Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Thursday, August 20. Also check out the interview with Senate Minority Leader Dick Saslaw, who explains how the entire Judge Roush situation went down. To put it mildly, Republican “leadership” – particularly Senate Majority Leader Tommy Norment and Speaker Bill Howell – don’t come off looking very good here (and, amazing, right-wing radio host John Fredericks agrees). Saslaw also asserts that what’s driving Republicans is jealousy and hatred of Gov. McAuliffe, the success he’s had bringing business to Virginia, and the media attention he gets for doing so.
*Act Two of the Trump Epic (“We’re now in a categorically different phase. Trump is now defining the GOP policy agenda. And that makes him far more than a top candidate or even a nominee.”)
*Family Values Activist Josh Duggar Had a Paid Ashley Madison Account
*Jeb Bush getting squeezed on both sides in N.H.
*The GOP jumps on the immigration bandwagon (“The Republican Right’s mission won’t really be done until it tears down the Statue of Liberty. A beacon to immigrants, tired and poor, the single greatest emblem of American exceptionalism – what a waste of prime real estate! Imagine the profits if another Trump Tower rose in its place.”)
*These 8 Democrats Are AIPAC’s Best Chances of Killing the Iran Deal (Mark Warner is one who’s still publicly on the fence for whatever reason…)
*The Republican Primary Candidates’ Daylong School-Choice Lovefest
*Investigations Prove the Planned Parenthood “Sting” Videos Were a Bust (“Completed probes in Georgia, Indiana, Massachusetts, and South Dakota have spent thousands in taxpayer money, but turned up no evidence that Planned Parenthood is trafficking in the sale of fetal tissue.”)
*The death of birthright citizenship: How Donald Trump is taking a fringe idea into the mainstream
*Gilmore unconcerned by low polling numbers (They’re not just “low,” they’re basically zero.)
*Warner says new economy demands new policies
*Our view: Why are Virginia court clerks withholding public records?
*Va. Republicans escalate fight with McAuliffe over Supreme Court judge
*Maureen McDonnell to appeals court: You can clear me and not my husband
*Virginia Beach makes wise investment in its past
*Ahead of next year’s mayoral election, ODU calls timeout on Norfolk sheriff
*The FBI brings fresh eyes to the McKenna case
*Jared Fogle offered Richmond prostitutes ‘finder’s fee’ for sex with minors, feds say
*Ex-Fairfax officer who killed unarmed man denied bail, faints in courtroom (“Judge Stephen C. Shannon said he would not grant bail to Torres because of the circumstances of the shooting and the concerns about Torres’s mental state at the time of the incident.”)
*Loudoun commuter bus drivers hold ‘unsanctioned sickout’; routes cancelled
*Stephen Strasburg, Jayson Werth lead Nationals past Rockies (Wow, two in a row…can we make it three?)
*D.C. area forecast: Heavy rain possible today, especially late; drier air Friday into the weekend
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