Thursday (6/4) News: “House votes to limit Trump’s Iran war powers in remarkable rebuke”; House Also “Advances New Sanctions on Russia and Aid to Ukraine”

by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Wednesday, June 4.

• ‘An equal and habitable world is possible’: academics set out sweeping vision for planetary survival (“Global report provides an alternative to climate breakdown, political extremism and economic tensions”)
• ‘Happiness is not just about GDP’: ambitious plan or utopia? (“Some will question its credibility – but the alternative future to the one imagined in the World Justice Report is far more bleak”)
• Dolphins, Sharks, Turtles and Workers Are All Victims of Unregulated Squid Fleets (“Former crew members report egregious environmental destruction and labor abuses onboard shadowy squid fishing fleets, due to a regulatory vacuum.” HORRIBLE!)
• SpaceX targets $135 IPO price at valuation of $1.77 trillion
• SpaceX targets biggest ever stock market debut, putting Musk on course to be trillionaire
• Plunging global oil supplies threaten to push fuel prices even higher
• IEA Warns of Critical Oil Inventory Levels This Summer
• The Hormuz Squeeze Is Redrawing the Oil Map for Good (“Saudi Arabia, the U.A.E. and Iraq are pouring money into pipelines, rail and storage to keep oil flowing even when the strait isn’t”)
• House Advances New Sanctions on Russia and Aid to Ukraine (“After G.O.P. leaders blocked additional aid to Ukraine, six Republicans and an independent joined Democrats to force the measure to the floor against the wishes of the speaker.”)
• House moves forward on new aid for Ukraine package, spurning Trump
• Putin faces rival visions of war and peace at Russia’s ‘Davos’
• House approves war powers resolution to halt military action against Iran in a rebuke of Trump
• House votes to limit Trump’s Iran war powers in remarkable rebuke
• War may end in interim deal that leaves Iran battered but unbowed
• Iran war powers rebuke shows how Trump is increasingly boxed in
• Trump Tells Aides He Won’t Resume All-Out War With Iran Unless U.S. Troops Are Killed (“Repeated strikes by Tehran ratchet up pressure on the president and cast doubt over the ceasefire’s long-term viability”)
• Trump Dreads an Iran Deal Worse Than Obama’s (“Talks have stalled in part because the president keeps aiming for a grand finale.”)
• ‘Crazy’ phone call between Trump and Netanyahu complicates Iran talks
• Israel and Lebanon agree to implement ceasefire if Hezbollah stops attacks (Great, except that Hezbollah’s very unlikely to do that.)
• Netanyahu faces plunging support in north Israel as voters demand tougher Lebanon stance
• Israel to continue ground operation in southern Lebanon despite agreed ceasefire (“The country’s defence minister said the IDF will not withdraw from southern Lebanon and will not allow the ‘return of the population’”)
• Hezbollah’s Fiber-Optic Drones Expose Cracks in Israeli Defenses
• Israel and Lebanon agree to full ceasefire, conditioned on steps by Hezbollah
• Netanyahu squeezed between Trump and election year politics (Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy…)
• House tensions erupt as Tlaib pushes Lebanon war powers vote
• Illegal Tariffs, Round 3 (“Another failing war Trump won’t end”)
• Rebel attacks in eastern DRC kill 30 people and hamper Ebola response
• US strike on alleged drug boat kills two people in eastern Pacific Ocean (“Attack brings death toll to at least 207 since administration began targeting people it calls ‘narcoterrorists’”)
• Colombia’s Showy Far-Right Candidate Is Exactly Trump’s Type (“Abelardo De La Espriella has all the strongman trappings the Trump administration loves—and the White House seems bent on his winning. “)
• Trump administration has separated dozens of children from their parents for a second time, AP finds (WILDLY inexcusable.)
• Sherrill Says Immigration Officials Won’t Let Her Visit Detention Center
• Trump Congratulated Him on His Freedom. Alligator Alcatraz Left Him With a Stroke. (“The six months Justo Betancourt spent at the Everglades camp ‘broke me mentally and emotionally.'”)
• Trump Administration to Dismantle Ocean Monitoring System (UTTERLY INSANE – VANDALISM!)
