Juneteenth (6/19) News: “U.S.-Iran talks abruptly called off”; “Iran Has Humiliated Trump”; Ukraine Hits Moscow Oil Refinery

by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise (e.g., economic, environmental), for Friday, June 19. Also, check out the video of Jamelle Bouie, who has “Quick observations about this stupid war and this terrible deal.”

INTERNATIONAL

• Scientists warn ‘Godzilla’ El Niño could intensify climate impacts worldwide
• Donald Trump, Champion of Renewable Energy (“His humiliating defeat in Iran has sealed the deal”)
• Green Economy Hits $10 Trillion in Market Value (“If the green economy—defined as the group of companies heavily involved in environmental business—were its own industry, it would be the third-largest in the world.”)
• The Iran war sparked a shift toward clean energy. Will it last? (“Sky-high fossil fuel prices drove people around the world toward clean energy. But even as the Strait of Hormuz reopens, they may not turn back.”)
• Oil nations on edge in the face of new climate coalition (“Even amid an ongoing energy crunch, major economies are dodging firm timelines to phase out coal, oil and gas. Fossil fuel-producing nations now fear new clean energy alliances could ramp up the pressure to go green.”)
• How the world’s voracious appetite for shrimp is destroying Ecuador’s mangroves (Stop eating shrimp – and any seafood that’s unsustainable/environmentally damaging, which is most of it!)
• ‘Game Changer’? Too Soon to Tell. But Ukraine Flexed in Striking Moscow. (“The drone attack that sent plumes of smoke rising over Moscow intensified Ukrainian hopes of bringing the war to Russia.”)
• Moscow oil refinery struck in Ukraine’s biggest air raid on city since start of war (“Kyiv says attack, which also forced evacuation at Russia’s biggest airport, was in response to strike on historic monastery”)
• Russia threatens escalation after Ukraine hits Moscow with largest-ever drone attack
• Ukraine hits a Moscow oil refinery and other sites in a large-scale drone attack
• What did Ukraine target in Moscow and how significant was the drone attack? (“Mass drone strike on capital brought the war to Russians, but Ukrainians will be braced for Kremlin’s response”)
• Trump’s Fatal Second-Term Mistake: Underestimating Nationalism (“In his second term, Trump has underestimated the power of patriotic sentiment in countries besides the United States.”)
• Hormuz relief may not ease the economic toll that’s already ‘baked in,’ analysts warn
• Normal shipping will not resume in strait of Hormuz until 80 mines cleared (“Tanker owner trade body says centre of strait will remain closed for ‘some time’, with vessels risking running aground by taking Omani route”)
• Iran Has Humiliated Trump (“Officials in Tehran got the United States to sign a document that even Americans described as degrading, mortifying, a total capitulation.”)
• First steps in peace deal demand far more from U.S. than Iran
• Vance postpones Iran talks trip
• Here’s how to tell if Trump’s threadbare Iran deal is holding
• Trump condemned Obama’s Iran deal. Here’s how his own compares. (Obama’s was better – by far! – in every way, also didn’t require a destructive war to get to it.)
• US and Iran Delay Nuclear Talks as Lebanon Clashes Worsen
• If Only Trump Knew What Vance Is Doing (“If the president is infallible, there must be some other explanation for his Iran defeat.”)
• Trump’s Iran deal could place his legacy in the hands of Tehran (“He lambasted Jimmy Carter during the 1980 hostage crisis; now Trump’s presidency could be similarly blemished”)
• Iran’s supreme leader says he authorized deal, direct talks with U.S. (And why not, given that Iran got basically everything it wanted in the deal.)
• US-Iran peace talks postponed, clouding prospects for lasting truce
• U.S.-Iran talks postponed as Vance cancels trip and Israel intensifies strikes in southern Lebanon
• Iran Roared. Trump Blinked.
• Vance’s Defense of Iran Deal Rests on Vague and Misleading Claims (“The vice president said the United States had leverage to dictate the outcome of the next round of negotiations. But he claimed incorrectly that Iran got no new benefit from the lifting of oil sanctions.”)
• ‘Everyone just needs to copy what I say’: Trump vented anger with Vance over Iran messaging (“Asked hours after the strikes by ABC News’ Jonathan Karl if Tehran’s nuclear facilities had indeed been ‘obliterated,’ Vance told him, ‘Well, Jon, severely damaged versus obliterated, I’m not exactly sure what the difference is.'”)
• JD Vance’s Risky Pivot to Iran Deal Defender
• Senate Armed Services chair slams Iran peace deal
• The Costs of the Iran War: Thousands of Lives and Billions of Dollars (Billions? Try hundreds of billions if you add up all the cost. Why is the NY Times downplaying the cost?)
• Exclusive: Trump tells The Axios Show there are “no limits” to his power after Iran war
• Senate Republicans in somber, pessimistic mood over Trump deal with Iran
• Vance Issues Blunt Warning to Israel as He Defends Trump’s Deal
• Vance warns Israel: Don’t fight “only ally” Trump on Iran deal
• US-Iran talks abruptly called off after Israel and Hezbollah trade deadly attacks (“JD Vance’s staff were at an airbase ready to fly to summit in Obbürgen before trip was suddenly cancelled”)
• Trump approval on Iran low even as tentative deal to end fighting emerged, new AP-NORC poll finds (“About two-thirds, 65%, of U.S. adults disapprove of how Trump is handling issues with Iran. But while the vast majority of Democrats and independents view Trump’s actions negatively, only 28% of Republicans are unhappy.”)
• Pentagon Tells Lawmakers It Needs $80 Billion for Iran War and Other Bills
• Lebanon says Israeli strikes kill 18 as Israel says four soldiers killed by Hezbollah
• Donald Trump’s Iran Deal Is Israel’s Disaster (“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has few allies but Trump—and that partnership is now in question.” Israel made a MASSIVE, potentially fatal, mistake years ago when it threw in its lot with the U.S. right wing – and started attacking Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, etc. So, so, SO f’ing stupid.)
• Starmer vows to fight as Burnham’s win fuels a Labour leadership showdown
• Who is Andy Burnham? Returning MP who wants to be prime minister
• Trump administration to phase out HIV funding for South Africa (E-V-I-L. And also illegal?)
• US military kills three people in boat strike in Pacific Ocean (“Attack brings to at least 211 number of people killed as Trump administration targets alleged ‘narcoterrorists’” We’re going to need a truth-and-reconciliation commission if/when this is all over.)

