by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Tuesday, September 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 lots more…see below.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS (Climate crisis/”super” El Nino; “MAGA Is Making the World Safe for Corruption”; “Who is Umar Kremlev, the Russian oligarch who reportedly helped pay for Donald Trump Jr’s wedding?”; “Saudi Arabia Faces ‘Worst-Case Scenario’ After Being Rebuffed by Trump” etc.)
- The incoming ‘super’ El Niño will create chaos around the world – and we are far from ready for it (“One of the biggest upheavals in a millennium is on its way, strengthened by the climate crisis. We need leaders who make things better not worse”)
- How the End of USAID Eroded Global Environmental Goals
- From hallucinating AI chatbots to wiping out humanity: How did we get here?
- If AI really could kill us all, why give any ground to China?
- Ex-Google DeepMind researcher adds to warnings that AI could ‘kill all humans’
- China dismisses AI ‘fearmongering’ as spy chief warns of threat to Communist party rule
- WTO says global trade system at critical juncture, urges reform
- MAGA Is Making the World Safe for Corruption (“Far-right ideologues have transformed American foreign policy into a tool of private gain and antidemocratic reaction.”)
- Who is Umar Kremlev, the Russian oligarch who reportedly helped pay for Donald Trump Jr’s wedding? (“The businessman has spent the past decade moving through some of Russia’s most politically connected circles”)
- Russian Businessman Paid for Donald Trump Jr.’s Lavish Wedding After-Party (Just IMAGINE the reaction if this had been Hunter Biden…or any Democratic president’s child!)
- Donald Trump Jr. acknowledges Russian oligarch with ties to Putin hosted his lavish island wedding celebration
- Russia sanctions bill clears procedural House hurdle (This bill is deeply flawed; gives Trump more power, which he almost certainly will misuse badly, and doesn’t require him to really do anything to his pal Putin!)
- What’s at Stake for Putin in Russia’s Wartime Election? (This is a really bad headline by Bloomberg; should note that this is a total sham “election”, as basically all opposition parties have been banned.)
- NATO ‘committed and ready’ after shooting down drone over Lithuania
- Iranian foreign minister will head to China for talks, as Pentagon reveals financial cost of war
- Gulf Arab States Explore New Options as U.S. Bases Fail to Deter Iran (“The U.S. presence in these countries has not shielded them from retaliation during the war. Now they are hoping direct talks with Iran could help.”)
- Houthis seize strategic Red Sea islands as analysts warn of impending oil crunch (“The militant group in Yemen captured the islands of Greater and Lesser Hanish, near the chokepoint of the Bab al-Mandab strait”)
- Houthis strike Saudi targets anew as Hormuz talks stall
- Pentagon watchdog says Iran war has led to munitions shortfall
- Saudi Arabia Faces ‘Worst-Case Scenario’ After Being Rebuffed by Trump
- Trump nominates Wesley Hunt as US ambassador to Saudi Arabia (The guy’s a huge Trump supporter; ’nuff said.)
- Macklemore Dropped From Ed Sheeran Tour After Onstage ‘Free Palestine’ Statements (What exactly does “Free Palestine” even mean?)
- Are Texas Democrats Finally Reaching the Mountaintop? (“The Texas Democratic Party once owned the state. It even did some good things. Then it collapsed, and boy, has it stayed collapsed. Ah, but if James Talarico wins …”)
- Carney heads to Europe for high-stakes speech and deeper EU ties as Canada clashes with Trump (“Canada will seek an arrangement that would allow Canadians to live and work in Europe without visas.”)
- Trump nominates wife of ‘God Bless the USA’ singer Lee Greenwood to serve as US ambassador (F’ing joke.)
NATIONAL NEWS (“Alligator Alcatraz held detainees in cages the size of phone booths, DHS watchdog says”; “US ends limits on coal and gas plant emissions, removing key tool to battle climate crisis”; “Trump says AI safety fears a ‘hoax’ as he rejects calls for greater safeguards”; “He Marched With Nazis in Charlottesville. Now He’s Expected to Join the Florida Legislature.”; etc.)
- Alligator Alcatraz held detainees in cages the size of phone booths, DHS watchdog says (We’re going to need a Nuremberg-style panel for all these ICE abuses.)
