Wednesday (6/10) News: “Trump and Netanyahu wanted to reshape the Middle East – now they risk a permacrisis”; R’s Pass “supercharged budgets” for ICE, CBP

by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Wednesday, June 10. Also, check out the video of Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-VA11) discussing the testimony of longtime (18 years) Jeffrey Epstein assistant Lesley Groff  yesterday. According to Rep. Walkinshaw, Groff “maintained today that over those 18 years, while we know Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell were engaged in crime after crime after crime that she knew nothing and never once even suspected that perhaps he was abusing women and girls. She scheduled massage after massage, after massage, meeting after meeting after meeting with young women…Groff maintained today that she never once even had a suspicion that perhaps he was abusing women and girls. I find it unbelievable, absolutely unbelievable, not remotely credible.”

• Pollinators in peril: scientists reveal the hidden human health costs of the world’s disappearing bees
• Billionaires’ Billions Are Increasing Faster Than Ever (“Fifteen years ago, the world’s billionaires collectively had $4.5 trillion. By 2024, their wealth had more than tripled to $14.2 trillion. Now, their combined wealth totals $20.1 trillion — an amount that is equivalent to nearly a fifth of the entire world’s total yearly output.” Wildly inexcusable and unsustainble.)
• The World’s Great Powers Are Learning They Have Limits (“As technology levels the field between stronger and weaker nations, old-fashioned wars of conquest might no longer be possible”)
• A Twist in Ukraine’s Drone Campaign Is ‘Really Hurting the Russians’ (“Midrange attacks, using upgraded drones that Ukraine produces in huge numbers, are causing fuel shortages and complicating troop rotations.”)
• Putin and Trump are both trapped in losing battles against reality (“The Ukraine and Iran wars are very different, but a common authoritarian delusion unites the men who started them”)
• U.S. and Iran Zero In on Four Nuclear Issues in Talks (Whatever ends up happening here will almost certainly be worse than what President Barack Obama’s admimistration already had negotiated, and only after a lot of needless bloodshed, 10s of billions of $$$ spent, harm to the U.S. strategic position in the world, etc.)
• U.S. Launches Strikes on Iran in Response to Downed Apache Helicopter (“Jet fighters used precision munitions to hit Iranian radar sites and ground control stations in an attack that lasted several hours, U.S. Central Command said”)
• Trump Admits Chopper Was Downed by Military He ‘Obliterated’ (“The threat of another escalation came hours after Trump insisted a peace deal was only days away.”)
• Vance: Iran deal could happen in a week or months from now — but “absolutely” before midterms (Yeah, alrighty…sure, whatever Vance says! Haha.)
• US strikes Iran in response to downing of military helicopter
• Bowen: Trump and Netanyahu wanted to reshape the Middle East – now they risk a permacrisis
• Middle East crisis live: Iran launches broad retaliatory attacks after US strikes over downed helicopter (“Iran says US strikes ‘harming diplomatic process by violating ceasefire’ as it targets airbase in Jordan hosting US forces, as well as Kuwait and Bahrain”)
• Only one in 10 Europeans now see US as an ally, survey suggests (“Exclusive: poll across 15 countries finds ‘deep mistrust’, with majority doubting US would come to their aid in an attack”)
• Anti-immigration protesters in Belfast set bins and vehicles on fire amid unrest over knife attack (“Crowds gather at sites across Belfast after Sudanese man charged with attempted murder”)
• Victim in Belfast knife attack lost his left eye, court hears, as suspect named for first time (“The victim in Monday night’s Belfast knife attack has lost his left eye, has damage to his right eye, and has injuries to his neck and back, a court hears”)
• ICE denies having a protester database. But a letter to Congress sheds more light
• House passes $70B bill to fund immigration enforcement for 3 years, sending to Trump (Utterly appalling.)
• House Republicans clear $70B go-it-alone immigration enforcement package (“The end result is the enactment of supercharged budgets for both agencies — and the guarantee that they will be funded beyond the end of Trump’s presidency.”)