NATIONAL

• Trump’s DOJ Is Trying So Hard to Scare People Away From Protesting ICE (“Federal prosecutors just leveled sweeping charges against 15 Minnesotans for allegedly conspiring to stop ICE. The charges may not succeed, but a conviction isn’t what the feds are really after.”)
• ICE is offloading seven concentration camp warehouses. What does it really mean?
• ICE Spent $700 Million on 7 Warehouses. Now It Wants to Get Rid of Them.
• FDA panel recommends mRNA flu vaccine for older adults (“Advisory committee recommendations are nonbinding, and the FDA needs to make a final decision on approval by Aug. 5. Currently, the FDA has no permanent vaccine chief nor a commissioner, so it’s not clear who will make the final decision on Moderna’s flu shot.”)
• Supreme Court rules government can’t restrict gun rights for casual drug use (“The justices cast a blow against a federal law that bars users of illegal drugs from possessing firearms. President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden was convicted under the same law.”)
• The Supreme Court has good news for people who like weed and guns (“United States v. Hemani does not clarify the Court’s chaotic gun decisions, but it is good news if you like to get high and shoot.”)
• The Supreme Court Has Good News for Stoners With Guns (“The latest Second Amendment case is just the latest to highlight the chaos wrought by the high court’s new “history and tradition” test.”)
• Analysis: What the missing center has meant for the Supreme Court (Disastrous.)
• Trump administration reverses decision to scrap ocean monitoring system (“Move to dismantle $368m sea observatory initiative faced opposition from experts and lawmakers”)
• ‘I’m the President and You’re Not’: Trump Tests His Power and Frustrates the GOP (“The president has made a series of decisions that have confounded Republicans and are challenging his grip on the party”)
• Trump’s new acting intel chief Bill Pulte arrives early, eyes firing hundreds (This is really, really, REALLY bad.)
• Scores Fall Ill at Air Force Base After Hegseth Makes Flu Vaccine Optional (Hegesth is a disaster in every way. Also, is he unaware that disease has killed far more troops over the years than actual warfare?)
• The Democratic Base Is Angry (“Is the party paying attention?”)
• Democratic socialists surge in mayoral races across the US as anti-Trump fervor rises
• Trump Administration Tells Federal Employees to Wear “Freedom” Pins—Or Else (Hell no.)
• Trump’s Freedom 250 Party Will Cost a Lot and Won’t Be Fun (Boycott it.)
• Juneteenth reminds us of Black Americans’ long struggle for education following end of slavery (“Congress enacted the 13th Amendment on Jan. 31, 1865, abolishing slavery. It was not until June 19, 1865, that word of the amendment reached enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, marking the origin of the Juneteenth holiday.”)
• A President Using Super Glue and Irked About Epstein: Takeaways From a New Trump Book (“The top echelon of White House officials was fixated on the Jeffrey Epstein scandal”; “Trump asked Rupert Murdoch to size up Vance vs. Rubio”; “Trump wanted revenge against those he felt had wronged him — even when he couldn’t remember their names”; “The Trumps have eagerly profited from the presidency”; “Trump enjoyed comparisons of his power to that of Mao and Genghis Khan”; “Stephen Miller gained enormous power — and made sure others knew it”; “Charlie Kirk’s killing seemed to unnerve the president, who learned of it from his son Barron.”)
• Secret Memos Reveal Stephen Miller’s Disturbing Eagerness to Destroy Our Constitutional Rights
• New book reveals how Trump compared himself to Mao, Stalin, Attila the Hun (Three of the most heinous, evil people in human history.)
• Trump Mocked Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos by Showing Off Fawning Texts (“‘You would not believe the texts I got from these tech guys,’ NYT reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan quote Donald Trump as telling associates in an upcoming book.”)
• How the Peter Thiel-Linked Dialog Club Secretly Ranks Its Members (“Leaked files show the invite-only network grades members by their money and fame, shaping who’s in, who’s out, and who pays.”)
• Farmers backed Trump. Now some say they’re losing patience.
• Firm Tied to Trump Donor Got No-Bid Contract to Clean Reflecting Pool (“A White House spokeswoman said the president was not involved in selecting Greenwater Services, the business owned by a trust led by John J. Cafaro.” Corrupt!)
• Trump administration quietly shifts $352m in federal funds for White House ballroom (Also corrupt – and illegal!)
• What’s the Matter With JD Vance? (“His new book ‘Communion’ sketches out a redemption narrative that is jarringly at odds with his actions.” He seems completely unhinged.)
• Star-studded opening for Obama library in Chicago delivers implied rebuke to Trump (“Musical stars and retired politicians from less polarised era seeming antidote to cage fights on White House lawn”)
• The new Obama Presidential Center ramps up Trump’s jealousy
• Union Behind California Billionaire’s Tax Offers to Drop It in Favor of Smaller Tax (“Offer comes after state said proposal had enough signatures to make ballot, but it faces opposition from billionaires—and another union”)
• AIPAC looms large ahead of New York primaries
• Inside the Secretive Board That Balked at Freeing an Election Denier (“Two members of Gov. Jared Polis’s board that reviews commutation requests came forward to say the secretive panel had twice rejected the release of Tina Peters, convicted of election tampering.” Polis is pathetic.)
• Texas Senate Race Turns Into a Battle Over Who Is More of a Man (“GOP’s Paxton is trying to appeal to Hispanic voters by questioning masculinity of Democratic rival Talarico” This is absurd framing, by the way…should note that it’s complete crap, that Paxton is a corrupt/lying scumbag, etc.)
• Tom Kean Jr. will return June 30 to House, spokesperson says
• Trump administration compares reflecting pool algae battle to Iran war (“Interior department insists water at Washington landmark is ‘crystal clear’ as witnesses report murky green pool”)
• Democratic socialist Janeese Lewis George to be next mayor of Washington DC (“City councillor who ran on expanding childcare, education and housing slated for office after opponent concedes”)

