Tuesday (5/19) News: “Trump’s Golden Age Has Arrived—It’s a Golden Age of Grift”; Trump’s Latest Is “worse than Teapot Dome, Watergate, and Iran–Contra combined”

by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Tuesday, May 19.

• Scientists now say this worst-case climate scenario is ‘implausible.’ Here’s what it means. (“A U.N. panel on climate change seems poised to retire RCP 8.5, a scenario in which the world does nothing to curb planet-warming emissions, in its projections.”)
• A climate-chaos triple-whammy has pushed Antarctica to the edge
• ‘Should we leave them to die?’ The battle over how to save orangutans from the curse of palm oil (I haven’t bought anything with palm oil in it in several years.)
• Ebola may be spreading faster than first thought, WHO doctor warns
• Infectious diseases such as hantavirus and Ebola becoming more frequent and damaging, say experts (“Pandemic report warns of growing global threat as health teams in Africa move to contain Ebola outbreak”)
• Rapid spread, militias, no vaccine, cut funding: Why this Ebola outbreak will be so difficult to contain (“There’s no vaccine for this strain of the virus, which is rapidly spreading in an area where militias battle and health systems have been weakened.”)
• Global Inflation Weighs on G-7 as Higher Bond Yields Persist (“Global finance chiefs are coming to terms with a new economic reality.”)
• Ukrainian mid-range strikes deal double blow to Russia’s war effort (“From burning oil refineries to a stalling ground offensive, Russia is suffering problems in its war against Ukraine that partly stem from a growing Ukrainian military strength: the use of medium-range drone attacks.”)
• Russia’s War Is Going Badly—on the Ground and in the Air (“This summer will test whether Ukraine can turn a slender advantage into a strategic turning point.”)
• Fears of new China shock as EU industry’s reliance on imports grows (“Rising volume of components imported from China prompts warning of cannibalisation of European industries”)
• Fox News has claimed for months that Iran’s military had been destroyed. New reporting says US intelligence agencies have concluded otherwise (Fox “News” is 24/7 disinformation and right-wing propaganda.)
• Trump’s tough-talk foreign policy is hitting a wall with Iran as it grips Strait of Hormuz
• Trump says he’s postponing ‘scheduled attack of Iran tomorrow’ at Middle East leaders’ request
• Trump Threatens Iran and Then Pulls Back, All in the Same Day (“President Trump has repeatedly said he’ll restart military action against Iran, only to stop short of plunging the United States directly back into an unpopular war.”)
• Trump’s Fox Cabinet urges escalation as he ponders a return to war in Iran
• Exclusive: Pakistan deploys jet squadron, thousands of troops to Saudi Arabia during Iran war
• Oil Slick Reaches a Pristine Persian Gulf Island in Iran (Ugh, horrible.)
• Iran says peace proposal includes reparations for war damage, US troop withdrawal
• How rampant violence made Nigeria an insecurity hotspot in the Sahel – mapped (“Data lays bare the extent and geographical spread of attacks in Africa’s most populous country”)
• ‘Huge milestone’ as Libyan militia commander accused of torture to appear at ICC
• Benjamin Netanyahu’s War at Home (“The Israeli Prime Minister’s government is bringing radical change to the country’s democratic institutions.” And by “change,” they mean “trashing”))
• Greenlanders are not ‘experimental subjects’, says minister as she decries US doctor’s visit (“Health minister in Nuuk condemns doctor’s presence in US delegation as ‘deeply problematic’”)
• Defense Watchdog Will Probe US Attacks on Boats in the Caribbean
• Trump Moves to Admit 10,000 More White South Africans as Refugees (WTF is this racist crap???)
• Over 100,000 Family Separations in Deportation Push, Report Estimates (“The Brookings Institution suggests that federal statistics are an undercount because immigrant parents are not being asked about or not disclosing their American children.”)
• More Than 100,000 American Kids Have Had a Parent Detained in Immigration Sweeps, Report Estimates
• ICE Agent Charged in Shooting of a Venezuelan Immigrant in Minnesota
• An ICE Firearms Trainer Was Involved in At Least 4 Deadly Shootings (“David Norman, a former Phoenix police officer who’s described himself as ‘a fucking savage,’ now runs a company that provided training to Homeland Security’s Special Response Teams.”)
• One Congresswoman’s Scary Yearlong Fight for Justice After Standing Up to ICE (“It definitely feels like I’m on the island alone.”)
