by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise (economic, environmental, etc.) for Wednesday, July 22. Today’s biggest developments and headlines include the climate crisis (always at the top of these news highlights because it’s existential and should be a massive story every single day), Oil nears $100 as Red Sea attacks threaten new chokepoint in Iran conflict, “Trump’s Saudi nuclear deal risks igniting a Middle East arms race”, “The White House Correspondents’ Association takes another futile crack at celebrating the First Amendment with Donald Trump”, “Local U.S. TV News Will Soon Be Entirely Right Wing Propaganda”, and “A free clinic in Appalachia says they anticipate ‘unprecedented’ number of people to lose Medicaid.”
INTERNATIONAL NEWS (Climate, Russia/Ukraine, oil markets, Iran war, Saudi nuclear deal, tariffs/trade war, etc.)
- As climate lawsuits advance, the oil industry enters ‘panic mode’ (The goal should be to bankrupt this industry, just like happened with tobacco.)
- Trump Administration Wants to Hold World’s First Deep-Sea Mining Lease Sale (“If the sale moves forward, mining activities could begin in federal waters near American Samoa. The proposed site is directly adjacent to a national wildlife refuge.” ABSOLUTELY NOT!)
- Weather tracker: More than 900 wildfires rage across Canada (“Fires remain out of control in Northwest Territories and Ontario, while Argentina endures record night-time heat”)
- Trump says he will dismantle the ICC ‘brick by brick’. It could be his most chilling move of all (“The US is aligning itself with dictators and autocrats to prevent those accused of genocide, ethnic cleansing and war crimes from ever facing justice”)
- Sex work or starve: Aid workers in Nepal left jobless by USAID cuts turn to sex work to survive (Reminder: anyone involved in slashing USAID is E-V-I-L.)
- Laura Loomer meets Zelenskyy in Ukraine after her major reversal on the war (Alrighty…)
- How the Greenland standoff pushed Europe to prep for war with the U.S.
- A dangerous new phase of war is breaking all the oil market’s constraints
- The War Is Lost. Now Fix What It Broke. (“America has to rethink how it moves resources, fights wars, and deters adversaries.”)
- Trump Weighs Wider Iranian Attacks With New Truce Still Elusive
- Number of U.S. Troop Deaths Suddenly Appears Lower on Pentagon Website (“Three military officials and a Pentagon spokesman gave conflicting explanations for why the number of Americans killed in the Iran war had changed.”)
- Explosions are heard near a US base in northern Iraq as US-Iran fighting escalates
- Pentagon Pete Strips Fallen Heroes of Status as War Dead (“Four troops were abruptly taken off a list of casualties.”)
- Senate GOP blocks measure to end Iran war despite concerns about lack of endgame
- For a 2nd time, House approves resolution to end the war in Iran in a rebuke to Trump (Reps. Rob Wittman, Jen Kiggans, John McGuire, Ben Cline and Morgan Griffith all voted against this. F*** ’em.)
- Trump Is Losing Patience Over an Iran War With No Clear End in Sight (“President has grown skeptical of diplomacy and is in ‘revenge mode’ against Tehran, according to a senior administration official”)
- Exclusive: Trump “close” to decision on “massive attack” on Iran
- US to Use Iran’s Frozen Funds to Pay for Ship Damage, Trump Says
- Satellite Images Show Iran Is Rebuilding. Fast. (“Tehran’s speedy recovery from damage done by the U.S. and Israeli air campaign raises concerns about its effectiveness”)
- Donald Trump says decision on ‘massive attack’ against Iran is close
- Iran flew IRGC commanders, missile gear to Yemen’s Houthis
- Did Trump just kill his own nuclear deal? (“The US inked a deal with the Saudis. A day later, Trump walked it back.”)
- Trump Administration Live Updates: President’s Demand for Saudis to Recognize Israel Puts Nuclear Deal in Doubt (Saudi recognition of Israel is not going to happen barring some sort of path towards a two-state solution or whatever.)
- The Art of the Giveaway (“The Trump administration is giving Saudi Arabia exactly what it wants. For what?”)
- Trump says Saudi Arabia’s nuclear deal hinges on the kingdom normalizing Israel ties
- Four Palestinians and one Israeli killed during West Bank settler attack (These “settlers” are a menace. They should be, but won’t be, arrested.)
