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by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise (economic, environmental, etc.) for Saturday, August 8. Today’s biggest developments and headlines include the climate crisis (always at the top of these news highlights because it’s existential and should be a massive story every single day)…also Trump’s “Groundhog Day” Iran war; batshit-crazy Dave Brat confirmed as next US ambassador to Australia; Trump won’t take NO for an answer from his pals at the Supreme Court; “Jobs suprise deals setback for GOP in elections”; Republican Senators disgracefully, appalling confirm Trump lackey Todd Blanche as Attorney General – disastrous, really; “Can Democrats Please Just Focus on Beating Republicans? Please?”; etc.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS (Climate crisis, Trump’s “Groundhog Day” Iran war, Dave Brat heads down under, etc. )
- Massive Wildfires Test the Limits of International Cooperation (“Countries increasingly need each other’s assistance to fight fires. But as global warming amps up fire weather across continents, help is getting harder to find.”)
- Trump dismisses climate change. But he can’t deny that wildfires are going to get worse (Trump can deny anything as he’s completely insane. But that doesn’t change reality.)
- Europe resorts to drastic measures as rivers dry up, bringing energy and economic pain (“It’s impossible to escape the consequences of the rolling crises and record-breaking heat now facing the world’s fastest-warming continent, as critical rivers hit record lows.”)
- ‘One Child is Enough’: What’s Behind the West’s Baby Bust (Unless you want 10 billion, 15 billion, 20 billion people on the planet, a lower fertility rate overall is a GREAT thing – but yes, it’s going to put strains on society as the population ages rapidly.)
- She Is Russia’s Richest Woman. Her Business Empire Is Going Up in Flames. (“As Ukraine repeatedly strikes warehouses of the e-commerce site Wildberries, Tatyana Kim, its billionaire co-founder, faces her biggest test yet.”)
- Russian attacks kill 4 in Kyiv and surrounding region as air defenses fall short
- Senate Passes Sanctions Bill Targeting Russia and Iran (This bill is deeply flawed, gives Trump MAJOR new tariff powers which he will almost certainly abuse – including against our allies – and does NOT mandate that he sanction Russia!)
- U.S. Intel Links Russia to Explosive Drone at German Airport
- A top US general in Europe abruptly removed from command (“The circumstances surrounding his removal remain unclear.”)
- Trump’s top general is ‘looking for an off-ramp’ from Iran war as US military options remain limited, sources say
- Trump teased an Iran deal that didn’t come, but markets soared. Here’s why it keeps happening
- Iran’s leaders think they have Trump cornered, but their strategy carries great risks
- Bluster and backdown have turned Iran war into Trump’s own Groundhog Day (“The US president’s profound ignorance of his enemy has led to an impotent cycle of empty threats, analysts say”)
- ‘I Was So Wrong’: Iranians Say Trump’s Promises Never Came True (Why would anyone EVER believe Trump on ANYTHING???)
- Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan have signed a key defense agreement
- David Brat bound for Australia as diplomat confirmed as next US ambassador (“Former Republican state congressman, who once argued Christianity and capitalism should merge, confirmed by US Senate to fill long-vacant role”)
- The Spanish Border Chaos Illusion: Europe’s Borders Are Finally Working (“Viral images of 72,000 migrants stampeding into Ceuta looked like a security collapse. In reality it revealed Europe’s much harder line on immigration”)
- Spain imposes border controls against Italy as row over Ceuta migrant influx intensifies
- ‘We have no tents or blankets’: Ceuta migrants struggle to survive brutal heat and freezing nights
- U.S. Squeezes Cuba Even as It Searches for a New Regime Leader (All this is really doing is harming the poor people of Cuba.)
- Greenland issues ‘strong warning’ as Trump-linked oil firm prepares to drill (“Island’s government says no approval given after Greenland Energy brings kit ashore for exploratory drilling”)
- Who are the Trump allies running Latin America? (What a nightmare.)
- US promises $1bn in security aid to Colombia as new rightwing president pledges drugs crackdown (“Trump ally Abelardo De La Espriella vows to start ‘profound transformation’ of country’s destiny as he is sworn in”)
- Trump Officials Deport Group of Mexicans Despite Torture Risk (F’ing evil.)
