by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Monday, May 12.
- Climate crisis threatens the banana, the world’s most popular fruit, research shows (“Fourth most important food crop in peril as Latin America and Caribbean suffer from slow-onset climate disaster”)
- US popularity collapses worldwide in wake of Trump’s return (“Trump recorded the worst score among a range of political, cultural and spiritual leaders that includes X owner Elon Musk, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, the late Pope Francis, Taylor Swift and Kim Kardashian.”)
- ‘Doubt Has Crept In’: Three European Diplomats on Trusting America
- Trump backs Putin’s proposal for Ukraine talks, undermining European leaders (“Trump’s endorsement came the day after he backed European leaders’ demand for a ceasefire first.”)
- Zelenskyy agrees to meet Putin after Trump post; unclear if Russian president will join (“‘I will be waiting for Putin in Türkiye on Thursday,’ Zelenskyy wrote on X.”)
- Trump’s Ukraine Push Comes to a Head With Challenge to Putin
- US and China take a step back from sky-high tariffs, agree to pause for 90 days (“U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the U.S. agreed to drop its 145% tariff rate on Chinese goods by 115 percentage points to 30%, while China agreed to lower its rate on U.S. goods by the same amount to 10%.”)
- China and US agree 90-day pause to trade war initiated by Donald Trump (“Countries to lower reciprocal tariffs by 115% as US treasury secretary says ‘neither side wants a decoupling’”)
- Surprise U.S.-China Trade Deal Gives Global Economy a Big Reprieve
- South Korean conservative party fails in a bid to switch presidential candidates
- Ex-UK Special Forces break silence on ‘war crimes’ by colleagues (Absolutely h
- After days of heavy firefights, calm reported along Indian and Pakistan borders
- Trump Truce Leaves India Furious, Pakistan Elated (“When Trump announced India and Pakistan had agreed to a ceasefire, he caught one side off guard — Prime Minister Modi and his government.”)
- Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander due to be released by Hamas in Gaza
- Hamas will release U.S.-Israeli hostage, Israel says no ceasefire
- Trump repeatedly bypasses Netanyahu, stoking dismay among Israelis (“The Israeli prime minister has long trumpeted his ties to the president. But the president is sidelining him on urgent issues like the Iran nuclear talks and the conflict with Houthi rebels.”)
- The Guardian view on Israel and Gaza: Trump can stop this horror. The alternative is unthinkable (“The US president has the leverage to force through a ceasefire. If he does not, he will implicitly signal approval of what looks like a plan of total destruction”)
- Kurdish group PKK says it is laying down arms and disbanding (“Outlawed Kurdish group the PKK, which has waged a 40-year insurgency against Turkey, has announced it is laying down its arms and disbanding. The move followed a call in February by the group’s jailed leader, Abdullah Ocalan, for it to disband.”)
- Canada’s Liberal Party one seat closer to majority after Quebec recount (“The result gives the Liberal Party 170 seats in the House of Commons, two seats shy of the 172 required for a majority.”)
- Trump Loses His Mind Over Pushback to Qatar Jet Deal
- Qatar’s gift to Trump reveals a loophole big enough to fly a jumbo jet through
- Trump news at a glance: Plan to accept luxury jet from Qatar draws criticism from allies and rivals
- Trump defends the prospect of Qatar gifting him a plane to use as Air Force One (Completely indefensible.)
- Qatar calls reports of pending jet gift to Trump ‘inaccurate’ (“The possible transfer of an aircraft for temporary use as Air Force One is currently under consideration between Qatar’s Ministry of Defense and the U.S. Department of Defense, but the matter remains under review by the respective legal departments, and no decision has been made”)
- Qatari Royals Give Trump a Plane (“…the relevant point here is that the plane remains for the personal use of Trump and his family, permanently. So that means he owns it, whatever paperwork definition they may come up with. It’s a bribe. (Trump has literally been found to have abused a charity. So he’s got a record for this.) They’re not even trying to hide it. And the Times does everyone a bit of a disservice by not making clear that this isn’t how presidential libraries work.”)
- This Obscure New York Court Is Set to Decide Fate of Trump’s Tariffs
- Lutnick: ‘We do expect a 10 percent baseline tariff to be in place for the foreseeable future’
- How Tariffs Are Crushing Small Businesses: ‘Nobody in Power Seems to Care’
- Is Asylum Still Possible? (“A young democracy activist fled Venezuela, where the government threatened to arrest her for treason. Now in ICE custody, she knows that she may be quickly deported.”)
- Will we allow ICE to behave as a secret police?
- After Jailing of Newark Mayor, DHS Official Warns of “More Arrests Coming” (“This comes as the administration is also considering suspending habeas corpus. The message is loud and clear: There is no rule of law.”)
- Trump’s trillion-dollar trip
- UVA Prof. Larry Sabato on Qatar “Gifting” Trump a Luxury Jet: “The Trump Administration is drowning in corruption–and few Americans seem to care. It’s another sign of a dying Republic.” (Sabato: The GOP is a “rotting corpse with all the power”; “despondency is justified”)
- Why End Energy Star? (“Many of the Trump Administration’s proposed rollbacks of climate policies run counter to its own goals.”)
- RFK Jr., DOGE gutted legally required offices. Courts may undo it all.
- Proposal Cutting Medicaid Aims for GOP Middle Ground
- Trump Says He Will Sign Executive Order Aimed at Lowering Drug Prices (How can a president do this?)
- Pharmaceutical stocks slide as Trump vows to cut US prescription drug prices ‘by 30-80%’
- The hidden ways Trump and DOGE are shutting down parts of the U.S. government (“Across the federal government, Trump officials are halting a wide range of operations by declining to approve key funds. This unofficial hold on many activities has incapacitated parts of agencies as varied as the National Park Service and the Pentagon.”)
- Flights Could Be Disrupted Across U.S., Transportation Secretary Warns
- Trump’s Budget Hawk Takes Over the DOGE Agenda. First Up: The Military.
- Americans putting life on hold amid economic anxiety under Trump, poll shows (“Exclusive: Harris poll for Guardian finds people reconsidering major life events such as having children or buying a home”)
- Elon Musk Thought He Could Break History. Instead It Broke Him.
- Elon Musk’s regulatory troubles have begun to melt away in Trump’s second term (“The Trump administration has halted some regulatory matters involving Musk’s companies and fired people from agencies investigating Tesla, SpaceX and Neuralink.” MASSIVELY corrupt.)
- Public-Sector Workers Are Heroes, and Democrats Should Say So
- Trump made historic gains with minority voters in 2024. They are already pulling back in 2025
- A Republican push to sell public lands in the West is reigniting a political fight
- Is Jeff Bezos Selling Out the Washington Post? (“How the paper that brought down Richard Nixon is struggling to survive the second term of Donald Trump.”)
- Virginia and East coast fishery managers remain vigilant over status of Atlantic striped bass
- Video: On CNN, Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA10) Says “if I’m going to be put behind bars for trying to stand up for the constitutional rights of my constituents, for standing up for civil liberties, like bring it on!”
- Virginia overhauls SOL testing to boost student achievement
- Virginia House Speaker Scott joins national Democratic campaign board (“DLCC taps Scott’s political insight as party ramps up efforts in battleground states, with all eyes on Virginia’s 2025 elections” NICE!)
- Meet the six Democrats running for lieutenant governor in Virginia
- Loudoun Co. public schools look to control use of AI in classrooms
- Roanoke $400 million budget includes school funding freeze
- New zone in Henrico would limit data centers to Technology Boulevard
- CWG Live updates: Significant rainfall tonight into midweek
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