by Lowell
Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, May 26.
- Jared Kushner now a focus in Russia investigation (Kushner for Prison?)
- Trump chastises fellow NATO members, demands they meet payment obligations (Gack.)
- Trump’s behavior at NATO is a national embarrassment (Actually it’s an international embarrassment.)
- In NATO Speech, Trump Is Vague About Mutual Defense Pledge (Putin is smiling.)
- Trump didn’t say the one thing about NATO he was supposed to say (“His silence on Article 5 is deafening to European leaders.”)
- Trump reportedly calls Germans ‘very bad’, threatens to end German car sales (No Trump, YOU are the one who is “very bad.” Also, I could have sworn that Republicans LIKED free trade, but I guess not!)
- Trump still hasn’t given allied leaders what they want (“As the president arrives in Sicily, allies are still wondering how to bridge the gap with the new U.S. administration on climate, trade — and Russia.”)
- Blow: The Flynn Affair (“It’s time to lay bare this fishy bromance and come to know the full breadth of Flynn’s furtive activities and whether Trump was aware or complicit, before, during or after. Kick back America; it’s Mueller time.”)
- Krugman: Trump’s Contempt (“There is, however, a unifying theme to all these developments. And that theme is contempt — Donald Trump’s contempt for the voters who put him in office.”)
- Montana’s special election: 5 takeaways (It’s a nightmare that anyone would either a) support Trump or b) vote for Gianforte.)
- What Went Down In The Montana Special Election (“Our vantage point is that we’re mostly looking at special elections in terms of how they might predict 2018. A night where Democrats are losing Montana by “only” 6 or 7 points is consistent with the sort of map you might see if Democrats were either taking over the House, or coming pretty close to it.”)
- Trump’s budget completely misses the point (“The White House fiscal plan ignores the reality of the United States’ predicament.”)
- TrumpBeat: A Budget With Math Errors And A Fraction Of A Wall (Totally incompetent PLUS evil — what a combo!)
- GOP turns gloomy over Obamacare repeal (“Senate Republicans leave for recess uncertain they can craft a plan that improves on the House bill and gets 50 votes.”)
- Michael Gerson: The conservative mind has become diseased (“Conspiracy delusions figure prominently in the discrediting madness that has seized the movement.”)
- How Saudi Arabia played Donald Trump (“The administration’s foreign policy puts Saudis, not Americans, first.” In stark contrast, Barack Obama put AMERICA first.)
- In America, attacks on the press are turning literal
- European Visits by Trump and Obama: a Study in Contrasts (“It was a coincidence of scheduling for the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, but the difference in the receptions of the former and the current presidents was telling.”)
- Researchers say they’ve uncovered a disinformation campaign with apparent Russian link
- How Alleged Russian Hacker Teamed Up With Florida GOP Operative (“Political consultant Aaron Nevins received documents from hacker ‘Guccifer 2.0’ and posted some on his blog”)
- Obama receives rock star welcome in Germany as he appears alongside Merkel and says ‘we can’t hide behind a wall’
- Fox News Is Losing Its Grip (“The network is desperately downplaying the biggest political drama of our time—and viewers are tuning out.”)
- GOP strategist admits he colluded with Russian hackers to hurt Hillary Clinton, Democrats
- The Trump administration just lost its best chance at a legal win on the travel ban (“The Fourth Circuit was supposed to be Trump’s best hope to go to the Supreme Court with judicial support. Instead, it delivered yet another smackdown.”)
- Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals Slams Trump Muslim Ban: “drips with religious intolerance, animus, and discrimination”
- Virginia federal appeals court bans Trump’s second Muslim travel ban
- As gas pipelines roil Virginia governor’s race, regulators backtrack on their role (These “regulators” are a joke.)
- Gillespie’s frontrunner strategy: Stay away from the other guys (“The last debate with all three Republican candidates for governor was April 22, more than seven weeks removed from the June 13 primary. The reason? According to the two other campaigns and a potential debate organizer, frontrunner Ed Gillespie either isn’t interested, or isn’t available.”)
- Outgoing Speaker Howell skewers colleagues, self at VPAP fundraiser (Awww…ain’t that sweet.)
- McAuliffe signs bill on drivers license suspensions
- This Democrat’s crude Facebook jokes have party leaders trying to push him out of primary (It’s funny how long it takes the corporate media to figure this stuff out. Many of us knew about his Twitter and Facebook posts months ago, back in mid-March.)
- Lieutenant governor hopeful Susan Platt calls for taking down all Confederate monuments in Va. (Absolutely — good riddance.)
- More money for Metro? Republican Senators say they need convincing (Seriously??? Vote these idiots OUT OF OFFICE this November!)
- Richmond-based Interfaith Center asks McAuliffe to pardon second immigrant facing deportation
- McEachin writes Carson after pregnant woman falls from Essex Village balcony
- Stoney’s City Hall review points to old problems: Excessive bureaucracy, low morale, micromanagement
- Editorial: Accountability and reform in wake of jail death
- HRT budget outlook predicts declining ridership, and cities may have to pick up more of the tab
- Clearing and breezy today ahead of a periodically damp Memorial Day weekend
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