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by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Sunday, June 1.
- What is ecocide and could it become a crime under international law? (“Classing grievous acts of environmental harm as crimes against peace may hold states and corporations to account”)
- Explosions caused 2 bridges in western Russia to collapse, officials say. 7 people were killed
- Ukraine must urgently be given the €300bn of frozen Russian assets (Agreed – do it NOW!)
- China accuses Pete Hegseth of sowing division in Asia in speech ‘filled with provocations’ (“US defence secretary ‘vilified China with defamatory allegations’ at Shangri-La Dialogue”)
- Hegseth Pledges U.S. Support to Taiwan in Case of Chinese Aggression
- Trump doesn’t know how to deal with China. His cowardice only makes a war with Taiwan more likely
- Iran Builds Up Near Weapons-Grade Uranium Stockpile Despite Nuclear Talks
- U.S. gives Iran updated nuclear deal offer
- Hamas makes hostage pledge but demands changes to US Gaza ceasefire plan
- At least 31 Palestinians are killed while heading to a Gaza aid hub, officials and witnesses say
- Hamas seeks amendments to Gaza ceasefire proposal but US envoy calls it ‘unacceptable’
- U.S. Envoy Says Hamas Response to Hostage Deal ‘Totally Unacceptable’
- Trump to meet with Germany’s Merz in Washington next week
- Poland goes to the polls in second round of close-fought presidential election (“Win for populist-right candidate Nawrocki will further political deadlock that has hampered Tusk’s government”)
- He is the strongman who inspired Trump – but is Viktor Orbán losing his grip on power? (“Opposition activists and journalists explain why the Orbánisation of the US may fail and how a former ally could end the Hungarian PM’s 15-year reign”)
- Really, Secretary Rubio? I’m Lying About the Kids Dying Under Trump? (Not a single US Senator should have voted to confirm Rubio; instead, 99 of them did!)
- EU prepared to counter new Trump tariffs
- Trump Says Steel and Aluminum Tariffs Will Double to 50%
- Trump Tariffs Face Threat at Supreme Court — Over Rulings That Blocked Biden
- Spike in steel tariffs could imperil Trump promise of lower grocery prices
- How Mexico’s Vote on Nearly 2,700 Judges Could Empower One Party
- Judge blocks Trump administration from revoking protected status for thousands of Venezuelans (“The decision comes after the Supreme Court allowed the administration to remove protected status for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans.”)
- ‘It can happen to anyone’: Nadler rebukes DHS after staffer detained in Manhattan office (“The agency said the unidentified staff member was not charged.”)
- Trump Makes America’s Refugee Program a Tool of White Racial Grievance (The concept that white people have “racial grievance” seems like a bad joke, but…)
- Donald Trump vs. His Own Judges (“His message to Justices Thomas and Alito: Don’t retire. Your replacement could be a partisan hack.”)
- Trump wants ‘gold-standard science.’ What does that mean? (“Many scientists fear the new term means putting political appointees in charge, which could undercut independent research. Some are now pushing back, saying that the administration could damage science even as it co-opts the language of a movement aimed at improving it.”)
- FDA approves a next-generation Covid vaccine from Moderna, with restrictions
- How American consumers are feeling the squeeze, in 4 charts
- Trump administration prepares to ease big bank rules (HUGE mistake.)
- Trump pardons drug kingpins even as he escalates U.S. drug war rhetoric (As always, just imagine the reaction if Obama or Biden had done something like this!)
- Unease at F.B.I. Intensifies as Patel Ousts Top Officials
- Patel and Bongino’s choppy transition from roasting the FBI to running it
- ‘No MAGA left behind’: The trouble with Trump’s pardons (“This week’s outburst suggests that America now has a two-tiered justice system.”)
- The Unconstitutional Conservatives (“Not too long ago, Republicans believed in the rule of law, limiting the power of government, and protecting individual liberty. Then came Donald Trump.”)
- DOJ’s New Top Voting Lawyer Worked for Leading Anti-Voting Law Firm
- Trump’s deals with law firms are like deals ‘made with a gun to the head,’ lawyers say
- The fallout from Trump’s war on Harvard will long outlast his presidency
- Trump Shares Unhinged Conspiracy Theory That Biden’s a Clone (This would be a HUGE, FRONT-PAGE story in all the papers if Biden did it. But since it’s Trump, they’re all like yaaaawwwwn. Totally f’ed up.)
- It’s called the Library of Congress. But Trump claims it’s his.
- Impersonator breached Chief of Staff Susie Wiles’s phone, Trump says (The media will have breathless coverage on this, right???)
- Elon Musk’s Government Legacy Was Enacting Project 2025. His Ties Go Back Years. (“The billionaire rescued the right-wing plan to dismantle the government while at its most toxic moment. Enacting its vision at DOGE, Musk was Trump’s enabler and fall guy.”)
- Trump to Withdraw Musk’s Ally as Nominee for Top NASA Job
- Elon Musk’s Reign of Terror Is Only Just Beginning (“His ‘departure’ from the government is anything but.”)
- Trump’s Hated ‘TACO’ Nickname Is Catching On: CNN Data Guru
- Trump pardons drive a big, burgeoning business for lobbyists
- The Seven Ugliest Provisions in Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ (“The Trumpy tax bill that’s headed to the Senate has many nasty surprises”)
- House GOP passed trillions in tax cuts. How Trump’s ‘big bill’ could change in the Senate
- Williams: Asians beware. MAGA doesn’t care about racial justice
- Joni Ernst’s ‘Well, we all are going to die,’ and the GOP’s flippant defenses of Trump’s agenda
- GOP Senator Doubles Down On ‘We All Are Going To Die’ Comment In Wild Non-Apology (She sounds completely insane.)
- Wes Moore and Tim Walz Go to a Fish Fry and Spatter 2028 Gossip Everywhere
- Tim Walz tells Harris’ home-state Dems that 2024 was a ‘primal scream’ (“Some of it is our own doing.”)
- Trump’s Birthday Military Parade Will Do $16M in Damages to D.C. Streets
- NYC’s Mayoral Race Is Being Overshadowed by Donald Trump
- Kaine hypes bill that would mandate Supreme Court code of conduct
- Audio: Sam Shirazi and I Chat About the 2025 LG and AG Races, Some Background on Political Blogging and Media in Virginia, etc. (“I think if Spanberger is winning by at least a few points, then I think she’ll just take the rest of the ticket with her.”)
- Value of 2025 Virginia Legislators’ Stock Portfolios: 21 Have $1 Million or More; 34 Have $5,000 or Less
- Editorial: Federal cuts lend urgency to Virginians’ preparations for storm season
- Editorial: RVA, Mayor Avula: Where’s the sense of urgency?
- Jerrauld Jones, pioneering legislator and judge from Norfolk, dies
- Longtime Norfolk judge and state delegate Jerrauld Jones dies at 70
- DMV doesn’t rule out move, but looks to renovate in Richmond
- CWG Live updates: Dry and comfortable today, with toasty temperatures on the way
