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by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Saturday, September 12\. 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; AI crisis; “‘A f***-up of epic proportions’: Blame game begins after Iran-backed Houthis’ lightning advance down Red Sea coast”; “Trump says Irish reunification ‘would be a fantastic thing,’ during visit to Ireland”; etc.)
- Is the United Nations Ready to Deal With Climate Tipping Points? (Short answer: unfortunately, no.)
- AI Is Powerful Enough to Crack Our Hardest Math Problems—and Kill Us All (“You don’t need to know any math to understand why the Millennium Prize breakthrough matters. It’s proof of AI’s accelerating and terrifying progress.”)
- The week the AI freakout went mainstream (“Warnings about AI killing many people, or everyone, are going viral. Here are 3 things the government could do.”)
- Someone Should Maybe Do Something About the AI Apocalypse, Right? (“The AI industry say it’s holding a doomsday gun—and warning us it will go off soon.”)
- AI agents being tested by OpenAI involved in cyber-attack on another service, say researchers (“Two months before hacking Hugging Face, malicious packages authored by internal OpenAI agents were uploaded to RubyGems”)
- 3 killed in Russian strikes on Ukraine as Putin warns Europe against sending troops
- Xi Jinping gets red carpet at Brics summit amid thaw in India-China relations (“Chinese president’s arrival in Delhi seen as step towards reconciliation after deadly 2020 military clash”)
- U.S. Links Chinese Satellite Imagery to Iranian Strike That Killed Three Troops (“Finding deepens U.S.-China tensions ahead of the Trump-Xi summit as officials examine possible Chinese help tracking American warships”)
- Anthropic Says Iran Used Its American AI Model to Target U.S. Navy Warships (“Anthropic says it disrupted the plot, which was included in its report on adversaries using AI to develop weapons and track dissidents”)
- Saudi Oil Exports Face Heightened Threats After Attacks on Pipeline (“Ship operators already faced severe risks in navigating the region, and now the danger is higher as Houthi militias assert control in the Red Sea.”)
- Tehran won’t surrender to the U.S., Iranian President Pezeshkian says, as India’s Modi urges dialogue and peace
- Saudi crown prince sought US military help from Trump with Houthis, sources say (“The White House did not address a Reuters question on whether there were any phone calls between the two leaders.”)
- Lightning Houthi advance in Yemen may bring dangerous new dimension to Iran war
- Nearly 50,000 Yemeni civilians flee as Houthis advance along Red Sea coast (“Global struggle for control of Bab al-Mandab strait threatens to turn Yemen’s on-off conflict into a forever war”)
- ‘A f***-up of epic proportions’: Blame game begins after Iran-backed Houthis’ lightning advance down Red Sea coast
- Saudi Arabian oil pipeline system hit by projectiles triggering fires
- Saudis Shut Down Crucial Pipeline After Drone Attack From Iraq
- Saudi Arabia has few options as it faces mounting threats from Iran and its allies
- Trump, Hegseth push Iran war at Pentagon 9/11 memorial (Completely inappropriate.)
- Trump and Hegseth use 9/11 memorial remarks at Pentagon to defend war on Iran (“President and defense secretary try to link worst terrorist attack in US history to current unpopular war” In fact, the 9/11 attacks were by Osama Bin Laden, a Saudi, and 19 hijackers, of whom 15 were Saudis…and zero Iranians.)
- Al-Qaeda regroups in Afghanistan, 25 years after 9/11
- Biden and Trump Called It a Genocide and Then Turned Away (“When world leaders gather in New York this month for the United Nations General Assembly, I expect them to studiously ignore the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, the horror in Sudan that both the Biden and Trump administrations termed a genocide. President Trump has set the tone by cutting aid there.”)
- U.S. says Palestinians won’t be forced out of Gaza under Trump plan, but experts warn of possible coercion (“It comes after some Israeli ministers floated proposals for the mass displacement of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, framing the effort as encouraging voluntary emigration.”)
- Crypto investor pardoned by Trump donates £36 million to Farage’s Reform UK (Appalling.)
- Firewall compromised: has Friedrich Merz blown ‘democracy’s last shot’?
