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by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Sunday, September 20. 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. Also, check out the video of Barack Obama’s conversation at Colgate University, in which he touched on numerous topics, including Trump’s ban on CNN, MSNOW, etc: “My imagination could not foresee some of the stuff that’s going on right now…I’m trying to think what would have happened if I had said, you know what, Fox News, you’re out of here! It’s unimaginable!”; “I do not believe that this [AI] technology is overhyped. The commercial benefits of it may be overhyped… The technology itself is not overhyped.”
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
- Climate Super-Pollutant from China’s Electric Grid Is Cooking the Planet (“The nation’s electric utilities release vast quantities of the world’s most potent greenhouse gas. Recycling efforts could slash emissions at little cost, an Inside Climate News analysis reveals.”)
- Sea dragon populations decimated in ‘mind-blowing’ mass mortality event caused by South Australian algal bloom (“Thousands of sea dragons, pipefishes and seahorses have washed up along state’s coastline according to analysis of citizen scientist records” Horrible.)
- Burning forests, emptying rivers, €180bn in damage: Europe’s politicians face reckoning after ‘summer of truth’
- New solar panel tech could trap heat for 1,000 times longer to beat a long-standing limit in energy production
- Refineries Are Now the Main Chokepoint for Global Energy Supplies
- On Wall Street, Frustration Is Mounting That AI Will Hijack the Climate Debate
- A.I. Is a Threat, but Not in the Way You Think
- Crypto Blew Its Big Moment—and the Blame Game Has Begun
- Moscow targeted by ‘largest ever’ drone attack on final day of Russia’s parliamentary election (The media really needs to stop referring to an “election” without also saying that it’s a total SHAM – not free or fair, every opposition party banned basically, etc.)
- David Petraeus: The race to make Putin’s aggression unaffordable (“The Ukrainian theory of victory: Demonstrate military genius on an industrial scale and show Russia that time isn’t on its side.”)
- Ukraine fires over 1,000 drones at Russia, including hundreds launched at Moscow (“Moscow’s mayor described the wave of drones as the “largest ever” drone attack on the Russian capital and said there had been damage to a Moscow oil refinery and a residential building.”)
- US, China Trade Teams Set to Huddle in New York on AI, Iran
- China’s A.I. Makes a Great Leap Forward, but Its Economy Is Falling Behind (“As Xi Jinping arrives in the U.S. for a state visit, China’s advances in A.I. will be in the air. Its economy will be less discussed, our columnist writes.”)
- Trump used to slam China. Here’s why he’s now rolling out the red carpet for Xi (“It’s unclear whether Thursday’s visit will have a policy ‘deliverable’”)
- Why China is pushing back on US warnings over rapid AI development (“Beijing believes slowdown calls aim to lock in US advantage, and is pursuing a different balance between safety and pace”)
- India Is Again Squeezed Between the Threat of Trump Tariffs and Russian Oil (“India is trying to secure affordable energy while preserving a crucial relationship with Washington, a balancing act made harder by turmoil in global energy markets.”)
- Saudi Arabia confirms Yemen’s Houthi rebels tried to attack its capital with a ballistic missile
- Future of German chancellor hangs in the balance as two states go to polls (“Embattled Friedrich Merz faces nervous wait while far-right Alternative für Deutschland party targets further gains”)
- German elections under way which could decide fate of Chancellor Merz
- Denmark and Greenland say US military agreement will not compromise Arctic territory’s sovereignty (“Statement sought to clarify Trump’s announcement that US will have ‘permanent control’ over Greenland’s security”)
- Earl Spencer says media treatment of Harry and Meghan ‘echoes’ Diana’s experience (“Comments come after he accused King Charles of gaslighting him in response to claims made in new memoir”)
- US military says it killed four in strike on alleged drug-smuggling boat in the Caribbean (More likely war crimes which will need to be prosecuted once the criminal Trump regime is out of power.)
