by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Saturday, June 13.
- Trees may store less planet-heating carbon than hoped, study suggests (“Photosynthesis does not always result in wood growth, a key factor in carbon dioxide sequestration”)
- Antarctica’s west coast missing an area of sea ice the size of France as temperatures peak 20C above average (“A vast area of the Bellingshausen Sea should be covered by sea ice by now, with one expert calling the loss of ice ‘depressing’”)
- The Climate Change Culprits Not Addressed by Global Policy (“A new paper suggests that 15 percent of global warming comes from overlooked pollutants.”)
- Elon Musk Becomes the World’s First Trillionaire (As I wrote on Bluesky, the fact that one of America’s/the world’s most heinous individuals, Elon Musk, is now (at least on paper) a f’ing TRILLIONAIRE is a massive moral abomination, a policy & systemic failure on many levels, going back years, of the entire U.S. system of government, economics, etc. Horrible.)
- The world’s first trillionaire is a killer (“Elon Musk’s empire of wealth is built on suffering.”)
- Why No Human Being Should Ever Be Allowed to Have a Trillion Dollars (“Elon Musk’s big milestone is no bueno.”)
- Why Oil Prices Haven’t Shot Through the Roof—Yet (“Prospects for a peace deal, falling Chinese demand and some workarounds to the Strait of Hormuz closure helped stop the crude market from going haywire”)
- One Ukrainian City’s Agonizing Year as the Russian Army Closed In (“The Wall Street Journal followed citizens of Druzhkivka as they faced the agonizing choice of leaving their homes; ‘I couldn’t look back,’ said one woman”)
- ‘Looks like Chornobyl’: life in Kyiv’s most bombed neighbourhood as Ukraine braced for new mass strike (“Residents in area around Lukianivska Square say situation is only getting worse after repeated Russian attacks”)
- Chaotic talks on a US-Iran deal continue on the Trump rollercoaster (“Amid rhetoric, market uncertainty and tit-for-tat exchanges, the two sides are still trying to find a way out of the impasse”)
- With a Deal Seemingly Close, the U.S. Faces an Iran More Willing to Withstand Pressure (“The war has produced regime change, but Iran’s new leaders are more willing to take risks and believe they have already absorbed the worst that America and Israel can deliver.”)
- Exclusive: UAE to unlock billions of dollars for Iran, sources say
- Exclusive: US forces shoot down Iranian attack drones, source says
- Exclusive: US military rushed to prepare ground mission to capture Iran’s uranium, but Trump paused it, sources say
- The Art of the Cave (“Can Trump sell his loss to Iran as a win?”)
- The U.S. and Iran Might Actually Have a Deal (“The two sides say they are close to an agreement to end a war that has left everyone badly bruised.”)
- Iranian foreign minister says deal with U.S. “never been closer”
- Iran Can Hold America Hostage in Either War or Peace (“Taking the Strait of Hormuz represents an adaptation of Iran’s longtime strategy of seizing things of value to extract concessions.”)
- Proposed US-Iran Deal Hinges on Risky Plan of Sequenced Rewards
- Trump’s pending Iran deal is bitter pill for Netanyahu (This guy has done so much damage…)
- Palestinian American woman held without charge by Israeli military (“Soldiers arrested university student Sama Safi, 20, along with members of Palestinian women’s national soccer team” WTF???)
- Switzerland to vote on plan to cap population at 10 million (“The right-wing Swiss People’s Party calls the plan a “sustainability initiative”, but opponents say it is a recipe for chaos.”)
- Riots and racism: why is the UK burning? (“Claims of two-tier policing and uncontrolled immigration may not be borne out by the facts, but that has not stopped them being played up for political ends”)
- Trump says US military strike killed leader of Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang (Yet again, why does the media write headlines which begin, “Trump says,” without noting that Trump is a pathological liar, insane, etc? Instead, they uncritically amplify whatever said pathologica liar and insane person says. WHY???)
- Scoop: Trump admin blocks foreign access to Anthropic’s most powerful AI
- Scoop: ICE detention numbers slip
- “It rips my heart apart”: U.S. military veteran calls on ICE to release wife
- Justice Department sues Virginia over mask ban, limits to federal agents (“The federal government argues that the state has no authority to regulate the actions of federal law enforcement.”)
- He took his wife, a Trump fan, to the president’s hotel in Doral. Instead he was detained by ICE. (“A honeymoon plan ended in an arrest, months of detention and over $80,000 in debt for Venezuelan immigrant Bryan Rojas, who’s married to a U.S. citizen.”)
- The Supreme Court’s Pending Decision on Haitians’ Humanitarian Status Is a Matter of “Life and Death” (“They are trying to push people into the shadows and encourage people to just give up and leave.” And go WHERE???)
- FISA 702 lapse plunges US into unknown territory
- The Supreme Court invented a special legal rule solely to screw Planned Parenthood (“A new SCOTUS decision raises new doubts about whether a decision against a major abortion provider had any basis in law.” This Court is a monstrosity on every level.)
- Trump Concedes a Battle in His War Against Wind Energy (“The administration filed to dismiss an appeal of a December ruling that overturned its wind permitting freeze.”)
- Solar beat coal on the US grid in May — a new milestone (“It’s the first time that’s happened across an entire month, and it comes despite the Trump administration’s efforts to reinvigorate coal and hamper solar.”)
