Friday (7/10) News: “Texas ICE Killing Darkens” – “Be Outraged by the Death of Lorenzo Salgado Arajuo”; “Trump called ‘irresponsible and dangerous’ over election commission firings”

by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise (economic, environmental, etc.) for Friday, July 10. Also, see below for Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-VA11) on a story that should have everyone outraged: “Lorenzo Salgado Araujo’s death demands a full, independent investigation. This administration, ICE, DHS, and the FBI have not presented an ounce of evidence to support their version of what happened. His family deserves justice.”

INTERNATIONAL

• UK swelters in third heatwave of the year as western Europe counts cost of hottest-ever June (“Britain expands heat alerts while estimates suggest June’s death toll could surpass 20,000 across continent”)
• Opinion | The Very Good and Very Bad News on Climate
• Developing countries spend more repaying foreign debt than on education, UN reveals
• EU accuses Meta of failing to tackle mental health risks of ‘addictive design’ (“Regulators say Facebook and Instagram features such as autoplay and infinite scroll contribute to ‘compulsive use’”)
• EU demands Facebook and Instagram dismantle design features it calls addictive for users
• Ukraine’s Drones Are Now Reaching Siberia and Imperiling Russian Energy Assets (“Kremlin’s new dilemma: how to protect a much greater area with limited air-defense capabilities”)
• Ukraine has ‘two months before Putin escalates war’ (“Czech president warns Russian leader could order general mobilisation after parliamentary elections”)
• US and Iran exchange intensifying fire across Mideast, threatening ceasefire deal
• The Fight Over Hormuz Boils Down to One Poorly Worded Clause in Trump’s Deal (“Paragraph 5 hands Iran a leading role in opening the waterway, but one the U.S. and its allies aren’t comfortable with”)
• Bombing and a Tentative Accord Didn’t Work. Does Trump Have a Plan C for Iran? (“The administration has yet to answer why it believes economic warfare and bombing will yield a different result this time.”)
• U.S. to continue ‘technical talks’ with Iran after Trump said ceasefire was ‘over’
• Huge crowds in Mashhad as Iran’s late supreme leader is buried
• As Trump declares Iran ceasefire “over,” right-wing media hawks push for ground troops, regime change — even nuclear strikes
• Iran’s Supreme Leader Remains Absent, a Void at the Top of the Regime (“Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei did not appear at his father’s funeral, fueling speculation about his physical condition and leaving a power vacuum in a divided country.”)
• Israel shared intelligence with US of Iranian plot to assassinate Trump, sources say
• Shelling at night, gunfire by day in Israel’s expanding zone of control in Gaza
• Bangladesh’s Hasina plans December return with party colleagues to surrender
• Visualised: how conflict, aid cuts and health-worker attacks are helping Ebola spread in DRC (“The rapid spread of the virus has been intensified by misinformation and violence towards volunteers and treatment centres”)
• Burnham set to be next PM as 322 Labour MPs back him in first nomination tally
• Andy Burnham apologises for Labour’s stance on Gaza and says it ‘didn’t get it right’ (“Exclusive: PM-in-waiting says party must ‘do better’ in approach to Middle East and he will put more pressure on Israel”)
• One of Spain’s deadliest wildfires has killed at least 11 people, with 19 others missing
• Mexico threatens legal action over citizens’ deaths in ICE custody