• Abortion Pill Lawsuit Leaves Trump Silent, and in a Political Bind
• Alito Said Racism Was Over. Southern States Are Now Rushing to Revive Jim Crow.
• Justices Hint at Strains as Supreme Court Comes Under Scrutiny (“In appearances across the U.S., the justices have defended the role of the court, even as what appear to be strained relations among them have emerged.”)
• The Looting of America (“MAGA corruption reaches the point of no return”)
• Trump Just Created An Unconstitutional $1.776 Billion Loyalty Rewards Program For MAGA</a (“The ‘settlement’ framing is just the bow on top. The $1.776 billion slush fund for MAGA’s worst is the point.”)
• Trump’s Golden Age Has Arrived—It’s a Golden Age of Grift (“The president has been robbing our country blind, in plain sight, and in ways no one else would dare to attempt.”)
• Read Trump’s “settlement” with the Trump admin to create a nearly $2 billion slush fund that Trump ultimately controls (“Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward and Frank Bisignano, the chief executive officer of the I.R.S., signed Monday’s ‘settlement agreement.'”)
• Justice Dept. Sets Up $1.8 Billion Fund That Could Funnel Money to Trump Allies (“The arrangement was denounced by critics as a slush fund for supporters of President Trump, possibly including Jan. 6 rioters.” The NY Times hiding behind “critics” again. And their headline doesn’t clearly state that this fund is illegal, unprecedented, outrageous, unconstitutional, etc. WHY NOT NY TIMES???)
• Trump’s Latest Scheme Will Go Down as the Most Disgusting in American History (“In my opinion, it’s worse than Teapot Dome, Watergate, and Iran–Contra combined.” MUCH worse!)
• Top Treasury Lawyer Resigns After Creation of ‘Anti-Weaponization Fund’ (“Brian Morrissey, the department’s general counsel, stepped down hours after the Trump administration announced the $1.8 billion fund.”)
• EPA wants to repeal limits on ‘forever chemicals’ in drinking water (The Environmental Destruction Administration.)
• Trump Bought Stock in Drugmaker as His Government Boosted Its Obesity Drugs (As always, just imagine the reaction if Obama, Biden, etc. had done this!)
• Scoop: Tillis pops up against GOP’s new reconciliation bill
• Trump Is Pressuring John Thune to Fire the Parliamentarian Over Ballroom Funding (“The nonpartisan Senate adviser determined that the ballroom funding, as written, could not be included in the party-line budget bill.”)
• A Different Kind of Fading President (“Joe Biden became quieter, while Donald Trump grows even louder.”)
• ‘There’s an obsession there,’ Comey says of Trump after 2nd indictment
• Bipartisan Bill Would Impose New Annual Fee on Electric Vehicles (“A House transportation bill introduced this week would require owners of electric cars to pay $130 to cover the cost of road repairs.” That’s f’ed up.)
• The anti-war crack in MAGA’s youth base (“Young conservatives involved in Turning Point USA chapters in battleground states increasingly souring on the Iran war — and some feel betrayed by President Donald Trump’s “no wars” campaign promises.”)
• NYT files new lawsuit over Pentagon press restrictions
• Trump U.S. Attorney Pick Darin Smith Accused Of Misconduct Ahead Of Senate Vote (“Federal judges tossed charges against nine criminal defendants over Smith’s ‘deeply concerning’ efforts to taint the jury as acting U.S. attorney.”)
• After primary loss, Sen. Bill Cassidy defends his 2021 vote to convict Trump (“The Republican senator also insisted there is still room for dissent in the GOP.” Hahahahaha, riiiiight. Delusional.)
• Trump’s ouster of Republican senator sends shockwaves through Senate GOP
• House Oversight interviews Epstein prison guard (“Tova Noel says she was the last person to see the late convicted sex offender alive.”)
• Hegseth Campaigns for Trump Loyalist in House Race, a Breach of Decorum (“Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth campaigned for a Republican House candidate in Kentucky, an extraordinary foray into partisan politics by a cabinet official that was part of a wide-reaching effort by Mr. Trump and his allies to oust Representative Thomas Massie.” Outrageous, but the Trump regime f***ers don’t care.)
• Meet Ed Gallrein, the man in the middle of the Donald Trump-Thomas Massie fight
• Liberals Love Him. Trump Loathes Him. How a Classic Congressional Weirdo Ended Up at the Center of American Politics. (“Thomas Massie’s primary has been turned upside down by the Epstein files, a MAGA influencer civil war, and a vengeful Donald Trump.”)
