Wednesday (7/29) News Roundup: Climate Disaster Rages, Iran War Flares Up, Trump Snoozes at Graham Funeral…

by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise (economic, environmental, etc.) for Wednesday, July 29. 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 Zelensky and Netanyahu in town, Lindsey Graham’s funeral, Anthony Fauci back in the news, Elon Musk as a serious menace to society – and BTW, no Democrat should be on “X” anymore; etc.)

INTERNATIONAL NEWS (Climate crisis, Ukraine pounds Russia’s economy, Iran war flares up again and drags in Saudis, Zelensky and Netanyahu in town for Graham’s funeral, U.S. strikes on boats in  the Caribbean and Pacific killed a bunch of people but didn’t work in terms of stopping drugs flowing into the US; etc.)

• The EU might weaken its landmark climate law — the ‘most impactful’ in the world (“Lawmakers in Europe have proposed rolling back the bloc’s cap-and-trade program, long considered the gold standard for reducing companies’ carbon emissions.” F’ing stupid.)
• Wildfires are raging – and the world has junked 45 climate pledges. Disaster looms, and little wonder
• Blazes burning with the intensity of ‘atomic bombs’: Europe enters a new era of mega fires
• Extreme temperatures in France and Spain as wildfires leave areas looking like a ‘war zone’ (Welcome to our future in the climate crisis!
• Canada’s worst wildfire seasons fuel push for national emergency agency (“More than 900 fires are burning as experts warn Canada lacks a body to coordinate a growing climate threat”)
• ‘The heat took him from me’: India’s death toll rises amid escalating heat crisis (“As extreme heat claims the lives of workers in India’s poorest areas, many fear the true mortality rate is being dangerously undercounted”)
• Kenya investigating unexpected deaths of 15 elephants in national park (“Potential toxic substance detected in several of 15 elephants found dead in Kenya’s Amboseli national park”)
• Ukraine war briefing: Wildberries attacks shake Russian economy and banking (“Kremlin and state bank VTB may be forced to prop up online retailer amid crippling Ukrainian attacks; Kyiv prosecutors may target Lukashenko. What we know on day 1,617”)
• Ukraine has found a new pressure point in Russia’s wartime economy (“Ukraine’s hope is that by raising the cost of war for Russian businesses, internal opposition will mount and Putin may be forced to the negotiating table, according to Natalya Kovaleva, a researcher at Chatham House.”)
• Ukraine says it hit a major Russian oil refinery, hours after Zelenskyy’s meeting with Trump
• Momentum shifts for Zelenskyy in Washington (“Senators who attended a closed-door meeting with the Ukrainian leader said his pitch is starting to have an impact.”)
• 86 senators vote to move forward with Graham Russia sanctions bill (“Some Democrats were hesitant to vote for the package, concerned about Trump’s use of tariffs.”)
• Senators vote to advance Russia sanctions bill in Graham’s name (“The procedural vote came just hours after the funeral of the bill’s main architect, Sen. Lindsey Graham.”)
• Russia charges Telegram founder Pavel Durov with aiding terrorism and puts him on wanted list
• Does Trump even care if Russia helps Iran target US troops?
• China’s solar industry is losing money. The country is doubling down anyway. (“Brutal price wars among manufacturers have caused solar panel prices to plummet, making renewable energy cheaper than ever.”)
• US bans humanoid robots from China, citing ‘unacceptable risks’ (“Move comes as the Trump administration has increasingly sought to keep Chinese technology out of the US”)
• Iran to get Chinese shoulder-launched missile systems in weeks
• Iran launches surprise ballistic missile attack on U.S. forces in the Middle East
• Recent fighting with Iran further draws down key US air defense stockpiles, analysis says
• Iran Launches Surprise Missile Attack on U.S. Forces (“Strikes came before the U.S. military confirmed joint attacks with Saudi forces on Iran-backed groups in Iraq”)
• Iran launches missiles at U.S. base for first time since Trump paused strikes
• Saudi Arabia joins US in strikes on Iran-backed militias in Iraq
• Saudi Arabia is getting dragged into a war it has tried desperately to avoid
• We’re running out of ways to get oil out of the Middle East (“Saudi Arabia had found a workaround for the Strait of Hormuz. Then the Houthis showed up.”)
• Netanyahu Finds Diminished Welcome From Trump as Iran War Drags On (“Before the two leaders met, the Trump administration pressed Netanyahu to show he was serious about advancing peace talks in Lebanon and Gaza”)
• How Mexican drug cartels have outsourced meth labs to Nigeria
• Japan PM says rescue teams in ‘race against time’ after earthquake kills at least 13
  
• State Department will dispense $600M for vaccines RFK Jr. held up, Collins says (“The health secretary had blocked the funding, accusing the group to which Congress had directed it of using outdated and dangerous vaccines.” RFK Jr. is responsible for illness and death – lots of it.)
• Turns Out We Blew Up All Those Boats in the Caribbean for Nothing (“As if we needed more confirmation that Pete Hegseth and our defense department are both psychotic and ineffectual.”)

