by Lowell
Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Saturday, October 28.
- First on CNN: First charges filed in Mueller investigation
- Conservative website first paid research firm that later produced explosive Trump dossier (“The Washington Free Beacon said it paid Fusion GPS for research on Republican candidates in the 2016 presidential race — setting in motion a chain of events leading to the dossier alleging ties between Trump associates and Russia. Two people familiar with billionaire GOP donor Paul Singer said he gives financial support to the publication.” Why am I not surprised?)
- Conservative Site Was First to Hire ‘Steele Dossier’ Firm (“The Washington Free Beacon, financed by a major G.O.P. donor, retained Fusion GPS to find information intended to sink Donald J. Trump’s campaign.”)
- Catalonia finally declared independence — but Spain vows it won’t last long (I’ve been to Catalonia – a beautiful place – and this is not good at all.)
- The Mueller Charges Remind Us That His Investigation Is About Criminality
- Republicans are running out of justifications for their tax plan
- Trump To Announce Pick For Fed Reserve Chair Next Week (This could finally tank the stock markets…)
- Powerful U.S. Attorney Who Also Serves In Top DOJ Role To Step Down (“As U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Boente has overseen a number of key investigations and prosecutions, and the office has been involved in the federal Russian election meddling investigation.”)
- Dana Boente, U.S. attorney for Eastern District of Virginia, resigns
- Puerto Rico’s contract with Trump-connected firm sets off alarm bells in Washington (“Contract prevents federal government from auditing ‘cost and profit elements.'” Naked, wild corruption.)
- Pence to U.S. troops on North Korea: ‘Be ready’ (That’s not reassuring at all.)
- Texans players considered walkout over Bob McNair comment (“Some Texans players considered staging a walkout following a comment by team owner Bob McNair that compared NFL players to ‘inmates,’ a source told ESPN.” FYI, McNair gave $102,500 to Ed Gillespie. I wonder if Gillespie will condemn these remarks and donate the money to charity?)
- GOP tax bill shrouded in secrecy (“Days ahead of the plan’s release, even rank-and-file Republicans are alarmed that they’re being kept in the dark.” The question is, what do they have to hide? My guess is A LOT!))
- Will sex assault allegations finally erase the journalistic blight of Mark Halperin? (“NBC News’ star commentator has now been accused of inappropriate behavior by 8 separate women. Game changer?”)
- Freedom for the few: Fighting the right’s constricted notion of liberty (“Conservatives love to talk about ‘liberty’ and ‘freedom.’ Their definition of those terms is callous and negative” And extremely cynical.)
- Facebook Is Finally Fixing the Ad System That Let Russia Secretly Influence Elections
- The National Crackup (“Most Americans now feel their own group faces discrimination, according to a new NPR poll. A majority of whites say that discrimination exists against whites, even though a majority have not personally experienced it. This is a tragic result of the retreat to tribal quarters, pushed by extremists on both sides. If it persists, the United States that Obama celebrated cannot hold. The breaking point is now.”)
- Billionaire Republicans Privately Diss Trump (“He’s amusing as my friend, but not as prez”)
- This Is What the Trump Abyss Looks Like
- How Twitter Killed the First Amendment (“The amendment has withered in the face of troll armies, government censorship and fake news. Can anything be done?”)
- Virginia’s GOP Governor Hopeful Takes Aim At Voting Rights Again
- Virginia governor’s race polls gyrate, an example of guesswork over who will show up to vote on Nov. 7
- Editorial: The Richmond Times-Dispatch endorses Ed Gillespie for governor (This endorsement by the loony-tunes, far-right Republican Times-Disgrace editorial board is a great reason to vote for…Ralph Northam!)
- Editorial: Voters should ignore the ads and think for themselves (Spare me the “both sides” crap, but definitely ignore Gillespie’s race-baiting, fear-mongering ads. Or better yet, vote against Gillespie BECAUSE you’ve seen his disgusting ads!)
- Northam strikes back: New commercial blasts Gillespie attack ads as ‘despicable’
- To become Virginia’s governor in Trump’s America, Gillespie embraces culture wars
- New ad accuses Ralph Northam of being proud of helping sex offenders (Disgusting; let’s hope this backfires on Gillespie.)
- Forum highlights perils of fossil fuels, pipelines and feeling disempowered
- Mountain Valley sues landowners to gain pipeline easements and access through eminent domain
- Tom Mathews, liberal fundraiser who championed outsider politicians, dies at 96
- Virginia appoints commissioners to new Metro safety organization
- Virginia Tech endowment hits $1 billion mark
- George Washington’s Virginia church taking down his memorial (Wait, what? George Washington, who scholars consistently rank as our nation’s greatest president???)
- Feds recommend $1.8 billion in upgrades for Norfolk flooding. But none of them is funded yet.
- Hits & Misses: Peninsula explosion largely ignored
- Cloudier today, then showery tonight ahead of a rainy, windy and raw Sunday
