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by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Monday, August 24. 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 lots more…see below.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS (Climate crisis; Pence says U.S.-Canada trade war add to affordability problems; Bessent “to unveil ‘economic D-Day’ sanctions against Iran; etc.)
- Earth’s forests took 100,000 years to recover from the last climate shock — this one is moving 10 times faster
- Europe Chastised Trump’s Climate Rollback. Now It’s Delaying Its Own Green Goals. (“Developed nations are increasingly balking at the cost of measures to cut down on fossil fuels.” Clean energy actually is CHEAPER than fossil fuels!
- Air conditioning push favoured over emissions cuts in six European nations, survey finds (We clearly need both: emissions reductions AND adaptation to a globally heated planet!)
- Minicomputers Made by Nvidia Are Powering Moscow’s A.I. Drones
- A Drone Killed Three Ukrainians. It Was Guided Entirely by A.I.
- European leaders join Zelenskyy in Kyiv for Ukraine’s Independence Day as Russian invasion pushes on
- Burnham compares Ukraine’s war against Russia to Britain’s fight against Nazi Germany as he begins visit (“UK PM in Kyiv with plans to share blueprints for long-range missiles, as Kremlin warns move would ‘add fuel to fire’ in British-Russian relations”)
- Iran war ‘entering the endgame,’ Bessent says as he’s set to unveil ‘economic D-Day’ sanctions (“Tehran issued a stark threat to Gulf states ahead of expected new US pressure campaign”)
- Iran Unleashed (“The dominant power in the Middle East from now on will not be the U.S. or Israel but Iran.”)
- Iran’s rial currency hits new record low as US prepares to announce more sanctions
- US Set to Unveil Fresh Iran Sanctions as Rial Hits Record Low
- Iran warns of Hormuz ship seizures ahead of Bessent’s planned sanctions push
- Mediator Pakistan to hold talks in Iran on US ‘economic D-Day’ (“Pakistan’s army chief was visiting Tehran on a mediating mission as the United States prepared to roll out “the greatest financial offensive ever” targeting Iran’s trade partners.”)
- Scoop: Syria and Israel move to defuse tensions after airbase bombing
- Assad-era’s grand mufti sentenced to life in prison by court in Damascus (“Former grand mufti Ahmad Badreddine Hassoun, an Assad loyalist who was vocally in support of the government’s policies, was convicted of inciting violence and justifying murder. He held the position of mufti from 2005 to 2021, when the position was abolished.”)
- Marine Le Pen’s career has been resurrected – and she is a bigger threat than ever
- Divorce, smartphones and control – BBC sees how Taliban run Afghanistan (The Taliban are absolute evil.)
- ‘They asked too much’: Canadian dollar slides as Ottawa and Washington head for all-out trade war (“As U.S.-Canada trade talks collapse, Carney says retaliatory tariffs will start Sept. 8”)
- Canada Sees Long Trade War With US That May Last Beyond Midterms
- Canada’s Mark Carney Puts His Hard-Line Trade Stance to the Test
- Carney warned about economic coercion. Now Trump is testing the Canadian prime minister
- U.S.-Canada breakdown shows limits of Trump’s aggressive trade strategy
- Pence says U.S.-Canada trade fight adds to affordability concerns for economy (“I think the last thing we need right now, as our economy is getting back on its feet, is a trade war with Canada”)
- The Moose That Roared (“Why Trump will lose his war with Canada”)
NATIONAL NEWS (Border Patrol arrests father of USS Lincoln sailor; “ICE’s tactics look increasingly like torture”; Trump leaps to data centers’ defense as they face an ” ‘oh s–t’ moment”; “What Jon Ossoff Gets That Far Too Many Democrats Don’t”; etc.)
- Father of sailor aboard USS Abraham Lincoln taken into US immigration detention
- He Waited For His Son To Return From The USS Lincoln. Then Border Patrol Arrested Him. (“Immigration authorities arrested Luis Manuel Aviles, a handyman with a work permit whose son was serving as a sailor on the carrier at the time.”)
