fby Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Tuesday, April 28. Also, see below for Jimmy Kimmel responding to the latest thuggishness, bullying, etc. from Donald Trump – and Melania Trump.
- Clean energy switch must not be excuse to plunder Indigenous lands, say leaders (“Global conference told benefits should not come at expense of well-protected environments”)
- Europe’s Trawlers Extract a Huge ‘Cost to Society’ in Bycatch and Carbon Dioxide (“Bottom trawlers drag giant nets across the ocean floor, releasing stored CO2 and killing up to 75 percent of the marine life unintentionally caught up in the process.” Horrific.)
- Spiking Oil Prices Spurred a EV Buying Spree in March (“Electric car sales surged in Europe and parts of Asia, counteracting a slowdown in the US and China.”)
- The Oil Squeeze Tightens (“Time is not on the world economy’s side”)
- How Putin and Zelensky View the War in Iran (“The war’s ripple effects have exacerbated conflicts, economic insecurity, and regional tensions around the world, including in Ukraine.”)
- Pressed on latest Putin interactions, Trump prefers secrecy to transparency (“The president wouldn’t disclose his latest chat with the Russian leader. If that sounds familiar, it’s because it happens with some regularity.” He shouldn’t be chatting with Putin at all!)
- Finnish president plays down warnings of potential Russian attack but says ‘prepare for the worst so you can avoid it’ (“Alexander Stubb says he does not see ‘an incentive for Russia to test Nato’s Article 5’ after Donald Tusk warnings”)
- Iran’s economy has been battered. Its leaders still think Trump will blink first
- The Pentagon May Not Be Telling Trump the Full Picture About the War (“Vice President Vance is worried that the U.S. is running low on weapons.”)
- The Iran conflict is the new Cold War (“The tense stalemate has no immediate end in sight. So higher energy prices appear certain for months — and a hot war could break out at any moment.”)
- Trump to Address Iran Proposal ‘Soon’ as Oil Rises Further (“The US president convened his national security team to discuss Iran’s proposal to end a war now in its third month.”)
- Trump unlikely to accept Iran’s latest proposal to end war, sources say (“The proposal would have reopened the Strait of Hormuz while leaving questions about Iran’s nuclear program for later negotiations.”)
- US is being ‘humiliated’ by Iran’s leadership, says Friedrich Merz (“German chancellor suggests Trump administration is being outwitted at negotiating table by Tehran” Bingo.)
- Merz says US ‘humiliated,’ lacks strategy in Iran conflict (“Germany’s Friedrich Merz says Iran has appeared more resilient than the US expected and warned that the conflict is escalating without a clear exit strategy. He said an “entire nation” has been humiliated by Tehran.”)
- UK and US always find ways to come together, King to tell Congress (Not anymore.)
- Trump news at a glance: royal visit designed to avoid making things (more) awkward between US and UK
- Mexican special forces arrest top commander of powerful cartel (“Audias Flores, known as ‘El Jardinero’, of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, captured in western state of Nayarit”)
- Mexico warns US involvement in anti-drug operation should not be repeated (“Claudia Sheinbaum says Mexico was not aware of US participation until four officials were killed in car crash”)
- Claudia Sheinbaum Is Learning the Price of Appeasing Trump (“A murky CIA operation is the latest headache for the Mexican leader, whose concessions to Washington have fueled political tension with her leftist base”)
Logging, murder and money: can Mexico’s ancient forests be saved from the cartels? (UGH!)- ICE Warehouse Plan Faces Delay Over Lack of Environmental Reviews
- New DHS chief’s call for quieter immigration enforcement alarms MAGA base (“Groups like the Mass Deportation Coalition see Markwayne Mullin’s push to restore confidence in DHS after fatal shootings as a potential betrayal of the president’s promise.”)
- Supreme Court Appears Divided Over Roundup Weedkiller Case (Reminder NOT to use pesticides that can harm bees or other wildlife – ever.)
- MAHA’s Perfect Villain (“Glyphosate highlights the movement’s horseshoe politics and has nothing to do with vaccines.”)
- Trump Administration Will Pay More Energy Firms to Cancel Wind Farms (Absolute insanity. Also note that the rest of the world is racing ahead with wind, solar, energy storage, electric vehicles, etc.)
- How the Trump Administration Ended Independent Science at the E.P.A. (“The agency’s prestigious research office spent decades doing scientific work insulated from political pressure. Now it’s being dismantled.”)
- Trump fires independent board overseeing National Science Foundation (“Positions ‘terminated, effective immediately’, says email to scientists sent on president’s behalf, in move labelled ‘dangerous attack’ on US innovation”)
- House may scrap DHS funding bill, likely extending agency’s shutdown
- GOP tensions over DHS funding intensify between Senate, House Republicans
- Mike Johnson’s week unravels (“Internal GOP strife forced Republican leaders late Monday to scrap a House Rules meeting that was supposed to set up critical floor votes on an extension of the Section 702 spy law, immigration enforcement funding and a farm bill. They’re now looking to reconvene some time after 7:30 a.m. if possible.”)
- Hill Republicans lack a clear path to get Trump his ballroom (“Only one Democrat so far has come out in favor of passing legislation that would continue construction of the stalled project after the Saturday night security breach.”)
- Congressional Republicans are split on using taxpayer funds to build Trump’s ballroom (“Despite renewed GOP calls for funding the ballroom after a shooting Saturday at a dinner attended by the president, the project continues to face a steep uphill climb in Congress.” It’s massively corrupt and totally moronic – the classic Trump combo, in other words.)
- Breaking: DOJ’s leaders just filed what amounts to a Truth social post as a legal filing in the ballroom case (“Acting A.G. Todd Blanche, Associate A.G. Stanley Woodward, and Trent McCotter beclowned themselves in yet another dark, embarrassing moment for DOJ.”)
