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by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise (economic, environmental, etc.) for Thursday, July 30. 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)…also the Iran War escalating yet again, the unhinged Republican assault on science and American hero Dr. Anthony Fauci, the need – more than ever – for campaign finance reform in Virginia, etc.)
INTERNATIONAL NEWS (Climate crisis, war criminal Putin attacks Ukrainian civilians, Iran war threatens to escalate yet again, etc.)
- Europe’s Summer of Reckoning Is ‘Just the Beginning’
- UK on track for record heat-related deaths this summer, official data shows (This is the climate crisis!)
- China generates less than half of its electricity from coal for the first time (“China, the world’s largest coal consumer, has been promoting the use of renewable energy, with a deadline for coal consumption to peak no later than 2030.”)
- AI could end up too cheap to control (“Think anarchy, not oligarchy.”)
- Russia Hits Ukraine With Missiles and Drones, Killing at Least 8 (“President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said that a family of five had been killed in the latest in a series of large-scale aerial assaults by Moscow.” Putin’s Russia is an evil, terrorist nation.)
- Potential roadblocks ahead for Graham-led Russia sanctions bill
- Missile that left crater deep inside Poland was probably Russian – Polish PM
- Poland blames Russia for firing missile into its territory as Moscow unleashes deadly attack on Ukraine
- Iran says it will ‘punish the aggressor today’ after ‘heavy wave’ of U.S. strikes
- US launches ‘heavy’ strikes on Iran after attempted attack on American troops
- 6 In 10 Voters Oppose U.S. Military Action In Iran Amid Spike In Expectations It Will Last A Year Or More, Trump Approval Hits New Low, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; 49% Worse Off Financially Than A Year Ago As Majority Thinks Economy Is Worsening
- Trump Encounters a More Determined Iran as War Widens
- Trump ‘exasperated’ on Iran as top officials can’t agree on strategy, sources say
- U.S. launches fresh airstrikes in Iran
- The growing MAGA media despondency over the Iran war quagmire (“Benny Johnson once called to rebrand the Strait of Hormuz in the US’s image, but now he has acquiesced to Iranian control over the crucial waterway”)
- Mideast Teeters on Brink of Expanded War as Iran and U.S. Resume Attacks (“Egypt said it had come under attack from an unidentified drone. Earlier, Saudi Arabia acknowledged direct involvement in the war for the first time.”)
- US strikes Iran as widening war engulfs more countries
- Saudi defense minister holds urgent meeting with Trump after Iraq strikes
- A shrinking weapons stockpile is testing the Pentagon’s sweeping new strategy
- Saudi Arabia’s dilemma as it tries to stay out of US-Iran war
- Inside Bibi’s pivotal White House meeting with Trump (“The official said Netanyahu does not want Israel to be dependent “on the goodwill of the U.S. Congress” because he sees the political winds on military aid turning negative among both parties.”)
- Netanyahu confronts Vance over his criticism of Israeli government (This is a tough one, because I hate BOTH Netanyahu and Vance!)
- European soccer officials eye Qatari sports executive to challenge Infantino (“Anger over FIFA’s plan to sell stakes in the World Cup has pushed European soccer leaders to rally behind a potential challenger: Paris Saint-Germain boss Nasser al-Khelaifi.”)
- Andrew Tate Was the Toast of Trumpworld. Has That Changed? (“‘Andrew Tate was a material participant in ensuring President Trump’s victory,’ Joseph McBride, his longtime lawyer, tells Vanity Fair. But as the influencer and his brother face extradition to the United Kingdom on rape and sex trafficking charges, Karoline Leavitt says the president won’t intervene. Has the manosphere lost its political cachet?”)
NATIONAL NEWS (ICE, Kevin Warsh, the insane witch hunt by Republicans against Anthony Fauci, new polling shows Democrats with 8-pt. lead for 2026, but voters don’t want a democratic socialist for president, etc.)
