| Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... |
by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Thursday, September 10. 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. Also, check out Jamelle Bouie’s latest video on how Trump “is filled with existential terror and has made it a problem for us and the whole world.”
INTERNATIONAL NEWS (Climate crisis – and possible solutions, mostly renewable energy scaling up rapidly!; “AI’s extinction debate breaks containment”; “No wonder Putin feels bold”; “World shares retreat and oil prices trade above $100 a barrel”; “Trump’s “MGGA” praise collides with Germany’s Nazi past”; etc.)
- Climate solutions most likely to reach ‘positive tipping points’ revealed by scientists (“Global shift towards clean electricity could trigger ‘cascade’ of progress, helping reduce air pollution, cut waste and revive oceans”)
- August Ties the Record for Earth’s Hottest Month on the Books
- Heard About the ‘Godzilla El Niño’? Here’s How It Could Actually Affect You.
- Climate ‘feedback loops’ could worsen global warming by 30%, study finds (Humanity is soooo f’ed.)
- World must reject climate culture wars or face economic ruin, says UN’s Stiell (“Warning by United Nations climate chief comes as EU data shows August 2026 was joint hottest month ever”)
- I Worked on Safety at OpenAI. This Is What It Should Do Now.
- Why some experts increasingly fear AI will take over
- AI’s extinction debate breaks containment
- For years, they warned AI could kill all humans. Now people are listening.
- Tens of millions of people fail to get humanitarian aid as global system crumbles (Trump and Musk essentially committed mass murder. And almost nobody cares???)
- Russia’s new jet-powered drones outpacing Ukraine’s air defences with daily launches (“Russia fired its new rapid, jet-powered drones against Ukraine every day throughout August, BBC Verify analysis of Ukrainian Air Force data has found, escalating its use of a weapon that Kyiv’s air defences are struggling to deal with.”)
- Russia’s actions have strengthened European case for boosting defence spending, says Nato chief
- No wonder Putin feels bold
- North Korea has built new uranium facility to expand nuclear arsenal, UN agency says (“The International Atomic Energy Agency voices ‘serious concerns’ over expansion of Yongbyon facility to enrich uranium” Not good at all!)
- World shares retreat and oil prices trade above $100 a barrel
- Yemen’s Houthis Seize Strategic Red Sea Port, Officials Say
- With Close Calls on U.S. Warships, Iran Shows New Appetite for Escalation
- Trump’s Top Advisers Confront Possibility That Iran War Lasts Through End of Term
- Trump says Iran war will end ‘immediately’ after midterms (Yet another “Trump says” headline by the “mainstream” media – uncritical stenography by supposed “journalists”)
- Trump warns Tehran over Pickaxe Mountain activity; U.S.-Iran exchange attacks on ships near Hormuz
- Saudi Oil Exports Plunge as Spread of War Shuts Off Shipping Routes (“With few good options for safely shipping oil, Saudi Arabia’s exports have fallen to a 13-year low.”)
- “We’re the Outliers Here”: UK-Led Sanctions on Israeli Settlements Isolate the US (“Twelve countries banned settlement trade over displacement and settler violence — and some Democrats say Washington should be doing far more.”)
- 25 Years After 9/11, Al Qaeda Still Has a Home in Afghanistan
- Trump’s comments on the Falkland Islands reflect a fractured US-UK relationship (“President suggested US might not help UK if Argentina tried to seize Falklands – a new low for UK-US ‘special relationship’”)
- Trump’s “MGGA” praise collides with Germany’s Nazi past
- With Messaging That Mirrors Putin’s, Germany’s Far-Right Party Gains Ground
- A Nazi-curious party just won big in Germany. The White House approves. (“How a very dangerous state election in Germany helps reveal Trump’s real foreign policy.”)
- Merz accuses AfD of ‘ethnic cleansing’ policy and cancels call with Trump (“German chancellor attacks Alternative für Deutschland after far-right party’s win in Saxony-Anhalt election”)
- Rubio says US will work with allies to stop drug-trafficking as three killed in latest boat strike (More likely war crimes.)
- See how Canada is shifting its trade beyond the U.S. (“Strife with the U.S., including the president’s tariffs, has pushed Canada to find new trading partners. That could ultimately raise prices for U.S. businesses.”)
- The AP Will Keep Using ‘Lake Ontario’ Despite Trump’s Renaming Effort
NATIONAL NEWS (ICE insanity; Trump lies and lies and lies…about 9/11 and everything else, also absurdly promises a $1 TRILLION bribe if Americans vote Republican this fall; “The Final Battle for America’s Democracy”; etc.)