- The Trump Family Sparks a Revolution in Albania (“A luxury development planned by Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump has spurred anti-corruption protests.”)
- Tens of thousands evacuated from French tourist spot as wildfires spread
- One month after earthquakes, Venezuelans still search for loved ones and answers (Horrible.)
- Here Comes Another Round of Sham Tariffs (“The administration is expected to announce Section 301 duties targeting ‘forced labor.’” Excellent headline; makes clear that these tariffs are a SHAM! Most other “news” media just uncritically regurgitates what Trump did, just like the good little stenographers that they are…)
- Trump imposes double-digit tariffs on dozens of countries as his 10% levies are set to expire Friday
- Trump imposes fresh tariffs on UK, EU and dozens of other trading partners (“New tariffs will replace 10% global duty and come after US supreme court declared many of the earlier levies illegal”)
- The Latest on Trump’s Trade War (“The president has unveiled a complicated system to forge ahead with his trade war, after the Supreme Court stuck down his original levies.”)
- New U.S. Tariffs Aimed at Over 80 Countries Go Into Effect (“The administration launched new duties tied to countries’ imports of goods made with forced labor, replacing a 10 percent tariff immediately after it expired.”)
- Meet the man whose groundbreaking book is being devoured by the left (“Anton Jäger has been lauded for his exceptional ability to make sense of these strange political times – and he’s only 32. The writer and academic explains why we’re living in an age of hyperpolitics” Interesting!)
NATIONAL NEWS (ICE, economy, Musk meltdown, cyclosporiasis outbreak, etc.)
- Wu Shaoping escaped China’s repression, only to get busted by ICE in Pa.
- The Architecture of Resistance: America’s Year of Taking On ICE (“Ordinary people learned to stay a step ahead of Trump’s secret police. They’re still at it.”)
- Oil Prices Roar Back, Threatening Economy and GOP’s Midterm Hopes (“As global benchmark tops $100, stocks slump and Treasury yields hit highest levels of Trump’s second term”)
- War and Tariffs Threaten a Resilient U.S. Economy Again
- US health panel recommends easing restrictions on controversial peptides (“Vote from advisory group – whose members include people linked to peptides industry – likely to embolden RFK Jr”)
- F.D.A. Announces New Cyclosporiasis Outbreak with 72 Cases (“Health officials did not identify the location of the outbreak, or what they believed was causing it.”)
- Democrats Prepare for Possible Election Clashes With Federal Government (Whitewashed, normalized headline by the NY Times; should say “Democrats prepare for Trump regime to illegally/unconstitutionally attempt to interfere, f*** with, etc. the midterm elections!)
- Brett Kavanaugh has become Trump’s chief enabler on the supreme court (Kavanaugh is a heinous person.)
- Thursday was the worst day for DOJ. So far. (“DOJ withdrew its subpoenas issued to New York Times reporters, but the hearing that preceded that decision showed just how degraded DOJ has become.”)
- The Hegseth budget: defense secretary’s $1.5tn ask reveals military-industrial chaos (“The Pentagon head proposed a 44% increase – to second world war levels – while ‘woke’ programs are gutted” No Democrat should vote for this monstrosity.)
- McConnell’s Absence is Grinding Some Senate Business to a Halt (“Farm bill and government funding negotiations are at a standstill without Sen. Mitch McConnell, with just 10 legislative weeks left this year.” BTW, how the hell has the media not managed to figure out what’s really going on with McConnell yet???)
- Tensions rise between GOP leader Thune, White House over stalled Trump agenda
- ‘A circular firing squad’: Senate GOP pushes back on Trump’s tiff with Thune
- Knives are out for Vance in the GOP. His allies say it’s a coordinated ‘op.’
- A grueling summer campaign begins
- Jes Staley tells House Oversight he spoke with JPMorgan CEO about Epstein’s crimes (“Democrats say they’ll call Staley back to testify under oath if their party wins the majority in the midterms.” This guy seems nice…not!)
- Elon Musk Melts Down Over Perfectly Normal Questions in Wild New Interview (“Maybe some people do loathe me. And that’s probably true. I don’t care”)
- Elon Musk says he got ‘carried away’ with Trump – but still holds on to contentious political views (“In interview, billionaire says instead of running ‘Doge’ he should’ve ‘worked on my companies’ and shares extreme predictions” Musk is nuts.)