• Trump’s deportation agenda secures funding that could outlast his presidency
• ICE has detained over 500 babies and toddlers under Trump (“On an average day, ICE has 25 children aged 3 or younger in custody, according to joint research by MS NOW and The Marshall Project.” INSANITY!)
• Largest ICE detention facility wasted millions and put detainees at risk, report finds
• Tom Homan Keeps Making Ominous Immigration Threats About NYC
• Supreme Court’s final cases loom over Trump’s immigration, election hopes (UGH.)
• Trump’s Incredibly Misleading, Downright Outrageous Case for Medicaid Cuts (“A new report has left economists flabbergasted.”)
• Social Security shortfall expected to accelerate, with funds at critical low in 2032 (“The shortfall will be driven in part by a drop in immigration and Trump’s tax cuts, trustees say, resulting in trimmed benefits.”)
• May inflation is expected to have jumped as the Iran war sent prices higher
• Trump claims US fuel prices ‘not very high’ as costs surge amid Iran war (“National average gas price stands at about $4.16 per gallon as Americans grapple with price hikes sparked by the war”)
• What does Sean Hannity think about gas prices? It depends on who’s president. (Hannity is COMPLETELY and WILDLY dishonest – and always has been. Zero integrity; disgusting person.)
• Trump’s elevating Bill Pulte as intelligence chief could mean FISA spy power expires
• After Trump’s Director of National Intelligence pick, knives are out for the whole office
• Trump not expected to act on Pulte after Johnson meeting (“Democrats want the acting DNI out before agreeing to spy-powers extension.”)
• Trump’s obsession with SAVE America Act puts MAGA’s pressure on John Thune
• Trump setbacks fuel lame-duck talk as he turns 80
• Trump news at a glance: president returns to old playbook of undermining US election integrity (“Experts worry Trump’s administration – now stocked with loyalists and election deniers – may not stand up to attempts to sabotage upcoming elections – key US politics stories from Tuesday 9 June at a glance”)
• Hard-right groups have expanded their influence across US government, report finds (“Southern Poverty Law Center releases report as US government pursues federal fraud charges against group”)
• 20 House Republicans cross party lines to pass pro-union bill
• Trump’s “Weaponization” Claim Is Total BS (“The $1.8 billion slush fund may be gone (for now), but Trump’s sticking with this hogwash.”)
• Longtime Epstein assistant says she set up phone calls between Epstein and Trump (“House Oversight Democrats are accusing Lesley Groff of misrepresenting her relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.”)
• Bill Gates to face questions about Jeffrey Epstein from House Oversight panel
• Moral Acceptability Falls for Several Behaviors (“Moral acceptability of birth control, having a baby outside of marriage, gambling, teenage sex and cloning animals down significantly”)
• Paramount C.E.O. Promises Editorial Independence for ‘60 Minutes,’ Lesley Stahl Says (“David Ellison told Ms. Stahl, one of three remaining correspondents for the news program, that he would respect the show’s editorial decisions after a tumultuous stretch.” Hahahahahahaha…riiiight, sure he will!)
• Scoop: Paramount seeks biz counterpart for Weiss at CBS News
• Tuesday’s takeaways: Platner’s big night, Clyburn carries on and Trump’s support gets mixed results
• Will this scandal-plagued outsider help save or sink the Democrats?
  
• Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo to face off against Democrat Aaron Ford in Nevada’s race for governor
• Maine voters set up a Senate showdown: Graham Platner versus Susan Collins (Well, this certainly should be, er, “interesting” LOL)
• Tom Steyer: I’m on your team forever (“It would be a travesty for Steve Hilton to win the governorship, and Californians must unite behind Xavier Becerra to ensure he does not.”)
• Hilton Beats Steyer to Win Second Spot in California Governor Race
• Republican Steve Hilton to face Democrat Xavier Becerra in California governor’s race (We’ve basically known this for days now…)
• Sen. Lindsey Graham wins primary over ‘America First’ challenger (Getting just 56.8% of the vote isn’t super impressive for a long-time incumbnet with a MASSIVE cash advantage.)
