by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Thursday, October 9.
- National security threatened by climate crisis, UK intelligence chiefs due to warn (Every country’s security is threatened by the climate crisis, for sure.)
- ‘Humanitarian’ visa must be created for Pacific Islanders displaced by climate crisis, experts say
- Illegal gold mining clears 140,000 hectares of Peruvian Amazon (“Armed criminal groups tear down precious rainforest to capitalise on record gold prices, report finds” UGH.)
- Pope Leo will ‘stand with’ Catholic leaders in protecting immigrants’ rights, advocates say (“The comments from the pope mark the most recent push from the Vatican against the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.”)
- Pope urges news agencies to stand as bulwark against lies, manipulation and post-truths
- Gold Is Booming and That’s Really Bad News (“Add it to the growing pile of metrics documenting Trump’s economic mismanagement.”)
- Russia attacks Ukraine’s energy and railway infrastructure in deadly overnight strikes
- Israel and Hamas agree to first phase of Gaza ceasefire plan
- The Gaza War Isn’t Over Yet. But It Could Be Soon. (“Trump may have ended the Gaza hostage crisis. Can he end the Gaza war?”)
- Israel and Hamas agree to part of Trump’s Gaza peace plan, will free hostages and prisoners (Thank goodness if true and if it holds. This war has been a NIGHTMARE on every level since 10/7/23.)
- AP photos show Rubio’s urgent note to Trump before announcement of Mideast peace deal (“You need to approve a Truth Social post soon so you can announce deal first.”)
- Ceasefire deal a major breakthrough, but war not over yet
- Gaza ceasefire deal: what has been agreed for ‘first phase’ and why now?
- Trump has yet to provide Congress hard evidence that targeted boats carried drugs, officials say
- Senate rejects effort to curb Trump’s power to target alleged drug boats (The Senate as a whole didn’t reject that effort, overwhelmingly Senate REPUBLCANS did. The media’s so pathetically bad.)
- Bipartisan measure to restrict Trump’s war powers fails in Senate (It didn’t just passively “fail,” it was KILLED by Republicans.)
- The White House Dismantled USAID and Now Children Are Starving in Myanmar
- Money talks: the deep ties between Twitter and Saudi Arabia (“Saudi Arabia’s investment in Twitter increased its influence in Silicon Valley while being used at home to shut down critics of the regime”)
- Brazil’s Bolsonaro was convicted but the military appetite for a coup lingers (“Armed forces academies teach troops that military control would be better for the country, historians and experts say”)
- National Guard poised to enter Chicago as Trump calls for jailing Democratic leaders (Incredibly dangerous by Trump.)
- JB Pritzker Has Had It With Democrats Who Won’t Stand Up to Trump (Same here.)
- Jury Refuses To Indict Chicago ICE Protesters In Latest Revolt Against Trump Overreach
- Homeland Security Cyber Personnel Reassigned to Jobs in Trump’s Deportation Push
- Trump, 79, Posted Private Bondi Message About Indicting Enemy
- Democrats gird for war with Pam Bondi
- Kristi Noem compares antifa to MS-13, Hamas, Hezbollah and the Islamic State (Noem is completely insane. And a MORON.)
- Trump just hosted an ‘Antifa roundtable’ at the White House … it was so much worse than you’re imagining (“Holly Baxter reports on a meeting that, at one point, appeared to position people protesting against Nazis in the Weimar Republic as the bad guys, and at another saw the president declare, ‘We got rid of freedom of speech’”)
- Kristi Noem praised for ‘staring down’ Antifa. It was a dozen reporters and a guy in a chicken suit
- What Game Is Trump Playing With His Military Deployments?
- A quarter of FBI agents are assigned to immigration enforcement, per FBI data (“The large number of reassignments — about 3,000 agents — reflect a vast reshaping of the agency and could put other priorities at risk.”)
- DHS secretary accuses local officials of ‘covering up’ terrorism on Portland’s streets (Bonkers.)
- KFF Tracking Poll on Health Information and Trust: Tylenol-Autism Link and Vaccine Policies (“Overall, just 4% of adults say it is ‘definitely true’ that taking Tylenol during pregnancy increases the risk of the child developing autism…majorities of the public disapprove of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy’s overall job performance (59%) as well as his handling of U.S. vaccine policy (62%).”)
- GOP Could Lock in House Control for a Generation if SCOTUS Ends Key VRA Protection, Report Warns
- Nixon Now Looks Restrained (“The former President once made an offhand remark about Charles Manson’s guilt. The reaction shows how aberrant Donald Trump’s rhetoric is.”)
- Trump’s war on the left: Inside the plan to investigate liberal groups
- Retribution Is Here (“The president’s threats of revenge are no longer bluster.”)
- Nice Little TV Network You Got There (“How easily has Trump rolled corporate media? So much more easily than he probably expected.”)
- On Wall Street, the Mood Is, Shutdown? What Shutdown?
- ‘Everyone’s just getting destroyed’: MTG calls on Johnson to bring House back to DC and rails on GOP handling of health care
- Republicans Caution White House on Inflicting Shutdown Pain (“Some GOP lawmakers have warned the president’s aides against mass layoffs and sharp cuts to government assistance”)
- Mike Johnson faces growing internal revolt over shutdown
- Scoop: Senate Republicans eye piecemeal government reopening
- Trump signals that he will use the shutdown to stiff government employees
- Americans’ Job Ratings of Six Key U.S. Agencies Worsen
- Trump Fires Black Officials From an Overwhelmingly White Administration (“Separately, in the administration’s first 200 days, only two out of 98 Senate-confirmed appointees to the most senior jobs in government were Black.”)