NATIONAL

• Migrant passengers who saw man killed by ICE in Houston say he did not ram officers (“In separate statements and interviews, the three men disputed key elements of the Department of Homeland Security’s account of the killing of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo during a chaotic traffic stop this week.” This was cold-blooded murder – arrest the murderers NOW!)
• Texas ICE Killing Darkens: Rep Says Witnesses Pressured to Self-Deport (“There were three others in the van with the man shot by ICE in Houston this week. A representative for the families tells TNR that the government is pressuring these potential witnesses to self-deport.”)
• Man Killed by Federal Agent in Houston Was Not the Target of ICE Search (“Officials say agents believed a passenger resembled one suspect, but the encounter quickly escalated into a fatal shooting.” ARREST THE AGENTS RESPONSIBLE!)
• ICE officers involved in fatal Houston shooting weren’t wearing bodycams
• ICE killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo. They want you to be apathetic. Don’t be. (“Salgado came from Mexico, built the American dream, sent his sons to college, and was senselessly killed by ICE.”)
• No One Can Live the American Dream with ICE on Our Streets (“Every time someone like Lorenzo Salgado Araujo is killed by one of the president’s amped-up goons, I lose my faith in our country all over again.”)
• ICE Keeps Using The Same Justification For Killing Drivers (“Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was shot dead by immigration agents on the way to work. DHS claims he was using his vehicle as a weapon.”)
• ICE arrested a nun on her way to church. Does MAGA care? (“Trump says he’s defending religious liberty. Not when it comes to immigration.”)
• Trump’s War-Not-War Is Doing Something Odd to the Economy (“Businesses and consumers are struggling with a bizarre conflict that is simultaneously happening and not happening.”)
• The administration has a new climate change office. It’s headed by a climate critic. (He’s not a “climate critic,” he’s a climate DENIER – big difference!)
• Trump called ‘irresponsible and dangerous’ over election commission firings – US politics live
• Trump ousts remaining members of the Election Assistance Commission ahead of midterms (“The dismissals hamstring a key bipartisan agency just months before the midterms.” Trump’s trying to rig the midterms, for sure.)
• In sweeping attack on elections, Trump fires leadership of key federal voting assistance commission
• BREAKING: “Trump fires all Election Assistance Commission members, leaving agency unable to act” (This is going to be a BFD if Trump Tries to Assert the EAC’s Powers over the Federal Voter Registration Form)
• Trump fires last members of election commission, inciting fears of midterm ‘chaos’ (“Bipartisan Election Assistance Commission maintains mail-voter registration form, among other duties”)
• The Downballot releases presidential results for every new House district, sponsored by Grassroots Analytics
• Landmark housing bill that Trump trashed will become law — unless he vetoes it tonight (“Trump has until midnight to veto the bipartisan housing affordability bill that he dismissed as a ‘yawn’ or it will go into effect automatically Saturday.”)
• New Air Force One Lacks Defensive Countermeasures of Previous Model, Officials Say (“Experts said the lack of such capabilities poses a potential risk when the president travels overseas. The White House defended the aircraft’s safety.”)
• RNC midterm convention to be candidate fundraiser, with tickets reaching $20,000 in some states
• Mitch McConnell Pictured in Ambulance in Bombshell Video (“There has been no meaningful update on the 84-year-old’s condition for weeks.”)
• Is Mitch McConnell Even Alive? If So, Where the Hell Is He?
• Inside the growing firestorm over House Dems’ primary meddling (“The DCCC has racked up a spotty record in its attempts to intervene in Democratic primaries this cycle, leading some House Democrats to question why they’re paying dues to the campaign committee.”)
• Victor Marx wins the Republican primary for Colorado governor (“He has also said his abusive stepfather effectively forced Marx, at 7 years old, to kill a man.”)
• AIPAC’s next big target: A Democrat it already defeated (“AIPAC hoped it had ended former Rep. Cori Bush’s political career for good when it helped oust her two years ago. Now it’s spending big to stop her attempted comeback.”)
• Maine contenders: the Democrats who could replace Graham Platner
• Inside Graham Platner’s Maine Bunker as He Fought to Stay in Senate Race (““We continued to ask Graham for the billionth time in this race if there was any information he had not shared,” says one adviser. “He continued to say no.””)
• ‘There’s No Graham Platner Without Donald Trump’: 3 Writers on the Fiasco in Maine
• Maine progressives race to find Platner replacement as centrists call for ‘normie Democrat’ (It’s an issue of who’s best able to defeat Susan Collins in November; personally, I want someone who isn’t a sociopath, who doesn’t have major skeletons in their closet, who has broad appeal to the electorate, etc.)
• With Graham Platner’s exit from Senate race looming, Democrats line up to replace him
• It’s not me, it’s them: Platner goes down snarling with graceless exit video (“The populist Democrat nominee for Senate in Maine bowed to the inevitable but turned his farewell into a pity party” Pathetic, disgusting person in every way.)
• Trump Brushed Off His Scandals. Here’s Why Platner Couldn’t. (“Why Democrats can’t play by Trump rules.”)
• Why was the pundit class so quick to defend Graham Platner? (“To some of Platner’s most influential backers his swaggering, reckless, and casually brutish masculinity was understood not as a liability, but as a virtue” Utterly repulsive; people with absolutely ZERO moral or ethical core.)
• A bunch of failed candidates are scrambling to replace Graham Platner (“The rocket primary for Democrats’ Maine Senate pick is on – and the candidates are shaping their strategies in real time.”)
• Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows is officially running for Senate (She sounds excellent; definitely do NOT want Platner’s buddy Troy Jackson! Other intriguing candidates include Dan Kleban and Jordan Wood)
• Scoop: Platner privately told staff he’ll formally exit Senate race Monday (Graham Platner continues to do Graham Platner things – and that is NOT good, given what a sociopath Platner is!)
• Morris Katz: ‘I’m deeply disappointed’ (Yeah, right…)
• Why Some Women in Maine Are Mourning the End of Graham Platner’s Campaign (Alrighty…)
• Michigan Is the Next Big Test for the Democratic Party (Again, we need a candidate who can win in a purple state, who doesn’t have skeletons, etc.)
• In ruling against Florida’s Stop WOKE Act, this Trump judge took DeSantis to school (“The act outlawed teaching about ideas that are widely accepted across the social sciences and physical sciences, including the existence of structural racism.”)
• Texas Democrat vows to investigate Musk’s SpaceX if elected attorney general (“Nathan Johnson, the Democratic nominee for attorney general, said he wants to determine whether SpaceX is unfairly getting state grant money.”)
• Trump’s arch clears another hurdle, setting up a big debate: Do height limits apply?
• Nolan Wells’ body was found after a July 4 boat trip. His death has fueled speculation, grief and racial tension