- Sweden’s extremely close election could see far right enter government (“Latest poll shows 0.3-point gap between left and right blocs, with country’s reputation as global champion of human rights said to be at stake”)
- President Trump says Irish reunification ‘would be a fantastic thing,’ during visit to Ireland
- Bolsonaro’s son surges in run to free former president in Brazil (This would be an unmitigated disaster.)
- Latin American Allies Are Going All In on Trump’s Drug War (“Regional security forces are bombing jungle encampments, capturing drug kingpins and killing drug couriers with Washington’s help”)
NATIONAL NEWS (“Immigrant Trump Sent to African Hotel Prison Arrested After Speaking With Media, Lawyers Say”; “Treasury yields soar to almost 5% on inflation fears”; GOP takes Islamophobia to new level; “Contractor Blames Its Own Repairs, Not Vandals, for Reflecting Pool Failure“; etc.)
- Immigrant Trump Sent to African Hotel Prison Arrested After Speaking With Media, Lawyers Say (“Ahmed Soliman’s attorneys fear he may have been sent to one of Equatorial Guinea’s notorious torture prisons.”)
- They cleaned up ground zero. Now many are hiding from ICE
- Inflation persisted in August, potentially locking in a Fed interest rate hike (“The consumer price index rose 0.4% in August, putting the 12-month increase at 3.4%, both in line with estimates. However, the core CPI accelerated 0.3% for the month, a bit higher than expected, as the annual inflation rate stood at 2.4%. Traders responded to the report by increasing odds for a Fed rate hike next week.”)
- Warsh Faces Intensifying Pressure to Raise Rates After Hot CPI (“Underlying inflation rose more than expected in August.”)
- Trump’s Real Problem Is Real Wages (“The best response is to let Kevin Warsh and the Federal Reserve get inflation down.”)
- Treasury yields soar to almost 5% on inflation fears
- Record diesel prices squeeze food, transport
- High Prices Spoil Trump’s New Push to Save G.O.P. Majority
- Health officials declare end to largest cyclospora outbreak in history
- The Accelerating Project to Extend Abortion Bans to All 50 States (“In a legal challenge to abortion access at the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, the Department of Justice and Louisiana are on opposite sides. But they want the same thing.”)
- Inside Trump’s Aggressive Push to Build Data Centers on Public Lands (“The Interior secretary is quietly meeting with AI hyperscalers while seeking to accommodate them on his department’s land.”)
- How Trump Is Wielding Power to Stifle Speech (“President Trump has harnessed agencies across the government to curtail press freedoms, a sweeping campaign that free speech advocates say will have lasting effects”)
- C.I.A. Releases Intelligence Sent to White House Before Sept. 11 (“The spy agency released dozens of intelligence documents it had sent to Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, outlining what was known about Al Qaeda.”)
- What Does FBI Director Kash Patel Actually Do? (“He spends his time complaining about online posts.”)
- Mitch McConnell has been absent from Capitol Hill for three months. It’s still unclear when he’ll return
- I’ve Covered Islamophobia for Years. Trump’s GOP Has Taken It to a New Level. (“The shocking vilification of Muslims is one of the most troubling storylines of the midterms.”)
- Anti-Muslim rhetoric is finding a growing foothold in GOP messaging ahead of November (More than a “foothold” actually.)
- Ranchers’ loyalty to Trump wavers as some bristle over beef imports
- Republicans Jump at the Chance to Advertise on Trump’s $5,000 Checks
- Democrats Are Laughing at Trump’s Midterm Plan. They Shouldn’t. (“Dems are gleeful about the president declaring he’s “on the ballot.” We’re not so sure it’s a bad strategy.”)
- Two very strange evenings in Texas
- Scoop: Mike Johnson urged to cancel House recess over AI warnings
- Mike Johnson runs out the clock on his own speakership (“It was the most sycophantic of times.”)
- Trump Has Resorted to Openly Mocking His Supporters. So Why the Hell Do They Still Back Him? (“I guess brainwashing is a funny thing.” And stupidity. Also zero self respect.)
- A Russian disinformation campaign is doctoring celebrity videos to meddle in the midterms (“The Kremlin-backed operation, known as Matryoshka, has Hollywood actors telling voters to disavow the Democratic Party and vote Republican.”)
- JD Vance echoed one of Tucker Carlson’s most notorious comments at the GOP midterm convention (JD Vance is heinous.)
