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by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Labor Day, Monday, September 7. 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 – El Nino hasn’t even peaked yet; Witkoff/Kushner apparently make no progress; Very dangerous moment in Germany; etc.)
- Coordinated action on clean air and climate change can net $15 for every dollar spent
- El Nino Is Yet to Peak, Bringing Heat and Agricultural Damage in Tow, UN Says
- We’re the mayors of Paris, Milan and Phoenix. The heat crisis has us all facing the same question (by Emmanuel Grégoire, Giuseppe Sala and Kate Gallego)
- AI Is Already Making Us Less Human
(“As we learn to think more and more highly of the bots, we will learn to think less and less highly of our fellow humans.”) - They Went to Ukraine on the ‘Peace Express.’ Detours Are Likely Ahead.
- How Ukrainian Drone Strikes Are Pounding Russia’s Economy
- Ukraine war briefing: US envoys leave Kyiv without breakthrough on ending war (“Zelenskyy says after talks with Witkoff and Kushner that Kyiv seeking ‘serious volumes’ of US support for winter defences.”)
- Witkoff and Kushner make first Kyiv visit for peace talks
- Kyiv air raid alerts at record high as Russia launches round-the-clock strikes
- China’s secret lifeline to Russia’s killer drone producer (“New documents obtained by POLITICO provide the clearest evidence yet of a Chinese state firm supplying the Kremlin’s military industrial complex.”)
- Energy Secretary says ‘there may not be’ a nuclear agreement with Iran
- Pentagon refuses payout for soldiers who died in Iran conflict ‘because it isn’t a war’ (“JD Vance offers support after widow expresses frustration in viral online post”)
- Iran to announce new restricted zone in the Gulf in the coming days
- Iran Says Strait of Hormuz Deal With Oman Just Days Away
- Kim Commissions Second Destroyer to Bolster Nuclear Naval Force
- Germany’s far-right AfD thanks Elon Musk as France warns state election win a ‘serious moment’
- Germany Is In a Very Dark Place, and Time’s Running Out
- Far-right AfD celebrate ‘dream result’ in key German state as Merz reportedly holds crisis talks (“Group fail to secure majority in Saxony-Anhalt state parliament leaving uncertainty over next steps”)
- How significant are AfD’s historic gains for Germany and the rest of Europe?
- Neo-Nazis and the Impotence of Trumponomics (“Crude economics doesn’t explain what just happened”)
- Far-right AfD landslide in German state piles pressure on federal government
- German Far Right Surges in State Vote in New Blow to Merz (Really, really bad.)
- German chancellor faces pressure after far-right AfD party wins a landslide in a state election (“The election has major national implications. Merz had vowed to weaken the AfD when he came to office, and Sunday’s result shows that he has been unable to deliver on that promise.” Massive failure.)
- It’s Not Just the West Bank Settlers. It’s Israel. (Sure seems like it, unfortunately.)
- Israeli ministers keep telling everyone their brutal plans – so why doesn’t the world take them seriously? (It’s not really “the world” generically, it’s the Trump regime in the U.S. that has all the leverage, theoretically, but has zero interest in using it.)
- ‘This is what I have to do to survive’: the Sudan refugees forced into sex work
- Canada’s Retaliatory Tariffs Are Set to Take Effect as Trump Threatens to Escalate
NATIONAL NEWS (“Republican midterm convention will be ‘Trumpist pageantry’ – at the party’s own risk”; “‘Oh Hell No!’ Democrats Object to Trump’s Suggestion to Rename New Mexico”; “Dark Twist Emerges as Armed Republican Attacks Dem Candidate”; etc.)
