Wednesday (6/24) News: “A Look Inside the Welcome Bags Planned for White South African Refugees”; “The Founders Warned Us About Someone Like Trump”

by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise (economic, environmental, etc.) for Wednesday, June 24.

INTERNATIONAL

• France set for another day of sweltering heat as Europe heatwave spreads (This is the climate crisis, and yes, we should be getting off fossil fuels on an emergency basis!)
• Europe hit by brutal, record-breaking temperatures as heat wave intensifies
• Mark Zuckerberg Directed Meta to Create a Prediction Markets App (Just what the world needs. NOT!)
• Ukraine’s latest long-range strikes on Russia hit a major natural gas plant and satellite centers
• Volodymyr Zelenskyy to skip postwar conference amid tensions with Poland (“Ukraine’s president will not attend after sparking Polish ‘outrage’ over naming of military unit”)
• China Is Luring the World to the Yuan—and Hobbling Western Sanctions (“Iran and Russia have used the currency to carry out oil sales and other trade, evading controls on dollar transactions”)
• Chinese supercomputer leapfrogs best US machines to be ranked world’s fastest (“China’s LineShine debuts at number one in Top500 – a list sometimes viewed as a national measure of global tech prowess”)
• North Korea’s ‘exponential’ nuclear program: why Kim Jong-un is racing to expand his arsenal (“The heightened rhetoric from Pyongyang has left analysts asking why North Korea appears to need so many nuclear weapons”)
• Europe braces for Trump’s wrath
• Oil Extends Drop as More Tankers Cross Hormuz After Peace Talks
• Senate for first time approves a war powers resolution in a rebuke to Trump over Iran conflict (“While the resolution is largely symbolic, and does not carry the full force of law, it reflects the growing concerns from a number of Republican lawmakers in both the House and Senate over both the war and the deal Trump struck with Iran to end it. The House approved the resolution earlier this month.”)
• Senate Votes to Check Trump’s War Powers, Rebuking Him on Iran (“A few Republicans joined Democrats in favor of a measure instructing President Trump to halt military operations against Iran or seek congressional authorization.”)
• Trump’s Iran endgame grates on Hill Republicans
• America’s Big Mistake in Iran (“Aerial bombing alone can’t win a war.”)
• U.N. Nuclear Agency Boss Says Inspectors Will Visit Iran’s Nuclear Sites Under Interim Deal
• Jared Kushner Helped Make This Mess in Iran While Making a Mess of Money (This guy is pure scum.)
• US and Iran at odds on nuclear inspections, frozen assets in deal to end war (“The two countries also offered conflicting accounts about financial incentives for Iran, control of the Strait of Hormuz and Israel’s parallel war in Lebanon.”)
• Thomas L. Friedman on the Clash at the Core of the Iran Deal (“How the world views of Jared Kushner and the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran can help explain the issue at the heart of the negotiations.”)
• Israel’s Military Is Caught in a Political No Man’s Land in Lebanon
• Israel continues to commit genocide by targeting children in Gaza, UN inquiry finds (“Independent report says by aiming at children Israel is undermining capacity of Palestinian people to exist”)
• Victories by Pro-Palestinian Democrats Show the Party’s Shift on Israel
• Ten years on, Brexit’s economic impact is becoming clearer
• ‘A total, utter nightmare’: small businesses on Brexit, 10 years on (Anyone with ANY brains at all knew this would happen. Which means there are a LOT of idiots out there…)
• How Trump Turned America’s Refugee Program Into a Pathway for White People (“President Trump has created an exception to his refugee ban for white South Africans, reshaping a program intended for people fleeing persecution and disaster.” Why can’t the NY Times just call this what it is, RACISM/WHITE SUPREMACY?)
• A Look Inside the Welcome Bags Planned for White South African Refugees (“The United States is putting together bags with a children’s book on so-called reverse racism, and with a document that defends the country’s founding on the basis of slavery.” Absolutely insane. Also, blatant white supremacy.)
• Donald Trump to present World Cup trophy at final, FIFA boss Gianni Infantino confirms (Hopefully, nobody will watch that.)

