Friday News: Trump to “abandon Ukraine peace talks ‘in days’?”; Sen. Van Hollen Meets with Abrego Garcia; “Conservative judge blasts Trump administration’s ‘shocking’ conduct”; “America’s Mad King”; “Experts warn of economic chaos if Trump fires Powell”

by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, April 18.

• About 15% of world’s cropland polluted with toxic metals, say researchers (“Scientists sound the alarm over substances such as arsenic and lead contaminating soils and entering food systems”)
• Cement Is a Carbon Bomb, and Trump Just Made It Harder to Defuse (So much evil in this administration.)
• Strange sell-off in the dollar raises the specter of investors losing trust in the US under Trump
• Republican Opinion Shifts on Russia-Ukraine War (Bunch of “sheeple”)
• Russia’s effort to get US to drop aviation sanctions hits EU resistance
• Putin tests Trump’s patience by slow-walking ceasefire talks
• Trump will abandon Ukraine peace talks ‘in days’ without progress, warns Rubio
• Rubio says the US will drop Ukraine-Russia peace efforts if no progress within days (Trump promised to end this war in 24 hours. It was a wild lie at the time, and in hindsight…yep, it was a wild lie.)
• Ukraine and U.S. Sign Agreement in Lead-Up to a Full Minerals Deal (“The signed memorandum of understanding was thin on details, and the White House did not comment. But President Trump has said he expects to sign a minerals deal with Kyiv soon.”)
• Giorgia Meloni whispers soothing words to Trump on ‘western nationalism’ (“The president and Italy’s prime minister spoke a common language – but for a discordant moment over Ukraine”)
• ‘They were chanting as they killed people in their homes’: survivors describe attack on Sudan’s Zamzam camp (“On 11 April Rapid Support Forces paramilitaries attacked the country’s largest displacement camp. The extent of the brutality remains unclear, but some accounts are now emerging”)
• U.S. Is Withdrawing Hundreds of Troops From Syria
• US weapons left in Afghanistan sold to militant groups, sources tell BBC
• Five takeaways from Canada party leaders’ big TV debate (“There were two ghosts in the room during Canada’s federal election debate – Justin Trudeau and Donald Trump.”)
• Nearly 300 apply as French university offers US academics ‘scientific asylum’
• Rubio’s firing of Marocco ignites a MAGA world meltdown (“When Marco Rubio fired the man in charge of dismantling USAID, he made enemies inside the MAGA movement.”)
• Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen meets with Kilmar Abrego Garcia
• Appeals court won’t lift order to ‘facilitate’ Abrego Garcia’s return in blistering opinion
• Conservative judge blasts Trump administration’s ‘shocking’ conduct in Abrego Garcia case
• Dual Orders From Judges Edge Courts Closer to Confrontation With White House
• Read a Federal Appeals Panel’s Sharp Rebuke of the Trump Administration
• Trump’s claims about Abrego Garcia’s gang ties largely rely on 1 confidential tip
• A Loophole That Would Swallow the Constitution (“If Donald Trump can disappear people to El Salvador without due process, he can do anything.”)
• There May Just Be Consequences Yet for Trump’s Summit of the Tinhorns at the White House
• The State Department is changing its mind about what it calls human rights (“The agency’s annual human rights reports are being purged of references to prison conditions, political corruption and other abuses.”)
• Two Good Reasons Democrats Should Fight for Kilmar Abrego Garcia (“Some liberal pundits and politicians seem to think talking about immigration is a trap. They couldn’t be more wrong.”)
• What is a ‘criminal’ immigrant? The word is an American rhetorical trap (“Allegations of criminality have always been deployed to justify state violence but even ‘imperfect’ victims deserve basic rights”)
• U.S.-born American citizen under ICE hold in Florida after driving from Georgia (WTF???)
• American citizen detained under ICE hold in Florida has been released (He never should have been detained!)
• Supreme Court to hear oral arguments on whether Trump can implement birthright citizenship plan (Very simple: this is UNCONSTITUTIONAL!)
• U.S. intelligence contradicts Trump’s justification for mass deportations (“The intelligence product found that although there are some low-level contacts between the Maduro government and Tren de Aragua, or TdA, the gang does not operate at the direction of Venezuela’s leader. The product builds on U.S. intelligence findings in February, first reported by the New York Times, that the gang is not controlled by Venezuela.”)
• SCOTUS Can Let the President Break the Law; They Can’t Change It
• Trump’s Mass-Deportation Effort Has Barely Begun (“How will ICE agents identify their targets?”)
• Trump’s “Gold Card” Immigration Grift Might Actually Be Happening (“The system is reportedly being built by a 19-year-old who goes by Big Balls and an engineer who said he was ‘racist before it was cool.'”)
• Mahmoud Khalil: What does my detention by ICE say about America? (“A democracy for some is no democracy at all.” CORRECT!)
• Trump and Powell on Collision Course Without Easy Escape
• Experts warn of economic chaos if Trump fires Powell
• Trump Has for Months Privately Discussed Firing Fed Chair Powell (The markets would really, REALLY not react well to that.)
• America’s Mad King (“The president has grown more impulsive, more vindictive, and more anarchic.”)
• What’s Happening Is Not Normal. America Needs an Uprising That Is Not Normal. (Conservative David Brooks has been super slow to react to the Trump threat, but maybe FINALLY he’s doing so?)