- National Trust rejects Trump demand to drop ballroom suit in wake of shooting
- Trump blames No Kings for assassination attempt (Completely insane.)
- A radical reimagining of the White House correspondents’ dinner (“First, if this is really about celebrating the First Amendment, free expression and press rights, don’t invite people who stand in clear opposition to that. Yes, for starters, do not invite Trump, Pete Hegseth, Brendan Carr or Stephen Miller.”)
- The Trouble with Trump’s Bunker and Ballroom (“Is he building it to sustain an attack — or the end of democracy?”)
- Cole Allen charged with trying to assassinate Trump at WHCD event
- Investigators Seeking Attacker’s Motive Comb Through an Archive of Posts (“Federal authorities are looking into whether Cole Tomas Allen posted on Bluesky as ‘coldforce,’ who wrote and promoted liberal views that did not stand out on the left-leaning platform.”)
- First came the shooting. Then, the conspiracy theories.
- What Trump wants out of the Correspondents’ Dinner shooting (“A ballroom and Jimmy Kimmel’s firing.” Hell no and…hell no.)
- Americans feel worse off financially than at any point in 25 years, Gallup finds
- Affordability Still Dominates Americans’ Financial Worries
- “I don’t give a damn”: Jeffries defends “maximum warfare” remark
- Shrugging at calamity: America is reacting in strange ways to our chaotic times (“The reaction to the Washington DC shooting shows that Americans are swinging between outrage, exhaustion and numbness”)
- The Great Numbing Out (“Why formerly politically engaged people are in a state of paralysis this time around.” Maddening.)
- Employment Agency Pushes Discrimination Cases That Match Trump’s Agenda
- From Indiana to Idaho, a Backlash Against A.I. Gathers Momentum
- Republicans Brace for Brutal Midterms as Trump’s Popularity Slips (“The House is now favored to fall into Democratic hands while control of the Senate, once seen as a G.O.P. bulwark, is increasingly up for grabs.”)
- No, higher turnout won’t fix the Republicans’ midterms problem (“The GOP is manufacturing its own base turnout fantasy to avoid acknowledging the real reason it’s struggling in 2026: Voters don’t like Trump’s agenda!”)
- Pentagon can restrict journalists’ access, require them be escorted in building for now, appeals court rules
- Trump’s hypocritical crusade on violent rhetoric — and the country’s emerging split reality (“Polls show Americans generally view the right’s rhetoric as more dangerous, but the water is getting muddier” The actual data shows a MASSIVE asymmetry here – political violence in this country overwhelmingly has come from the right for many years.)
- Jamie Raskin’s Harsh Trump Takedown on CNN Has Damning Hidden Message (“The real importance of that Jamie Raskin–Dana Bash dustup on Sunday: Raskin showed that Democrats and journalists share values that Donald Trump does not.” Dana Bash is horrendous, btw.)
- Defiant Jimmy Kimmel Goes Nuclear on Trump and Melania
- Trump calls on ABC to fire Kimmel after he joked Melania was an ‘expectant widow’
- I Think I Know Why Melania Trump Really Just Went After Jimmy Kimmel (“Melania Trump attacking Kimmel is both her grinding a familiar axe and letting her husband know she’s with him.”)
- Florida lawmakers set to take up DeSantis’ GOP gerrymander
- Florida’s DeSantis unveils a voting map that could add to Trump’s GOP redistricting
- Sen. Mark Warner Says His Daughter Was ‘Full of Ideas’ for Him on the Day She Died as He Vows to Resume Work ‘in Maddy’s Name’
- Mark Warner says he will return to Senate this week after daughter’s death
- Podcast: Rob Tracinski discusses his Sixth District congressional campaign
- Pete Barlow dropping out of Sixth District Democratic congressional race
- Audio: Virginia Supreme Court Hears Case on Redistricting Measure
- Redistricting before Va. Supreme Court: Sides disagree over definition of an election
- Virginia Supreme Court hears arguments to nullify redistricting vote
- Supreme Court of Virginia weighs challenge to redistricting amendment (“Case tests scope of legislative authority to redraw congressional maps as similar battles play out nationwide ahead of midterm elections this fall.”)
- Virginia Supreme Court considers legality of redistricting election
- State Supreme Court hears arguments to overturn redistricting referendum; now Virginia waits (“The Supreme Court of Virginia is considering an appeal by proponents of mid-decade redistricting to a Tazewell County Circuit Court ruling that determined the effort to be unconstitutional.”)
- Virginia Supreme Court hears oral arguments in redistricting case
- Virginia Supreme Court hears GOP bid to block voter-approved redistricting
- Political analysts: Voter confusion may have contributed to lower referendum turnout and a narrower margin
- 100 Days of Action: Attorney General Jay Jones Prioritizes Lowering Costs, Defending Rights, and Keeping Virginians Safe (Defending the Will of the Voters, Birthright Citizenship, Birth Control Coverage, State Control of Elections, etc, etc.)
- Spanberger marks first 100 days with focus on healthcare, housing and energy affordability (“State budget progress uncertain as governor awaits lawmakers’ spending plan”)
- Governor Spanberger signs career and technical education legislation into law
- Spanberger spends 100th day in office in Roanoke signing education bills
- Cerina and Justin Fairfax tragedy underscores new Va. laws that could help prevent similar violence (“Updates to the state’s Red Flag law can enhance access to risk orders while a new workgroup could explore ways to reform divorce laws.”)
- Albemarle adopts $728M budget with no new taxes
- Former Blacksburg council member sentenced to probation in election fraud case
- CWG Live: A few showers today; rain and storms likely to develop Wednesday (“Highs are mainly in the 60s the next several days. The Saturday forecast is tricky.”)
