by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise (economic, environmental, etc.) for Monday, August 17. 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)…plus Trump taking revenge on our allies like South Korea over his Iran fiasco, the USS Lincoln mess, etc.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS (Climate crisis, Trump blaming South Korea and cozying up to the vicious dictator in North Korea, no sign of an end to the Iran war, Israel’s Ben-Gvir is pure evil and has no business being in the government, etc.)
- ‘It is not only a future certainty – the disaster is already here’: why we need climate fiction (“As wildfires rage across Europe and Britain swelters through its hottest summer on record, literary fiction has a vital role to play in capturing the severe consequences of climate crisis”)
- As Temperatures Get Hotter, Pesticides Are More Dangerous to Farmworkers (“Research shows heat amplifies the dangers of pesticides for farmworkers, and that the problem is poised to grow as the global climate warms.”)
- Spotlight on UN desertification summit as it mulls how to spend $12bn war chest (“Extreme weather has raised the significance of Cop17 talks starting this week on tackling drought and land degradation”)
- ‘Our new normal’: how marine heatwaves affect life in British seas (“As warming seas push native species to cooler waters farther north, once-rare visitors have become more common”)
- Coping with 54C heat: Delhi slum diaries detail living in extreme temperatures
- Instagram and Facebook could change forever if Meta loses child privacy trial
- Russia targets Danube port after one of Ukraine’s largest aerial attacks of the war
- China Wants to Shape What the World’s A.I. Knows (“China is exporting more than A.I. models. It wants to influence chatbots, raising fears that Beijing’s narratives will spread with the technology.”)
- China’s Economic Woes Mount With Disappointing Start to Half (“China’s economy got off to a sluggish start in the second half.”)
- China Hunts for Scientific Talent. The U.S. Is Making It Easier. (“Researchers have long come to the U.S. for academic training, but Chinese money and U.S. restrictions are shifting the balance, our columnist writes.”)
- Strait of Hormuz shipping grinds to a halt ahead of U.S.-Iran ceasefire expiry
- Iran’s Secret Plan to Escalate the War (“Intercepted communications and other intelligence suggest a strategic shift by hard-line leaders to raise the costs for the U.S. and its regional allies”)
- Top U.S. commander acknowledges mental health issues on USS Lincoln
- Pete Hegseth is Trump’s favorite kind of failure (“The USS Lincoln disaster reveals the defense secretary’s twisted priorities”)
- Fox Host Trashes U.S. Sailors as ‘Weak’ for Speaking Out About Dire Conditions (Disgusting.)
- Iran Is Bracing for Conflict Abroad and at Home
- U.S. and Iran Blow Through Deadline to Agree to Broad Deal to End War (“President Trump said a cease-fire agreed to in June would lead to limits on Iran’s nuclear program and finish the conflict, but the countries appear far apart.”)
- Trump wants more economic pressure on Iran. What are his options?
- Trump orders cuts to South Korea joint drills despite warnings about Kim regime (“President says he ‘gets along great’ with dictator but US officials say Ukraine war is boosting North’s capabilities”)
- Trump Will Make South Korea Pay For His Iran Humiliation (“His rage is driving him to make irrational policy choices.”)
- Trump Orders Pentagon to Curtail Military Exercises With Ally South Korea (Trump is much more comfortable with brutal dictatorships, our enemies, etc. than democracies/our allies…)
- Trump Orders Cuts to U.S.-South Korea Military Drills
- Trump’s Overture to Kim Jong-un Strains Alliance With South Korea (Gotta wonder if South Korea will move to build nuclear weapons.)
- Marco Rubio has unique power to promote peace, but he hasn’t. He is almost as bad for the world as Trump
- Lebanon Flare-Up and Gaza Strikes Dent Mideast Peace Prospects (“The latest setback in efforts to end parallel wars in the Middle East that have dragged on for months.”)
- Hamas leaders tell Kushner they will demilitarize Gaza, sources say
- Kushner meets Hamas leaders to push Gaza demilitarization
- Israel’s Ben-Gvir publicly advocates killing ’30 to 40’ people in Gaza nightly (Someone as psychopathic and evil as Ben-Gvir should have ZERO place in public life, let alone in the government!)
- We need to care about Trump’s CIA murdering fishermen on the high seas (“One of the worst things about Donald Trump’s America in the 2020s — I know, I know, it’s hard to pick — is the return of all the horrible stuff that you foolishly thought our flawed nation was done with after the reckonings of the 1970s.”)
- Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of the Congo now deadliest in country’s history (“At least 2,325 people have died from the virus, according to official data, with outbreak on track to be biggest in history”)
- Brazil’s Lula launches historic fourth term bid – but son of jailed Bolsonaro stands in his way (“President, 80, vows to keep far-right from power as Flávio Bolsonaro tells supporters he will ‘fight this system’”)
- Portugal installs 372 MW of solar in December-May
- Spain extends Almaraz nuclear plant operation through 2030
NATIONAL NEWS (Western US drying up, Todd Blanche is a disaster as predicted, Trump has committed a gazillion high crimes – but can/will Democrats impeach him again?; Trump blames vandals for his own vandalism; etc.)