• Trump administration dismantles ambitious ocean monitoring program (“I wish I could give you a clear answer on this. The National Science Foundation, which runs this, put out a statement justifying this that is incredibly hard to parse.”)
• The Supreme Court Just Kicked the Voting Rights Act in the Head Again (“As if Chief Justice Roberts hasn’t done enough damage already, he finds a way to make things worse.” F*** John Roberts.)
• Pulte pick sparks a Senate GOP rebellion
• This Man Should Not Be in Charge of National Intelligence (Pulte should be nowhere near ANY government office. We are so f’ed.)
• New intel chief is a partisan warrior who has the president’s ear, sources say (Completely unqualified Trump thug.)
• Mitch McConnell statement suggests he considers Bill Pulte unfit for national intelligence director role (McConnell, of course, played a huge role in destroying our country; could have convicted Trump after January 6, 2021, but no. Also, he completely f’ed the Supreme Court.)
• Trump plans to nominate Todd Blanche as attorney general, source says (Blanche is a DISGRACE, zero respect for the rule of law, the constitution, etc.- just a pure Trump thug.)
• The Fight Over Trump’s Sweetheart IRS Deal Is Not at All Over
• Trump says he doesn’t know whether the $1.8 billion payout fund is dead
• No, Trump’s $1.776 billion slush fund isn’t ‘dead’
• Trump tells CNN he doesn’t know if $1.8 billion fund is dead, calling it ‘a beautiful thing’ (Trump is INSANE!)
• Why does the media ignore Trump’s madness? (“His Truth Social posts show he’s better suited in a mental institution than at a negotiating table.”)
• Obscure Group With Trump Ties Plans to Route Funds to His Allies for Legal Fights (“A nonprofit called the Lawfare Defense Fund has raised $36 million to support those who consider themselves unjust victims of the legal system with grants to pay for litigation.”)
• Video shows Pentagon counterterrorism hire clambering into Capitol on Jan. 6
• Trump signs order moving thousands of federal employees into Schedule F (“Roughly 8,000 career federal employees were stripped of their civil service protections Wednesday, making them effectively at-will employees.” That’s HORRIBLE.)
• Trump appointee leading $205bn US agency had personal ties to Epstein, emails show (“Ben Black’s lawyers deny relationship with disgraced financier, but DoJ records reveal years of interactions”)
• Trump Sports Swollen Eye Days After Surprise Medical Checkup (“The president’s eye and hand were visibly swollen as he continues to dodge questions about his health.”)
• Donald Trump’s Superficiality Is Bone-Deep (“For the shallowest man ever to occupy the presidency, surface appeal is a guiding principle.”)
• Marco Rubio Isn’t the Presidential Hopeful the Media Makes Him out to Be (“All claims that he’s a Not Insane Republican are greatly exaggerated.” The political “mainstream” media, as usual, doing a HORRIBLE job.)
• Trump attacks CNN’s Collins: ‘Hatred in her eyes’ (The White House Correspondents absolutely SHOULD NOT hold their dinner with this scumbag. WTF are they even doing???)
• The big unanswered questions about ‘60 Minutes’ after Scott Pelley’s firing
• The Tick-Tock on ‘60’ Correspondents (“On Wednesday morning, CBS News Editor-In-Chief Bari Weiss addressed a week of unbridled chaos at “60 Minutes,” seeking to reassure staff and perhaps bring down the temperature after the stunning firing of veteran correspondent Scott Pelley.”)
• Bari Weiss Speaks on Scott Pelley’s Firing: ‘That’s the Path That He Chose’ (This headline by the NY Times is really, REALLY bad, uncritically amplifying Weiss’ utter bullshit. WHY DO THAT???)
• Centrist Democrats launch new pledge: ‘We are capitalist, not socialist’
• The Narrow Path to a Democratic Senate Runs Through Very Red States
• Republicans rocked by Trump’s midterm approach
• Fox News Poll: Democratic unity, Republican crossovers shape Ohio Senate race (“By a 15-point margin, Ohioans view Trump negatively: 42% hold a favorable opinion and 57% an unfavorable one…Brown outperform Husted by a 53% to 45% margin in the race to fill the state’s Senate seat…In the race for governor, Ohio voters are divided: half back Democrat Amy Acton (50%) and nearly half favor Republican Vivek Ramaswamy (49%).”)
