Monday (6/1) News: Paul Krugman Argues “We need a deMAGAfication…very similar to deNazification”; “Trump’s America vs. Springsteen’s”

by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Monday, June 1. And check out the video from Paul Krugman, who correctly argues: “We need a deMAGAfication…very similar to the denazification that we pursued successfully after World War II in Germany…It’s not just the MAGA ideology, but the whole structure of hugely unequal power, hugely unequal wealth that made this horrific moment possible. It’s not going to be easy, and maybe it’s not going to be doable, but we have to try because this is a nightmare. This is a nightmare beyond I think even the worst fantasies of progressives, beyond the worst fantasies of conservatives who still have a conscience.”

• Wildfires devastating richer areas but fewer hectares burned globally – study (“Megafires’ in California, Canada, South Korea and Europe in 2025, but changes to farming slowed spread in parts of Africa”)
• Coral Reefs in French Polynesia Are Stuck Between Life and Death (“Scientists’ discovery of hollowed coral skeletons after a 2019 bleaching event reveals a reef that isn’t coming back.”)
• Leo Shows He’s the Planet’s Pope by Taking on AI (“The leader of the Catholic Church called artificial intelligence a threat to humanity in his first encyclical”)
• How aid cuts are hampering the frontline response to the Ebola crisis (This is the fault of Trump, Musk, etc.)
• Full transcript: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan,” May 31, 2026
• Macron says French navy has boarded Russia-linked oil tanker in Atlantic (“French president says it is ‘unacceptable for ships to circumvent international sanctions’, adding operation took place with support of UK”)
• Short on growth ideas, Putin hosts fifth wartime ‘Russian Davos’ (What a joke.)
• Diplomacy in decline (“Roughly 2,000 U.S. diplomats have been laid off or forced to retire, taking with them decades of institutional knowledge, crisis response experience and highly specialized language skills.”)
• Trump Hits the Stalemate Phase of His International Interventions, and It Stings (“In Ukraine, Gaza and now Iran, President Trump’s early declarations of easy wins have given way to harsh reality. — President Trump likes his military and diplomatic victories quick, clean and decisive.” And yet the “mainstream” media mostly just amplified Trump’s bullshit, uncritically…)
• U.S. Military Is Quietly Guiding Ships Through the Strait of Hormuz (“U.S. Central Command has helped around 70 commercial ships pass through the strait in the last three weeks, an official said.”)
• Iran and US trade strikes, Kuwait comes under fire as diplomacy drags on
• U.S. and Iran still without deal to end war after Trump says he’s not in a ‘hurry’
• Iran attacks damage 20 US military sites since start of war, satellite images show
• US and Iran exchange renewed fire as Trump asks for changes to proposed deal to end hostilities
• Iran’s reopened underground missile sites show limits of US bombing plan
• Trump’s Iran peace deal pits Republican vs. Republican
• How a Rare Chance to Disarm Hezbollah Slipped Away (“Lebanon’s government has long wanted the militia to give up its weapons. Before the war began, there were signs that it might actually happen.
• U.S. push for Lebanon ceasefire stalls as Israel eyes Beirut strikes
• Israel PM orders strikes on Beirut suburbs as Hezbollah conflict escalates
• Israel seizes strategic castle in deepest incursion into Lebanon in 26 years (“Experts say capture is largely symbolic, but it complicates efforts to extend the ceasefire between US and Iran”)
• Colombia presidential runoff pits leftist senator against pro-Trump rival (“The right-wing Abelardo de la Espriella, an admirer of Donald Trump, came top in the vote, followed closely by the left-wing senator Iván Cepeda, an ally of the current president Gustavo Petro.”)
• Right-Wing Firebrand Surges Into Colombia Runoff, Shaking Political Establishment (“Abelardo de la Espriella, a rich lawyer who promised an iron-fisted crackdown on drug thugs, finished ahead of ruling movement’s leftist hopeful.”)
• Two US political commentators banned from entering UK (“Cenk Uygur, the host of the Young Turks online political talkshow, and Hasan Piker, who runs his own hours-long stream each day, have been stopped from appearing at SXSW London, while the former said he had also been due to speak at an event run by University of Oxford students.”)
• Hungary’s Magyar threatens legal action if president refuses to resign
• Diabetic immigrant released from detention after 10 months experienced “excruciating pain,” attorney says (“A man released after 10 months in immigration detention said he was denied insulin and suffered vision loss and excruciating pain as a result, his attorney told The Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press.” Utterly appalling.)
• Children “held like criminals” inside ICE detention center (Disgraceful.)
• White House economic director downplays Americans’ economic anxiety amid high gas prices and inflation (“Kevin Hassett says real income is up despite higher prices and inflation.”)
• Trump is facing a new inflation warning from the bond market, adding to his midterm challenges (“The world is getting more uptight about lending money to President Donald Trump’s government — causing interest rates to climb in ways that are worsening affordability pressures, hampering economic growth and creating a new risk for Republicans in November’s midterm elections.”)
• Powell Says Fed Credibility Lost If President Can Fire Officials (“His remarks come as the country’s highest court is deliberating the fate of Fed Governor Lisa Cook.” There’s absolutely no good reason for Cook to be fired.)