• US Rep. Thomas Massie’s GOP primary in Kentucky is the latest test of Trump’s power over the party (Both Republican candidates are horrible.)
• Elon Musk has lost yet another legal battle. Why he’ll still keep fighting
• Jury throws out Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI and Sam Altman
• Jury hands victory to Sam Altman and OpenAI in battle with Elon Musk (“OpenAI CEO and president found not liable for breaking contracts made with Musk when founding the startup”)
• Polls show Cooper with strong lead over Whatley for NC Senate seat
• Teenage gunmen open fire on San Diego mosque, killing 3 men and then themselves (“No one should ever fear for their safety while attending prayers or studying at an elementary school”)
• Teen suspects fatally shoot three in suspected hate crime at San Diego mosque (“The alleged attackers were aged 17 and 18 and one left a note containing ‘generalised hate rhetoric’, investigators say.”)
• A suicide note with writings about racial pride, hate speech on a weapon. What we know about the San Diego shooting suspects
• Some in San Diego Islamic Center community feared attack for years
• Video: After Interviewing Last Prison Guard to See Jeffrey Epstein Alive, Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA10) Says “I do believe [Epstein] did commit suicide” (“It was clear incompetence and just a lack of oversight over Jeffrey Epstein that led to him being able to commit suicide”)
• Ben Cline, bravely, now that the court stuff is out of the way, announces re-election bid (“Fact check: Cline is a rubber stamp for Donald Trump. Per Heritage Action, the research arm of the Heritage Foundation, the author of Project 2025, Cline has voted with the Heritage Foundation on 100 percent of congressional votes in the 2025-2026 term.”)
• If the NY Times/Siena Poll (D+11 Among RVs; D+14 Among “Almost Certain/Very Likely” to Vote) Is Correct, VA Dems Could Pick Up Three US House Seats in November (Likely VA02, possibly VA01 and maybe even VA05?)
• At least 4 Virginia Democratic House candidates drop out after courts toss new map
• Confrontation leads to harsh criticisms in VA-09 Democratic primary (“Democratic congressional candidates in Virginia’s 9th District are sparring after a tense exchange resulted in concerns of racism and misogyny.”)
• Now that redistricting is dead for this year, these are the next 10 questions to ask about Virginia politics
• Lessons from Virginia’s redistricting wars: Supreme Court nullification and options for November (“Ultimately, the most effective response to partisan manipulation remains free and fair elections, guest columnist David J. Toscano writes.”)
• Cleantech Guru Jigar Shah on NextEra Buying Dominion Energy: “The biggest clean energy consolidation in American history may happen on Donald Trump’s watch” (Clean VA, in contrast, says “This deal would hand control of Virginia’s electric grid to a company with a deeply troubling track record”)
• NextEra Energy wants to buy Dominion Energy: This one’s about data centers, AI (“Yeah, this one is going to keep our State Corporation Commission busy for the foreseeable.”)
• What Dominion and NextEra Energy’s proposed merger means for Virginia customers
• Critics attack Dominion’s planned merger with Florida’s giant electric utility
• Editorial: ‘Momnibus’ bills will address healthcare concerns for mothers
• ‘Assault weapons’ ban OKed by Spanberger met with immediate legal challenges
• Spanberger: ‘Value’ will be guiding factor for Virginia’s use of national education assessment
• Spanberger: ‘No immediate major changes’ to Youngkin’s higher school standards
• Landmark deal for Southside — one of largest in US — hinges on Va. data center tax break
• Pittsylvania data center project approved with more investment and jobs than previously announced — as long as tax breaks remain in place (‘A local performance agreement outlines a $100 billion investment and 2,500 new jobs over 30 years, but it’s contingent upon a state tax exemption remaining in place.”)
• Roanoke school division reconsidering online platform after recent data breach (“A cyberattack left the platform offline for days and thousands of students’ information exposed.”)
• Former Suffolk city attorney sentenced for child sex solicitation case (“A former Virginia city attorney pleaded guilty to sexual solicitation of a minor in Harford County Circuit Court on Friday after sending explicit photos to Sheriff’s Office investigators posing as a 14-year-old boy.” This sentence should say “pleaded guilty in Harford County Circuit Court”; the way it’s written – very poorly – it swounds like the sexual soliciation occurred in the court! It’s really amazing how few people can write for shit these days…)
• CWG Live updates: Steamy today, stormy late tomorrow, then sharply cooler