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by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Saturday, September 5. 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)…plus lots more…see below.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS (Climate crisis – Nepal; “Second wave of big batteries will eat the dinner for fossil fuels”; “Trump brushes off accusations of Russian sabotage against NATO allies”; “Trump Calls Iran Conflict ‘Small Potatoes,’ Plays Down War”; etc.)
- Rescuers in Nepal pull 2 people alive from the debris 10 days after devastating floods
- Second wave of big batteries will eat the dinner for fossil fuels, forcing some coal generators to close (This is in Australia, but the implications are global.)
- How Scared Should We Be of A.I. Right Now? (“With proper direction, they’ll hopefully make our lives better. But they don’t have to be terrifying. We thought Silicon Valley was trying to warn us of an unavoidable danger, but maybe they were just being weird.”)
- ‘There’s no plan’: as instability in global bond markets rises, what are the knock-on effects? (“From mortgages to inflation, concerns about the public finances of major economies have wide-reaching consequences”)
- Trump brushes off accusations of Russian sabotage against NATO allies (Trump is a traitor for sure.)
- Trump envoys arrive in Moscow ahead of Ukraine talks, reports say
- Flee, Hide or Sit Tight? Russians Are on Edge Over Rumors of a Draft. (Note that “fight” isn’t a listed option?)
- Here Is Where Ukraine Talks Stand, as a New Round Approaches
- How escalating attacks are upending daily life in Kyiv (“Commuters stranded; children rushed underground in the middle of the school day; festivals cancelled; walks punctuated by booming air defences. Near-constant drone attacks are the stark new reality in Kyiv, and daily life is likely to “)fc
- Why Putin’s Friends Are Now Confronting Him Over the War (“The leaders of India and Kazakhstan recently made unusually direct remarks to the Russian president about ending the war.”)
- From Trump’s takeover threats to a ‘northern neighborhood,’ why the EU chief is going to Greenland
- NATO races to guard against Russian nuclear subs without the US (Trump is a traitor.)
- Trump Calls Iran Conflict ‘Small Potatoes,’ Plays Down War (“Polls show Americans have given President Donald Trump poor marks for his handling of the war, which has spiked energy prices for Americans.”)
- Trump calls Iran conflict ‘small potatoes’ and defends Vance’s position that it’s not a ‘war’ (10s of billions of dollars, both U.S. and Iranian casualties of course, damage to other Persian Gulf states, higher oil prices, etc, etc. – all of that is not “small potatoes” in any way!)
- Scoop: Trump administration drafting post-war Middle East plan (“Three main elements have been raised as possible parts of the strategy, according to the sources: Creating a regional alignment among U.S. allies to contain Iran, with the U.S. as a guarantor. Making a concerted effort to bring the regional fallout from the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks closer to a conclusion by securing the next phase of Trump’s Gaza plan, reaching a security agreement between Israel and Syria, and implementing the Israel-Lebanon agreement. Expanding the Abraham Accords and reaching a Saudi-Israeli normalization agreement. “)
- Iran accuses the US of targeting a tanker near Kharg Island, and other Mideast news
- Time Is No Longer on Iran’s Side in the Battle of the Blockades (“The U.S. is helping Gulf states move significant amounts of oil out of the region while thwarting Tehran’s shipments.”)
- ‘Guilt by association’: why seven international aid workers were killed in Israeli airstrike (“Exclusive: Guardian investigation reveals targeting of World Central Kitchen convoy was result of widely used military tactic”)
- US ambassador visits Palestinian town amid rise in West Bank settler violence (These West Bank settlers are antithetical to Jewish values; the fact that Netanyahu et al are letting them get away with murder, mayhem, etc. is a f’ing DISGRACE)
- Trove of documents reveals alleged chemical weapons stockpile in Sudan
- UN votes to adopt new world map to reflect Africa’s true size
- ‘It cost me many friendships’: former Brazil military chief reveals inside struggle to stop Bolsonaro’s coup (“Carlos de Almeida Baptista Júnior describes 2022 meeting in new book as ex-leader’s son vies with Lula for presidency”)
- Trump reveals Brazil, Argentina involved in controversial beef deal
- Trump doubles down on threat to halt trade with top partners unless Fed cuts rates (“President Donald Trump demanded that the Federal Reserve slash interest rates or else he will cut off trade with countries with which the U.S. maintains trade deficits.” If anything, the Fed should RAISE interest rates at this point.)