- Lake Powell hits record low, threatening key water and electricity supply for millions (THIS is the climate crisis, and it’s going to make the western US much less habitable.)
- Blanche won’t pledge DOJ independence from Trump (This should be a MASSIVE red flag!)
- Blanche Refuses to Say He’ll Always Be Independent of Trump as Attorney General
- Attorney General Todd Blanche says the DOJ may take states’ voter roll fight to Supreme Court
- GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy on Trump’s vaccine executive order: ‘This is just a stupid thing to do’ (“Cassidy said there’s “no evidence whatsoever” that vaccines cause autism.”)
- Republican senator denounces Trump’s ‘crazy, stupid’ claims about MMR vaccine safety (“Outgoing Louisiana senator Bill Cassidy, a medical doctor, voted to confirm anti-vaccine activist RFK Jr as health secretary before speaking out” Exactly – he voted to confirm f’ing RKF Jr!)
- Offshore Wind Will Struggle Long After Trump’s Attacks (“Even under a new president, analysts and insiders don’t see a path for a U.S. offshore wind revival without fundamental reforms.”)
- Trump crypto firm backs venture offering AI from restricted Chinese companies (Uday and Qusay…er, Don Jr. and Eric, are of course involved.)
- Donald Trump Has Committed Too Many High Crimes to Count. But Should Democrats Really Impeach Again? (“I am certain that Trump is a dangerous would-be autocrat who has committed a plethora of high crimes and misdemeanors. At the same time, I am not yet certain whether a hoped-for Democratic majority in the House should launch a formal impeachment proceeding against him. Still, laying out the major grounds on which Trump is impeachable may convince voters to reject candidates who persist in supporting Trump’s ongoing assault on constitutional democracy. With or without a third impeachment, Trumpism can only be finally defeated if the American electorate rejects it”)
- Trump’s Last Loyal Constituency (“The administration delivers a win for financial crooks at the expense of honest businesses.”)
- At Long Last, Americans Are Starting to See the Truth About the GOP (“A businessman can set this country right. Republicans are better for the economy. Republicans love the military. Lie, lie, and lie.”)
- CBS News poll on whether Democrats split over socialism, and how Americans see parties in today’s economy
- 2020 election skeptics seek governor’s offices in battleground states (Youngkin just campaigned for one these scumbags – Tom Tiffany.)
- Donald Trump Absolutely Loses It With Fox News Anchor (“The president lashed out at Shannon Bream over her guests, polls and what he claimed was anti-MAGA bias.”)
- How Trump’s War on the Left Will Come for the Center (“The far-left activists catching charges set a dangerous precedent for mainstream liberals”)
- The Wrong Kind of American (“The Trump White House needed me—until the fact that I am trans became public.”)
- Trump’s Ballroom Was His Dream of Beauty and Space. Now It’s a ‘Military Complex.’ (“As courts have questioned the president’s authority for the project, he has leaned in to arguments of national security”)
- Jon Ossoff Goes There Against Trump With Devastating Line About Natalie Harp (“The Democratic senator from Georgia highlighted the president’s close relationship with a much younger aide.”)
- How Islamophobia Moved From the Fringe to the Mainstream in Texas
- The Very Trumpy State That Leads the Country in Renewable Energy (“This red state may be as MAGA as they come, but its Republicans leaders, voters, and businesses have no interest in the president’s war on renewable energy.”)
- Trump blames vandals for damaged grass in the same spot where he held his big July 4 celebration (Trump can’t/won’t accept responsibility for ANY of his actions!)
- Tommy John, pitcher whose surgery changed baseball, dies at age of 83
- Heroes star Hayden Panettiere dies aged 36, with fellow actors paying tribute to ‘amazing talent’
VIRGINIA NEWS (Piecemeal data center moratorium develops in Virginia; back-to-school time begins; etc.)
- Subramanyam Targets ICE Conditions, Federal Job Moves in Virginia
- Virginia is developing a piecemeal data center moratorium. The potential impacts are complicated. (“Data center development has been shifting to Texas…Southwest Virginia may draw more attention from data centers…A statewide moratorium would lead to more pollution…A moratorium would hurt some rural localities that want data center jobs and taxes”)
- Black lung cases surging again in Southwest Va., Appalachia; miners blame blocked regulations
- Virginia childhood vaccines schedule unchanged after new Trump EO
- As Va. officials weigh data center pushback, report details industry’s public service funding (“Virginia localities mull data center pauses as industry-backed report shows how local tax revenue could aid in housing needs.”)
- Virginia hemp growers: ‘What do we do now?’
- Hampton leaders cool to limited Army Corps flood solutions (“Army Corps study identifies 45,000 structures deemed at risk of flood damage, proposes raising 4,000 of them; city leaders push back on methodology and cost”)
- Waynesboro leaders sold our clean air, water, for 300 low-tech jobs
- Push to save Tangier Island progresses – but slowly
- Back to school: Hear from Loudoun County Public Schools superintendent
- DC-area forecast: Muggy today, maybe a storm. Nicer into midweek.
