by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Thursday, May 28.
- Think it’s hot now? The next five years will smash records, UN says
- ‘Mind-bogglingly crazy’: climate experts alarmed by deadly spring heatwaves searing Europe
- Extreme heat in Europe ‘a brutal reminder’ of climate crisis, UN chief says
- New report suggests more global temperature records ahead
- World almost certain to endure record hot year by 2030, UN warns (“Global temperature record could be broken as soon as 2027, with El Niño expected later this year” DISASTROUS.)
- What is killing Sumatra’s elephants? The battle to save one of our rarest animals (“Investigators are still searching for what caused the recent deaths of a mother and her calf, but conservationists say the animal’s shrinking habitat may be the first place to look”)
- The people who actually want AI to replace humanity (“We need to create a new humanism before the ‘AI successionists’ win.”)
- This is what happens when you defund Ebola prevention (“One of the worst ever Ebola outbreaks is underway. Blame foreign aid cuts.”)
- Meta repeatedly snubs EU body over Facebook and Instagram user bans
- Ukraine war briefing: Eliminate Putin’s ‘last major advantage,’ Zelenskyy urges Washington (“Patriots would neutralise ballistic missiles and force Russia to negotiate, says Ukrainian president; half a million Russian dead – GCHQ boss. What we know on day 1,555”)
- U.S. dismisses claim its diplomats have fled Kyiv as Zelenskyy pens Trump letter asking for air defense
- Trump Is Remaking the World Map. What Could Go Wrong?
- Norway will come under France’s nuclear umbrella, leaders say
- The High-Seas Black Market That Keeps Iran’s Illicit Oil Flowing (“Despite U.S. sanctions, the regime has managed to sell billions of dollars in crude to China using a clandestine network of aging tankers. Our reporters paid a visit.”)
- Three Ways Trump Is Losing the War
- Three Months Into A War, Trump Can’t Solve The Iran Uranium Problem He Created (“Iran had zero highly enriched uranium until Trump tore up the nuclear agreement predecessor Obama had negotiated. Now it has half a ton.” Trump is an IMBECILE!)
- No Way to Make a Deal (“The agreement that Trump wants to strike with Iran keeps eluding him.” And yet “news” outlets like Axios keep breathlessly reporting whatever Trump says…including that peace is at hand. They’ve been doing this for weeks if not months now.)
- Shaky ceasefire in Iran war challenged again as Kuwait says it faces a missile and drone attack
- Exclusive: US carries out new strikes in Iran against military site, official says
- Trump visited soldiers at Walter Reed — but not the 14 injured in the Iran war
- Trump has no way out on Iran (“He can’t win; he won’t say he’s lost. So he dithers.”)
- Trump threatens Oman in latest play to open the Strait of Hormuz (“‘Oman will behave just like everybody else or we’ll have to blow them up,’ he told reporters Wednesday at a White House Cabinet meeting. ‘They understand that. They’ll be fine.'” WTF????)
- Middle East crisis live: Iran says Trump’s threats to ‘blow up’ Oman ‘dangerous and bullying’
- Trump’s ‘blow ‘em up’ threat to Oman means he’s now attacked or threatened 1 out of every 13 countries
- How Long Can Iran Withstand the Economic Pain of the U.S. Blockade? (“Tehran is weighing whether it can weather economic hardship long enough to extract more concessions in talks with Washington”)
- ‘This isn’t freedom’: anger, anxiety and tears as Iran’s internet flickers back (“After 88 days of near-total blackout, first reactions to the return of partial connectivity were not celebratory”)
- Iran Wants Billions in Frozen Funds Back to Make a Deal With Trump
- US Strikes Iran Targets as Trump Vows to ‘Watch Over’ Hormuz
- Iran says it targeted American base after fresh US strikes
- Heavy Israeli strikes hit southern Lebanon after large-scale evacuation orders
- Israel’s defence minister says large-scale Palestinian migration from Gaza will go ahead (“Human rights groups and lawyers say policy amounts to ethnic cleansing”)
- Israel’s Isolation Is Deepening Fast. It Doesn’t Have to Be This Way.