- ICE’s Secret Weapon Is in Your Community (“While attempting to maintain a relatively lower profile, ICE is managing to arrest record numbers of people. Here’s how it’s doing that.”)
- US uses dormant court to seek deportation of Afghan woman accused of aiding terror plot
- The Trump administration has undercut the U.S. asylum program. These 3 charts show how
- Maine Just Told ICE to Get Out (“Hundreds of the state’s police departments, school districts, and libraries are now required to refuse cooperation with the agency.”)
- Kevin Warsh Asked the Market to Speak. It Answered. (“Analysts said investors heard a chairman they now doubt will deliver the rate increases they think will be needed to “)
- Warsh’s Performance Falls Flat With Markets as Fed Holds Rates Steady (“Kevin Warsh has made taming inflation his top priority as Federal Reserve chairman. But a hesitancy to embrace the prospects of higher rates has set off a backlash.”)
- US borrowing costs hit 19-year high as Fed holds interest rates (“Bank’s chair pledges to keep up fight against inflation but decision brings fears of a failure to keep pace”)
- Number of Uninsured Rises Sharply, Hospitals Report, Citing Obamacare Cuts
- Pediatricians and health officials are sidestepping Trump’s CDC on vaccine advice
- Editorial: Intent behind Trump’s election bluster couldn’t be clearer (“Election officials — in Virginia and across the nation — must continue to hold the line against these baseless, unconstitutional attacks on our democracy.”)
- How John Thune is trying to manage Trump’s summer squeeze
- Thune-Trump tensions escalate as clock ticks on megabill 3.0
- Scoop: Inside the White House pitch for pre-election MAGA megabill
- The campaign against Fauci and what brought him back before Congress
- Anthony Fauci’s Senate Hearing Was Certifiably Absurd—Just Not for the Reasons We Expected (“The former CDC head even called out committee chairman Rand Paul for being “unhinged.” I’ll say.”)
- Covid rage had subsided. Then Congress called Fauci to testify. (NO! “Congress” generically didn’t do this, it was 100% Republicans! Why can’t the f’ing media just SAY THAT???)
- Paul says Fauci will face ‘repercussions’ for taking the Fifth. That could get complicated.
- 5 takeaways on Fauci’s hostile Senate hearing, GOP contempt threats (Abolustely heinous by Republicans, obviously, but WTF were Democrats doing in not 100% defending Fauci and ripping the shit out of Republicans for acting like McCarthy-era thugs?)
- Infectious disease expert on Fauci’s Senate hearing face off with lawmakers
- What Anthony Fauci Didn’t Say (“Senate Republicans had many questions. Fauci had one answer.”)
- The Covid debate that never ended (“It’s been six years, and America is still litigating the perceived errors of the pandemic.”)
- Anthony Fauci’s high-profile Senate hearing: what we learned (“Six years on from Covid crisis, Republicans still politicizing science – and Fauci remains a political punching bag”)
- Trump Has Made Billions in Office. Will His Party Pay Politically? (“The president took in a staggering $2.2 billion last year while in office. Democrats are hoping to make it a campaign issue in the midterm elections.”)
- Todd Blanche won’t get Thursday vote in Senate Judiciary Committee
- GOP Resistance Delays Key Vote on Trump’s Attorney General Pick
- Most Americans say they would not back a democratic socialist for president (Only 39% say they would consider a democratic socialist for president; 55% wouldn’t)
- CNN Poll: Voters favor Democrats by an 8-point margin heading into the midterms
- Republican disenfranchisement bid drives Black voters to polls, study finds (“Black voters in south motivated to turn out by Republican push to redraw maps after supreme court ruling”)
- Senior Trump Official Using Government Account To Smear Sitting Federal Judges (“This ‘puts a bullseye’ on judges already facing a spike in violent threats, warned U.S. District Judge Esther Salas, whose son was killed by a disgruntled litigant.”)