NATIONAL NEWS (ICE, FEMA, Fauci, Graham funeral, DSA, Elon Musk, etc.)

• ICE agents target NC’s Pisgah National Forest and make multiple arrests, feds say
• ICE Arrests Surge at Airports, Opening New Front in Deportation Drive
• The professor facing prison in ‘antifa’ case: ‘They want to scare all who oppose ICE’ (“Erik Davis is accused by the government of a ‘conspiracy’ to obstruct ICE – experts say it’s part of a pattern to criminalize lawful organizing and ruin activists’ lives” Authoritarian bullshit.)
• Hike or Hold? Fed’s Warsh Has Markets Unsure (“Concern is mounting that inflation won’t reach the Fed’s 2% target unless higher rates are used to rein in demand.”)
• Senate Confirms Jay Clayton as Intelligence Chief (“Confirmation follows staff cuts at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence”)
• Senate Confirms Jay Clayton to Lead U.S. Intelligence Community (“Mr. Clayton, who shed Democratic support after he refused to clearly say Joseph R. Biden Jr. won the 2020 election, will take over the Office of the Director of National Intelligence from Bill Pulte.”)
• Cyclosporiasis cases show ‘vulnerabilities’ in US food safety system, experts say (“US states and federal government tracking cases as outbreak comes amid cuts to public health funding”)
• FEMA said yes to Democratic disaster requests. Trump killed them anyway. (This should be a MASSIVE scandal!)
• Trump Asks Supreme Court to Overturn $83.3 Million Award in Carroll Defamation Case
• The Unmaking of Anthony Fauci (“He built an empire. It did not last.” Horrible.)
• Trump administration needs to stop ‘public harassment’ of Fauci and scientists, open letter says (“Letter, published before Anthony Fauci will appear before Congress, accuses Republicans of ‘waging a war on individual scientists’”)
• Fauci set for high-profile hearing after Paul released diaries (Rand Paul is a total wackjob.)
• Anthony Fauci’s Covid-Era Diaries Paint a Hilariously Grim Portrait of Our President’s Incompetence (“It doesn’t take a doctor to see that Trump has always been an “obnoxious toddler” spreading a pandemic of BS.”)
• Trump Will End Subsidies for Medicare Drug Premiums (“Millions of older Americans could pay more for their prescription drug coverage next year.”)
• Trump Administration to End Medicare Drug Plan Subsidy (“Program that held down premiums not renewed for 2027, resulting in higher costs for some seniors”)
• Trump demands throw Senate GOP into disarray
• Thune and Johnson both plan to attend Trump’s Dallas convention (These people…ugh.)
• Thune’s next nightmare (“Republican control of Congress could be weakened, if not lost. The Senate’s MAGA flank is poised to grow. And Trump — who has been relatively restrained in his criticism of Thune even as his demands to pass the SAVE America Act and kill the filibuster remain unmet — will have nothing to lose in the last two years of his presidency.”)
• Trump’s job approval hits record low, driven down by Gen X, white Americans, and Independents
• Lindsey Graham’s Last Laugh (“The senator’s funeral featured foreign dignitaries, security lines, and a eulogy from the president whose approval he never stopped seeking.” Pathetic.)
• Trump Can’t Help Taking a Snooze at Lindsey Graham’s Funeral (“The president was visibly dozing off throughout the late senator’s memorial at Washington National Cathedral”)
• At Graham’s Farewell, a Glimpse Into Power in Trump’s Washington (“The political evolution of Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina senator, both captivated and confused many of his old friends but reflected the changing order in the nation’s capital.”)
• ‘Fully abolishing the police and prison system’ is an obvious bridge too far (“I’m about as left as you can get – civil rights for all, not just the cherished few: check; universal healthcare: check; soak the billionaires with painful taxes: check – but, come on. ‘Fully abolishing the police and prison system’ – no. This line is way, way, way too far out there.” Let’s face it, DSA is batshit crazy – they literally want to abolish the US military and the police, as well as having open borders, no US Senate or presidency, and apparently no United States either, as they want to give most or all of the land back to descendants of the original inhabitants of the land. Bonkers.)
• A Small Band of Socialists Is Sowing Panic in the Democratic Party (“Once a fringe wing, the movement is wielding surprising political power, capitalizing on popular discontent. Mainstream Democrats see a ‘fundamental threat.’”)
• What’s Going on With Mitch McConnell? Kentucky’s Governor Has Questions. (“Gov. Andy Beshear called on Senator McConnell, who has been hospitalized since June, to prove his capacity to serve, or resign.” Why doesn’t McConnell just do a videotaped interview with a reporter?)
• JD Vance will never be the GOP Obama (“He can copy Obama’s biography, but the vice president will never have the charisma” He can’t “copy Obama’s biography,” though…)
• Megadonor Received Trump Pardon Three Days After Donation to Pennsylvania Congressman (“Rep. Ryan Mackenzie’s campaign says the lawmaker, who met with Trump days before, played no role in the pardon.”)
• Ross Douthat, Sebastian Junger, Gianna Toboni, Trevor Phillips to Join CBS’ ‘60 Minutes’
• Ross Douthat Joins ‘60 Minutes’ as a Correspondent (So much for “60 Minutes” having any remaining credibility?)
• Elon Musk Is a Menace to Society (“Musk spends a large part of his free time fomenting violence and spreading the same hateful ideology that motivated some of the deadliest shootings and attacks ever to happen on American soil. It is that fact, and not the cars he builds or the rockets he launches, that ought to define his place in public life.”)
• A new media ecosystem is taking root on the left, reshaping Democratic politics (It’s really a mixed bag – some good stuff, decent stuff, but also some REALLY bad crap…)
• 60 Minutes adds new correspondents and contributors after key departures (“New York Times opinion columnist Ross Douthat has been named a correspondent, while Sebastian Junger, Gianna Toboni and Trevor Phillips have been named contributors”)
• Domestic Abuse Allegations Rock an Ohio House Race (“Representative Max Miller, a Republican, is facing accusations of abuse from his ex-wife in a bitter family feud that might put his otherwise safe seat in play.” Scum.)
• Two Democrats advance to a runoff in the Georgia special election to succeed late Rep. David Scott (“Scott’s daughter Marcye Scott and fellow Democrat Everton Blair finished atop a five-candidate field, but no one got majority support, triggering the runoff, NBC News projects.”)
• The primary pitting an 80-year-old progressive against an insurgent the left loathes (“Sen. Ed Markey wants another term. Rep. Seth Moulton is taking him on. What does the Democratic base care about more?”)
• Florida becomes first state in nearly a decade to execute two people on same day (“State kills Dominick Occhicone, 80, and James Duckett, 68, as Ron DeSantis pushes executions before term ends”)
• ‘I’m super proud of him’: father of teen lifeguard recounts dramatic ocean rescue (“Ryder Williams, 16, saved a boy from drowning in Santa Cruz, California – the first rescue of his career”)
• Storms packing heavy wind and rain leave trail of flooding, damage in DC area
• Bowser, warning of $837M ‘fiscal cliff,’ declines to sign D.C. budget (“It’s not a veto, but it’s the mayor’s way of voicing her disapproval with the D.C. Council.”)