- ICE Attacks Two U.S. Citizen Minors on Their Way to Enlist in Marines
- Whistle-Blower: Federal Agents May Have Broken State Laws in Search for Voter Fraud (Those federal agents should be arrested and charged.)
- Homeland Security officers are illegally accessing state voter data, new whistleblower alleges
- Democracy indicators in US at lowest levels for 50 years, data shows (“Trump administration undermining rule of law at home and worldwide, according to intergovernmental report”)
- US 10-Year Yield Rises to Highest Since 2007
- US ‘super-emitters’ of planet heating methane identified by satellite analysis
- US ends limits on coal and gas plant emissions, removing key tool to battle climate crisis (Insane and EVIL!)
- Supreme Court rejects Trump’s plan to limit mail-in voting in midterms
- Supreme Court lifts a cloud over midterms, letting mail ballots flow as normal to voters
- Supreme Court Rejects Trump’s Effort to Break Vote-By-Mail Before Midterms
- Alito, Thomas stand by Trump mail voting rule the rest of Supreme Court rejected (Alito and Thomas are the worst of the worst…basically fascists.)
- Breaking: Supreme Court, with Justices Thomas and Alito Publicly Dissenting, Continue Block on USPS Rule Through the Midterm Elections [Now Updated with Analysis]
- With Trump’s Plans Blocked, States Work to Restore Trust in Mail Voting
- Supreme Court rejects Trump bid to lift block on U.S. Postal Service mail-in ballots rule
- Let’s Celebrate the Supreme Court Not Outright Rigging the 2026 Election
- Trump’s Effort to Assert Control Over Elections Continues, Despite Court Loss
- Election officials prepare for chaos as Trump seeks to tilt the midterms to Republicans
- Exclusive: FBI Builds Out National NSPM-7 Center to Track Dissent, Docs Show (“IRS sent 10 agents and three analysts to national effort to police “anti-capitalism” and ‘extremism on migration, race, and gender’.” Those agents should refuse to do this or resign.)
- Everyone but Trump is worried about AI (“AI experts want guardrails. Trump wants to go full speed ahead.” If you voted for Trump, just…WTF???)
- Thune sees role for Congress on AI — Trump does not
- “I am the Hoax Buster”: Trump’s war on AI doomers gets personal (Hahahahaha, Trump as the “hoax buster?” The guy’s a pathological liar, nutjob, imbecile, etc.)
- Trump says AI safety fears a ‘hoax’ as he rejects calls for greater safeguards
- Johnson teases White House meeting with AI executives ‘soon’ (Mike Johnson is a complete f’ing joke. A bad one at that.)
- Hakeem Jeffries: Congress must act ‘immediately’ to rein in AI
- MS NOW: Trump met with Open A.I. CEO Sam Altman
- Democrats Gain Edge as Trump Drags Down G.O.P., New Poll Finds (51%-43% edge for Dems among likely voters; only 32% think we’re on the right path; only 38% approve of Trump, which of course is 38 points too high!)
- Kash Patel to testify on FBI oversight before Senate committee
- Cops Search Thousands of Flock Cameras for Reasons of ‘LMAO,’ ‘IDK,’ ‘Hehe,’ and ‘asdfg’
- Mitch McConnell returns to the Senate after three-month absence
- Gavin Newsom tells CNN’s Jake Tapper he won’t run for president if Kamala Harris runs in 2028
- MAGA media back GOP nominee’s racist social media post complaining about nonwhite college students in Texas (“Benny Johnson and Jack Posobiec defended Bo French’s post, saying that ‘there’s nothing wrong with wanting Texas to stay Texas’ and ‘I don’t see anything hateful about it'” Virulent racists.)
- A Bigoted Outburst Against Texas Sports Fans (“Bo French’s xenophobia should force Republicans to confront the prejudice in their ranks.” Sure, but it won’t!)
- Karl Rove said he’ll break 30 years of only supporting Republicans to vote against “bigot” Bo French (“Rove, a former adviser to President George W. Bush and longtime Texas GOP political consultant, made the comments at a private lunch in Austin, according to attendees.” This Bo French dude is really bad news, but he’s also not that different that most Trump Republicans; he just said it out loud in a more noticeable way than many others do.)
- Exclusive: He Marched With Nazis in Charlottesville. Now He’s Expected to Join the Florida Legislature.
