by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Sunday, April 12. Also, check out the video, “An Evening with Senator Mark Warner, Speaker Don Scott, and Professor Larry J. Sabato.” Good stuff. And also check out the SNL “Cold Open” last night, which includes “Trump’s” line, “I sent in my secret weapon, JD Vance. After those Iranians spent 20 hours talking to JD, they said ‘please sir, just go back to bombing us’.” LOL
- Analysis: Why the Nato alliance is not as likely to dissolve as Trump makes it seem
- Ukraine and Russia accuse each other of hundreds of ceasefire violations
- From brutal occupation to brazen recruitment: Russia turns Bucha residents against their own (“Four years after the Ukrainian town experienced some of the war’s worst atrocities, a 21-year-old planted bombs outside his own apartment building” WTF???)
- Iran war tips Trump-Pope tension over the edge
- We’re stuck in the worst timeline
- Pope says ‘enough of war’ and decries ‘delusion of omnipotence’ at peace vigil (“Leo’s comments did not directly mention war in Iran but read as his strongest condemnation of the conflict yet”)
- Two U.S. Warships Transit Strait of Hormuz in First Since War Began
- Navy Warships Cross Hormuz Strait for Mine-Clearing Work, U.S. Says
- China, Iran weaponized global economy to beat U.S. at its own game
- U.S. and Iran fail to reach a deal after lengthy talks, and Vance leaves the table
- Control of the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s Uranium Stockpiles Were Sticking Points (“The U.S. had demanded that Iran immediately reopen the strait, but Iran said it would do so only after a final peace deal, according to Iranian officials.”)
- Iran War Live Updates: Top Iranian Negotiator Suggests Further Peace Talks Are Possible
- No deal: Vance and Iranians fail to reach agreement after marathon session (“Vance said the Iranians refused to give assurances that they would not seek to obtain or develop a nuclear weapon.”)
- U.S.-Iran talks end with no deal
- Why Trump Chose Vance to Negotiate With Iran (“There is no overlap between what America is demanding and what Iran is offering.”)
- US and Iran end ceasefire talks without agreement and blaming each other
- No Deal: U.S.-Iran peace talks in Islamabad collapse
- Former general urges Trump to call Xi over Iran, Strait of Hormuz
- Exclusive: US intelligence indicates China is preparing weapons shipment to Iran amid fragile ceasefire, sources say
- Trump’s Iran fiasco has led him into the gravest territory (“As the president spirals over his disastrous war, his threats have escalated beyond the red line of international law”)
- The U.S. Sank One of Iran’s Navies. The Other Still Controls Hormuz. (“The Revolutionary Guard’s small, fast-attack boats hold sway in the strategic waterway”)
- Kelly rips Witkoff, Kushner role in Iran talks: Can’t send ‘two real estate developers’ to negotiate peace
- Iran’s Nuclear Program Has Survived, Clouding Talks (“Tehran emerged from weeks of conflict with its uranium stockpile and other nuclear components intact”)
- Trump Struts Around UFC Cage Match as Vance Flees Peace Talks (“While the president smiled ringside in Miami, the vice president shared that peace talks had collapsed in Islamabad.”)
- Trump Was Watching a U.F.C. Fight in Miami While Iran Talks Collapsed
- ‘Everything is gone’: Israel destroys entire villages in Lebanon (“Rights groups fear tactic of ‘domicide’ trialled in Gaza, where entire areas are made uninhabitable, is being used again”)
- ‘I Can’t Endure This’: Inside a Bombarded City in Southern Lebanon (“In Tyre, a city on Lebanon’s coast, near-daily bombardments by Israel have killed and injured civilians, and left many searching for shelter.”)
- Many Polls Say Orban Will Lose. But He Has an Edge Even Before Voting Begins. (“Over 16 years, Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s party has repeatedly tweaked the electoral system to its advantage, making the vote free, but not entirely fair.”)
- Hungarians vote in election that could oust Orban, rattle Russia and Europe’s Right
- After 16 years in power, Putin’s closest friend in Europe faces a pivotal election
- Delusions of Grandeur, Hungary Edition (“Trump really doesn’t understand America’s role in the world”)
- Hungarian election tests Trump’s global reach as Orban fights for survival
- He Was ‘Trump Before Trump.’ Now He’s in Trouble
- Hungarians vote in big numbers on whether to end Orbán rule and elect rival
- Exclusive: Telegram posts push pro-Orbán narratives, research shows
- Judges Fired After Blocking Deportations of Pro-Palestinian Students (“The immigration judges’ abrupt dismissals marked the latest efforts by the Trump administration to reshape the country’s immigration courts.” That’s really, really f’ed up.)
