Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Tuesday, February 25. Oh, and if you live in the 100th House of Delegates district, don’t forget to vote today for Willie Randall!
*Russia assails legitimacy of Ukraine changes (Authoritarian thug Vladimir Putin doesn’t exactly have any standing to talk about “legitimacy!”)
*This is no longer Dingell’s Washington (“Retiring Rep. John Dingell, the last of the true committee barons, says the Hill is now ‘obnoxious.'” Thanks Teapublicans!)
*Kaine: Israel stance ‘no, no, no’ on Iran enrichment
*GOP poor-mouthing on the minimum wage (“Republicans who claim to be worried about lost jobs can dry their crocodile tears, because a few simple measures would get all those jobs back – and lots more.”)
*Holder Sees Way to Curb Bans on Same-Sex Marriage (“Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. said that state attorneys general who believe that laws in their states banning gay marriage are discriminatory are not obligated to defend them.”)
*Senseless fight on Medicaid expansion (“The model would funnel federal tax dollars to private insurers and in essence relies on free-market principles that Republicans normally claim to embrace. Yet they won’t.”)
*Health plan debate rages at dueling gatherings (“Virginia’s Chamber of Commerce supports using recovered federal taxes for health coverage. The National Federation of Independent Business and House Republicans favor a private-option model.”)
*In Va., fight over Medicaid expansion continues
*Lt. Gov. Northam: The fierce urgency of now
*Gov. McAuliffe pushes for more offshore drilling (“I’m not afraid to say that Terry McAuliffe is flat out wrong on this issue. I will not support any off shore drilling bills in the General Assembly and in Congress I will oppose these efforts as well.” — Del. Patrick Hope)
*Win for Maureen McDonnell’s defense – can now access thousands of emails
*Virginia House panel again shoots down bill to protect cyclists from ‘dooring’ (“The move to give police the ability to assess fault, and cyclists the ability to file insurance claims, is rejected for second time.”)
*Va. bicycle-friendly legislation may still have traction
*Federal probe finds McAuliffe’s commerce secretary improperly lobbied Congress
*Silver Line faces another delay (“Construction of the first phase of the rail line is not yet complete, MWAA says.”)
*Hampton Roads would be spared worst of 2015 cuts … for now
*Va. GOP chairman picks sides in Beach-based contest
*Companion mental health bills OK’d
*Our view: Exorcising the gerrymander
*Terry McAuliffe to veto bill about religious expression in schools
*Assembly votes to ban sale of e-cigarettes to minors
*Virginia Senate approves bill to regulate older drivers (“HB 771 would lower the age from 80 to 75 at which older drivers face mandatory vision tests and are only eligible for the shorter license renewal period.”)
*A dreary and cold day with light
snow possible today and tomorrow
*NFL remains a generation behind the times (“My advice to the dinosaurs of the NFL would be the same that virtually every kind of American workplace has learned: Change or disappear.”)
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