- He showed up for a routine green card appointment. Then ICE detained him. (“Arresting legal immigrants at their immigration appointments has become part of a new and terrifyingly common strategy for immigration enforcement.”)
- The IRS Gave ICE Some Information It Really Shouldn’t Have (“There’s a cost to hurting the trust you have with undocumented workers—after all, they pay $90 billion in taxes annually.”)
- Supreme Court is asked to settle Missouri dispute causing electoral chaos
- Fight Over Missouri House Map Returns to U.S. Supreme Court
- Trump’s midterm mess collides with a courtroom time crunch
- U.S. Postal Service Failed to Properly Handle Some Ballots During This Year’s Primary Elections, Audit Finds (“An inspector general’s audit found a lack of training for post office staff, deficiencies in how ballots were tracked and errors leading to delays. Experts say it raises questions ahead of the midterms.”)
- Trump administration proposes dramatic overhaul of 2030 census that changes who counts as living in America
- Trump officials propose sweeping changes to the census that would reshape voting maps
- Trump’s Census Overhaul Would Exclude Some Immigrants and Remove Questions on Race
- The Data Center Conundrum (“Seven out of 10 Americans oppose data centers in their communities, according to Gallup, and they have good reason to be wary of artificial intelligence and all that comes with it.”)
- Fact check: Trump makes numerous false claims in Republican convention speech
- Trump’s Midterm Convention May Struggle for Ratings Against the N.F.L. Kickoff
- Republicans gather in Dallas for two-day midterm convention billed as a ‘Trump-a-Palooza’
- Fox News is treating the GOP’s midterm convention as a very special episode of Hannity
- Trump, hoping to salvage midterms, makes dubious pledge to give every US adult $5,000 if GOP wins
- US citizens will receive $5,000 if Republicans win midterms, Trump claims in lengthy convention speech (“President makes offer that would cost US over $1tn and asks voters to ‘pretend that I’m on the ballot’ despite being deeply unpopular among electorate”)
- The GOP heads into the general election with a significant enthusiasm deficit (“President Donald Trump — star of the midterm convention — is proving a stronger motivator for critics than supporters”)
- Trump’s $5,000 Payout Promise Underscores GOP Midterm Peril (“With the GOP at grave risk of losing their congressional majorities, the offer essentially amounted to a financial enticement to Americans.”)
- The Final Battle for America’s Democracy (“Forget November 3. It’s January 3 when Donald Trump and his MAGA Republicans might bury our democracy once and for all. Here’s how.”)
- As the midterms loom, Trump returns to his happy place: on stage in the theatre of the absurd
- Down in the Polls, Republicans Embrace a Familiar Tool: Fear
- ‘Pretend That I Am Running’: 7 Takeaways From the G.O.P. Midterm Convention
- Trump vows $5K payments for all US citizens if GOP holds Congress in speech punctuated by false claims
- Trump pledges a $5,000 ‘dividend’ to all US adults if the GOP wins the midterms (WTF???)
- Trump’s $5,000 ‘Dividend’ Promise Is His Biggest Election Gambit Yet
- Military Aide Accidentally Deploys Emergency Slide on New Air Force One
- Inflatable slide deploys on Qatari-gifted Air Force One ahead of Trump’s Dallas trip
- Trump Humiliated by Glitches in Speech to Empty MAGA Crowd
- Exclusive: Trump plans to send $500 Obamacare rebates before election
- The Inside Story of What Happened at Stars and Stripes (“For generations, the newspaper has served American military families. That work must continue. And it must remain editorially independent.”)
- CIA officer’s arrest with 303 gold bars thrusts the Pentagon’s No. 2 into an unwelcome spotlight (“Steve Feinberg has been interviewed by the FBI, sources say, as part of the probe into David Rush. Feinberg hasn’t been accused of wrongdoing, and the FBI said he isn’t under investigation.”)
- Trump’s top six falsehoods about 9/11 as 25th anniversary nears (“US president often brings up al-Qaida attack that struck his home town New York City almost 25 years ago”)
- All the Places Trump Was on 9/11 (“The president’s latest version doesn’t square with the facts.”)
- New York, 25 Years Later (“The September 11 attacks inspired a sense of national unity that has since been shattered.”)
- 60 Posts in 10 Hours: How Trump’s Social Media Reflects His Version of Reality (Bland, normalized, anodyne headline by the NY Times/Peter Baker. Great job, guys, you’re really defending our democracy against fascism! /snark)
- Trump Says He’d ‘Consider’ Pardoning Michael Cohen
- The Democrats who aren’t criticizing John Fetterman (“The unpredictable Pennsylvania senator is absorbing a massive intraparty backlash. But not from his Senate colleagues.”)
