Tuesday (6/2) News: “High-Wire Negotiations with Iran? Trump Finds it ‘Very Boring.’”; “Trump TACO’d Out of the ‘Weaponization’ Slush Fund”

by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Tuesday, June 2.

• A strong El Nino may be imminent. Climate change will make its effects worse
• Prepare for El Niño, UN warns – it could be the strongest in decades (“Scientists fear the combined effects of El Niño and human-caused climate change could reshape weather around the world”)
• Trump Administration to Dismantle Ocean Monitoring System (“The $368 million network of instruments collecting data in both the Atlantic and Pacific has been critical to climate and ocean research” INSANE!)
• Smart drug that strips cancer cells of ‘invisibility cloak’ can shrink tumours by 30%, trial shows (“Experimental tablet produces encouraging results in patients with world’s most common forms of disease”)
• As Russia fails to achieve war aims in Ukraine, Putin needs a way out (“European officials say Moscow’s escalating aggression is a result of increasing military and economic difficulties.”)
• Zelenskyy asks Trump to send missiles after Russian strikes across Ukraine (“At least 18 killed, dozens injured and others trapped under collapsed buildings after attacks on five Ukrainian cities”)
• Ukraine rescuers pull dead from rubble after Russian strikes kill 18 people (Russia under Putin is a terrorist nation, should be shunned by EVERY country in the world – first and foremost OUR COUNTRY!)
• Kyiv hit by deadly Russian strikes, people feared trapped in apartment building rubble (Pure evil.)
• High-Wire Negotiations with Iran? Trump Finds it ‘Very Boring.’
• Iran says it is breaking off talks to end war after U.S. and Israeli strikes
• Trump tells CNBC: ‘I don’t care’ if Iran negotiations are over (“Trump said he wasn’t worried about oil prices, which spiked following a report that Iran will ‘completely block’ the Strait of Hormuz in addition to halting negotiations with the U.S.”)
• Trump Tries to Stop Israel’s Lebanon Push Derailing an Iran Deal
• Trump’s Fox News cabinet is fracturing over whether or how to end the Iran war
• Lacking money and support, Trump’s Board of Peace stalls in Gaza (“With Hamas disarmament negotiations deadlocked and Israel taking further territory, plans for a grand Gaza reconstruction appear distant.” So predictable.)
• Report: Trump upbraids Netanyahu over Lebanon, asking, ‘What the f— are you doing?’
• “You’re fucking crazy”: Trump fumes at Netanyahu in call on Lebanon (Netanyahu is a sociopath at best. Also, why hasn’t he faced accountability for somehow missing Hamas’ plans to stage the worst attack against Jews since the Holocaust???)
• Israel kills 8 in southern Lebanon, a day after Trump said Israel and Hezbollah to de-escalate
• Clashes continue in Lebanon despite Israel and Hezbollah accepting US partial ceasefire plan
• How Israel’s Strategy in Lebanon Was Upended by Hezbollah Drones (“An Israeli campaign that started with high hopes has devolved into a kind of impasse, with Hezbollah looking more capable than it did when the war began.”)
• U.S. Presses Neutral Oman to Pick a Side and Cut Ties With Iran
• 
  I will never forget the teacher who negotiated to be gang-raped instead of her daughter. These war crimes against women must be addressed (“Since April 2023, Sudan’s women and girls have been subjected to systematic rape and sexual torture. Specialised support and justice for them is key to the country’s recovery and future” What’s going on in Sudan is HORRIFIC – as is the world’s almost complete lack of attention to what’s going on!
• Orbán’s oligarchs on edge as Hungary poised to launch wealth tax (“New PM Péter Magyar calls policy a sign of ‘social justice’ after years of political loyalty being rewarded with economic opportunity”)
• Why have two US commentators been banned from entering the UK? (“Cenk Uygur and Hasan Piker were supposed to address events at SXSW London before their ETAs were cancelled” Couldn’t have happened to two nicer guys, huh? LOL)
• They Were Detained by ICE. Then They Vanished. (“Immigrants are frequently being sent all over the country, and often families and attorneys don’t know where they are.” WILDLY unacceptable!)
