by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Thursday, June 18.
- Rising temperatures may increase flood risk through river ‘whiplash’, study finds (“Sudden shifts from wet to dry weather, or vice versa, may foil typical drought- and flood-prevention measures”)
- New Plan Scales Back C.D.C.’s Work on Diseases Abroad (Completely f’ed up.)
- Turns Out, There Really Is a Cabal of Elite Crazies Trying to Control the World (Peter Thiel et al.)
- Russian oil refinery on fire after barrage of Ukrainian drones strike Moscow (“Scale of long range-attack catches Muscovites by surprise, prompting panicked messages on social media”)
- Moscow hit by largest Ukrainian attack since start of Russia’s full-scale war (Excellent, nail the f***ers!)
- Ukraine’s Azov fighters were forced from Mariupol. Now they’re hitting back (“Four years after Ukraine’s Azov Regiment surrendered the last corner of the devastated city of Mariupol to Russian forces, the rebuilt unit is setting its sights on making Moscow pay for its occupation.”)
- Trump thanks China’s Xi, Russia’s Putin for being ‘neutral’ in Iran war (Hahahaha, wuuuuut???)
- Hegseth announces in Brussels a review of U.S. forces in Europe, and a ‘NATO 3.0’
- Hegseth blasts NATO members, announces review of US forces in Europe (Hegseth is by far the worst Secretary of Defense in US history.)
- G-7 ends without rupture as allies praise Trump for ending Iran war
- A win for clean energy or fossil fuels? The Iran war could lead to both.
- A Look at the Text of the Agreement Between the United States and Iran
- Deal Gives Iran Chance to Turbocharge Its Oil Revenue (“Iran could earn more than $60 billion in annual sales, potentially helping to restore the regime’s economic lifeblood.”)
- Trump goes after critics who want a more comprehensive deal with Iran
- Trump Demanded Iran’s ‘Unconditional Surrender.’ He Got a Surprise Instead. (“While the Iranians suffered substantial losses in the war, they emerged from a confrontation with the world’s most powerful military having proved they can use economic chaos as a weapon.”)
- The President is Legally Barred from Waiving Iranian Sanctions as Pledged in the Iran MOU (“But that won’t keep him from doing it”)
- Trump’s Deal With Iran Opens New Rifts in G.O.P.
- Trump: unfair for Iran to lack ballistic missiles if other countries have them (By that reasoning, it would be “unfair” for every country in the world not to be allowed to have nuclear weapons as well.)
- How Trump’s agreement with Iran compares to Obama’s (“Trump’s memorandum with Iran is only a “framework,” with most big issues still to be resolved in future negotiations. The 2015 nuclear deal was a detailed agreement hammered out over two years.”)
- JD Vance Is Going to Eat This Turd and Love It (“What is the architect of the Big Beautiful Iran Surrender playing at?”)
- Trump and Iran’s Pezeshkian sign deal to end war with further talks due in next 60 days
- Trump’s Iran agreement may be a dud, but he’s getting what he wants (“The agreement, designed to pave the way to those meetings, seems to cede almost all US leverage and hands Iran billions of dollars in revenues up front by waiving sanctions. It may therefore dent Trump’s self-conjured mystique as the world’s great dealmaker — which lifted him from reality TV to the White House.”)
- Trump’s Iran deal is result of unrealistic ambitions for an untenable war (“US entered war with maximalist goals and exits it with pragmatic decision to end conflict despite political cost”)
- US-Iran deal leaves core sticking points unresolved – and a $300bn question
- Donald Trump’s Iran deal met with anger, relief and incredulity
- Trump’s war accomplished nothing – the Iran deal is proof
- The right-wing media revolt against Trump’s proposed MOU with Iran (“Conservative pundits are trashing the White House’s memorandum of understanding”)
- Trump signs Iran peace plan, claiming deal averts ‘worldwide depression’
- Trump news at a glance: Donald Trump surrenders himself to Iran deal (“President signs memorandum at Palace of Versailles where Germans were humiliated after losing first world war.”)
- Trump can’t sell his lies, even in Versailles
- Iran Gets Major Economic Lifeline for Minimal Concessions in Initial Deal
- Right-wing hawks absolve Trump of Iran MOU responsibility, blame Vance instead (LOL, alrighty then…)
- Vance, skeptical of foreign wars, becomes the face of Trump’s deal to end the war with Iran
- Trump and Netanyahu Have Really Stepped in It Now
- Israel cut out of Iran deal as Trump keeps deriding Netanyahu in public (“The Israeli public’s reckoning with Netanyahu’s performance has collided with an increasingly impatient Trump.”)f
- The Israeli Ultra-Hawks Who Feel Betrayed by Trump’s Iran Deal (“Shimon Riklin, an anchor on the country’s right-wing Channel 14, and a Netanyahu ally, thinks America stabbed Israel in the back.”)