VIRGINIA NEWS (Sen. Mark Warner, much-worse-than-worthless Rep. Ben Cline, what’s on Virginia voters minds ahead of next Tuesday’s primaries, etc.)

• Video: Sen. Mark Warner Says He’s a NO on Defense Appropriations BIll, NO on Jay Clayton, Not Sure Yet on Government Funding… (Also: “I’m obsessed with AI…if we don’t move quickly, all of the innovation could be squashed”)
• Why is Ben Cline so fixated on communists? Because MAGAs have nothing else (Cline is also obsessed with transgender kids’ sports participation or lack thereof…as opposed to the economy, democracy, the climate crisis, the war with Iran, healthcare, you name it.)
• Congressional primary campaigns reveal the fault lines that run through both parties (Classic Dwayne Yancey – “both sides,” false equivalence, also of course highlights divisions among Democrats…)
• What’s on the minds of Virginia voters ahead of the August primary election? (“Almost every voter talked about the kitchen table issue of affordability, especially the high price of gas…’My sense is that data centers in general are still something that like only very informed, involved voters and people who are really invested and connected to their communities’…Other voters are considering this election cycle as a referendum on President Donald Trump.”)
• Virginia voters could gain a bigger voice in choosing the 2028 presidential nominees (“An earlier primary would bring candidates, campaign spending and national attention to the commonwealth while giving both Democrats and Republicans greater influence before Super Tuesday.”)
• Va. education department seeks new student assessment vendor (“Agency is seeking companies’ proposals to overhaul Standards of Learning tests for Virginia students”)
• Video: At Reagan Foundation, Fmr. Gov. Glenn Youngkin Says Virginia Now “Purplish Blue” or Even “Pretty Darn Blue” (Also notes: “The governor of Virginia has represented the opposite party of the president for 13 out of 14 governor’s elections.”)
• Social Media Companies Harming Kids’ Mental Health (“Lawsuits Mount as States, Including Virginia, Push for Accountability and Compensation for the Crisis”)
• What to know about Virginia’s warning on data centers and groundwater
• State legislator says Clean Virginia’s demands constitute ‘bullying and threats’
• A county request for a drinking water intake reveals public’s anxiety over Virginia’s water supplies
• Independent report calls for campus safety overhaul at Old Dominion University after fatal shooting
• Five Roanoke Democrats race for nomination to City Council
• Chesterfield residents call for more transparency on Google data centers
• Fairfax County residents express concern over major data center proposal
• Augusta County Library, run by Neanderthals, pre-cancels 2027 Pride Day event (“Someone should tell Mr. Alleman that being LGBTQ+ isn’t a ‘preference,’ any more than him being a White guy is a ‘preference.'”)
• LGBT Life Centers expands with $4 million purchase of Norfolk office building
• Charlottesville hopes to find new homes for tent city residents
• DC-area forecast: Nice and not too humid the next few days