by Lowell
Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Sunday, July 23.
- Trump asserts his ‘complete power to pardon’ as he again attacks ‘fake news’ (Republicans have a stark choice here between party or patriotism.)
- ISIS nearly stumbled on ingredients for ‘dirty bomb’ in Iraq (“When the Islamic State overran Mosul in 2014, it laid claim to a bonanza of weapons, but the most fearsome ones were never used: two caches of cobalt-60, the core ingredient of a weapon that could spread radiation. Why the terrorist group failed to use it is not clear, but some risk remains: ISIS stragglers are still loose in the Iraqi city, and the material exists in hundreds of cities around the world, some in conflict zones.”)
- Congress Agrees on Sanctions for Russia, Defying White House
- The Mooch and the Mogul (“President Trump has finally found a courtier who can give him the buttery, boundless respect he craves. A wealthy mini-me Manhattan bro with wolfy smile and slick coif who will say anything and flip any position. A self-promoter extraordinaire and master salesman who doesn’t mind pushing a bad product — and probably sees it as more fun. For ego gratification, Trump has struck gold — or Goldman Sachs — with his appointment of Wall Street hedge fund guy and cable TV diva Anthony Scaramucci as White House communications director.”)
- Read Anthony Scaramucci’s old tweets. You’ll understand why he deleted them.
- Krugman: Our Twin Crises (“Clearly the most important thing happening in and to America right now is the constitutional crisis. Not potential crisis: it’s already here…This is way worse than Nixon – yet all indications are that the moral rot of the Republican Party now runs so deep that the constitutional answer to a rogue president is null and void. This is an existential threat to the republic, and it can be hard to focus on anything else.”)
- Jill Stein looped into widening investigation of Russia and Trump Jr. connections (Perfect example of a “useful idiot.”)
- The GOP Health-Care Bill’s Byrd Rule Dilemma (“The Senate parliamentarian’s rejection of important provisions of the GOP’s Obamacare repeal bill puts its status in further jeopardy.”)
- The Latest: Trump calls aircraft carrier a symbol of power (As Trump rapidly undermines America’s power in almost every other way.)
- McConnell’s last-ditch Obamacare strategy (“The Senate leader is forcing doomed Obamacare vote — and backlash could revive it.”)
- Sanders keeping door open on 2020
- Democrats are still chasing rural white voters, and it’s a strategy doomed to fail (“Instead of chasing down white voters who are committed to culture war, Democrats need to energize their base” Why not try to do both?)
- 6 Months in, Is Trump’s America Living Up to Liberals’ Worst Fears? (“Six months in, this republic’s still ours — and we appear intent on keeping it.”)
- McCain’s Former Primary Challenger Calls for Him to Resign Following Cancer Diagnosis (Disgusting, even by Teapublican standards.)
- The Crisis Is Upon Us (“This is a crisis. It will escalate dramatically when Trump fires Robert Mueller. Then the Congress will become the only failsafe in the way to extra-constitutional rule.”)
- Naval Ceremony Turns Political After Donald Trump Asks Crowd To Call Congress (“The president asked the crowd, including military members, for ‘a little hand’ in getting his budget passed.” Just imagine if Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton had done this.)
- Kaine defends Obamacare at Roanoke College
- Candidates for Virginia Governor Employ Trump as a Barometer
- At first debate, Northam calls Trump ‘a dangerous man’ as Gillespie says ‘resistance’ could hurt Virginia (We all need to “resist” Ed Gillespie and his extreme ticket mates.)
- Gubernatorial debate begins with debate on Trump
- In first debate, Gillespie and Northam tangle over Trump and other issues (“The Virginia gubernatorial hopefuls have vastly different views, but they managed to keep a respectful tone during the event.”)
- What Jim Vance meant to me (“Vance was, of course, in a class by himself. The rest of us newsies just tagged along.”)
- Editorial: Here’s another way North Carolina is out-hustling Virginia (“The best that Yost could get through a hyper-cautious Virginia General Assembly was a research program; North Carolina law is specifically written to encourage commercialization. And that’s why, right now, there’s a 5,200-square-foot building going up in Asheboro, North Carolina, that may be the nation’s first food processing plant for hemp.”)
- Remote Area Medical founder: Donald Trump should be here
- With lower fares and more amenities, BWI lures D.C. region’s travelers
- Mitch McConnell ignored us again (“But if McConnell doesn’t care about his own constituents, why would he care about us?”)
- Editorial: For a change, there’s real competition in Virginia House races this year
- Smart cars to be tested on Interstate 95 express lanes
- Singing the praises of city’s walking and biking trails, as popular as any amenity in area
- Editorial: For St. Paul’s plan to work, Norfolk must do better
- Hot and humid today with more strong storms possible; a little more comfortable by midweek
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