NATIONAL

• Prairieland ‘Antifa’ Activists Sentenced to Decades in Prison on ‘Terrorism’ Charges (“Federal judges in Fort Worth handed down maximum sentences to eight people charged in connection with a July 2025 demonstration outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center that devolved into vandalism and the shooting of a police officer.”)
• Texas anti-ICE protesters convicted of terrorism charges sentenced to at least 50 years in prison (“Activists accused of being part of antifa get long prison terms in case seen as test of Trump’s crackdown on dissent”)
• Appeals court allows Trump to fast-track deportation process nationwide (“Ruling lets DHS apply expedited removal to non-citizens who are living far from border”)
• ICE and Greene County Sheriff’s deputies arrest numerous people in Ruckersville operation
• SCOTUS Gave the Government a “Blank Check” to Weaken Due Process for Green Card Holders (“The danger of this ruling is that it creates an incentive to use the border as a place where rights are diminished.”)
• Former NOAA Employees Revive Climate Site Shut by Trump Administration
• The Supreme Court Just Empowered Prison Guards to Violate Religious Rights With Impunity (“The conservatives on the Court often posture as great defenders of religious rights. In reality, they only care about the religious rights of some people.” Exactly – although replace the words “some people” with “fundamentalist Christians”)
• Neil Gorsuch Just Took a Wrecking Ball to a Major Religious Liberty Law
• Stephen Miller Said to Drive DOJ Memo Eroding Disability Rights (This guy is pure evil.)
• Trump’s acting chief of national intelligence fires 6 political appointees, removes dozens of career officials, sources say (F’ed up.)
• Covid vaccine study the acting CDC director blocked is published in an outside journal (“The findings suggest Covid vaccines reduced the likelihood of severe illness last fall and winter.” Of course they did!)
• Trump Is on Collision Course With Senate Republicans (“President pushes for SAVE America bill while lawmakers seek answers on Iran”)
• Senators brace for another government shutdown after spending talks stall
• Tension builds between Trump and Senate Republicans, putting GOP agenda on the line
• Another Top General Is Out at the Pentagon (“C. D. Donahue, the last American soldier to leave Afghanistan, is the latest in a long line of military departures.”)
• Gen. Chris Donahue set to retire as Army commander in Europe and Africa, in latest departure by top military official (Trump, Hegseth et al are purging the military. This is EXTREMELY dangerous.)
• Military services again requiring recruits to get flu shots as Air Force outbreak grows
• Congress Clears Housing Bill, Cementing a Rare Bipartisan Feat (“A lopsided House vote cleared the measure for President Trump’s signature after a lengthy back and forth and several nearly fatal blows to the legislation.”)
• A Tale of Two Visions: Liberty & Justice for All v. Hate (“The Trump regime targets the Southern Poverty Law Center, not hate groups like the Patriot Front”)
• The Founders Warned Us About Someone Like Trump (“As America turns 250, the warnings of Washington, Hamilton, and Madison read more like headlines”)
• Elected Democrats Have Embraced ‘Climate Hushing.’ Are They Making a Mistake as the Midterms Loom?
• Bill Gates told Congress he suspected Jeffrey Epstein ‘contemplated blackmailing’ him over affairs (“Gates also said he knew Epstein had a criminal conviction of a ‘sexual nature,’ which he said he ‘probably should have’ dug into.”)
• Trump Really Thinks There Are Shadowy Vandals Trying to Destroy the Already Botched Reflecting Pool (“No one has done more damage to the thing than the president himself.”)
• Why MAGA buys Trump’s Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool hoax (“The GOP base would love to arrest people who laugh at them”)
• 6 people arrested in connection with alleged vandalism of the Reflecting Pool, Trump says (The people being arrested for this fiasco should be, in order: 1) Trump; 2) the corrupt, incompetent pool guys.)
• Trump Says Vandals Sabotaged the Reflecting Pool. Internal Documents Raise Doubts. (“The documents do not indicate that the peeling blue coating and algae blooms were caused intentionally.” REALLY weak headline; apparently, the media can’t just say Trump is an insane liar.)
• Did Trump Get Early Access to Eli Lilly’s New Weight-Loss Drug? (“The FDA let one 79-year-old take an experimental obesity drug. That sure sounds like the president, but let’s examine the evidence.”)
• Eli Lilly Approved Obesity Drug for Mystery 79-Year-Old Patient (“Questions are swirling over Donald Trump’s health after a bombshell report revealed a mystery man was getting unprecedented access to a weight-loss drug.”)
• Trump says he asked US attorney for California election probe: ‘Do me a fa
• Fired Navy Admiral Wins Democratic Runoff in South Carolina’s 1st District (“Democrats expect Nancy Lacore to run a competitive general election despite the district’s Republican leaning.”)
• The new power broker: How Zohran Mamdani muscled NYC’s Democratic establishment
• Socialist “earthquake” leaves Democrats reeling (“House Democrats were left stunned on Tuesday night after two of their colleagues — including the chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus — lost primaries to left-wing challengers.”)
• Zohran Mamdani just became a congressional kingmaker (“The NYC mayor endorsed three congressional candidates against the Democratic establishment. They all won.”)
• Democratic socialist Valdez wins open Brooklyn-Queens primary
• Mamdani-backed socialist ousts Espaillat in NY-13
• Schlossberg’s Defeat Dampens Dream of a Renewed Camelot (“Camelot” was unique to a specific time, set of individuals, media environment, etc., etc. Just because somebody is a Kennedy family member today doesn’t have any relationship whatsoever to “Camelot”)
• New York Democrat Micah Lasher wins House primary that drew big spending from AI groups (“NBC News projects that Lasher, who was backed by retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler, emerged from a crowded field in the Manhattan-based 12th District.”)
• Congressional candidates Boafo and McClain Delaney win primaries, while local races are tighter
• Maryland primary election results: McClain Delaney over Trone in MD-6, Boafo wins MD-5, governor’s race rematch (“Trone, who told WTOP’s Kate Ryan that money is a problem in politics, is the billionaire cofounder of Total Wine & More.” LOL)