- Staff At Minnesota Deportation Hub Received ‘Obscene’ Trump-Themed Challenge Coins Adorned With Skulls
- Four Ways Trump’s War Is Weakening America (“The president should at long last recognize the ineptitude of his impulsive, go-it-alone approach.”)
- Jubilant return of Artemis II shadowed by ‘extinction-level’ cuts to Nasa: ‘It’s discordant’ (“Even as a triumphant moon flyby primes agency for a 2028 landing, Trump’s proposed budget cuts cast pall on US space program”)
- Cancer Rates Are Higher Near Large Livestock Feeding Operations in 3 States, a New Study Finds
- 4 Takeaways From the First Big Gathering of Potential 2028 Democratic Candidates
- Manhattan DA launches investigation into sexual assault allegation against Eric Swalwell (It sure sounds like Swalwell may have commmitted serious crimes. Definitely need investigations…)
- Swalwell staffers in unsigned statement: ‘We’re horrified’ by accusations (“Eric Swalwell’s gubernatorial campaign is reeling from accusations of sexual misconduct.”)
- Push to Expel Swalwell Could Touch Off Chain Reaction of House Removal Votes (“The House could move within days to consider expelling Representative Eric Swalwell, Democrat of California, in light of sexual assault allegations against him. There could be more to come for both parties.”)
- Swalwell loses all 21 of his endorsements from Dem colleagues (Unlike Republicans, we Democrats do not put up with sexual predators in our party.)
- Reps. Swalwell and Gonzales set to face expulsion votes
- Heritage president toasted editor of controversial right-wing magazine
- Appeals court rules Trump’s White House ballroom construction can temporarily move forward
- ‘SNL’ Humiliates Melania Trump Over ‘Insane’ Epstein Bombshell
- DCCC Rips Trump Puppet Mike Johnson Coming to Virginia Today to “try and subvert the will of Virginia voters” (Reminder: you can vote YES today, and through 4/21, to tell Trump, Johnson, Youngkin, Cline, etc. where to shove it…)
- Gov. Abigail Spanberger, Sen. Louise Lucas Slam “Misinformed and Inept” Trump’s Wild Lies (“Fake News About Fake Taxes”) (As for the media, here’s how they’re doing on this story, from A-Tier to F-Tier grades)
- Virginia Early voting climbs ahead of crucial redistricting referendum (In this article, they quote Richard Samp, without identifying him, as voting no. In fact, Samp was Chief Counsel for the Washington Legal Foundation, a right-wing/climate denial group funded by ExxonMobil, the Koch brothers, the “Scaife Family Foundations, and the tobacco industry as well as numerous other large, conservative foundations.” But god forbid WUSA9 inform readers of this, because that would actually be journalism?)
- Virginia redistricting battle enters home stretch (This article pushes misleading information, that “districts currently held by Republicans are outpacing blue districts in turnout”…in fact, early voting models, by L2 Political and others, show a big edge for Democrats at this point)
- Youngkin returns to campaign trail, calls for court to strike redistricting vote (This is stenography.)
- Virginia’s data center success is helping affordability. Lawmakers shouldn’t put it at risk. (By former GOP Rep. Barbara Comstock)
- Virginia families deserve a more affordable, accountable electric grid
- Seriously: It cost a million dollars to hang out with Donald Trump in Charlottesville
- Abigail Spanberger: Here’s how I’m working to provide practical solutions over partisanship (Gotta love this all-purpose bad word, “partisanship.” So ridiculous; in fact, there’s nothing wrong whatsoever about being a partisan Democrat these days, when the alternative is an authoritarian cult of personality around corrupt wannabe dictator Donald Trump)
- Cannabis testing challenges persist as Virginia retail market nears
- Editorial: Harrowing description of ODU shooting reflects our collective failure
- Who was Mohamed Jalloh? Here’s what radicalized the Old Dominion University shooter.
- CWG Live: Beautiful sunshine today ahead of big early week warm-up