• Stripping U.S. citizenship en masse is harder than Trump vowed
• Alligator Alcatraz Emissions Threaten Human Health, Violate Clean Air Act, Lawsuit Claims (“The air pollution is associated with the more than 200 diesel-burning generators powering the Everglades migrant detention facility, along with 100 diesel-burning lighting towers.”)
• US Construction Spending on Data Centers Eclipses $50 Billion
• Americans don’t know how to fight AI. So they’re fighting data centers. (“The data center revolt is a symptom of our political failure on AI.”)
• Trump Administration Announces Stricter Rules for Medicaid Work Requirement (“By tightening an exception for people with serious illnesses, more of them may lose coverage.” Pure sadism.)
• Trump issues final rule requiring most Medicaid beneficiaries to work (“A new final rule from the Trump administration will require most Medicaid beneficiaries between the ages of 19 and 64 to prove they work, complete community service, or participate in a work program to win benefits.”)
• Justice Department says it will abide by court order pausing its ‘anti-weaponization’ fund
• Trump TACO’d Out of the “Weaponization” Slush Fund (“The president is backing away from a policy so nauseating that even his most cultish followers hated it. What a remarkable achievement!”)
• Trump Plan to Pause Anti-Weaponization Fund Faces GOP Skepticism (“Republicans and Democrats derided it as a slush fund for the president’s political allies.”)
• Scoop: Trump admin plans to drop “weaponization” fund
• Trump administration retreats on ‘Anti-Weaponization Fund’ (“The $1.8 billion settlement was seen as a “slush fund” by the president’s critics and made many in his own party uncomfortable.”)
• The Trump losses keep piling up
• DOJ’s ‘Anti-Weaponization Fund’ backtrack fails to calm Senate Republicans
• Hegseth Strikes Female and Black Navy Officers From Promotion List (“The defense secretary’s decision to block the officers’ promotions appears driven by his anti-diversity stance rather than based on merit.” Ya think???)
• Pentagon bans journalists from press office, designating it a classified space (“The change creates a new barrier compared with previous administrations, under which the office was an open room where reporters could stop by the desks of military public affairs officials without escorts.”)
• Pentagon press office is now a classified area and off-limits to reporters
• Russ Vought is doing his part in the Trump administration’s war on scientific progress (“Under newly proposed Office of Management and Budget rules, every research grant awarded by the federal government would be vetted by political appointees.” Insanity.)
• Hospitals See Diseases Resurge as Vaccinations Decline (“Doctors in the U.S. are encountering more children with bacterial infections and other serious illnesses, as well as more adults refusing tetanus shots.” Idiocracy!)
• f
• Scott Pelley Accuses CBS News Boss of ‘Murdering’ ‘60 Minutes’ (“In an explosive staff meeting, Mr. Pelley, a correspondent for the long-running Sunday news show, blasted Bari Weiss, the CBS editor in chief, and Nick Bilton, the show’s new executive producer.”)
• Owens Unloads in Overtime (“Just hours after Scott Pelley torched CBS News leadership, former “60 Minutes” executive producer Bill Owens joined the revolt, blasting Bari Weiss and rallying behind his former colleague.”)
• Pelley’s ‘60 Minutes’ Revolt
• Hackers Simply Asked Meta AI to Give Them Access to High-Profile Instagram Accounts. It Worked
• Amazon Shuts Down Internal AI Leaderboard After Employees Cheated
• Republicans go all in on toxic masculinity in Texas (“It’s a clarifying moment for Democrats.”)
• Meet the Far-Right Nepo Baby Vying to Deregulate Texas’s Fossil Fuels (“Bo French is running a deranged culture-war campaign for a spot on the powerful Texas Railroad Commission. The race says everything about where Republicans are today.”)
• Tuesday’s wild races for California governor and Los Angeles mayor, and other elections to watch
• California’s Messy Governor’s Race Could Spell Doom For This Voting System (“The prospect that Democrats could be locked out of the general election for governor in California has renewed efforts to scrap the state’s nonpartisan jungle primaries.” The whole point of jungle primaries was to encourage moderation? Or what?)
