Saturday (7/4) News: For July 4th, “Trump Pardons Violators of the Clean Air Act and a Major Donor”; At Mt. Rushmore, Trump “read a half-baked red scare speech straight out of 1950”

by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise (economic, environmental, etc.) for Saturday, July 4 – America’s very, very troubled 250th anniversary, as we rapidly slip away from the constitution, Bill of Rights, rule of law, system of checks and balances, etc, etc. that we set up over 250 years. Can this be fixed, assuming we ever get back to sane leadership? Maayyyybe? But the problem is, as always, it’s a LOT easier to destroy than to create, and once something is destroyed, it’s very difficult to build it back. In the end, though, it’s up to all of us – will we fight for the ideals of this country, or let them crumble into the “dust bin of history?” We’re going to find out the answer in the next few years, most likely, including the fundamental question of whether the “American experiment” continues – or what.

INTERNATIONAL

• From Macron to Modi, governments are rolling out the red carpet for AI giants (What could possibly go wrong?)
• In Strike After Strike, Ukraine Is Bringing the War to Crimea
• In Battlefield Visit, Putin Vows to Take More of Ukraine (Pure evil, one of the worst human beings ever to have lived.)
• ‘It is a crisis’: Putin under increasing pressure from Ukraine war
• Ukrainian drones hit St Petersburg oil terminal in latest long-range attack on Russia
• Russia looks to students to make up for mounting losses in Ukraine
• China’s military promotes 2 new generals after anti-corruption purge thins ranks
• Iran’s new leadership is younger, savvier, ruthless and even more hard-line
• Iran begins dayslong funeral for the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, killed in war (Khamenei was heinous in every way, pretty much.)
• UK and France agree with Oman to ensure safety of its territorial waters
• Starmer tells of ‘intensely personal’ decision to quit and warns Burnham in first interview since resigning
• As the US marks 250, does the special relationship still exist – or is the UK just irrelevant?
• Pope Leo Faces the First Crisis of His Pontificate
• Venezuela earthquakes deepen rift between GOP hawks and Trump-backed regime
• ‘I can only describe it as a war zone’: the rescuers navigating Venezuela’s post-quake hellscape

