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by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise (economic, environmental, etc.) for Saturday, August 15. 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 Republicans like Trump, Vance, Kiggans, etc. essentially calling sailors liars; will the endless Iran war, high gas prices, etc. doom Republicans in November?; Silicon Valley authoritarianism; new DNC primary calendar; arrest in VSU shooting; etc.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS (Climate crisis, T
- Europe’s heatwaves expose insurance gap as business losses mount
- In Germany, record heat meets climate action fatigue
- Torrential rain and flood kill nine in Japan amid wettest month in decades
- From tourism to power generation and productivity, Europe feels economic cost of heatwaves (“Low river levels have stalled German freight traffic and forced closure of nuclear plants in France”)
- Belgium’s biggest wildfire on record heads towards Germany
- China Is Opening the First Regular Cargo Route Through the Arctic
- North Korea’s Kim, Russia’s Putin reaffirm ties on Korean Liberation Day
- NATO fighter jet shoots down drone over Romania
- Ukraine launches one of its largest aerial attacks of the war, killing at least 6 people in Russia
- Putin just showed the world how afraid he is of his own people
- Russia launches wave of strikes on Ukraine as Kyiv hits Wildberries warehouse near Moscow
- Ukraine’s Long Shot (“The country may have hoped that deeper drone attacks would cause Russians to protest the war, but mass demonstrations don’t look likely.”)
- Wary of Trump, Europe Seeks Role in Any Russia-Ukraine Talks (“rench, German and British diplomats are working on a format for future negotiations — even if Russia has shown little interest.”)
- US pulls last aircraft carrier in Asia as Trump focuses on Iran and the Western Hemisphere (REALLY stupid!)
- Frustration with Trump grows among U.S.’s Persian Gulf allies, officials say
- The Iran War Is Now About Who Blinks First Under Economic Pressure
- Iran rejects Trump’s ‘delusions’ on making Strait of Hormuz a US territory
- Scoop: Inside Trump’s secret backchannel to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard
- Families of USS Lincoln crew say Trump should be ‘ashamed’ of conditions on board (Trump has no shame.)
- Centcom commander visits USS Abraham Lincoln amid questions about conditions on ship
- They were on the plane when Trump secretly left. Here’s what they noticed.
- What Bessent’s Economic Isolation of Iran Could Look Like (“Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says the US is getting ready to squeeze Iran with unprecedented economic pressure, a claim critics greeted with skepticism given the country is already subject to a naval blockade and thousands of sanctions.”)
- JD Vance and the Trump team keep moving the goalposts on Iran (“Vance’s comments last week are the latest example of the Trump team watering down its Iran goals”)
- Families of US sailors denounce Trump and Hegseth for ‘dismissing their experiences and calling them liars’ (Jen Kiggans did the same thing, btw.)
- As Iran War Turns Into Economic Battle, New U.S. Strategy Recalls Old Ones
- How a False Nuclear Claim About Iran Ricocheted From India to Washington (“A dubious post that spread on X became the basis of false claims that Iran’s leadership had declared the country a nuclear power.”)
- In South America, Chinese EVs Are Racing Ahead (“Western automakers ignored smaller markets like Argentina. But China saw potential—and that bet is paying off.”)
- Thousands displaced by deadly Indonesia earthquake as rescue efforts continue
- Canadian Petition to Expel U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra Takes Off
- U.S., Canada race for deal to avert Trump’s threat of 50 percent tariffs
- The Truths That Failed Jason Arday (“Systemic, ritualized dishonesty undid the Cambridge professor.”)
- Professor’s Death Leaves Behind Hard Questions for Cambridge on Race and Hiring
NATIONAL NEWS (ICE’s Orwellian new electric shock gloves; “Silicon Valley Dreams of Authoritarianism”; “Trump’s midterm malaise”; new DNC primary calendar; etc)
- The Orwellian Company Behind ICE’s New Electric Shock Gloves
- Democrats disagree over abolishing or reforming ICE at DNC meeting
- Supreme Court emergency docket roars back
- Angry at the Supreme Court, liberals push a slew of plans for overhauling it
- Republicans Are Trying to Hide These Health Care Cuts
- The Republicans Are Going to Kill People—but Not Until After They Vote (“In the Big Beautiful Bill, the GOP put off Medicaid cuts until after midterms. America is about to find out why.”)
- Dr. Anthony Fauci declines request to appear before a second Senate panel after GOP contempt vote
- Silicon Valley Dreams of Authoritarianism (“Gil Durán’s new book, The Nerd Reich, catalogs how tech oligarchs like Peter Thiel took over America.”)
- Trump shows off article on lower drug prices that says Biden deserves credit, not him
- Depleted strategic oil reserve nears level that raises concerns about damage to caverns, operations
- Transgender athletes are a red herring (“It’s about excluding people from public life.”)
- Republicans worry their chances of keeping Congress are slipping away. Inside the Trump campaign plan to change that
- Trump’s midterm malaise: endless war and high prices could spell doom for Republicans in November
- Donald Trump Is Still Trying to Make It Harder to Vote (“The SAVE America Act is just one part of a package that includes an executive order and threats of prosecution, all in an effort to make Trump’s math work.”)
- DNC Adopts New Early State Presidential Primary Calendar
- Is the Democratic Party Facing Its Own Tea Party Moment? (“A string of primary wins by progressive candidates has revealed the strength of a high-energy insurgent movement but also its potential limitations.”)
- Could El-Sayed Cost Democrats Michigan? (“Not all progressives are equal: Candidates of the activist left typically don’t perform as well as other Democrats.”)
- Republicans face unexpected challenge in Alaska Senate race
- A Democrat in Name Only (“Rob Sand isn’t progressive or moderate. What is he trying to be?”)
- Nazi Jokes and Vulgar Insults: The Gun Influencer Embraced by the G.O.P. (“Brandon Herrera, a provocative gun influencer on YouTube, is trying to defend a red-leaning House district in West Texas for his party. It’s proving messy.”)
- Senator Had Sex With Married Security Guard at CNN Star’s Wedding (“Kyrsten Sinema’s liaisons with her bodyguard are detailed in new court filings.”)
- 3 Smithsonian museums along National Mall to have modified access during Freedom 250 Grand Prix
VIRGINIA NEWS (Wittman, Kiggans, McGuire trash our military; Youngkin goes tinfoil hat; arrest in VSU shooting)
- VA Republican-Turned-Independent Matt Walton: “It’s Tragic they [Rob Wittman, Jen Kiggans and John McGuire] let Trump do this to our military. Vote them out.” (All three are on the House Armed Services Committee…yet not a peep.)
- Glenn Youngkin has a new conspiracy theory: The Democrats stole 2025! (Youngkin is an insane person – or pretending to be an insane person.)
- Virginia could owe $266M for SNAP benefits next year amid program declines
- Editorial: Groundwater report poses alarming, urgent questions for officials (“A report about groundwater in eastern Virginia demands informed, substantive and honest answers — and those answers must come quickly.”)
- What Hampton Roads parents need to know about vaccines as the school year nears
- Williams: Petersburg needs a win. This gaming resort could provide it.
- Five shot, one critically wounded, in mass shooting at Virginia State University
- Police have arrested a 19-year-old in connection with Virginia State University shooting
- DC-area forecast: Showers and storms today and tonight. Nicer by midweek.