- Trump Got Elected, and Reelected, Because of Men. Now They’re Turning Their Backs on Him.
- Trump to speak at White House press dinner rescheduled after shooting (“Journalists urge attenders to confront president over media attacks, while Melanie Trump and JD Vance to be absent” It’s 100% INEXCUSABLE for any real journalist to attend this dinner.)
- Vega Breaks Her Silence (“The fired “60 Minutes” correspondent revealed stunning new details about how CBS News management tried to meddle in her reporting, according to an audio recording obtained by Status.”)
- Is Graham Platner’s Replacement the Real Deal? (“A seasoned Maine politician says Troy Jackson is sincere and level-headed.” Let’s hope!)
- Hacks, Heal Thyselves: Graham Platner and the Undoing of the Operative Class (“A former chief of staff to Andrew Cuomo and Chris Christie writes for Vanity Fair about how both parties have lost the plot, as the Maine Senate situation so perfectly illustrates.”)
- Next stop, Trump Station? Administration wants to rename New York’s Penn Station
- Melissa and Mark Hortman’s killer gets consecutive life sentences
- Federal agency drops subpoena seeking list of Jews at Penn
- Republicans skeptical Darline Graham can win a full Senate term (Isn’t her name Darline Nordone? Confusing.)
VIRGINIA NEWS (Kaine on Saudi deal, Virginia’s return to RGGI, Youngkin cashes in, Missing Middle meltdown in Arlington, etc.)
- Video: Sen. Tim Kaine Warns of “red flags…by the dozen” in Saudi-U.S. Nuclear Deal; Says Trump’s “triply breaking the law” on Iran War (“He’s violating the Constitution and the statute and the recently passed bipartisan War Powers Resolution”)
- Senator Tim Kaine speaks about scams targeting SNAP benefits, possible solutions
- Video: New Ad by VA02 Democratic Candidate, Former Rep. Elaine Luria – “Commanding officer, businesswoman, mom”
- Pope & Schapiro: The Dominion merger, data center transparency, and the governor’s overseas trip
- Virginia SNAP enrollment down 100K after Trump restrictions (“Many Virginians are no longer enrolled in the program as Republicans make it harder to access food assistance.”)
- Lawmakers in Richmond may change when we elect the governor
- For the first time under a new law, Virginia’s election offices were open Sunday. In nearly half the state, no one showed up to vote. (“Some localities have had Sunday voting before. Now it’s mandated. The turnout was spotty, with large numbers in two Northern Virginia localities, but most rural localities recorded no votes.”)
- Why NextEra’s Dominion takeover could mean higher electric bills for Virginians (By VA State Senator Schuyler VanValkenburg)
- Virginia’s Long-Awaited Return to RGGI Comes With New Challenges (“Increasing energy demands and emissions from data centers raise questions about how to speed up decarbonization.”)
- Va. transportation board OKs stricter oversight for economic development fund
- DEQ asks Virginians how to best engage environmental justice communities during permitting process
- Glenn Youngkin is the latest former Virginia governor to cash in on his political ties
- Editorial: Localities can lead by siting data centers in industrial parks (“Steering data centers to industrial parks would help residential neighborhoods combat problems with noise and pollution.”)
- Video, Transcript: 3 of 5 Arlington County Board Members Rip Fellow Member Susan Cunningham Over Her Surprise Motion on “Missing Middle” (“Not respectful,” “not acceptable,” “blindsided,” “you make yourself completely nonviable from the point of view of credibility”)
- Missing Middle proposal from Cunningham sparks blowup with ‘blindsided’ County Board members
- Loudoun to explore data center moratorium despite legal uncertainty
- A windfall, but at what cost? Inside Loudoun County’s complex relationship with data center tax revenue (“It’s been nearly 30 years since AOL built a data center in Ashburn, foreshadowing the boom of an industry that would change Northern Virginia.”)
- Mayor Avula will work to cut real estate, meals taxes if residents approve new tax for schools
- Richmond ranks as No. 2 city on the rise, and data centers are a reason why
- Albemarle County school administrator placed on leave amid sexual harassment probe
- Waynesboro teacher’s aide tried to force hand sanitizer into student’s mouth (WTF?)
- DC-area forecast: Comfortable today and Saturday. Summer oozes back next week.