VIRGINIA

• Kaine visits Massive Resistance museum in Farmville, points to hope from “Virginia’s story”
• Mark Warner calls out sham of FBI investigation into ‘rigged’ 2020 election
• Video: Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-VA11) Says “Mr. Platner should look in the mirror…and evaluate his own…behavior over the course of his adult life” and His Dishonesty “with Mainers about that behavior”
• Seven Democrats jockey for position in 1st Congressional District primary
• Gov. Abigail Spanberger Statement on Virginia Rising to #3 in CNBC’s “America’s Top States for Business” Rankings (“Since I took office, I have been focused on growing a stronger, more resilient economy — despite the economic uncertainty coming out of Washington”)
• Virginia climbs to third spot in CNBC ‘Top States for Business’ rankings (“Gov. Spanberger touts legislative agenda and workforce development measures, along with years-long infrastructure projects as contributing factors. “)
• Virginia moves up to 3rd in CNBC’s ‘top state for business’ ranking. Here are 6 things to know.
• VA Adult-Use Cannabis Law Patrons Sen. Lashrecse Aird, Del. Paul Krizek Rebut “inaccurate reports and social media claims” About New Law (“Let me be absolutely clear: the budget language passed by the General Assembly did not legalize cannabis possession by minors”)
• No, you still can’t buy and sell cannabis in Virginia.
• Pope & Schapiro: A data center tipping point? (Sure looks like it!)
• Let’s Keep Public Funds for Public Schools (“Urge Governor Spanberger to Revoke Participation in the Private School Tax Credit Program”)
• When We Stopped Reading the Same Story (“How personalized news—and the decline of local journalism—changed the way Virginians see each other and the world”)
• Spanberger’s efforts on college governing boards get mixed grades (“Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) pledged to help reverse what some Democrats criticized as the politicization of higher education under her Republican predecessor.”)
• Virginia and Florida utilities rank high on the list of utilities that cut off customers who don’t pay
• Virginia nonprofit launches mobile tech education bus for underserved students (“State budget appropriation of $200,000 will help group fulfill youth-focused mission”)
• Fairfax County leaders, staff gear up for impacts of ‘Faith in Housing’ legislation
• Despite the rain, drought conditions continue in Virginia (“Virginia Tech professor Andrew Ellis says: ‘Strong droughts, like the current situation, often only end in late summer if tropical storm remnants affect the region, or some less dramatic but unique atmospheric pattern unfolds.'”)
• DC-area forecast: Hot but a tad less humid today. Fewer storms expected.