• Dems hit by last-minute Platner anxiety before Maine Senate primary (A little late now…)
• Democrats fret Graham Platner could cost them — and not just in Maine
• Scoop: Platner heads to D.C. as Democrats worry over his campaign (This guy is f’ed up in soooo many ways, it’s really hard to keep track. The fact that any Democrats support him is truly distressing. Also, if he’s the nominee, Dems could blow a VERY winnable race in Maine against Susan Collins, and also blow the chance to take back the US Senate. That would be a DISASTER. Bottom line: all we needed in Maine was to nominate a normal, sane Democrat, and we’d almost certainly win in November. But noooo…)
• Why Does Graham Platner’s Senate Campaign Give Me John Fetterman Vibes? (“I don’t know how I feel about it. Regardless, the only sane way forward at this very moment is to elect Democratic candidates.”)
• Unfortunately for Graham Platner, he needs women on his side to win | Steve Collins (“The bedrock of the Democratic coalition in Maine comprises women who lean left or center. If even one in five of them decides not to vote for Platner in November, he’s toast.” BINGO!)
• Maine Gov. Janet Mills: ‘I am still on the ballot’ for Senate (“The statement comes as presumptive Democratic nominee Graham Platner, a 41-year-old political newcomer, faces renewed scrutiny over post-marital sexting with several women.”)
• New York Democrats push redistricting amendment, joining national battle
• Trump-backed Iowa Senate candidate says Iran war could become ‘political liability’
• The fall of Ben Shapiro (“Antisemitism ate the MAGA media star.”)
• ‘Like a Klingon prison’: inside Barack Obama’s audacious, near-windowless, $850m presidential library (“Towering over a low-income area of Chicago, and wrapped in a speech that’s hard to decipher, this controversial monolith feels like a menacing sci-fi HQ. Is it a monument – or a mausoleum?”)
• Sen. Mark Warner listens to military families, service providers about challenges
• A Nickel Off the Commissary Bill Won’t Fix Veterans’ Healthcare Costs (“Rep Jen Kiggans (R-VA02) Needs to Assess Her Priorities – Or Let Someone Else Do the Job”)
• Gov. Abigail Spanberger Sends General Assembly Leadership Updated Revenue Forecast (an increase of $1.5B for FY26-FY28) (This “should provide the General Assembly with enough resources to craft a structurally balanced budget”)
• Virginia revenue forecast brightens, Spanberger says
• This Democratic governor won in a landslide — and is now at war with her own base
• Republicans Want You to Forget About Medical Abortion Rights Until After the Midterms. Let’s Not. (“Virginians Will Have the Opportunity to Vote on a Constitutional Amendment to Protect Abortion Rights in November”)
• Virginia’s same-sex marriage advocates launch constitutional amendment campaign
• Marriage equality is the law of the land, sure, but, take nothing for granted
• Virginia marriage equality amendment campaign launches at start of Pride Month (“Advocates gather in Richmond to push for constitutional protections ahead of November 2026 referendum.”)
• VA Lt. Gov. Ghazala Hashmi: “Some Commonwealth’s Attorneys across Virginia are refusing to enforce recently signed gun legislation banning assault weapons, a direct violation of their oath to uphold the laws of the Commonwealth.” (“Tragically, Virginia has been the site of too many mass shootings”)
• Virginia resists the federal trend to vest greater authority in the executive branch (I’m linking to this simply to say that it’s Mark Rozell, so…of course.)
• Fairfax acted ‘appropriately’ in school groping case, law firm finds
• Valley Link says its new transmission line plan would impact fewer people. Opponents vow to continue fighting it.
• Valley Link unveils reworked routes for high-voltage transmission line (“The new routes will reportedly reduce the number of residences that come within 500 feet of the corridor to 75. There are no homes that come within 150 feet of the route. Developers also considered wetlands, environmental resources, recreational areas, conservation easements, and historical and architectural resources.”)
• Congress earmarks $850K for stormwater improvements in Shockoe watershed
• Editorial: As hurricane season begins, Hampton Roads should get ready
• 6 things to know about Spanberger’s firing of Rocovich as Virginia Tech rector
• Term limits will stay for rectors, Virginia Tech Board of Visitors decides
• VT’s Board of Visitors backs away from resolution that would get rid of living-learning programs
• Last Week with Rob Schilling: Chemtrails, and the Muslims are taking over Charlottesville! (Utterly appalling. Also, does anyone listen to this crap???)
• New memorial dedicated in Alexandria to the victims of the Potomac River midair collision
• DC-area forecast: A totally terrific Tuesday before late week heat (Yeah, except that we’re in a drought and need rain.)