- Infantino’s World Cup sell-off debacle has rocked football but Fifa’s crisis has deep and rotten roots
NATIONAL NEWS (Trump obsessed with Birthright Citizenship; weak jobs report; Blanche confirmed; Pirro on the outs; Dems need to focus on beating Republicans; etc.)
- Trump Is Increasingly Frustrated With His Homeland Security Secretary (“While president has complained about Markwayne Mullin, an administration official says Trump has no plans to fire him”)
- Trump’s attack on ‘birth tourism’ faces uphill legal battle after Supreme Court ruling
- The Quiet War on Immigrants, Round Two
- Trump Thinks He Can Defy the Supremes on Birthright Citizenship (“The White House is serving up a staler helping of the legal arguments the Roberts court already refused to swallow.”)
- Trump Won’t Take No for An Answer from Allies on Supreme Court
- US judges allow Trump to end protections for migrants from South Sudan, Myanmar
- Trump’s Déjà-Vu Moment on Birthright Citizenship (“The president’s latest attempt to limit who is an American by birth is plagued by weak legal arguments and nonsensical claims.”)
- US job market stalled in July as employers cut 23,000 jobs, delivering political setback to Trump
- U.S. Hiring Slumps, a Worrying Sign for the Economy (“Employers shed 23,000 jobs in July, and gains in previous months were revised down sharply, in a downbeat report that suggests the labor market is weaker than previously believed.”)
- Affordability concerns are even more important to voters than in 2024
- What the July jobs report reveals about the strength of the economy (“The other alarming point in this jobs report that kind of goes alongside that, wage growth weakest in five years, 3.2 percent. That is totally wiped out by inflation. That financial squeeze is real for a lot of households.”)
- US economy lost 23,000 jobs in July in surprise blow to Trump
- Trump won’t let the Supreme Court have the last word
- Trump Restarts Battle to Fire Sitting Fed Governor (Trump’s idiocy, insanity and illegality never ends…)
- Trump moving forward with attempt to fire Lisa Cook after Supreme Court setback: Sources
- Alito Tells WSJ He’s ‘Here for Another Term’ on Supreme Court (Alito definitely hasn’t done enough damage to our country yet… ugh.)
- Report: White House drafting executive order linking vaccines and autism (“Trump determined to link life-saving shots to autism, despite science and political risk.” The next Democratic president’s first action should be to rescind every action, including these executive orders, that Trump took.)
- Senate confirms Todd Blanche as attorney general (F*** every Republican – Bill Cassidy is particularly pathetic – who voted to confirm Blanche.)
- Trump loyalist Todd Blanche confirmed by Senate as US attorney general (“Major win for president as former personal lawyer wins approval despite outcry over $1.8bn slush fund”)
- The Devastating Proof Pete Hegseth Has Gone Full FUBAR (“The secretary of defense has done so much damage to American strength in so little time.”)
- Pentagon revokes access to classified information for former Air Force secretary
- Senate Passes Stopgap Bill to Avert Shutdown, Avoiding Skirmish Before Midterms
- Senate confirms 74 Trump nominees (“Senators voted 51-47 to approve officials at the Departments of Defense, Energy, State and other agencies.” Vomit.)
- DOGE’s wild, unverifiable savings claims discredited in US government report (Musk et al committed numerous VERY serious crimes and should all be facing prosecution and potentially lengthy prison sentences.)
- Prosecutor Sues Justice Dept. Over Dismissal After Right-Wing Influencer’s Claim
- The GOP’s Missing Moral Compass (“Republicans’ refusal to condemn Max Miller speaks to a deeper issue in the party.”)
- ‘Weaker than we thought’: Jobs surprise deals setback for GOP in elections
- Trump says voters are mad at other Republicans, not him, as midterms approach (LOL, riiiight.)
- Can Democrats Please Just Focus on Beating Republicans? Please? (“Yes, progressives and democratic socialists seem to be where all the energy is right now. No, there is no absolutely no need for other Democrats to be afraid of them.”)
- A Spurned Schumer Reaches Out to the Left
- Ballroom Judges Slip Brutal Message Into Scathing Trump Ruling (“A stunning court ruling could finally bring Trump’s White House ballroom project to a halt.”)