VIRGINIA

• Video: Sen. Mark Warner Rips “disaster”of Trump’s Iran MoU, the “irony of signing it at Versailles” (Also: “Trump has turned [America’s 250th birthday] into a political rally for himself; most of the performers are not going to participate”)
• Three Republicans seek U.S. Senate nomination to face Warner; all cite ties to Trump
• Democrat tries to get Kari Lake to apologize to Ruben Gallego during Senate hearing (“Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Virginia, asked Lake about her past comments suggesting Gallego was controlled by “cartels” because of his estranged father’s criminal history”)
• Three-way race to determine GOP challenger for Subramanyam’s 10th District seat (“The trio of GOP hopefuls includes Dave Beckwith, Julie Perry and Anthony Suttles.”)
• As Virginia early voting begins, some felons unsure of their eligibility to vote
• Virginia budget leaders reach ‘agreement in principle’ for deal
• Pope & Schapiro: The budget, a marijuana marketplace, and election wargaming
• Prince William County Supervisor Kenny Boddye: Data Center Tax Breaks, “if they are kept at all – should be tied to clear public goals” (Those include “cleaner energy, cleaner backup generation, better efficiency, stronger reporting, responsible siting, and fewer impacts on residents”)
• A state study found that data center tax break was Virginia’s 2nd best incentive, producing $6.10 of labor income for every $1 in exemptions
• Four Va. counties will pump almost 20 million gallons of water a day to Amazon. Cause for concern? (Sure seems like it, especially during an historic drought!)
• Gov. Abigail Spanberger Encourages Commonsense Water Conservation in Response to Historic Drought Conditions (“Virginia Experiencing Driest Period Recorded Since 1941”)
• Spanberger: Juneteenth is about keeping promises
• Judge rules against injunction on Virginia assault weapon ban
• Notes from the Square: Spotsylvania judge denies request for an injunction against assault weapons ban
• County contradiction halts Mountain Valley Pipeline compressor station permit
• Roanoke school Superintendent Verletta White announces retirement (“White said the decision is entirely hers.”)
• Verletta White, Roanoke schools superintendent, retiring next year
• Waynesboro: Jim Wood running for re-election, giving us a chance to correct our mistake (“Former Waynesboro vice mayor Jim Wood, mute and politically irrelevant since the Buttplug-gate scandal that emerged weeks into his term on Waynesboro City Council, is actually running for re-election.”)
• FCPS teacher, parent win defamation lawsuits (“A teacher and a parent in Fairfax County sued a conservative social media account for defamation and won. Northern Virginia Bureau Chief Julie Carey reports.”)
• Henrico sterilization plant exceeded annual emissions limit in one day