• Fed’s Powell warns Trump’s political ‘stress test’ will wreck public trust in central bank
• How The Supreme Court Is Reshaping The U.S. Midterm Elections
• The John Roberts vs. Donald Trump Story Conceals Something More Sinister
• Exclusive: Power struggles and paralysis: Inside FEMA’s lost year as storm season approaches
• Our Power Grid Is in Better Shape This Summer, Thanks to Solar and Batteries (“And no thanks to the Trump administration.”)
• Trump health readout leaves key blanks unfilled
• Learning from a Mentally Ill President (“We need to deal with the powers and system that put him in power and keep him there”)
• Here Are the Adversaries Trump Has Threatened and Prosecuted (“President has asked Justice Department to investigate more than four dozen enemies, leading to a spate of prosecutions”)
• One by one, U.S. civil rights agency dismantles tools to fight discrimination (Horrendously bad.)
• Trump’s America vs. Springsteen’s: I Know Which Is the “Real America” (“While the president is crashing out over his concert cancellations, The Boss is rallying the majority.”)
• The Rattled Generation: A unified theory of this American moment
• This Is What Trumpian Self-Dealing Looks Like (“The power struggle over regulating crypto and prediction markets offers a window into how the President enriches his family and his wealthy supporters.”)
• Trump’s 250th Celebration Is a Fiasco (“The president has turned a solemn occasion into a Day of Trump.”)
• Trump floats MAGA rally instead of concert after musicians drop out of Freedom 250
• Why MAGA buys Trump’s perfect health lie (“Cultish devotion leads Republicans to see Trump as more god-like than human” Completely deranged.)
• Trump’s name may come off the Kennedy Center. He could still destroy it. (“The Kennedy Center saga encapsulates all of the needless destruction of the Trump administration. The center’s troubles may not be over yet.”)fios
• As Democrats Worry About Senate Race, Platner Attacks Reports About Sexual Messages
• The Platner sexting controversy and what it could mean for Democrats
• Platner tests Democrats’ tolerance for scandal (“The bottom line: Maine is a must-win seat for Democrats. The race will come down to whether enough Democrats and independents are willing to hold their noses for Platner like skeptical Republicans did for Trump.”)
• Mikie Sherrill’s state police riot in Newark is a national disgrace (“New Jersey state troopers meant to protect Newark protesters from ICE are violently shredding the First Amendment instead.”)
• The Strange Emptiness of the Crowded Governor’s Race in California (“The state’s ballot is nineteen inches long, and lists sixty-one gubernatorial candidates. But where are the star applicants?” Really lame.)
• He Was Satirized on British TV. Now He’s Trump’s Pick to Lead California (“Steve Hilton grabbed headlines when he worked in conservative politics in Britain. His American political renaissance in the California governor’s race has bemused former British colleagues and rivals”)
• In California, Redistricting Has Scrambled the Map (“The state has just four competitive districts and four seen as safe for Republicans. The rest of its 52 members of Congress are all but certain to be Democrats.”)
• Schumer looms over Democrats’ Iowa Senate brawl (“A new POLITICO Poll shows waning Democratic confidence in Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer — just as the Senate primary in Iowa turns into a referendum on his power.”)
• A Democrat in Iowa tests whether attacking Schumer pays off (“The race is the first of three Senate primaries that will show what midterm voters prefer: a moderate message or a fiery indictment of the establishment.”)
• Video: LWV-Loudoun Forum Explains the Importance of Passing Three Constitutional Amendments This November (Restoration of Rights, Reproductive Freedom, Marriage Equality)
• Spanberger’s veto spree turns many in her own party against her (“The Virginia governor is being attacked from all sides for actions she considers moderate, including 31 vetoes of bills from the Democratic-led legislature.”)
• Virginia lawmakers are set to return to Richmond as budget deadline nears (“The House of Delegates is scheduled to reconvene its special session June 18 at 10 a.m., followed by the Senate on June 22 at noon, as negotiators continue working toward a compromise budget that can pass both chambers and reach Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s desk before the June 30 deadline. “)
• Virginia budget impasse threatens school funding, poses potential staffing challenges (“The House is scheduled to meet June 18 and the Senate on June 22”)
• Virginia is on track to post two straight years of job losses. It’s not just federal job cutbacks that are pulling the state’s economy down. (“Almost every sector of the economy has seen declining employment, with the losses in manufacturing being among the steepest. The state’s gross domestic product is shrinking, which doesn’t officially define a recession but can sure be part of one.”)
• What’s in the water? What we know and don’t know about data center water discharge in Virginia (“Most data centers in Virginia are permitted to discharge water into municipal wastewater systems, the same place household water goes to be treated and recycled for consumption. But there’s limited data tracking of potential chemicals in data centers’ discharge water.”)
• Lawmakers surprised by Spanberger’s veto of higher ed governance bills
• Virginia Tech Board of Visitors rector challenges removal from post (“It seems here that Rocovich aims to test that as a matter of constitutional law. As I wrote above, good luck on that.”)
• Arlington Co. leaders close to finalizing deal to move high school to Amazon campus
• HRT approves plan to expand 15-minute bus service, rideshare access (“Once implemented, less than 1% of current bus riders will be farther than a quarter-mile from an existing bus stop or OnDemand Rideshare zone, HRT said.”)
• DC-area forecast: Excellent weather through midweek. Then heating up. (And again, we need rain…so not really “excellent”)