NATIONAL NEWS (“ICE given permission to force-feed Cuban hunger striker with gastric tube”; “Judge Once Again Blocks Mail-In Ballot Rules”; “Captain calamity: Pete Hegseth under fire for ‘inept’ leadership of US military “; “The “priorities gap” and the midterms”; “Retired general calls Trump’s proposed arch near Arlington a ‘sacrilege'”; etc.)
- ICE given permission to force-feed Cuban hunger striker with gastric tube (“Exclusive: court orders seen by Guardian show agency given approval to fit Texas detainee with tube without his consent” Torture, basically.)
- US immigration judges told to slash time given to people awaiting visas or green cards before being deported (“Exclusive: Mandatory training for judges also urged them to threaten attorneys who accept too many cases”)
- Democrats demand DHS documents in investigation into Rohingya refugee’s death (“Lawmakers condemn agency for ‘obstructing the pursuit of juice’ over death of nearly blind Nurul Amin Shah Alam”)
- Trump order directs officials to consider stripping protections for gray wolves (Trump is EVIL.)
- Homeland Security Dept. Asks for Inquiries Into Voting Machines (Totally f’ed up.)
- Judge Once Again Blocks Mail-In Ballot Rules (“The ruling arrived before the Supreme Court could decide whether to intervene but appeared certain to set off yet another round of appeals.”)
- In major win for voters, judge blocks Trump’s mail voting restrictions for midterms
- Justice Department immediately asks First Circuit to revive anti-mail voting order halted by judge
- American Workers Have Slammed the Brakes on Switching Jobs
- August jobs report shows U.S. added 162,000 jobs, more than double economists’ forecasts
- Supreme Court grants Republican emergency appeal on TV ad rates before midterms (UGH, here we go again…)
- Donald Trump Has No Idea of the Tidal Wave That’s Coming for Him (“There are three groups of voters who matter in this election, and each of them is going to punish the president severely.”)
- More Americans Are Identifying as Democrats Ahead of Midterms
- Trump Has the Opportunity to Do the Funniest Thing (“Republicans are counting on the president to be generous and think about someone other than himself.”)
- Inside the Justice Dept.’s Investigation of Fauci and Virus Scientists (McCarthyism.)
- RFK Jr. Hires Army Doctor Who Opposed Covid Shots to Investigate if They Killed 2,500 Troops (RFK Jr. is pure scum, evil really.)
- Trump’s new proposal for colleges fits his larger segregationist project
- Democrats see midterm gift in Trump embrace of data centers
- In Major Leak Hunt, Pentagon Gives Polygraph Tests to Joint Staff Members (“About 50 people were tested, an unparalleled inquiry that comes in the wake of news reports about the war with Iran and the U.S. military’s diminished stocks of munitions.”)
- Captain calamity: Pete Hegseth under fire for ‘inept’ leadership of US military (“The US defense secretary faces internal dissent and discord at the Pentagon, accused of focusing on culture war issues and his own political ambitions as the Iran war drags on”)
- White House reviews candidates to replace Hegseth deputy Feinberg, sources say
- Judge refuses to block Pentagon from firing Stars and Stripes staffers over CBS interview (Trump judge, of course!)
- The “priorities gap” and the midterms (“Voters want a president who works on their problems. They say Trump isn’t — and he and Republicans are losing support because of it”)
- Leftist insurgents are storming the midterms – just don’t call them all democratic socialists (“Progressive candidates navigate their ties to the DSA as the group faces historic growth and mounting pressure”)
- Dolly Parton and Gloria Steinem’s deaths deliver a double dose of grief for feminists
- Trump says ‘nobody will’ build monuments for him once he’s gone (Nope, we’re going to tear down everything he’s done!)
- Federal ‘Bureal’ of Investigation: Kash Patel Posts Embarrassing Slop Video About How Much the FBI Loves AI (“FBI Director Kash Patel is not known as the most competent guy around. And a video he posted to X on Thursday isn’t going to help that reputation.”)
- Democrats just got one seat closer to retaking the House (“Missouri’s new old map has diminished Republicans’ redistricting gains.”)
- Trump Spirals After Missouri Supreme Court Hands Him Massive Loss
- Missouri asks US Supreme Court to allow use of new Trump-backed congressional districts in midterms (“The appeal comes after Missouri’s highest court blocked the new map and ordered a statewide vote in November on whether to keep or reject it.”)
- Fake Version of Republican Midterm Convention Website Redirects to Epstein Files (“A spoof of the G.O.P. convention site tricked people for weeks, before redirecting them to the Justice Department’s library of Epstein files.”)