NATIONAL NEWS
- She cheered a teen protest against ICE. Police charged her with a crime. (Hello? First amendment???)
- Whitehouse: Call Out the Corruption Propelling the US Climate Retreat
- Consumer sentiment is in the dumps despite a solid economy. Goldman Sachs blames ‘lower happiness’ (“Low reported economic sentiment likely reflects a more fundamental, downbeat assessment of the state of the world rather than the economy… ‘lower happiness’ at large can partially explain the continued disconnect between sentiment and other measures of the economy’s performance, such as gross domestic product growth or stock market performance, that offer rosier views.”)
- As White House shields the AI gold rush, Trump family and other allies strike it rich – with few guardrails (“It’s not clear that financial interests are driving White House policy, but they run parallel even as resistance mounts”)
- Trump Pledges to Appoint an ‘AI Czar’ as He Defends the Technology (“The president did not detail what the office’s responsibilities would look like or who he could appoint to the role.”)
- Trump wants a new AI czar and an “AI Force” modeled on Space Force
- Trump to form ‘AI Force,’ name AI czar but rejects calls for constraints
- Tech industry scratches its head over Trump ‘AI Force’ proposal (“Tech sector representatives say they view Trump’s announcement as a response to growing public concern over AI’s risks.”)
- Trump and sons invest heavily in AI economy as he resists calls for slowdown (MASSIVE corruption!)
- Trump Faced Loss After Loss. He Then Turned to a Familiar Target: The Press. (“The president’s ban of three media outlets from the White House fits a pattern of using the apparatus of government to crack down on his perceived enemies.”)
- News Outlets Express Solidarity After Trump Bars Some Reporters (“Some Democrats said President Trump’s ban was an attempt to control the press and distract voters as Republicans face deep challenges in the midterm elections.” Other than expressing supposed “solidarity,” what are these “news” outlets going to DO exactly???)
- Trump Says He’s Banning the ‘Free Press’ From His White House
- Inside the White House media ban (“Many senior staff were surprised by the directive, which happened while chief of staff Susie Wiles was out of town.”)
- White House faces mounting legal backlash after barring journalists from CNN, MS NOW and Politico (“The outlets’ workspaces sat empty as press groups and First Amendment experts condemned the ban and called for journalists’ access to be restored.” But these same “journalists” are still going to party with Trump at the White House Correspondents Dinner? Still going to act as his dutiful stenographer, amplifying his lies and insanity with “Trump says” headlines? etc?)
- Trump is only amping up his antics ahead of the midterm election (What a bizarre word to use – “antics” – for something so dangerous and serious. The “mainstream” media is just relentless with its sanewashing, whitewashing, normalization, etc; the question is WHY.)
- We Need to Talk About the Apocalypse (“End-times prophecy, pro-war prayer circles, Democrats as demons: Christian dominionism’s influence is everywhere in the second Trump administration—and increasingly, within America itself. Can democracy survive the assault?”)
- The Data-Center Debate Is Divorced From the Facts (“All those scary numbers aren’t what they seem.”)
- ‘People are pissed off’: anger at the elite and the establishment is fueling this year’s midterms (“Coming midterm elections are starting to be framed not as right versus left but instead the ‘well-fed versus the fed-up’”)
- Leftists make waves and Trump flexes muscles: US primary season takeaways
- Farm-state Republicans are having a cow over Trump’s beef imports as Election Day approaches (“The move to import foreign beef infuriated Republicans in farm states facing tough reelections — and gave Democrats and independents a rare opening with rural voters.”)
- Diverse Texas campus bonds in anger after candidate’s racist post (“At the University of Texas, Republican Bo French drew widespread, bipartisan condemnation for his attack on South Asian students celebrating their football team’s win.”)
- Even in Reliably Red Kansas, Republican Enthusiasm Is Fading (“If we’re having to spend resources in Kansas…that tells you what the national environment is like.”)