- Trump’s deal is a catastrophic capitulation to Iran’s aggressors, leaves Israel vulnerable and constrained (“In the US president’s reality-challenged view, Israel is an ingrate and a warmonger, while Iran’s mass-murdering leaders are ‘very rational.’ They are indeed all too rational, and he, clearly, is not”)
- Netanyahu Finally Learns the Truth About Trump (“An alliance with the president was the Israeli prime minister’s selling point. Now it may be his downfall.”)
- Netanyahu fumes, allies rage over Trump’s Iran deal
- Israel seized more land from neighbors since 2023 than it has in decades (100% unacceptable! Also note, if a Democrat were in the White House, they’d be pushing back against this crap.)
- War in Iran Spurs Solar Boom in Southeast Asia
- Death rate in ICE immigrant detention centers more than doubles under Trump
- Detainees Moved Out of Alligator Alcatraz, ICE Confirms (“The Trump administration said individuals were moved to ensure their safety during hurricane season. Environmental groups pursuing litigation over the site want more transparency.”)
- DOJ’s New ICE Protest Indictment Is Its Most Absurd Yet (There’s no such group as “Antifa,” by the way…just means “anti-fascist”)
- Billionaires Know Just How They Want Supreme Court Justices to Rule—and Are Spending Big to Tell Them
- Bill Pulte, a Bulldog for Trump, Prepares to Take Reins at Spy Agency (What a weird, lame headline, calling Pulte a “Bulldog” as opposed to a fascist, corrupt, etc. Again, lame/cowardly by the NY Times.)
- ‘They barely check the box of trying’: Trump frustrated GOP isn’t following his roadmap
- Trump’s Frustration Grows as Senate GOP Leader Keeps Saying ‘No’ (“John Thune repeatedly delivers unwelcome news to president on policies and personnel”)
- Trump escalates his war on Senate Republicans — and senators are striking back (“The chaos that followed Trump’s sudden U-turn on Jay Clayton’s nomination, just hours before a scheduled confirmation hearing, further loosened tongues in the Capitol hallways — even from lawmakers who tend to be reliable allies.”)
- Trump’s SAVE Act obsession ties Senate in knots
- Trump Feuds With Thune and G.O.P., Stoking Election-Year Rift (One of the media’s favorite fudge words is “feud”)
- Senate Republicans grow increasingly frustrated with Trump blindsiding them (“Trump has used his clout to knock out senators in primaries, issue unachievable demands and force them into politically fraught positions. Some say it’s harming his own agenda.”)
- Here are the five big takeaways from Kevin Warsh’s first meeting as Fed chairman (“No rate changes, but the hawks are circling…Tough on inflation”)
- Warsh Overhauls How the Fed Talks and Keeps Markets Guessing on Rates
- Warsh Rocks Bond Market in Debut, Sparks Surge in Rate-Hike Bets
- Fox News Poll: Most rate the economy negatively, including half of Republicans (“Big picture, 37% are satisfied with the direction of the country…Those satisfaction ratings closely match Trump’s job performance, as his approval stands at 39%. That’s unchanged since last month, but down 7 points compared to 46% approval last June. His lowest approval for either term is 38% in October 2017. “)
- Poll: Most Americans have the summer blues about Trump and the economy (“Just 36% say they approve of Trump’s overall job performance, while 59% say they disapprove, which is the widest gap Trump has faced during either term in office.”)
- Trump Administration to Pay $765 Million to Cancel 4 More Wind Projects (“It’s the third such deal the Interior Department has struck to pay firms to abandon plans for offshore turbines, spending roughly $2.5 billion to get companies to abandon their wind projects.” This is absolutely INSANE!)
- Trump Administration’s Coal Investments Breathe New Life Into Plants With Repeated Violations (“At least three of the 12 coal plants the Trump administration funded have been repeatedly cited for violating environmental regulations, amplifying public-health concerns.”)
- “Truly evil” FDA rejection of gene therapy overturned after Trump official ousted (“Gene therapy company UniQure had another FDA meeting after Vinay Prasad’s exit.”)
