Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Monday, December 29.
*Missing jet likely at bottom of sea, officials say
*Pope Francis Expected To Instruct One Billion Catholics To Act On Climate Change (I’m liking this Pope more and more all the time!)
*Pakistan intensifies the crackdown on militants
*Poll finds Clinton up 57 points on Warren (“There is more good news for Clinton in the general election, where she leads all the possible Republican opponents that were polled. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush comes closest, down 54 percent to 41 percent to Clinton.”)
*Obama warns GOP he plans to use veto pen in 2015
*Oops: Chuck Todd slips, admits he can’t do tough interviews because ‘no one will come on’ my show (Uhhhhh…)
*Krugman: The Obama Recovery (“What’s the important lesson from this late Obama bounce? Mainly, I’d suggest, that everything you’ve heard about President Obama’s economic policies is wrong.”)
*Numbers betray politicians’ tight grasp (“Allowing legislators (delegates and senators) to pick their own districts, as Virginia does today, guarantees that lawmakers will always pick voters, rather than vice versa.”)
*Today’s Top Opinion: Fix it (“Gov. Terry McAuliffe asked his ethics reform panel to consider redistricting as well as the culture of gift-giving in Richmond. He was right to do so, because gerrymandering constitutes a corruption of the political system every bit as corrosive to democracy as influence-peddling.”)
*Same-sex marriage defines Mark Herring’s first year as attorney general (Yep, great stuff. And for 2015? Is there anything the AG can do to reverse the “capture” of our regulatory agencies and legislature by companies like Dominion Power?)
*Editorial: Gov. McAuliffe chooses to go against the political head winds (“Now, as the 2015 General Assembly nears, the Democratic governor apparently feels that he has the momentum to become politically aggressive in the face of fierce Republican opposition. The strategy may well prove foolhardy. But then what is he supposed to do, bury his convictions and wait for a more hospitable political climate? He’s already a year into his four-year term.”)
*Richmond won Stone Brewing — and got a bit of drama, too
*Virginia toll lanes offer drivers convenience, but raise privacy concerns
*2015’s finale will be on the cold side
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