- Republicans assess Trump’s convention with a shrug (“‘No harm done, but also doesn’t change much of anything,’ said one Republican strategist.”)
- These are the Trump investigations Democrats plan if they win in November (“Democrats hope to retake control of the House, and to use that power to probe Trump’s business ventures, legal maneuvers and policies.”)
- Meet the Factions Driving the Democratic Socialists of America (“From cocktail-party pragmatists to Constitution-abolishing ‘theory bros,’ these groups are steering America’s largest socialist organization in its breakout year”)
- Contractor Blames Its Own Repairs, Not Vandals, for Reflecting Pool Failure
- Reflecting Pool contractor admits faulty repairs, not vandalism, caused damage
- Trump’s Reflecting Pool contractor acknowledges reality, discredits ‘vandals’ claim
- For the US news industry, a tough summer draws to a close with McClatchy chain’s cuts (“The McClatchy newspaper chain has made significant layoffs at The Miami Herald and other papers, cutting over 90 unionized journalists across 17 publications.”)
- Ohio Senate campaign staffer used Nazi soldiers as profile photo (Why not say *Republican* staffer right in the headline?)
- Husted Fires Political Director Over Past Nazi Posts (Same here; doesn’t note in the headline or subheader that the staffer worked for REPUBLICAN Jon Husted. Why not?)
- Republican senator fires aide who used Nazi soldiers as Facebook profile picture (“Washington Post report also reveals Jon Husted staffer Stephen Woytek created pro-Rhodesia playlist on Spotify” Excellent headline by The Guardian, unlike the Bezos Post and Politico, both of which are relentlessly biased towards Republicans.)
- Republicans just opened the floodgates on spending for Ken Paxton
- Trump can’t stop insulting his own candidate in Texas. Why?
- Sen. Jim Justice Failed to Properly Disclose His Massive Wealth
- Convicted sex offender offered opening prayer at rally for GOP Senate nominee in North Carolina
- Facing Islamophobia, Mamdani Keeps Focus on 9/11 Victims
- Federal court rejects Trump order keeping Michigan coal plant open (“Energy Secretary Chris Wright he used emergency powers to keep it operating. The court said there was no real emergency under the law.”)
- Man Arrested In Hanging Homicide Of 29-Year-Old Black Mother, Tasia Fortune (“The Jackson Police Department identified the man as Jacques Ratliff at a Friday press conference announcing the arrest. Jackson Police Chief RaShall Brackney said there was an ‘association’ between the two, but did not specify in what capacity. She also said at least one more arrest warrant could be possible.”)
- ‘We remember so we do not forget’: Ceremonies across the DC region mark 25 years since 9/11
VIRGINIA NEWS (Far-right former Rep. Bob Good rips Trump’s “socialist vote-buying scheme”; Spanberger honors 9/11 victims and first responders; diesel tops $6/gallon in Richmond; etc.)
- Audio: Fmr. Rep. Bob Good (R-VA05) Rips Trump’s “socialist vote buying scheme” – “we’re supposed to be the party of fiscal responsibility!” (Meanwhile, Rep. John McGuire (R-VA05) has been busy acting as Trump’s cheerleader on anything/everything)
- Wittman pushes back on Trump’s desire to rename carrier, talks shipbuilding priorities (“The Congressman said the U.S. should explore other options before investing in shipbuilding overseas as proposed by Trump.” The Virginian-Pilot fails to mention, right in its headline, that Wittman has voted close to 100% with Trump, and that this is just a show of “independence” for the election. It would have been VERY helpful to readers to point that out, but…nope, cuz that would be “biased” or whatever – lol.)
- Video: Gov. Abigail Spanberger Honors 9/11 Victims & First Responders, Reflects on 25th Anniversary of Attacks (“It’s been 25 years since the attacks of 9/11, and we remember those who lost their lives here at the Pentagon…”)
- Gov. Spanberger honors 9/11 victims & first responders, reflects on 25th anniversary of attacks
- Diesel tops $6 a gallon in Richmond, as inflation ticks up
- 9/11 rattled Arlington Public Schools. 25 years later, it’s ‘history’
- Sale of land for potential data center approved at I-81/581 interchange
- DC-area forecast: Rain chances increase by tonight; clearing by Sunday afternoon