- Appeals court blocks Trump’s White House ballroom renovation (“A federal appeals court panel has ruled against President Donald Trump’s attempt to unilaterally demolish portions of the White House to build a massive ballroom, saying the unprecedented project requires congressional approval.”)
- Trump says he’ll bring ballroom fight to Supreme Court after lower court halts work
- The ghost of “60 Minutes” is about to haunt Bari Weiss (“Former correspondents Scott Pelley and Sharyn Alfonsi may be teaming up to get the last word”)
- Judge rejects SPLC bid to dismiss case as ‘vindictive’ prosecution (Trump-appointed, Federalist Society “judge” issues an absolutely absurd ruling; in fact, this is clearly/blatantly vindictive prosecution!)
- Trump Showed Up at a Rally With Lustrous Locks. The Memes Won’t Stop.
- Natural Gas Dominates PJM’s First Reformed Grid Queue, Driven by Data-Center Demand (“Gas makes up nearly half of the 200-plus gigawatts lined up for a grid-connection study. But PJM’s own record shows most projects that enter its queue never get built.” No new fossil-fuel-fired power plants should be built: period.)
- Pirro, Trump’s longtime champion, is on the outs over Reflecting Pool move (“D.C.’s top prosecutor spent a year navigating the president’s demands. Now she finds her job at risk amid a rare break with him over cases of alleged vandalism.”)
- Democratic voters who used to back Susan Collins aren’t so sure anymore (They have concerns? LOL)
- How the solar industry helped take down Ogles (It’s about f’ing time the clean energy industry stepped up politically!)
- MAGA’s Most Famous Prisoner Is Free (I’ll never forgive Jared Polis for this.)
- After a Poisonous Primary, Michigan Democrats Promise to Get Along
- Pete Buttigieg: Everyone’s ‘watching the state of Michigan right now’
- Inside Abdul El-Sayed’s Improbable Victory (“The progressive took on AIPAC and won Michigan’s Democratic primary for Senate. Taking on MAGA won’t be any easier”)
- The Politics Hour: MD redistricting, VA primaries, and one year since Trump’s MPD takeover
VIRGINIA NEWS (Kaine and Beyer differ on Russia sanctions bill, and Beyer’s probably right; Shenandoah School Board ordered to change Confederate school names it restored in 2024; etc.)
- Kaine, Beyer differ on Russia sanctions bill passed by U.S. Senate (“I think I’m with Northern Virginia Congressman Don Beyer on this one.” Same here, based on what I can determine about this bill and how Trump might use it. And I’m a SUPER strong supporter of Ukraine, would love to see severe sanctions against Russia IMMEDIATELY and also give Ukraine anything/everything it needs to defeat Putin’s vicious, unprovoked aggression!)
- Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-VA11) Calls for Elon Musk Subpoena as GAO Report Exposes DOGE’s Fraud (Time to “force [Musk] to answer under oath for DOGE’s deception and waste”)
- Walkinshaw brings Connolly’s legacy into new role representing Northern Virginia
- ‘Unprecedented’: Spanberger to intervene in Dominion–NextEra merger
- Judge: Shenandoah School Board violated students’ civil rights by reinstating Confederate names (“Shenandoah School Board ordered to remove Confederate names”)
- Federal judge orders Virginia county to change Confederate school names it restored in 2024
- Federal judge orders Virginia county to replace Confederate school names it restored in 2024 (“In an opinion filed Thursday in U.S. District Court of Virginia, Judge Michael F. Urbanski said the school board in Shenandoah County violated Black students’ rights under the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause, which forbids racial discrimination in state-supported institutions. The decision also violates the Equal Educational Opportunities Act, the court found.”)
- Candidate drops out of Lynchburg City Council race (“That leaves nine candidates seeking three open seats this November.”)
- VCU’s retreat on inclusive excellence carries risks | Guest commentary
- Reader recounts 10 days inside the Middle River Regional Jail: ‘Treated as an animal’
- Appomattox County sheriff’s deputy struck, killed at accident scene in Campbell County (Ugh, awful.)
- DC-area forecast: Humid again with storm chances today; hotter early week