• Graham faces pediatrician Annie Andrews in South Carolina Senate race (Absolute no-brainer right here to vote for Andrews over the egregiously horrible Graham.)
• Nancy Mace loses GOP primary for South Carolina governor (She’s a complete nutjob.)
• Fired Navy Admiral Advances to Democratic Runoff in South Carolina House Race (“Nancy Lacore would face a tough fall election in a district drawn in 2021 to be more Republican. She is seeking to replace Representative Nancy Mace, who ran unsuccessfully for governor instead of running for re-election.”)
• How Spencer Pratt’s ‘patently absurd’ bid for Los Angeles mayor fell flat (Freak show.)
• Spencer Pratt’s Mayoral Campaign Proves It Takes More Than Mastering the Algorithm to Get Elected (“The influencer turned mayoral candidate built one of the strangest coalitions Los Angeles politics has seen in years by mastering the attention economy. But when the ballots arrived, Pratt discovered the limits of a strictly online movement fueled by AI videos and outrage.”)
• Video: Rep. Jennifer McClellan (D-VA04) Delivers Powerful Speech About Juneteenth, Republicans’ Assault on Voting Rights (Declares “We’re going to fight back as the Congressional Black Caucus; we will not let our voices be silenced!”)
• Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-VA02) Doubles Down on Her “Staunch” Support for Trump’s War with Iran as Virginians Pay the Price (“Kiggans is not stepping up to rein in the war and to keep costs down”)
• Video: SPLC President Bryan Fair Schools Dishonest, Misinformed, Far-Right Rep. Ben Cline (R-VA06) (Fair: “The Unite the Right rally was in 2017; you referred to 2015 and 2016”; “donations surge[d] after the election of Donald Trump”)
• Ben Cline whiffs, badly, in House hearing on Southern Poverty Law Center (Really, really embarrassing. Cline=Clown)
• Wittman seeks to keep 1st District seat, as Democratic challengers face crowded primary (“Early voting for the primary election for the first congressional district begins on June 18. Election day is Aug. 4.”)
• Video: Virginia Healthcare Leaders Explain That Thanks to GOP’s “Big Ugly Law,” “close to 70% of the rural hospitals [are] at risk” of Closure (or Major Service Cutbacks) (Also remember, “the Republicans are the ones who made the Big Ugly Law partisan”)
• Over a dozen Virginia rural hospitals at risk of closing, state report finds
• State report finds 13 rural hospitals vulnerable to closure
• Video: Public Utility Law Expert Tells VA Energy Commission That Dominion Is “selling control of [its] monopoly role to an outsider [NextEra]” (He also says there’s “no way that a full hearing” of this complex transaction “can occur in a six-month proceeding – that’s not possible”)
• As Dominion seeks bill increase, state commission floats idea of rebates from greenhouse gas fund (HORRIBLE idea; that is NOT what RGGI is for!)
• Virginia’s future depends on building the electric infrastructure that powers it (Perfect – written by a guy with the last name “Powers” LOL)
• When does Virginia’s governor get to take credit for an economic development project? (“…what, it really comes down to, if you’re saying, ‘this is my deal and I brought this one here,’ say how you did it.”)
• Youngkin: The ballot is not a marketing brochure | Guest commentary (Yeah, we were all just thinking, this is a person we haven’t heard much from in a few weeks and we REALLY want to get his views on stuff. NOT!!! LOL)
• Giles, Pulaski hospitals among those at risk of closure according to state report
• Number of measles cases in Virginia surpasses 100 (VACCINATE YOUR KIDS!!!)
• Rappahannock Tribe wins first round in legal case over potential harm to namesake river
• Roanoke Valley and Richmond metro have become magnets for people moving out of Fairfax County.
• Buckingham County measles outbreak now at 83 confirmed cases (Inexcusable.)
• Man who murdered sailor Angelina Resendiz sentenced to 44 years (“A military judge sentenced Jermiah Copeland on Tuesday to 44 years in federal prison.”)
• DC-area forecast: Hello to higher humidity, building heat, and some storms