Abigail Spanberger Touts “Bipartisan Bills to Address High Energy Costs” – But Will They? (Solar’s great, but as for nuclear power, it’s super expensive, while fusion power is probably decades away…and exorbitantly expensive)
• Some political analysts hear echoes of Virginia’s past in redistricting ruling
• Parental consent at the center of legal challenges to Virginia’s proposed abortion amendment
• Ivy Main: “Farmers are finding that cattle also thrive among solar panels – and they will get their chance to prove it in Virginia.” (“Here in Virginia, Marcus and Jess Gray see great potential in solar cattle.”)
• Dominion proposes slight decrease in offshore wind cost on monthly bills (“Utility’s new methodology for project costs would chop residential customers’ bills by 90 cents a month but doesn’t align with state regulators’ calculations”)
• Martinsville and Purcellville cases highlight how Virginia’s law to remove elected officials can be applied quite differently. Is that good or bad?
• Richmond’s FY 2027 budget shows who we are — and the future we’re building together
• After 123 years, Virginia Tech student newspaper reduces print to embrace online
• Winners, losers in the stupid Waynesboro Schools trans bathroom debate (“We’re not talking about a big actual number of kids here – maybe 30, if we can extrapolate from CDC national data. How would you like to be a trans kid at Waynesboro High School today?”)
• Williams: This gift of land in Varina is a step toward food justice
• Vigil held for man killed in Arlington police shooting (“He was a part of the community. Just a person who lived day by day”)
• CWG Live updates: Cool but sunny today, then warming up