- Falling Wages and Surging Wall Street Wealth Drive Americans’ Unease Over Economy
- Republican senators block effort to bar federal troops from election interference (“A Democratic senator said he was ‘fearful’ that GOP resistance was a sign the administration is planning ‘illegal domestic deployment of our military.'”)
- Trump’s Big New Vulnerability in 2026: Blue-Collar White Voters (“A review of polling data shows an extraordinary swing among white working-class voters on the president’s handling of the economy.”)
- Trump as Don Corleone: ‘Every time he does somebody a favour … he expects a quid pro quo’
- Trump lawyers: No collusion with Trump administration to create ‘anti-weaponization’ fund
- The Trump White House Is Tackling America’s Most Urgent Crisis: Upwardly Mobile Black People
- How America 250 Became Trump 80 (“This is why we can’t have nice things.”)
- At 80, Trump Is Everywhere and Showing Signs of Age (“By making the president an omnipresent figure, White House advisers are surfacing both vigor and flubs” Define “vigor”???)
- I held the Trump phone (“It’s a midrange Android phone, alright.”)
- Judge Blocks National Parks From Removing ‘Negative’ Signs (“The ruling accused the Trump administration of engaging in censorship by taking down materials at parks across the country.”)
- RFK Jr. melts down over NYT report, admits he blacklists reporters (“NYT reported Kennedy is disengaged. Kennedy’s response seems to show NYT is right.”)
- Justice Department approves Paramount’s acquisition of Warner Bros.
- Trump’s DOJ approves Paramount-Warner Bros. merger, as potential state lawsuits loom
- A Peter Thiel-Backed Tribunal Is Putting Journalists on Trial. I’m Its First Target (“The billionaire has reteamed with the legal strategist who helped him bring down Gawker to start an AI-powered appeals court for the rich and aggrieved.”)
- How Colbert’s Replacement Is Helping Tank the Rest of CBS (“Byron Allen said he’s not trying to replace Colbert, but when it comes to ratings, other hosts on the network may wish he was.”)
- Independent Cascadia? Greater Idaho? Disunited States Look Toward Divorce
- Judge Dismisses Republican Group’s Case Against the University of Florida (“A campus group the university banned after accusations of antisemitic behavior failed to prove it had its First Amendment rights violated, the court ruled.”)
- DeSantis zings Florida GOP over lack of governor primary debates
- Spencer Pratt concedes LA mayor race, but declares ‘war’ against advancing candidates (Alrighty…)
- Thank You for Your Attention to This Birthday (“President Trump will welcome 80 with bright lights and fighting.”)
- Seven fights on the South Lawn: Trump prepares for UFC birthday spectacle at White House
- The UFC’s Biggest Cards Nearly Always Include Women. Except at Freedom 250.
- The Kennedy Center, Minus Trump (“After a judge said the president’s name had to go, crowds braced for a cathartic moment.”)
- Workers begin removing Trump’s name from the Kennedy Center
- Workers begin removing Trump’s name from Kennedy Center
- Crews begin removing Trump’s name from Kennedy Center after missing Friday night deadline
- Algae resurfaces in reflecting pool after multimillion-dollar fixes
- Trump’s massive arch could snarl traffic for years
- Freedom 250’s fair on National Mall highlights conservative groups
- WATCH: Tim Kaine says he has a “hard time understanding” claims of racism in Anthony Karmelo guilty verdict (“Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., distanced himself from Democrats and activists who claim the guilty verdict in Karmelo Anthony’s trial was racially motivated, saying he has a ‘hard time understanding’ it.”)
- House Dem: Only thing Trump’s war accomplished is ‘giving Iran more leverage’ (“Rep. Suhas Subramanyam joins MS NOW’s Jonathan Capehart to discuss how Iran is “laughing” at Donald Trump as he approaches his 39th time saying the U.S. and Iran are on the brink of reaching a deal to resume peace talks to end the war.”)
- [UPDATED] VA House of Delegates Budget Conference Proposal Released; Calls for Commission to Examine Data Centers “Costs and Benefits” and Issue Report by 11/ 1 (“Proposed compromise package fully funds mandated activities and legislative priorities over the course of the biennium without relying on new tax revenue”)
- Spanberger, House Democrats propose data center study as way around budget impasse (“At this writing, we’ve got 18 days to get a state budget in place. The House is set to meet on June 18 to discuss its budget proposal, with the Senate scheduled to meet on June 22 to review its budget.”)
- Virginia House rolls out a budget proposal (“The Virginia House of Delegates announced a budget proposal Friday morning, with just over two weeks to go before the existing budget expires. The House is slated to vote on the budget Thursday. But the Senate has to sign off on any proposal, which means this might not be the final version the full legislature votes on.”)
- House budget conferees unveil their latest spending proposal, legal cannabis and a data center accountability commission included (“The House proposal does not include ending data center tax exemptions early. Gov. Spanberger has issued her support of the proposal.”)
- House Democrats release budget proposal
- Virginia Democratic leadership announces new data center commission, legal weed market in state budget proposal
- Former Virginia Tech BOV rector sues Spanberger over his dismissal
- Albemarle County schools leader resigns as division deals with fallout from child sex arrests
- Waynesboro: Why is the PD keeping a local crime spree on the down low?
- Republican appeals panel recommends Lynchburg firehouse primary results be thrown out
- 1 killed, others injured in Virginia church tent collapse amid high winds
- DC-area forecast: Not as hot today; sultry with storm chance Sunday