- Pentagon puts building blocks in place for Cuba invasion (“The Navy’s presence in the Caribbean has not reduced despite the Iran war.”)
- Exclusive: Trump’s accelerating squeeze on Cuba
- AP Exclusive: Trump administration tells prosecutors to stand down on Venezuela leader, sources say (“DEA records obtained by The Associated Press earlier this year show she consistently surfaced on the radar of federal law enforcement dating to at least 2018, though she has never been criminally charged in the U.S. like several other senior Venezuelan officials.”)
- Two killed in US strike on another alleged drug boat in Pacific as campaign’s death toll nears 200
- Mullin ‘drawing up plans’ to halt international flight processing in ‘sanctuary cities’
- Mullin Defends Migrant Jail Where NJ Senator Was Pepper-Sprayed (Indefensible.)
- The Pentagon Knows the True Threat of Climate Denialism. Too Bad They Can’t Do Anything About It. (“Newly uncovered documents reveal that the military very recently identified potentially dire geopolitical consequences of climate change. Then a climate denier moved into the Oval Office.”)
- The Rise of a Hardline Four-Star General Tipped to Be the Next Army Chief (“Gen. Christopher LaNeve, who is close to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, could get the nomination as early as this week”)
- Trump Quietly Weakened Heat Rules Just in Time for a Broiling Summer
- Warsh’s New Challenge: Containing Fed Hawks as Inflation Simmers
- Americans know something is deeply wrong. They’re not imagining it (“Surveys and data confirm a country in crisis — stressed and divided, but not yet ready to give up”)
- The White House Intervened to Get a $620 Million Deal for a Company Tied to Donald Trump Jr. (MASSIVE corruption; just imagine if Joe Biden had done anythinng like this for Hunter Biden???)
- Reflecting Pool Contract Has ‘Inflated’ Profit Margin, Government Analysis Finds (“The firm that was given a no-bid contract to fix the troubled landmark is charging 20 percent. The typical profit margin is 6 percent to 12 percent, internal records show.” Also corrupt.)
- National Park Entrance Fees Are Funding Trump’s D.C. Projects (And…yep, CORRUPT!)
- Trump appointees push $250 banknote with his portrait (Totally f’ed up.)
- Exclusive: Justice Department launches a criminal investigation into Trump accuser E. Jean Carroll (Chilling and OUTRAGEOUS!)
- Justice Dept. Is Said to Open Criminal Inquiry of E. Jean Carroll Over Trump Lawsuits
- Republicans are poised to finish this year’s redistricting war 10 seats ahead of Democrats (Calling it a “redistricting war” is classic “both sidesism,” false equivalence, HIGHLY misleading – terrible framing by CNN!)
- Trump Judge Gives Shock Green Light to His Voting Power Grab (“Democrats had argued that Trump’s order was unconstitutional.”)
- Judge allows Trump to implement mail-in voting executive order (“A U.S. judge declined to block President Donald Trump’s executive order tightening rules on mail-in voting in a loss for the Democratic Party, whose lawyers argued that it could disenfranchise millions of voters.”)
- Williams: There’s no nation indivisible without shared memory
- Former Judges Urge Inquiry Into Deal Trump Struck With I.R.S.
- Republicans brace for money problems in Texas after Ken Paxton’s win (“Paxton has trailed Democratic state Rep. James Talarico in fundraising, and some Republicans say the party will have to spend millions to win the Senate race.”)
- Can Talarico Really Flip Texas, or Are Democrats Just Dreaming? (“He looks a lot like Beto O’Rourke. But Ken Paxton is unusually vulnerable.”)
- Republicans break the ice with Paxton after brutal Texas Senate primary (This party has absolutely no moral core – just POWER POWER POWER!)