• Primaries leave muddled picture of Dems’ way ahead (“Moderate and establishment-oriented Democrats have a slight edge as vote-counting in Tuesday’s primary contests continues, but progressives have clinched some wins — leaving a muddled picture of what party’s voters want heading into the 2026 midterms.”)
• We’re About to Hear a Lot More About Iowa (“The state will have its first competitive races in years.”)
• Tense governor’s race in California unsettled as vote-counting continues (“State election officials continue to sift through uncounted primary ballots, which could take days or even weeks” It’s laughable for election results to take WEEKS; c’mon California, you have GOT TO do better than this!)
• Why California voters opted for the ‘boring’ Democrat in the governor’s race
• The Democratic Party’s future is on the ballot in June (“Democratic voters chose electability in key battlegrounds on Tuesday, kicking off a big month of ideological primary tests for the party.”)
• Senators Privately Ask Platner Whether New Allegations Will Emerge (“Maine Senate candidate tells Democratic lawmakers, ‘The worst of the rumors we’ve all heard are not true’” This guy is a DISASTER. Also, WTF is the deal with people actually pushing for this guy???)
• The Arch Is Atrocious (“Trump’s colossal monument would mar Washington’s skyline and disrupt one of its most sacred spaces.” IF this monstrosity is built, it absolutely will need to be torn down once Trump is gone. Same thing with the ballroom and everything else Trump does.)
• Ben Cline, ‘Dopesick’ and Hollywood: The real story isn’t the one he’s telling (Cline is slimier than whale sh**.)
• Video: Sen. Tim Kaine Calls Out Republicans for Demonizing Trans People, Cruelly and Irresponsibly, for Political Purposes; Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) Responds, “I actually take offense at that!”
• Morgan Griffith goes full-out xenophobe on Stafford County bus crash (It’s basically impossible to overstate how horrible Morgan Griffith is.)
• Video: Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-VA11) Says DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin “should be ashamed of himself” After His “bizarre opening statement” etc. (Mullin essentially argues that “one man or one family in this case, the Trump family, is above the law”)
• After Horrific Bus Crash on I-95, Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-VA09) Gets Slammed on His FB Page for “Rage Baiting,” Conspiracy Theories, “racist fear mongering” (“There’s zero evidence this has anything to do with sanctuary policies.”)
• Virginia Union Workers Rally After Spanberger Vetoes Collective Bargaining Bill
• State budget could provide end-run for Virginia’s retail weed
• Williams: Amid rights reversals, Virginia has ‘a historic opportunity’
• Background checks for private firearm sales will stop again, Lynchburg judge rules (“I wish Republicans would come and join us in trying to prevent criminals from having firearms, and not try to throw our state police commissioner in jail”)
• Virginia schools push for local tax option as aging buildings strain rural divisions (“School leaders say outdated infrastructure and limited local revenue are forcing tough decisions on repair, closures and summer programs.” Why NOT give localities that option?)
• State law requires autopsies following in-custody deaths. Records show they don’t always happen.
• Virginia officials urge hurricane preparedness as 2026 storm season begins (“Spanberger, emergency leaders point to lessons from Hurricane Helene and encourage residents to make plans, build kits and review evacuation zones.”)
• Doctors, nurses will be out in force in Charlottesville to protest MAGA healthcare cuts
• Legislative report says Virginia film industry remains small despite incentives (“Virginia spent $128.6 million supporting filmmakers over the decade ending June 30, 2024, and, with that, saw an increase in film industry jobs of 1,700, the first legislative review in a decade found.”)
• Two trends converge on Botetourt County: Data centers and solar farms. (“Both have stirred opposition, but many stances on both come into conflict with other long-held principles. Here’s an overview of the politics involved and the tension points.”)
• Gigawatt data center project planned for Wythe County
• Mary Baldwin University names Gary Daynes as new interim president
• Editorial: William and Mary looks to put environmental tools in public’s hands
• Chesapeake Hospital Authority actions shrouded in secrecy following CEO’s departure
• DC-area forecast: Warmer today, then hot Friday and Saturday