• 5 takeaways from the week: Nearing a constitutional crisis?
• Appeals court panel hears arguments on AP’s access to White House
• A wind project is stalled in New York. Experts worry about impacts across the U.S.
• Trump Officials Weigh Earth Day Move Against Green Groups (Sick/warped people.)
• US Weather Analysis for 27 States Goes Dark in Funding Lapse (INSANE.)
• NOAA workers report ‘intentional chaos’ during personnel cuts
• FDA making plans to end its routine food safety inspections, sources say (That’s BONKERS!)
• Gwen Walz on RFK Jr. comments: People with autism ‘contribute more to this nation than this man ever will
• RFK Jr. Says There Are No Autistic Poets. We Asked an Autistic Poet. (RFK Jr. is completely ignorant AND insane.)
• Prominent ultra-processed food researcher leaves NIH, alleges censorship
• Trump’s newest grift: Building a cryptocurrency empire while destroying its regulators
• The CFPB Has Been Gutted (“The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau terminated the positions of 1,400 of the agency’s 1,700 employees; medical debt and student loans will now be deprioritized.” Why doesn’t the media make clear, right in the headlines, that THIS IS ILLEGAL AND UNCONSTITUTIONAL???)
• Nearly 90% of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau cut as Trump’s government downsizing continues
• Donald Trump’s war on children (“The administration is divesting from future generations. It will cost America dearly.”)
• Trump’s First-Quarter Approval Rating Below Average, at 45% (It should be zero, or at best in the 30%s…)
• House Republicans Worry Trump’s Rescission Package Might Endanger Reconciliation
• Google’s digital ad network declared an illegal monopoly, joining its search engine in penalty box (Good.)
• James Carville says he might sue ‘contemptible little twerp’ David Hogg for challenging incumbent Democrats (“NewsNation anchor Chris Cuomo appeared to egg James Carville on, telling the veteran Democratic strategist to ‘sue his punk a**’”)
• Trump news at a glance: president takes aim at Harvard, threatening tax-exempt status (“The IRS is reportedly planning to revoke Harvard’s tax exemption, a move that would cost the university millions” That’s wildly illegal.)
• As Garber Stands Against Trump, Money From Harvard Donors Pours In
• With Harvard Threat, Trump Tries to Bend the I.R.S. to His Will
• Harvard shows resistance is possible. But universities must join forces (“Far too many academics are repeating propaganda about a ‘free speech crisis’. It’s time for a shared strategy”)
• Callers to conservative radio shows voice their displeasure with Trump’s tariffs (“To me, this is just reckless, and I’m so angry. I’ll be darned if I’ll vote for another Republican again.”)
• FSU shooting: Two dead; six injured after police say deputy’s son opened fire on campus
• Trump calls FSU shooting a ‘shame,’ says he’ll always protect Second Amendment (Exactly: Republicans will NEVER DO ANYTHING about gun violence.)
• Ex-New York Times editorial page editor apologizes to Sarah Palin at defamation trial (WTF???)
• Senator, biotech leaders gather in Roanoke to brainstorm in face of government cuts (“Sen. Mark Warner floated the idea of rebates to taxpayers on profits that come from university research.”)
• Audio: Rep. Jennifer McClellan (D-VA04) Says We Are “Absolutely” in a Constitutional Crisis – “This is fascism, this is something I never thought I would see in the United States” (“If it can happen to [Kilmar Abrego Garcia], it can happen to you”)
• Constituents Demolish Right-Wing-Internet-Troll-Masquerading-as-Congressman John McGuire (R-VA05)’s Latest Lies: “Posting this crap on social media while they’re sitting in a foreign gulag (if they’re even still alive) is so cowardly. SMDH””
• Sears and Spanberger Part 3: Abortion access divides Sears and Spanberger in Virginia’s race for governor
• SEIU Members Endorse Abigail Spanberger for Governor of Virginia: “Abigail is Exactly the Kind of Governor Virginia’s Workers Deserve”
• Youngkin Continues to Double Down on Trump’s Economic Attacks — Even While Admitting They’re Hurting Virginians (Youngkin insanely “argued that tariffs will accelerate investments across the United States, including in Virginia” WTF???)
• Chamber of Commerce Hosts Conversation with Republican Gubernatorial Candidate and Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears
• Virginia House Democrats Build Major Fundraising Lead, Drive Momentum in Battleground Districts (“Virginia House Republicans are terrified of losing in November—and they should be”)
• Early campaign finance numbers show Democrats outraising Republican incumbents
• Pope & Schapiro: Money talk
• Commentary: Dominion Energy is fueling profits with your money
• Virginia launches new dashboards to track maternal deaths, improve pregnancy outcomes
• George Mason, Old Dominion latest Va. universities to roll back DEI policies
• Some rural communities see weeks go by without any early voters in primary elections.
• Assistant prosecutor in Roanoke to run for commonwealth’s attorney
• Richmond area businesses feel the uncertainty in Trump’s economy
• Mount Rogers Health District lays off 13 employees amid COVID grant cuts; overall impact to Southwest Virginia remains unclear
• Rappahannock Tribe acquires nearly 1,000 acres along its namesake river
• CWG Live updates: Noticeably warm today, then a summerlike Saturday