VIRGINIA

• Subramanyam Fields Data Center, Foreign Policy Questions at Town Hall
• Ben Cline is trying to raise money off legislation with 0 percent chance of passage (Cline continues to be a disgrace to Congress, to the nation, to Virginia, and to his district.)
• Don’t believe everything you hear about the cost of RGGI (Or to put it another way, don’t believe ANYTHING you hear from Republicans about RGGI – ever!)
• Trump’s policies won’t bring back coal, but they are driving up Virginians’ energy costs
• Legislature to return to take up Spanberger’s amendments to budget
• Why Data Center Water Use Should Alarm Virginians (“Data Centers, Drought, and the Growing Cost to Virginia”)
• In wake of SCOTUS ruling, Viginia AG Jones pledges to enforce new firearm manufacturer liability law
• Video: Gov. Abigail Spanberger Announces Major Virginia Department of Corrections Reforms, Creates New Community Partnership Council on Corrections (“Today, we are here to mark the progress we’ve made.”)
• Spanberger unveils reformed practices for Va. prisons and council on corrections (“As corrections leaders work towards ongoing targeted solutions, a new council will bring advocates, families, and officials together for dialogue.”)
• Spanberger creates new panel in effort to improve state prison conditions
• Spanberger says VADOC reforms have led to decrease in overdoses, assaults on staff and more
• The budget agreement includes possible criminal penalties for public marijuana use
• Virginia needs more technical workers, but it’s stepping away from funding a program to develop them (“The budget the General Assembly just passed drops funding for the GO TEC program that serves 49 school divisions across the state.”)
• Editorial: Officials reach cannabis deal, ending Virginia’s legal limbo
• Google wants 2 million gallons of water per day. The Roanoke Valley loses nearly three times that much every day through leaks. (“The biggest water user for the Western Virginia Water Authority is leaks. The system once lost nearly 38% of its water through leaks. Now that’s down to 27%.”)
• Environment VA: Trump Administration’s Seabed Mining Proposal Would Put Virginia’s Coast at Risk (“Public has until July 23 to weigh in on dangers to whales, other marine life”)
• Federal government scouts for interest in mineral mining off Virginia shores
• George Mason extends the contract of President Gregory Washington through 2031
• Richmond takes control of final piece of Mayo Island (So, Richmond now holds the Mayo? Reference to the movie “Airplane”…LOL)
• After party nominating process tossed out, six Republicans have made Lynchburg ballot as independents (“In all, 10 candidates will be seeking three seats on city council: six Republicans running as independents, three Democrats and another independent.”)
• Fairfax County storm damage caused by microburst wind event, NWS finds
• DC-area forecast: Sunny and not too hot today; warmer late week