- Treasury yields face 4.8% test as fiscal risks threaten to spill into other assets
- Republicans might still lose half the seats they gerrymandered to flip
- The math behind a Democratic wave — or a GOP upset
- Three Ways the 2026 Midterms Could Reshape Washington (“Trump has never faced a Congress in which both chambers are controlled by Democrats. This would be a constant irritant in his final years as president, threatening both constant hearings and investigations and making every confirmation vote excruciating”)
- Republican midterm convention will be ‘Trumpist pageantry’ – at the party’s own risk (“A historically unpopular president will take centre stage as the party seeks to sway voters with an unprecedented event”)
- Trump Wants to Make Sure Every Voter Knows the Midterms Are a Referendum on Trump
- Far-left Democrats had a huge summer. Now they have big demands for party leaders (“Hakeem Jeffries and his allies aren’t meeting the moment after fed-up liberal voters showed up in droves, progressive lawmakers argue”)
- In Trump’s Second Term, the MAGA Merchandise Boom Is Going Bust
- For Fired DeSantis Campaign Staff Member, a Second Chance at State Dept. (“The hiring of Nate Hochman, who lost his job amid an uproar over a video containing a Nazi symbol, underscores the administration’s willingness to overlook past transgressions.”)
- Ex-Air Force Secretary Gives Stark Answer About Serving In Trump-Hegseth Pentagon (“Kendall argued there is ‘an obligation on our officers, particularly our senior officers who interact directly with the senior political leadership, to tell them the truth and to stand up to them when they want to do something which is morally wrong, unethical or illegal.’ And ‘they’re not doing that,’ he lamented.”)
- As War Grinds On, Trump Relishes Renovation Projects (Calling them “renovation” projects is classic NY Times whitewashing, sanewashing, normalizing, etc.)
- Farm state Republicans confront a difficult political bind
- ‘Oh Hell No!’ Democrats Object to Trump’s Suggestion to Rename New Mexico
- With a Gerrymander Vanquished, Wisconsin Democrats Aim for Control
- The GOP Senate Campaign Gone Disastrously Wrong in Georgia
- Who is Patrick Havas, man who allegedly attempted Amy Acton attack? (“Is Patrick Havas related to GOP operative Andrew Havas?…There was an Andrew Havas who resigned from a volunteer position with Sen. Jon Husted’s campaign in July after NBC News reported Havas had served jail time following accusations of sexual misconduct with a minor.”
- Amy Acton unharmed after man lunges at her during campaign event; suspect now in custody
- Suspect arrested following incident with Dr. Amy Acton at Canfield Fair; multiple hurt (“Records show Patrick Havas, 38, of Canfield, has been booked into the Mahoning County Jail on two counts of assault and one count of disorderly conduct.”)
- Who is Patrick Havas? Registered Republican Accused of Targeting Amy Acton
- Dark Twist Emerges as Armed Republican Attacks Dem Candidate (“The Havas family has a history with the authorities.”)
- Women who remember life before Roe are turning away from Susan Collins (“Many women who backed the Republican incumbent for years now point to her role in confirming Brett Kavanaugh”)
- Exclusive: Fetterman blasts ‘disgruntled staffers’ and ‘smears’ after report details apathy toward his work (Of COURSE he does.)
- 5 dead, 5 injured after Amazon cargo plane overruns runway in Miami, striking multiple vehicles
- 5 people killed, 5 injured after Amazon cargo plane overruns runway at MIA
- At least 5 dead after Amazon cargo plane barreled off runway at Miami airport
- Hawaii declares state of emergency as Hurricane Lowell approaches islands
VIRGINIA NEWS (VDH says vaccines are safe – because of course they are, despite what the anti-science nutjobs in the Trump regime say; etc.)
- Virginia Department of Health: Flu, COVID, RSV vaccines are, of course, safe
- Virginians may change the voter rights restoration process for felons
- The energy Virginia needs is the energy we can build now (“Ensuring reliability statewide is one reason we are seeing more rapid solar development, writes guest columnist Jack Wilson”)
- Spanberger announces almost $40 million to be invested in Virginia airports
- Amtrak to suspend Virginia-to-D.C. service for critical track upgrades Oct. 16–26
- Part of I-66 shut down near Gallows Road in Fairfax Co. after fatal crash
- DC-area forecast: Stellar today and then a steady warming trend