- They’re All Ken Paxton Now (“Texas Republicans chose a candidate who embodies something essential about the party under Trump.”)
- Trump, the Wages of MAGA Sin, and the Dream of Flipping Texas Blue (“Ken Paxton is the embodiment of MAGA rage and corruption. Can James Talarico win by transcending Paxton’s Trumpy acrimony?”)
- Newsom vows 100 percent tax on DOJ ‘Anti-Weaponization Fund’ payouts (“His pledge mirrors Democratic efforts in New York and New Jersey.” Hell, make it higher than 100% and do it in every “blue” state!)
- If you’re still on Elon Musk’s X, ask yourself this: why? (“Some argue that quitting the platform formerly known as Twitter cedes the space to malign actors. But it’s an open sewer, beyond redemption”)
- ‘60 Minutes’ Journalist Who Accused CBS of Political Meddling Loses Her Deal (“Sharyn Alfonsi, whose segment on a brutal Salvadoran prison was pulled abruptly in December, said that CBS News and its top editor, Bari Weiss, had let her contract expire.”)
- Jill Biden’s Reaction to Biden’s 2024 Debate: ‘He’s Having a Stroke’ (“‘I had never, ever seen Joe like that,’ the former first lady told CBS News. ‘Before or since.'”)
- Entertainers unveiled for 250th US birthday bash on National Mall (Sounds horrible.)
- Video: Sen. Mark Warner Walks Us Through “Trump’s Top-Four Scams” (Ballroom, Slush Fund, Stock Trades, Mobile Phones)
- Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-VA02) – Who Has Voted With Trump 100% of the Time – Ties Herself Even Tighter to An Unpopular President
- Kiggans maintains support for Iran war while warning of pain at the pump
- Virginia congressman introduces bill to block President Trump’s arch in Arlington (Great, but no chance that ever gets signed into law.)
- VA Dems Announce Official List of Candidates for the 2026 August Democratic Primaries (VA01, VA02, VA05, VA08 and VA09 Will Have Contested Primaries)
- Powerful VA Sen. Louise Lucas Responds to Gov. Abigail Spanberger on Data Centers, the Budget, Whether Criticism of Spanberger Is Related to Her Being a Woman, etc.
- Spanberger explains controversial vetoes in ‘interview’ with influencer (“With no pushback from her friendly ‘interviewer,’ all we got was: I’m the governor, the governor has a right to veto legislation, I exercised that right on those items, and I feel fine.”)
- Virginia takes action to keep ‘forever chemicals’ out of food supply
- New forecast: Virginia’s economy faces storm clouds ahead
- Federal job cuts bring increase in Virginia’s Black unemployment rate
- Editorial: Power needs, costs center Virginia’s debate over data centers (“As budget deadline looms, Virginia lawmakers and Gov. Spanberger have their hands full with how to handle data centers.” This headline is actually VERY misleading; in fact, the debate is centered heavily on REVENUES from the data centers, which for whatever reason the Virginian Pilot fails to mention in its headline.)
- Spanberger on data centers: ‘I’m not going to break a contract the state has signed’ (“In an interview with Cardinal News, the governor said she’s open to not extending the tax incentives for data centers but warned that ending them early would hurt the state’s reputation.”)
- Virginia’s colleges and universities brace for major accreditation overhaul
- With a justice’s term expiring, Democrats could change partisan makeup of Virginia Supreme Court (It would be shocking if they don’t do so.)
- Virginia State Police to resume background checks on private gun sales
- White supremacist march sparks community concern in Virginia Beach
- When should children use technology in school? Officials in Virginia Beach have an idea.
- Rival factions battle in a unique ‘firehouse primary’ to determine Republican nominees for Lynchburg City Council
- Lynchburg City Council approves 2027 budget with no cuts or tax hikes (“Water rates remain undecided and will come back to council for a public hearing and vote in June. “)
- CWG Live updates: Nicer weather pattern taking over (“Highs are mostly in the 70s in days to come.”)