- Senate unanimously passes resolution opposing pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell
- Does the Socialist Surge Doom Democrats? (“DSA candidates are winning elections across the country. It might be time to start asking what they actually believe”)
- Will Left-Wing Democrats Reinvent the Party or Hurt Its Chances in November? (“Bernie Sanders’s erstwhile campaign manager explains why he thinks it’s the former.” Maybe, but of COURSE Bernie Sanders’ “erstwhile campaign manager” would say that.)
- Exclusive: Musk plans massive push for GOP in midterms (Musk is a white supremacist, so…perfect match with the Trump/MAGA Republican Party!)
- The Paramount Deal Is in Trouble. It’s Not About the Movies. (“Now it’s being put on pause for almost a year because, I’m told, of the exact condition that gave Paramount a leg up with the Trump administration in the first place — its post-merger control of both CNN and CBS News.”)
- Trump’s support for Graham’s sister stirs GOP backlash in South Carolina
- The Anti-Democrat (“Abdul El-Sayed is calling out his party; Haley Stevens is embracing it.” Democratic candidates absolutely have the right to criticize other Democrats, BUT their focus should be like 90% on a combination of putting forth their own policy ideas and really taking it to fascists/MAGAs. If they’re mostly focused on attacking Democrats, hard pass…)
- El-Sayed leads Stevens by 15 points in Michigan Senate primary: Poll
- Fox News Poll: Democratic enthusiasm shapes North Carolina Senate race (“Cooper benefits from stronger favorable ratings, while Whatley remains less well known”)
- Florida attorney general launches probe into Fauci over Covid claims (F*** this guy.)
- Singer Humiliates Trump After White House Uses His Song
VIRGINIA NEWS (Kaine rips Trump’s “three illegal wars,” Trump “unveils $22.5 Billion Redesign of Dulles Airport,” Virginia badly needs campaign finance reform, etc.)
- Video: Sen. Tim Kaine Floor Speech Condemns “three illegal wars – in Iran, Venezuela, and the Caribbean Sea and Eastern Pacific Ocean” (“I’ll keep challenging the President’s illegal and foolish wars at every opportunity and with every tool granted a United States Senator.”)
- Far-Right-Extremist/Insurrectionist Rep. John McGuire (R-VA05) Caught Trading Stocks on Insider Information Again (This November, VA05 voters can replace McGuire with the superb Tom Perriello)
- Virginia lawmakers react to Dulles Airport improvements proposed by President Trump
- Trump Unveils $22.5 Billion Redesign of Dulles Airport
- How are Democratic Socialist candidates faring in Virginia elections this year? (“Although Democratic Socialists don’t seem to be making much traction in Virginia’s congressional races, Wes Bellamy at Virginia State University says they are making headway in local elections. “)
- The gerrymandering aftermath: Virginia’s fight isn’t over
- Clean Virginia: Why Virginia needs campaign finance reform, now more than ever (“Clean Virginia has consistently advocated for comprehensive campaign finance reform — including a ban on corporate contributions as well as contribution limits on all other donors, Clean Virginia included.”)
- Virginia Department of Health working down nursing home recertification backlog
- Spanberger, Democrats have already replaced half of Youngkin’s college board picks
- Virginia should make data center cost protections enforceable
- Pornhub asks Spanberger to end Virginia’s “performative, ineffective, and unenforceable” age verification law
- Virginia’s disability services gap persists despite progress, leaves young adults vulnerable (“State has met 86% of DOJ’s requirements in settlement over ADA compliance”)
- AG creates new enforcement unit for vape, liquid nicotine
- The Valley Link transmission line is unpopular in rural counties, but it’s the result of policies pursued by both Republican and Democratic presidents (Haha, “BOTH SIDES” of course from Dwayne Yancey!)
- Portsmouth OKs November ballot referendum on 1% sales tax to benefit schools
- Henrico supervisors greenlight 2045 planning blueprint
- Family seeks answers in suicide death of inmate at Rappahannock Regional Jail
- DC-area forecast: Mostly sun-filled and seasonable as we wind down July