- US public still favours action on climate change despite Trump’s fossil fuel drive (“Two-thirds of Americans say they are worried about climate but level of media coverage does not reflect this”)
- Trump Has Found Another Way to Make a Mockery of the Department of Education (“Its civil-rights division is moving to the DOJ, where it will definitely be given high priority. Meanwhile, Senator Roadkill J. Brainworm is now in charge of special education.”)
- Trump official declines to call January 6 an ‘attack’, describing ‘protests and such’ (These people are pathetic and disgraceful.)
- Just 16% of Americans Believe AI Will Positively Impact Society, Pew Poll Finds (“Half of Americans now use AI chatbots, up from 33% in the summer of 2024.”)
- Trump Settles $100 Million Lawsuit Against His Niece (“President Trump sued Mary Trump in 2021 for sharing his confidential financial documents with a group of reporters from The New York Times.”)
- Senators Suspect Trump Shifted Secret Service Funds to Build His Ballroom (“‘It’s a big problem,’ says Sen. Thom Tillis of the $352 million moved from personnel and training.”)
- Reflecting Pool algae blooms have roared back, reaching highest levels in years (“An analysis of satellite imagery of the Lincoln Memorial shows algae levels spiked days after a $14 million renovation was completed.”)
- What Color Is the Reflecting Pool? An Investigation. (“President Trump wanted an American-flag-blue Reflecting Pool. Instead, he got a swamp.”)
- Georgia Republicans backtrack on redistricting plans (“After Gov. Brian Kemp called them into a special session, state lawmakers said they didn’t have enough time to draw new maps that would have taken effect for the 2028 elections.”)
- Trump Rescinds Endorsement of Right-Wing Pastor After Texting Scandal (“..the image he cultivated as a religious leader took a hit on Sunday when The Daily Mail published intimate texts between him and a woman who is not his wife, in which he called her ‘cute’ and floated an invitation to his hotel room. “)
- The Trump White House Claims the Knicks Haven’t Turned Down an Invitation: “Fake News”
- Knicks Will Be First NBA Team to Visit Trump White House (Not cool.)
- “Is Jay Clayton still a nominee?”: Sen. Warner has questions after Trump pushed to delay DNI confirmation
- Intel Cmte. Vice Chair Warner Criticizes President Trump’s Decision to Delay DNI Nomination
- Video: Sen. Mark Warner Wonders If Trump Pulling Back Jay Clayton as DNI “may be an effort to try to distract from [the Iran] deal” (Sen. Tim Kaine thinks Trump may just want “more dirt on his political opponents”)
- Kaine welcomes Iran peace talks, calls war ‘greatest foreign policy blunder’
- A Few Thoughts on VA01 Democratic Candidate Shannon Taylor’s “’Serve the People First’ Agenda” (Mostly positive, but a few critiques…)
- Taylor calls for congressional stock trading ban
- VA Dem Congressional Delegation Endorses Fmr. Rep. Elaine Luria to Unseat Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-VA02) and Take Back the House (“Elaine has dedicated her adult life to serving our country and our Commonwealth.”)
- Virginia voter guide: Parties nominate candidates for Congress, local offices ahead of 2026 midterms
- Ready for another election? Early voting starts today for the Aug. 4 primaries.
- Video: Gov. Abigail Spanberger Says “no one single person should hold up the budget and potentially risk the entire economic stability of…Virginia” (Also: “in my conversations with the senator [Louise Lucas], my question had been, what is the goal?”)
- Gov. Spanberger [Ceremonially] Signs Legislation to Protect Families, Kids, & Law Enforcement Officers From Gun Violence (“New Laws Will Crack Down on Untraceable Ghost Guns, Close the Boyfriend Loophole, & Help Prevent Child Gun Accidents by Requiring Safe Storage of Firearms”)
- Gov. Spanberger [Ceremonially] Signs Historic Legislation to Guarantee & Expand Contraception Access (“Virginia is the Only Southern State Not to Further Restrict Access to Reproductive Healthcare in the Wake of the Dobbs Decision”)
- Spanberger joins governors in Reproductive Freedom Alliance, signs related Va. bills into law (The media should make clear the bills were already signed into law, this is ceremonial.)
- Some former felons, eligible to vote this summer, are in registration limbo
- Natural Bridge Zoo case will lead to three separate trials, judge rules
- William & Mary’s Lemon Project helps Black Virginians learn about their lineage, counter narratives
- Williams: VMHC illuminates American history during dark times
- Editorial: Oyster resurgence in the Lynnhaven is reason to cheer (“More than half the Lynnhaven — 52% — is now open for shellfish harvesting for the first time this century.”)
- DC-area forecast: Hot and humid, with storm potential this afternoon