VIRGINIA NEWS (Rep. Vindman thinks Trump will “have to deal with us on Ukraine”; “Taylor aims to rein in private equity in healthcare, restore Medicaid funding and ACA subsidies”; Dominion/NextEra “trying to buy our support”; etc.)
- “Trump is very transactional. If we win Congress, he’ll have to deal with us on Ukraine”: an interview with Rep. Vindman (I definitely don’t agree with Rep. Vindman that the horrible situation the US finds itself in now with the Trump regime is just “a temporary political situation that within 54 days could be very easily remedied.” That’s a fundamental misreading of where we’re at. Also, I’m not really sure what Vindman means about Trump being “transactional”; seems to me that when it comes to Ukraine, he’s very close to being a puppet of Putin’s…)
- Va.’s US Sens. Kaine, Warner introduce bill to curb overcrowding at Reagan National Airport (“Legislation includes hourly arrival caps and strategies to prevent future aviation tragedies”)
- Inflation Shoots Up to 3.4% in August Due to Donald Trump’s Tariffs, Forever War, and Failed Economic Agenda – All of Which Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-VA02) Has Supported! (“Kiggans was previously caught scrubbing mentions of sky-high gas prices from her website”)
- Russell Fry, Suhas Subramanyam launch little-AI caucus
- Taylor says addressing the impact of Trump’s healthcare cuts will be a priority (In stark contrast, Wittman voted FOR those healthcare cuts!)
- Prosecutor Shannon Taylor Hosts Roundtable Discussion on Rob Wittman’s Votes to Slash Virginians’ Healthcare (“Wittman’s vote for the [Big Ugly Bill] last year has already had devastating impacts.”)
- Taylor aims to rein in private equity in healthcare, restore Medicaid funding and ACA subsidies
- Tom Perriello: “In Congress, [Rep. John McGuire (R-VA05)] voted to bankrupt rural healthcare services, and I fought to expand them” (“McGuire’s vote for…the ‘Big Ugly Bill,’ included massive cuts to Medicaid,” harming rural communities)
- Virginia Lawmakers Skeptical Of Trump’s $5K Dividend Promise
- Clean Virginia: Dominion-NextEra Revised Acquisition Package Underscores Need for More Review Time, Does Not Change Legal Standard (Rep. Eugene Vindman: “The merger…is a bad deal for Virginians, plain and simple.”)
- Dominion and NextEra pledge more bill credits and jobs if merger is approved (“Monday’s announcement comes amid public pushback over the $67 billion merger, which would create the largest regulated electric utility business in the world.”)
- Dominion, NextEra Energy announce new terms of proposed merger that will “put customers first” (Suuuuure they will, lol.)
- Dominion, NextEra double merger bill credits for residential customers
- Dominion, NextEra, feeling the heat on merger, roll out new benefits pledge (Exactly: they are “trying to buy our support.” Also: “No comment, at this time, from our governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, or any state legislators. Odd, huh?”)
- In Charlottesville, Lt. Gov. Hashmi hears frustrations over NextEra-Dominion Merger
- Spanberger quietly kills Youngkin-era transgender rulemaking effort
- Divorce becomes next battleground as Virginia, other states debate family values
- New health workforce data shows over 5,000 job ads for registered nurses in Southwest and Southside Virginia (“The new quarterly report from the George Mason University Center for Health Workforce also indicates significant demand for other professional services that require less specialized training.”)
- 3 or 4 data centers could be coming to a former coal mine site in Russell County (“The land is owned by the industrial development authority, whose members signed a nondisclosure agreement and remain mum on the project.”)
- Why opponents think last week’s Wood Haven vote is about a data center
- Editorial: Making Oak Hill a state park benefits the commonwealth
- RVA Builds: Richmond’s $10.55 million bet on skilled trades and economic mobility
- Ex-Virginia Beach teacher faces charge alleging sexual relationship with student (“A 43-year-old former Virginia Beach teacher was charged with having a 17-month sexual relationship with a then-teenage student he taught over a decade ago.”)
- ‘It was the wrong decision’ | Fairfax County leaders expected to reinstate crossing guards (“The board will meet on Tuesday and discuss the county’s recommendations to reinstate crossing guards at 10 schools.” Do any other jurisdictions in northern Virginia have crossing guards for high school students?)
- DC-area forecast: One more perfect day before warmth and humidity make a comeback
