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by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Monday, June 8. Also, on Trump storming out of his interview with NBC News, note that the “mainstream media” OVERWHELMINGLY failed to make it clear, in their headlines and right up front in their articles, that Trump is insane, a pathological LIAR, etc. Also, Kristen Welker seemed almost apologetic afterwards, which is bonkers, as in fact what EVERY SINGLE JOURNALIST should do when confronted with Trump’s insane lying is to push back hard, with the facts/truth!
- The pathogens thriving because of climate change
- Airline industry chiefs say 2050 net zero goal now unlikely (“Iata boss Willie Walsh blames fuel suppliers, governments and aircraft makers, saying new ‘realistic timeline’ now needed” Pathetic.)
- Humans Are Raiding Whales’ Food Supply for Dietary Supplements and Animal Feed (“These elegant marine mammals need krill to survive. Scientists fear there may not be enough to go around.” UGH.)
- Zelensky’s close European allies set out five conditions for peace talks (“The five conditions include a stop to the fighting, starting negotiations from the current position in the field as well as ‘robust’ security guarantees for Ukraine.”)
- Russia strikes near Chernobyl amid exchange of attacks with Ukraine
- Armenia’s Pashinyan wins election but pro-Russian opposition polls strongly
- Xi Gets Warm North Korea Welcome as Kim Draws Nuclear Red Line
- The World’s Most Surprising Economic Success Story Is…North Korea (“Arms sales to Russia and goods from China provide boost, despite sanctions; ‘the regime is wealthier than ever’” Crazy.)
- Trump tells Netanyahu not to strike Iran
- Israel and Iran trade strikes, threatening to drag the region back into full-scale war
- Israel hits Iran petrochemical plant in new strikes after Trump reprimand
- Israel strikes Beirut after Hezbollah attack, risking Iran response
- Trump says the U.S. will work with Iran to destroy its uranium if they can make a deal
- President Denies He Pledged Not to Start New Wars (Why doesn’t the NY Times put the word “lies” or “falsely” in this headline? Think about the choices they’re making.)
- Trump demands Israel and Iran ‘immediately stop ‘shooting’’ as fresh strikes imperil ceasefire
- Trump news at a glance: Israel strikes back at Iran despite president’s appeal
- Israeli Expansionism Is Shaking the Middle East (This is completely unacceptable, illegal, etc.)
- The Guardian view on the French presidential election campaign: only the far right will profit from division (“Mainstream politicians should remember that in the battle to defeat Jordan Bardella or Marine Le Pen, unity is strength”)
- No electricity, no gas, no sleep: Cubans on edge amid endless outages
- Inside Delaney Hall’s Black Box (“Senator Andy Kim entered ICE’s Delaney Hall—and found a woman curled up in pain.”)
- Congress thought it had a spy-powers deal. Then Trump came in. (Trump is a HORRIBLE deal maker.)
- As America 250 approaches, fewer Americans see their country as exceptional, AP-NORC poll finds (“Only about one-quarter of Americans say the U.S. stands above all other countries in the world, the new poll found”)
- Flu Vaccines Should Not Be This Hard (“Normally, the CDC’s vaccine advisors weigh in on flu vaccines in June. This year, the panel is in disarray.”)
- DOJ has other routes to payouts beyond Trump ‘anti-weaponization’ fund (Every blue state – including Virginia – should enact a 100% tax on any payouts from this fund, or whatever alternative Trump comes up with, ASAP!)
- How SpaceX Became Embedded in America’s War Machine (“Pledges to quickly deploy technology and ties cultivated with Pentagon have helped land new contracts totaling billions of dollars”)
- How Republicans made the House harder for Democrats to win (“Republican-led states have redrawn enough congressional districts to force Democrats to outperform their 2024 national results by nearly 5 percentage points if they want to retake the majority in the 2026 midterms.” In short, Republicans are working to ensure that elections are not fair, maybe not free either.)
- Trump walks out of ‘Meet the Press’ interview when challenged over false claims (“When pressed by host Kristen Welker, the president cited no evidence for claims about Jan. 6 and elections he said were ‘rigged.'” Good for the WaPo for at least noting that the claims are false, but again, they’re pulling their punches with Trump as they always do – it’s so glaringly obvious and pathetic, cowardly, etc.)
- ‘I’ve Had Enough!’ Trump Storms Out of Meet the Press Interview in Wild Fashion — Explodes On NBC’s Kristen Welker After She Hits Him With Fact Checks
- Fact-checking Trump’s interview with NBC News’ ‘Meet the Press’
- Jewish Dems sound alarm about antisemitism and 2028 (No question, anti-Semitism is surging – very very bad.)
- Why are so many Democrats going quiet on climate change? (“The common wisdom says it’s a losing issue. Evidence suggests it actually helps Democrats.”)
- Lawsuit Aims to Stop U.F.C. Fights at White House on Trump’s Birthday (“A federal lawsuit said the event, set for June 14, was unlawfully planned and designed to benefit Mr. Trump and his allies.”)