- Hegseth’s sprawling hunt for Charlie Kirk critics spans nearly 300 investigations (Witch hunt!)
- Hegseth’s firing of Navy official compounds ‘culture of fear’ inside Pentagon
- Jack Smith’s lawfare and James Comey’s arraignment on pathetically weak charges (I’m including a link to this crazy, false-equivalence, “both sides” BULLSHIT by the Bezos Post editorial board just to remind everyone to cancel their subscriptions to this shit paper. I mean, seriously – Jack Smith committed “lawfare?” FU Jeff Bezos and company!)
- James Comey trial set for Jan. 5 on charges sought by Trump (This is absolutely OUTRAGEOUS, and I don’t even like James Comey at all…but THIS is “lawfare” for sure!)
- FBI fires special agents who worked on Jack Smith’s probe into Trump (Totally f’ed up.)
- Swalwell: Republicans planning ‘jail break’ revolt over Epstein files (“this Epstein bomb is about to drop and no [one] wants to defend a pedo-protector. It’s just a matter of time”)
- Inside the Justice Department Where the President Calls the Shots (This is a MASSIVE violation of post-Watergate norms.)
- Jeffries, Lawler get into confrontation over ObamaCare: ‘You’re embarrassing yourself’ (Lawler is an embarrassment for sure.)
- ‘Get out of my f–king shot’: Katie Porter tears into staffer in newly released video (She seems nasty at best, kinda unhinged at worst.)
- Senators press Mike Johnson to swear in Democrat who could force Epstein vote (“Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego hold press conference at speaker’s office over his refusal to swear in Adelita Grijalva”)
- Kaine says air travel delays may bring Trump to shutdown negotiation table
- Sen. Tim Kaine, Sen. Martin Heinrich Announce the “Senate will vote today on their legislation to challenge President Donald Trump’s radical, cost-raising, job-killing energy agenda”
- Griffith is only Republican in Virginia delegation not to call for Jones to quit race (“Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Salem, said ‘as a Republican officeholder, I have long held to the belief that it is not my place to tell the Democratic Party what candidates they should nominate or ask to step aside.'”)
- Virginia health insurance marketplace data predicts surge in prices (“Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine are warning Virginians about what insurance premiums could look like in the months to come.”)
- Virginia Democratic lawmakers demand Trump keep promise to pay furloughed workers (“President Donald Trump is threatening to ignore a federal law guaranteeing that federal employees are made whole after a shutdown.”)
- VA Dems Chair Lamont Bagby: Winsome Earle-Sears Won’t Be Able to Run from Her Record on the Debate Stage (Bagby: “Right now, we’re seeing in real time what a Sears administration would look like: Trump first, Virginia last.”)
- The Virginia governor’s debate is tonight. Here’s what to watch for.
- 5 things to look for in tonight’s gubernatorial debate and the days ahead
- Audio: Winsome Earle-Sears Talking About Reproductive Rights Supporters, Declares “Murder Is Murder. And One Day It’s Going to Be Your Turn” (Very disturbing language.)
- Virginia Governor Hopefuls to Debate as Violent Texts Roil Race
- Editorial: Spanberger, Earle-Sears gubernatorial debate should be about policy (That’s just silly; I mean, a televised debate is, by its nature, going to be about a bunch of things, including showmanship, personality, policy, etc. That’s just reality.)
- Sam Shirazi: “John Reid takes it a step further and talks about Ghazala Hashmi’s [Muslim] ‘religious connection’ with [Zohran Mamdani]” (“Also raises questions about Hashmi being both far left socialist and Islamist who wants to impose Sharia law”)
- Police group that endorsed Spanberger is calling on Jones to “decline to take office” if he wins (This is, of course, a VERY right-wing, pro-Republican group, which has endorsed/supported Republican candidates for years. What’s astounding is that they endored a Democrat for governor this year, supposedly because Winsome Earle-Sears had SUCH a bad/disastrous interview, but still…it’s a right-wing, pro-Republican group for sure.)
- Williams: GOP hysteria over Jay Jones’ texts is the epitome of hypocrisy
- Virginia is No. 4 in student loan debt
- Va. Senate Dems call Trump admin’s UVA funding proposal ‘political extortion’
- VA Speaker Don Scott and Delegate Mark Sickles Statement on Youngkin Administration’s Failure to Use Millions in Federal Funds for Nursing Home Oversight (“Failing to use available federal funds to strengthen oversight is another stain on the administration’s record and is not just irresponsible – it’s a betrayal”)
- Youngkin: new hydrogen plant marks a Virginia energy milestone (Again, a headline should state right up front if it’s true or not.)
- House District 97, anchored in Virginia Beach, could determine party majority in House of Delegates (Del. Michael Feggans is the big favorite in this race; if Republicans are winning this district, it means it’s a REALLY bad night for Democrats on 11/4.)
- Shenandoah County | Billboard supporting free speech erected in rural Virginia
- Lawsuit against Roanoke County School Board moves forward
- Fewer trees being cut down is good | Four Virginia papers scale back on print schedules (“Bigger question from me on this: why does anybody print newspapers at all anymore?”) Presumably because they can still run advertising in there and make money?)
- CWG Live updates: Fabulous fall weather before possible coastal storm