- Trump’s ICE pick is stuck in the Senate — and DHS officials are relieved
- Alarm over $20m plan to supply ICE officers with electric-shock gloves (“Civil liberties groups decry plan to use gloves linked to death of Kentucky man allegedly shocked 27 times in county jail”)
- ICE’s tactics look increasingly like torture
- Bessent Has No Easy Fix for What’s Really Driving Yields Up (“The Treasury chief’s drive to get borrowing costs down is running into forces beyond his control.”)
- New Fed chair faces critical test at Jackson Hole as inflation fears mount (“Investors will hope Kevin Warsh offers ‘comfort blanket’ at annual meeting of central banks amid bond market anxiety”)
- Dead billionaires should pay higher taxes (Here in Virginia, we should bring back the estate tax, which then-Gov. Tim Kaine foolishly repealed.)
- US territories hit out at Trump plan to explore deep sea mining in the Pacific (ABSOLUTELY NOT!)
- The Trump Administration Has Spent Billions Boosting Gas Exports, Spurring More Fracking
- Trump’s Economic Approach Draws Concern From Some Republicans
- Republicans wrestle with data center backlash as Trump promotes the benefits
- Data centers’ ‘oh s–t’ moment (“Some industry leaders fear voter backlash is turning into a lasting political crisis.”)
- Trump says communities that oppose data centers are “making a mistake”
- Data centers “dug their own grave,” says Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (“Texas Gov. Greg Abbott delivered one of the starkest warnings yet from a Republican executive to the AI industry, telling ABC’s Jonathan Karl that data center companies ‘dug their own grave’ and deserve the backlash they’re facing after failing to win community support.”)
- Can Democrats Win Back the Senate? Why Their Chances Are Improving. (“Republicans still have some clear advantages on the map, but President Trump’s unpopularity has opened the door for an outcome that once seemed far-fetched.”)
- As Democrats Struggle in Some Western States, Independents See an Opening (“From South Dakota to Alaska, independents are challenging incumbent Republicans and eschewing a Democratic label that Western voters find toxic.”)
- ‘The writing on the wall’: Trump’s staff departs ahead of possible turmoil (“Press secretary Karoline Leavitt and his top liaison to Congress James Braid are both leaving. But the forces that made their jobs tough aren’t changing.”)
- Polls, pundits and horserace coverage are NOT what we need for the midterms. (“What if the media were to get obsessed about things that really matter? What a concept!” Yes, but unfortunately, people like Margaret Sullivan – and many others who urge the media to “do better,” seem to have zero influence on the media…ugh.)
- Secret White House bunker undercuts Trump’s ballroom lawsuit, ex-officials say
- There’s No Good Reason Why Hakeem Jeffries Should Work With Jared Kushner (“Kushner uses his ties to the White House to make business deals with autocrats and extract money from world conflicts in Iran, Gaza, and Ukraine.” Kushner is a criminal, no doubt.)
- Democratic House leader Jeffries meets with Jared Kushner as midterms loom (It’s difficult to think of a good reason to meet with Kushner; let’s hope there is one!)
- Democrats incredulous over Hakeem Jeffries and Jared Kushner meeting (“Critics include Senator Chris van Hollen, ex-aide to Obama Tommy Vietor and ex-Republican congressman Adam Kinzinger”)
- Pressure mounts on Ethics Committee to speed up misconduct probes as midterms loom
- What Jon Ossoff Gets That Far Too Many Democrats Don’t (“The Georgia senator is showing his colleagues that in the attention-era, conflict is king.”)
- The old kingmaker magic is gone (“Trump’s endorsement used to be the final word in primaries. But no longer.”)
- Dan Sullivan endorses Dan Sullivan to beat Dan Sullivan in perplexing Alaska Senate race
- ERCOT aims to complete Texas governor’s data center audit by December
- Texas conservatives are ‘breaking rank’ and pledging to vote Democrat (“Republicans who are angry at Gov. Greg Abbott’s refusal to block data centers are giving his challenger hope for an upset.” Should be “vote DemocratIC” by the way; apparently, the Bezos Post is using the pejorative Democrat-as-an-adjective style now?)