- Fetterman Says He Won’t Leave His Party if Democrats Win the Senate
- Fetterman Has a Surprise Cameo at Trump’s Convention (“Senator John Fetterman, who has become alienated from his own party, appeared in a short video filmed in front of a steel mill, saying he is “always going to reject the extremes in socialism.”” Reminder: left wingers were a huge fan of Fetterman, for whatever reason… and thought Conor Lamb was more of a conservadem. LOL!)
- A MAGA Activist Flooded Georgia With Voter Challenges. Now He Works for the State Election Board. (“This man is trying to suppress votes, and he’s happy to suppress as many as he can for any reason he can.”)
- Jim Jordan says he will relinquish Judiciary gavel, pass on a return to Oversight (“Rep. Jim Jordan said Wednesday he plans to end his eight-year run leading Republicans on two of the House’s most prominent committees after this Congress, raising fresh questions about what comes next for the veteran Ohio lawmaker.”)
- Trump’s DOJ is investigating Utah’s election chief for refusing to hand over voter data, it says in letter (Thuggishness.)
- Ken Paxton Isn’t Ready For Prime Time. Republicans Know It (“The candidate who should have been the star of the midterm convention was given five minutes to speak during rush hour”)
- Hunter Biden’s ‘$LAPTOP’ crypto coin crashes minutes after launch (Hunter Biden is a hot f’ing mess.)
- Rhode Island governor ousted in Democratic primary
- New Mexicans meet Trump’s threat to change state’s name with ridicule and outrage
VIRGINIA NEWS (Beyer echoes warnings on AI; Kiggans backed by fascist, racist, extremist billionaires; Dominion Enegy violates the spirit and letter of the Virginia Clean Economy Act; etc.)
- Voters could move Congress to revisit H.R. 1 healthcare overhaul, Kaine and McClellan say (Yes, if Democrats take back both Houses of Congress…but Trump won’t sign their bills into law, of course.)
- Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA08), an Expert on AI, Echoes Warnings of “Potential Systemic and Civilizational Risks”; Says We Need a “Sense of Urgency” on This Issue (Rep. Beyer: “doing nothing on AI is unacceptable and dangerous”)
- Video: Elaine Luria Releases Two New Ads – Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-VA02) “votes 100% with Trump up there, then lies to us down here” (“Food on the table, gas in the car, a roof over your head….Trump’s tariffs, wars and corruption have made it all too expensive”)
- Video: VA05 Democratic Nominee Tom Perriello Launches First TV Ad, “Targets Corruption and Rising Cost of [Rep. John McGuire (R-VA05)] (“I’m Tom Perriello, and I approve this message to restore your path to the American Dream”)
- AARP Va. cancels Senate debate because of Warner’s schedule
- Beth Macy, Tom Perriello campaigns dropping the ball with media strategies
- Musk, Trump, Thiel: Meet the billionaires backing Jen Kiggans (They’re also fascists, racists, authoritarians, nutjobs, extremists, etc, etc.)
- Subramanyam introduces package of bills related to data centers
- Va. health dept. updates food allergen list, food establishment guidance
- Virginia kept its climate law. Dominion sees a loophole. (“To power data centers, the state’s largest utility is proposing a massive 3-gigawatt gas plant that tests the limits of the Virginia Clean Economy Act.” This massively violates both the spirit and letter of the VCEA. Hopefully VCEA’s patrons – Rip Sullivan, etc. – will propose legislation to fix this loophole.)
- Virginia needs a data center moratorium now
- Virginia is doing data centers backwards
- Energy costs a concern for residents as Dominion-NextEra merger considered
- ‘The clock is ticking’: Hashmi talks with Hampton Roads residents about Dominion Energy merger (“Hashmi said she neither supports nor opposes the merger at this time. She’s still waiting on commissioners to answer her list of more than 60 questions.”)
- For $8 million land purchase, where will city of Roanoke get the money, and what is the future plan? (“Options for 236-acre former golf course include a new school, industrial development and housing.”)
- Virginia Beach School Board asked not to file so many formal records requests (“Tuesday’s school board meeting began with an unusual message from the board’s attorney. Some members implied others were misusing FOIA requests against one another.”)
- Williams: Amid the RRHA maintenance scandal, who’s protecting the residents?
- Waynesboro Public Schools is in crisis: Making the case for a change at the top
- BREAKING: Teen bicyclist killed in crash near Fairfax City shopping center
- DC-area forecast: Hot and humid today with a few showers; scattered storms tonight