- Epstein abused them. The Justice Department exposed them. Now they’re under attack by haters
- The Hidden Figure With Close Ties to Bill Gates and Jeffrey Epstein (“Melanie Walker was a confidante to Gates and Epstein. Her lawyer says she was in a ‘coercive relationship’ with Epstein.”)
- This agent sent models to meet Jeffrey Epstein. Now he’s trying to explain why.
- Silicon Valley including Meta has embraced Maga politics, says Nick Clegg (“Meta’s former head of global affairs says executives pivoted right in some cases for ‘rather more self-interested’ reasons”)
- “Can We Make the Protesters Look More Violent?” (“60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley blows the whistle on Bari Weiss’ CBS News.” Bari Weiss is the absolute worst.)
- What’s the Difference Between a Platner Senate and a Collins Senate? (“What difference does it make if Democrats gain a Senate majority in addition to the House? The two obvious gains are the power to block judicial nominees and the power to block Cabinet nominees.” Also subpoena powers!)
- Democrats in Congress Grapple With Concerns Over Platner Allegations (“Representative Ro Khanna said that he believed the account of a woman who accused Graham Platner of physically threatening behavior, and urged his campaign not to criticize her.”)
- Maine voters head to polls on Tuesday for closely watched primary election
- A Few Thoughts On Graham Platner, Who Definitely Proves Your Point (“Just as I was writing this — literally, having the conversation while I was writing this — I got into a back and forth with someone whose instincts I really respect telling me that Platner is 100% toast, will be destroyed by Collins and that I must have brain damage not to realize this. I don’t have certainties about this.”)
- Platner Supporters Unfazed by Allegations of Misconduct (I 100% get the desire to defeat Susan Collins, but I completely do NOT get the desire to defend Platner, per se.)
- Maine Dems plot response if Nebraska GOP tweaks Electoral College votes
- Nithya Raman leaps past Spencer Pratt in tight race to make L.A. mayoral runoff (“NBC News hasn’t yet projected who will join Mayor Karen Bass in the November runoff election.” That’s really, really embarrassing and pathetic by NBC News – the results have been clear for days now…Nithya Raman will easily advance to the general election, along with Karen Bass.)
- Red Mirage, Blue Shift, Online Cope (“What Spencer Pratt’s viral campaign tells us about online hype, election fraud spin, and what we’ll see in the 2026 midterms.”)
- The New York Primary That Is All About Israel (Utterly absurd; one foreign policy issue is bigger than the economy, democracy, the environment, healthcare, civil liberties, immigration/ICE, corruption, etc, etc?)
- Warner: Pulte a ‘national security risk’ (“The Virginia Democrat said Bill Pulte is ‘grossly unqualified’ to serve as director of national intelligence.”)
- Video: Sen. Mark Warner Says If Allegations Against Graham Platner Are True, “They are disturbing,” But “That seemed not to stop Trump getting elected” (Sen. Warner also says “the list [of what Trump, Pulte, etc. might do in the 2026 and 2028 elections] is extraordinarily frightening”)
- Warner: Democrats have been ‘way too bureaucratic’ (It’s such a glaringly obvious editorial choice by “The Hill” to focus on this…and not on way more important stuff in Sen. Warner’s interview. The Hill, of course, has an anti-Democratic agenda.)
- MAGA Congressman John McGuire struggles to explain thoughts on healthcare (“To the credit of the PR people at UVA Health and on the staff of John McGuire, NBC29 did as expected. Seriously, how different is this “reporting” from the TV station vis-à-vis the press release on McGuire’s House website? Embarrassing.” Media like NBC29 are a disgrace; cowardly, lazy, incompetent, compliant, etc. – f*** ’em, period.)
- Deep in Rural Virginia, a MAGA Pro-Gun Push Takes an Unnerving Turn (“Governor Spanberger signed an assault weapons ban. Some county prosecutors in pro-Trump areas say they won’t enforce it. Is a new MAGA nullification movement brewing?” Yes, obviously.)
- The people moving out of Virginia make more money than the people moving in
- Virginia’s film and tv production tax incentives scrutinized by lawmakers
- In light of horrific Virginia deaths, consider others when behind the wheel (“Folks, put the phone down or turn it off when behind the wheel. Pay attention to the road, not the radio. Don’t imbibe and drive. And please, please ease up on the gas.”)
- Judge weighs future of Confederate-linked school names in Shenandoah County (“Lawsuit over schools honoring Confederate generals raises questions about student rights, educational equity and local heritage.”)
- Wind farm project in Botetourt County nears the end of a long road (Great, but we need to be able to build things a LOT faster in this country!)
- USS Iwo Jima returns to Norfolk from extended deployment in Caribbean
- With one of the oldest water systems in the country, Lynchburg digs deep to upgrade infrastructure
- DC-area forecast: Mighty nice on Monday and Tuesday before heat builds