NATIONAL

• These Justices Are Not Impartial (“Why such a slim Supreme Court majority upheld birthright citizenship” Right-wing activists in robes, that’s it.)
• The Supreme Court can no longer explain itself (“The justices don’t speak a common language, even with each other.”)
• SCOTUS’s Anti-Constitutional Crusade to Create Second-Class Citizens (“The conservative legal movement lost its bid to eradicate birthright citizenship, but its war on the Reconstruction Amendments is going to continue.”)
• When their interests align, Trump and Roberts both win at Supreme Court
• Acting DNI Bill Pulte begins firing dozens of intelligence officials (“The latest move comes two weeks after Pulte’s arrival at the agency, under orders from President Donald Trump to downsize.” WILDLY unacceptable.)
• Brutal heat cancels Fourth of July events, from DC to Philadelphia
• The fatal flaw in how America handles heat waves (“As heat waves strain the power grid, passive cooling can help homes stay safer when the air goes out.”)
• On This Independence Day, Let’s Celebrate What Was and What Might Again Be (“Even though our current president wouldn’t even be fit to clean our founders’ spittoons, I believe we can still find hope and joy on our country’s semiquincentennial.”)
• America is destroying itself. It’s no surprise (“Scholars will somedy wonder how the richest country in history chose to throw it all away. But the crisis has been there since the beginning”)
• The Founders Are Why America Is Rich. That Legacy Is at Risk. (“Checks, balances and trust in personal agency made the U.S. a haven for entrepreneurs and wealth creation” And RULE OF LAW!)
• Democrats Are Seizing on Trump’s Soaring Wealth as a Campaign Opportunity
• Americans disgusted at Trump earning $1bn from crypto as president: ‘Obviously a grift’
• Democrats plot subpoena storm over Trump’s $2 billion gold rush
• Trump Pardons Violators of the Clean Air Act and a Major Donor (“The president used his clemency power to further undermine environmental laws and to help a political supporter who pleaded guilty in a fraud involving Jack Abramoff.” Totally f’ed up.)
• Trump Pardons Former Abramoff Partner, 9 People Convicted Of Violating Vehicle Emissions Controls
• ‘Hypocrisy’: Congress wants more homes. HUD is closing its low-income housing pipeline.
• The 2026 Housing Act Passed by a Wide Margin; Trump Won’t Sign It. What’s Up with That?
• How Trump Made America’s 250th Anniversary About Himself: An Incomplete List (“The president is doing all he can to equate himself with American greatness. It’s not working”)
• Trump Takes Stock of Other Presidencies, Shedding Light on His Own (The NY Times’ headlines are soooo lame, anodyne, “neutral,” etc., instead of raising the alarm for readers as to the disaster unfolding with Trump. ANd yes, it’s a conscious, deliberate choice on the NY Times’ part.)
• Trump hails US exceptionalism before veering into darkly political speech to usher in America 250
• Trump warns of communist ‘threat’ and touts America’s strength at Mount Rushmore (“President Donald Trump gave a speech honoring America’s 250th anniversary in front of the iconic South Dakota landmark late Friday night.”)
• Trump’s 250th Is a Festival of Slop History (“Amid our semiquincentennial celebration, the religious right is promoting its own revisionist version of the nation’s founding.”)
• Trump launches America’s 250th birthday celebrations with partisan attack (“In a speech at Mount Rushmore, the US president claimed a resurgent ‘communist menace’ posed a severe threat to the country”)
• Trump Targets Not Just Georgia’s Vote, but Also Trust in Elections (“The president has sent 260 F.B.I. analysts to Georgia, repeating his baseless claims of fraud in 2020. But critics say the intention is to undermine overall confidence in the electoral process.” Those FBI analysts should refuse and/or resign, immediately. They are violating their oaths in carrying out these illegal orders.)
• DOJ refuses to hand over Epstein files after judge’s order (“DOJ declines to turn over redacted information after judge’s order to release documents or explain why they’re being withheld” So now what???)
• As America Turns 250, a Trump Adviser’s Firm Rakes in Federal Cash (“Event Strategies, which arranged Trump’s January 6 rally, is now producing the president’s anniversary bashes.”)
• The Spectacular Regrowth of New England’s Forests (“The rebound of forests in the northeast U.S. is the ‘greatest forest recovery in the history of the world.’ This is how it happened.”)
• Zohran Mamdani rebukes Trumpism with pro-immigrant speech for US’s 250th birthday
• Trump’s National Guard Deployment in Washington Expands Ahead of Holiday (“Nearly 5,000 Guard troops are in the capital, double the number initially deployed. Many have passed the time washing off graffiti and picking up trash.”)
• America’s Independence Day Parade canceled due to extreme heat conditions
• ‘A total disappointment’: revelers face unbearable heat at Great American State Fair
• What’s that noise? What you need to know about DC flyovers Friday and Saturday
• Smoke from fireworks adds a July Fourth health challenge for these groups

VIRGINIA

• Senators Mark Warner, Tim Kaine: “One Year Later, Virginia Families Are Paying the Price for Trump’s Billionaire Tax Giveaway” (“Today, Virginians are living with the consequences.”)
• Kaine: Virginia’s lessons for America at 250 (This really doesn’t get at the current situation we’re in…and how we got here, how we might get out of it, etc.)
• Who Gets to Decide? (“How Virginia’s past sheds light on today’s debate over reproductive freedom.”)
• Augusta County sheriff edict is open invitation to illegal gun traffickers
• The Great Seal of Virginia also turns 250 this weekend
• Dangerous heat to continue through Fourth of July weekend in Hampton Roads; wind threat increases Saturday
• Neighbors, preservationists cheer defeat of data center project
• How climate change and rising seas endanger historic sites like Jamestown, Virginia (“As the country celebrates its 250th anniversary, rising seas and coastal erosion are putting some of America’s most historic places at risk. For our ongoing series, Tipping Point, special correspondent Ben Tracy with Climate Central reports from Jamestown, Virginia, where archaeologists are racing to uncover America’s past before it’s washed away.”)
• Data center developer drops appeal in Manassas National Battlefield Park case
• Lexington mourns longtime Mayor Frank Friedman after sudden death (“Longtime Mayor Frank Friedman died Thursday after suffering a brain aneurysm, leaving behind a community that friends say he spent decades bringing together.”)
• Hampton Roads cities go all in for fireworks this year. Here’s how much July 4 will cost
• DC-area forecast: A blazing hot Fourth, with a storm threat and unhealthy air (Miserable weather. Also, yes, this is very much the climate crisis in action.)