- Fast-moving wildfire forces thousands of evacuations near Reno, Nevada (“At least six people — three civilians and three first responders — have been injured in the blaze, which authorities described as human-caused.”)
- This democratic socialist has upset the party establishment. Here’s her strategy for Congress (This person is batshit.)
- California Cancels Talks With Paramount Over Warner Bros. Merger
- Frustration builds in Indiana town struggling without power for 12 days (Crazy!)
- Sean Grayson, ex-deputy convicted of fatally shooting Sonya Massey, dies, attorney says (“Grayson, a former Sangamon County sheriff’s deputy, was diagnosed with Stage 3 colon cancer in 2023, one of his attorneys said previously. It was unclear whether the cancer is what caused his death.”)
- ‘It embarrasses me to be involved’: Inside the National Guard D.C. deployment (It’s truly shameful.)
- An American City, With Troops on Its Streets (“Since the country’s founding, deployments of soldiers to U.S. soil have been exceedingly rare. But residents of Washington, D.C., are living in a new normal.” There’s absolutely ZERO good reason for this – and many bad ones.)
- Start your engines! Trump completes fast and furious takeover of Washington with IndyCar race (Appalling.)
VIRGINIA NEWS (Big fundraiser for Luria, Taylor, Perriello; Ben Cline does NOT give a f*** about farmers or anyone else; water use actually down in Virginia; localities thankfully banning gas-powered leaf blowers, which are bad in pretty much every way; etc.)
- Video, Photos, Highlights: Big ($120k or so) Fundraiser in Fairfax with Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-VA11), LG Ghazala Hashmi, Shannon Taylor (VA01), Elaine Luria (VA02), Tom Perriello (VA05) (Hashmi: “We’ve got just a few weeks left to deliver that message yet again in November. We have three amazing candidates with us right here!”)
- Ben Cline pretends to listen to farmers, as Valley beef industry struggles to keep up (Cline absolutely does NOT give a f***.)
- Voters will decide whether to enshrine marriage equality in Virginia
- Data centers are drinking more water, but overall water use in Virginia has gone down anyway. Here are the numbers. (“The main reason why Virginia’s water use has dropped is the retirement of coal plants, according to Department of Environmental Quality reports… Data centers use about 17 billion gallons per day for cooling, but golf courses use 531 billion. The biggest source of water use is people watering their lawns — 2,900 billion gallons per day.” Yep, lawns are FAR FAR FAR worse in terms of water usage than data centers. Plus, lawns are sterile monocultures which are DISASTROUS for the environment – get rid of yours if you have one and replace it with native trees, flowers, groundcover, etc!)
- Virginia considers calls for mandatory school nurses as healthcare gaps persist
- Legislators didn’t allow local bans of gas-powered leaf blowers. Va. localities are doing it anyway. (“The Virginia Code gives localities the power to adopt “such measures as it deems expedient” to secure the “health, safety and general welfare” of their residents, including through enforcement of noise ordinances. That seems like enough authority, columnist Ivy Main writes.” Good, ban these monstrosities – loud, polluting, environmentally destructive in numerous other ways!)
- Advocates for the Dan River say its endangered status is a warning, not a conclusion (“American Rivers and the Dan River Basin Association don’t view endangered status as a conclusion. Instead, they view it as a call to start working now, so that the river will see a healthy future.”)
- Chesapeake Regional may avoid criminal trial, but former OB-GYN Perwaiz’s patients are still suing (“Chesapeake Regional Medical Center is closer to resolving its federal criminal case tied to former OB-GYN Javaid Perwaiz. But in state court, former patients are still pressing for answers.”)
- A rare blue tree frog is drawing loads of spectators to a Virginia park (“Nature enthusiasts are flocking to Huntley Meadows Park in Alexandria to catch a glimpse of the unusual amphibian.”)
- An Army employee’s family moved onto Fort Eustis. Then their housing
- DC-area forecast: A blissful start to the week before humidity, rain chances return