- Newsom Signs Bills Meant to Prevent Trump’s Interference in Midterms (“Gov. Gavin Newsom of California signed legislation that would make it illegal to interfere with ballots or election records in response to efforts by the president to restrict voting.” Every state, including Virginia, should do the same?)
- California enacts new election safeguards against potential Trump interference in midterms
- California Cracks Down on Influencers’ Undisclosed Political Ads (“Under a new law, creators could face fines of $5,000 per post if they don’t disclose that they were paid to make political content.”)
- Missouri election officials begin mailing ballots as they await ruling on congressional map (“The 8th US Circuit Court of Appeals is deciding whether to order the November election to be held in the same district lines used for the primary. The Missouri Supreme Court ruled a referendum made that map, drawn in 2025 to benefit Republicans, has no legal effect”0
- Republican South Dakota secretary of state endorses Democrat to succeed her (“South Dakota deserves a Secretary of State who will strengthen confidence through performance rather than provocation”)
- MAGA Star, 39, Addresses Explosive Lesbian Sex Claims (“A sworn House Ethics complaint accuses Lauren Boebert of having inappropriate relationships with three staffers—and paying one of them $200,000 to keep quiet.”)
- Complaint Filed With House Ethics Committee Alleges Boebert Slept With Three of Her Congressional Staffers
- Paramount and California AG Bonta Reportedly in ‘Advanced Talks’ to Settle Antitrust Suit (“The two sides have discussed Paramount potentially agreeing to run Warner Bros. studio separately for some period of time, per the Wall Street Journal”)
- Natalie Harp Follows Trump Back to White House From Camp David (“He can’t leave home without her.”)
- How President Trump Broke the Kennedy Center (“Emails and documents demonstrate the political capture of the institution, including how officials once pursued a plan to unload much of the art collection.”)
VIRGINIA NEWS
- With 45 Days to Go Until 11/3/26, How Do the Political Modelers/Forecasters Rate the Midterms – Nationally and in Virginia – for US House Right Now? (e.g., The Economist gives Shannon Taylor a 52% chance of winning, Elaine Luria an 80% chance…)
- Virginia incumbents Sen. Mark Warner, Rep. John McGuire not interested in debates (No sign of Ben Cline being interested in debates either. Or Jen Kiggans or Rob Wittman or Morgan Griffith or…)
- Trump tele-rallies for Wittman, McGuire, Kiggans (Trump spewed out lies and insanity; that should be the headline in all media outlets, along with the fact that Wittman, McGuire and Kiggans are cool with holding a rally with our corrupt, insane, sadistic, etc. president.)
- Virginia voters to decide whether to enshrine reproductive rights in state Constitution
- John McGuire: Iran war not to blame for skyrocketing fuel prices (Uhhhh…actually, yeah it is.)
- Virginia’s New AI Task Force Should Address How Much Authority Autonomous AI Agents Receive Before a Human Must Approve What They Do (“AI growth needs rules that protect the public while allowing innovation”)
- Editorial: Residents’ views about Dominion-NextEra merger must carry weight (“Virginians paying the bills — people who are already worried about rising costs — must be satisfied they will reap the benefits of the Dominion-NextEra merger.” But will they?)
- Virginia Chamber Raises Concerns Over Spanberger Data Center Framework (The Chamber of Commerce is a bunch of Republicans, basically, so…)
- Hampton Roads registrars, voter groups work to ease confusion over mail ballots
- Retired Army general files federal lawsuit against Gloucester sheriff in hunting dispute
- Williams: In burying a Black family member at Thomas Jefferson’s cemetery, Monticello makes history
- ‘Stumbling stones’ honor enslaved people who helped build Arlington (“The Arlington Historical Society and the Black Heritage Museum of Arlington created the project to bring to light the county’s brutal history of enslavement and the fortitude and resilience of local enslaved people.”)
- DC-area forecast: More humid with shower chances today; looking cool and wet midweek
