Tuesday News: “A shutdown fight and Epstein drama await as Congress returns to Washington”; “It’s time to have a serious conversation about Trump’s health”; “Trump Declares D.C. a ‘Crime Free Zone’ Despite 442 Crimes Reported in Past Week”; Confusing New VA Poll

by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Tuesday, September 2.

• Global temperatures to remain above average despite return of La Niña, says UN (“Climate phenomenon cools surface of Pacific but won’t stop human-induced climate change increasing temperatures and exacerbating extreme weather”)
• Underestimating support for climate action limits political decision making, study says
• Climate change kills, Spanish PM tells deniers at launch of plan to tackle crisis
• Opinion | When Climate Change Blurs Borders
• Ukraine Pursues a Weapons Buildup More Potent Than Any Security Guarantee (“Kyiv sees a well-equipped army as a stronger deterrent to Moscow than Western pledges to defend it. It is working to attract billions to buy more arms.”)
• Putin claims he never opposed EU membership for Ukraine but draws line at Nato
• Russia’s Putin hails ‘unprecedented’ ties with China at talks in Beijing (Trump is partly responsible for this – he pushed these countries closer together.)
• Putin Finds a Growing Embrace on the Global Stage (Utterly repulsive.)
• Beijing tightens control ahead of Xi’s big moment on world stage
• Modi joins hands with Xi and Putin in message to Trump
• Asia-Pacific News
  Trump calls India-U.S. trade relationship ‘a totally one sided disaster’ after Modi visits China (Trump is an imbecile.)
• In Bolsonaro trial, Brazil confronts Trump — and its authoritarian past
• Sudan landslide kills more than 1,000 people after wiping out village in Darfur (Horrible.)
• Earthquake in Afghanistan Leaves More Than 800 Dead
• Afghanistan earthquake death toll passes 1,400, says Taliban government spokesman
• Leading genocide scholars organization says Israel is committing genocide in Gaza (It’s very very bad, for sure, and needs to end – now.)
• Leaked ‘Gaza Riviera’ plan dismissed as ‘insane’ attempt to cover ethnic cleansing
• Guatemala says it is willing to receive hundreds of deported children from US
• Trump Administration Deports Jamaican Man to African Prison Years After U.S. Sentence (WTF???)
• A downturn in international travel to the US may last beyond summer, experts warn
• At an ICE career expo, thousands line up to ‘defend the homeland’
• Alarm after FBI arrests US army veteran for ‘conspiracy’ over protest against Ice (“Legal experts say charges against Afghanistan war veteran Bajun Mavalwalla II mark an escalation in the Trump administration’s crackdown on first amendment rights”)
• Trump demands drugmakers ‘justify’ COVID treatment success (WTF???)
• The sinister reason Trump revived the presidential fitness test (“POTUS and the HHS secretary equate looks with how healthy you are”)
• The Turmoil Inside MAHA Is About More Than Just Vaccines (“Disparate factions are sparring over some of RFK Jr.’s biggest priorities; a top FDA scientist is hired, ousted, then hired again”)
• It’s time to have a serious conversation about Trump’s health
• Trump Teases ‘Announcement’ After Days of Health Speculation
• Congress hankers for closure in funding war with Trump. SCOTUS is slow to deliver.
• Trump Orders Have Stripped Nearly Half a Million Federal Workers of Union Rights
• Congress returns to September government funding crunch
• GOP Faces Headwinds on Push for Second Big Tax and Spending Bill
• Trump readies crushing autumn power plays as Democrats search for direction (“Democrats grapple for traction, and another crisis brews in DC as Congress needs to pass a spending bill by the end of the month”)
• A shutdown fight and Epstein drama await as Congress returns to Washington
• Congress returns with not much time to dodge a government shutdown
• Trump Family Amasses $5 Billion Fortune After Crypto Launch (MASSIVE corruption; just imagine the headline “Biden Family Amasses $5 Billion Fortune After Crypto Launch” or “Harris Family Amasses…”)
• Lutnick Family Angling To Make Astronomical Sums Off Court Nixing Tariffs
• The Enemy That Hegseth and Trump Insist on Honoring (“The U.S. won the Civil War. So why is the administration so keen on the Confederate side?”)