- Tetris Owner Denounces Trump White House Clone of Game (“Responding to Build the Wall, an apparent copy of the retro video game, the Tetris Company said ‘we take copyright infringement very seriously.'”)
- El-Sayed split Michigan Democrats. Whether they unify could decide Senate control
- How Talarico is countering Trump’s midterms convention (“The Texas Democratic Senate candidate is hosting a statewide food drive to highlight the high cost of groceries, according to plans shared first with POLITICO.”)
- Musk has started spending money to help Ken Paxton. Will it help change the course of the Texas Senate race?
- John Fetterman Is Making the Case for Worst Democratic Senator of All Time (“Rather than, you know, serving his constituents, the Pennsylvania senator is more interested in jumping on Fox News to yammer about Israel.”)
- Former Staff Members Threaten to Expose Fetterman’s Internal Messages (Fetterman is a completely broken human being, totally disprespectful to the high office he holds and the millions of people he’s supposed to serve. Disgusting in every way.)
- NC elections officials alter mail ballot rules just before they’re mailed out ( “It may not affect you as you’re filling it out, but it affects whether your ballot counts — that’s huge. So, an effort to say this is just a process thing, I think is incorrect.”)
- Missouri Republican candidate allegedly tried to plant drugs on primary opponent: Investigators
- Gov. Shapiro gets validation: A Pennsylvanian did die of measles
- Senate aide’s lobbying side gig raises ethics questions (“A senior staffer for Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) has quietly worked as a lobbyist for Meta and other high-profile clients — an unusual agreement that experts say raises questions about ethics and possible conflicts of interest, Jacob reports with our colleague Andrew Howard.”)
- Judge clears a lawsuit against Kyrsten Sinema under North Carolina’s ‘homewrecker’ law
- Judge weighs how to dismiss Reflecting Pool vandalism charge against Olympian
- Retired general calls Trump’s proposed arch near Arlington a ‘sacrilege’ (Absolutely disgraceful.)
- Veterans make emergency request to block construction of Trump’s arch
- Trump’s arch may break ground without final approval. Veterans are trying to stop it
- Lindsay Clancy trial highlights gaps in postpartum psychosis research, experts say
- Why the Lindsay Clancy Trial Ended in a Deadlock (“Both the prosecution and the defense tried to tell tidy stories. But, in the end, five weeks of testimony from more than eighty witnesses couldn’t resolve the central mystery of Clancy’s state of mind.”)
VIRGINIA NEWS (“VA Lawmakers Back Investigation Into Arlington ICE Arrest”; “Dominion Energy Is Not Running a Charity, Nor Would a NextEra-Dominion Combo”; “The Politics Hour: Will Loudoun County push pause on data center development?”; etc.)
- Luria files lawsuit against Department of Elections questioning validity of Independent candidates’ signatures
- VA Lawmakers Back Investigation Into Arlington ICE Arrest (“Virginia lawmakers welcomed Arlington police’s investigation into an ICE arrest that left José Mejía Hernandez injured.”)
- Ivy Main: Dominion Energy Is Not Running a Charity, Nor Would a NextEra-Dominion Combo; Their $$$ Donations Are Aimed 100% at Influencing Policy in Their Favor (And people wonder why Virginia is the “wild west” when it comes to money in politics???)
- In Virginia, voter fatigue will likely continue (Voter fatigue for what reason? I mean, most Virginians haven’t voted since the redistricting referendum last spring; it’s simply not at all arduous to vote twice a year. Also, it’s super easy to vote in Virginia…)
- How much would it cost us to have an SRO assigned to every local school?
- Video: Fmr. VA Gov. Jim Gilmore Argues Abigail Spanberger Had “better get moving and get an issue that you feel like you can execute on because time is is running out.” (Fmr. Gov. Doug Wilder says “HELL YES!” the former NextEra attorney on the SCC should recuse herself from the Dominion acquisition)
- Gov. Abigail Spanberger Appoints Daniel Young as New State Inspector General (“I have full faith that Mr. Young will hold our government accountable and maintain the highest standards. I look forward to him getting to work.”)
- Spanberger taps Daniel Young to lead government watchdog office
- The Politics Hour: Will Loudoun County push pause on data center development?
- Amtrak infrastructure work will temporarily reduce train service in Virginia
- Charlottesville completes relocation of people from homeless encampment
- About 100 abused, neglected kids in Richmond need a volunteer advocate
- Waynesboro Police release new information on Westwood Hills shooting
- DC-area forecast: A few showers around today, mostly beautiful Sunday and Labor Day