• GOP lawmakers to be confronted by Jeffrey Epstein saga as they return to Congress
• Today in POTUS | Trump, friend of Hannibal Lecter, wants to reopen insane asylums
• ‘Giddy’ Republicans cheer Mamdani’s impact on Democrats
• Trump says he’s awarding former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani the Presidential Medal of Freedom (Completely f’ed up.)
• Nadler, Pillar of Democratic Party’s Old Guard, Will Retire Next Year (Good idea – if you’re in your 70s or 80s, probably time to retire…unless you’re still doing a great job, in which case ok, but get ready to pass the baton soon; can’t afford more Democrats dying in office.)
• In Chicago, thousands protest against threat of ICE, National Guard deployment
• Trump Declares D.C. a ‘Crime Free Zone’ Despite 442 Crimes Reported in Past Week
• Editorial: Chesapeake Bay funding remains in federal spending plans — for now
• Jessica Aber death | Medical Examiner releases finding on passing of former U.S. Attorney (“The official word on the death of Jessica Aber, the former U.S. Attorney in Virginia who stepped down on the day of the Trump inauguration: ‘sudden unexpected death in epilepsy.’ Aber, 43, a Joe Biden appointee, died in her sleep in her Alexandria home on March 22.”)
• Va. governor candidates weigh in on Chesapeake Bay Foundation conservation goals (“Spanberger commits to returning Virginia to RGGI, while Earle-Sears has supported the state’s removal from the carbon credits program, which generated funds that boosted flood mitigation and climate resiliency projects.”)
• Abigail Spanberger rallies voters at Rep. Bobby Scott’s annual Labor Day cookout
• On Labor Day 2025, It’s Important to Understand That Winsome Earle-Sears, John Reid, Jason Miyares All Would Be Horrible for Working People (The Virginia Democratic ticket, in stark contrast, is pro-labor while not being anti-business.)
• “Trouble in Buena Vista for Winsome Earle-Sears and the Virginia GOP” – Much Bigger, More Enthusiastic Crowd for Spanberger at the Traditional Labor Day Event There (Glenn Youngkin won deep-red Buena Vista by a massive 74%-25% in 2021, yet…minimal enthusiasm for Earle-Sears this time around?)
• Full statewide tickets rally supporters in Buena Vista
• Spanberger, the once-secretive CIA agent, is on public display in bid for Virginia governor (“Back when she worked for the CIA, Abigail Spanberger couldn’t talk much to many about what she did. Today, she’s telling perfect strangers her life story.”)
• Poll Sponsored by Right-Wing Group Has Abigail Spanberger Up 12 Points; Ghazala Hashmi and Jay Jones Up 5 Points Each (Dems lead by 10 points in the House of Delegates)
• Democratic hecklers drown out Republican candidates at Buena Vista’s Labor Day speech-making (“For the first time in 12 years, all six statewide candidates were at the annual parade and political event.”)
• Virginia might have to pay $234 million a year to preserve enhanced insurance premium tax credits; without them, consumers will see costs rise (“A federal program that provides tax credits for health insurance policies is slated to sunset at the end of the year unless Congress votes to extend it.”)
• Commentary: Illegal slot machines are everywhere in Virginia. Why?
• In Puerto Rico, customers are helping to keep the lights on. Could a Virginia program do the same?
• Virginia’s ‘nice’ negotiator: Terry Kilgore leads GOP in Trump’s shadow
• Hampton Roads rallies for Labor Day protests against Trump administration
• Bristol’s commissioner of revenue race is a rematch between two 2021 candidates
• Superb September weather continues before chance of late-week showers (Calling a bad drought “superb” is really, really weird – and deeply unprofessional.)