by Lowell
Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, March 23.
- H.R. McMaster is out as national security adviser, to be replaced by John Bolton (“In a move that could lead to dramatic changes in the administration’s approach to crises around the world, the president said in a tweet that he was naming Bolton — a former U.N. ambassador, Fox News commentator and conservative firebrand — as his third national security adviser.” Very bad news.)
- N. Korea Experts Tear Into Bolton: ‘He’s Never Met A Country He Hasn’t Wanted To Destroy’
- In late-night drama, Senate passes spending bill, averting shutdown (“The bill now heads to President Trump, and the White House has said he will sign it. The Senate vote occurred early Friday morning after hours of delay because of a last-minute complication. The 2,232-page bill gives huge increases to military and domestic programs, abandoning Republicans’ claims of fiscal discipline.”)
- China threatens to raise tariffs on about $3 billion of U.S. imports
- China urges U.S. away from ‘brink’ as Trump picks trade weapons
- Asia markets slump as fears of trade war mount
- Dow Jones industrials drop 723 points, or 2.9 percent, as worries over trade tensions with China rattle markets (Trump is working hard to destroy the great economy he inherited from President Obama, and he might just succeed.)
- Winners and losers from the $1.3T omnibus (“The bill provides a significant boost to domestic spending, as Schumer, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) and other Democrats in both chambers had leverage with Republicans needing their votes.”)
- House Republicans grumble about the ‘worst process ever’
- Government knows DNC hacker was Russian intel officer: report (Ding! Ding! Ding!
- It’s Time to Panic Now (“John Bolton’s appointment as national security adviser puts us on a path to war.”)
- Nobody Is Left to Save the World From Trump Now
- John Bolton’s Incompetence May Be More Dangerous Than His Ideology
- Trump Is Sabotaging His Chance for a Peaceful North Korea Solution
- 3 Examples of John Bolton’s Longtime Hard-Line Views (This is not going to end well.)
- Trump’s Half-Baked China Tariffs
- McMaster Is Out, an Even Bigger North Korea Hawk Is In
- Add another zealot to the White House
- John Bolton’s appointment is a fitting coda to conservatism’s failures
- Dems urge Trump to appoint science adviser
- Joe No (“Democrats can do better than Joe Biden in 2020.”)
- Trump and Biden are both openly fantasizing about who would win in a fistfight (My god, just stop.)
- Bolton pick underscores Trump’s foreign policy confusion (“‘It is a very odd choice for someone who says he was against going to war in Iraq,’ says one former Bush administration official. And that’s not the only reason.”)
- The scariest things John Bolton has said (“Trump’s new national security adviser really, really wants to bomb Iran and North Korea.”)
- John Dowd Couldn’t Contain President* Trump, Because No One Can
- Trump launches early morning Twitter attack on Obama blaming him for Russian meddling in election
- McMaster firing upends plan to oust other top Trump officials (“Chief of staff John Kelly had been weighing a single announcement on the departure of Shulkin, McMaster and possibly other officials, including Carson.” Need to get rid of Pruitt and Zinke and…pretty much all of them, come to think of it.)
- How Facebook made it impossible to delete Facebook (“We’ve adapted our entire culture around Facebook. That makes ‘just quitting’ easier said than done.”)
- Parkland Survivors Struggle With Grief, Even As Their Message Spreads (“‘You can’t move on from something like this; nobody ever can,’ survivor David Hogg told HuffPost.”)
- Protests Shut Down Sacramento Kings Game, Freeways Over Stephon Clark’s Death
- The 7,383-Seat Strategy (“Taking inspiration from Virginia, Democrats are finally running to win in the states. But will the party make room for a different kind of candidate?”)
- Virginia cities to join Saturday march against gun violence (“Thousands of students and other demonstrators are expected to march in Richmond and in cities across Virginia and the U.S. on Saturday in a nationwide protest calling for stricter gun laws and an end to mass shootings.”)
- Tim Kaine is looking for a Democratic wave (“We have a real opportunity to make sure this is a wave election in Virginia.”)
- Wittman backs budget agreement, Brat votes no
- Editorial: Bills that could have made a difference in Virginia (There were hundreds of excellent bills killed by Republicans this past session. Vote them out in November 2019.)
- Metro gets third and final ‘yes’ as Maryland commits to its full share of dedicated funding (“With Annapolis joining the District and Richmond in endorsing a deal to provide $500 million a year in permanent funding, Metro will for the first time receive a reliable revenue stream since its trains began rolling in 1976.”)
- Richmond, 3 neighboring counties top 1 million population for the first time, according to latest Census estimates
- Harrison: Did Unfolding Sixth District Listgate Scandal Break RPV Party Rules?
- Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper speaks at Roanoke College
- Virginia does not enforce speed on the Interstate with planes. The signs remain because it would cost more to remove them and possibly put them back up.
- Environmental regulators cite Appalachian Power for releases from Clinch River plant
- Williams: Give new Richmond schools superintendent a chance, but not a free pass
- Hampton Roads is a hub of human trafficking, say experts trying to raise awareness
- More pipeline conflicts play out in Giles County Thursday
- Is Dominion’s Pipeline Violating the Law? (“The Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) hasn’t even gotten final approval yet, but we’re deeply concerned about reports from both state regulators and citizen monitors that Dominion may already be violating its permits. There is no documented need for this pipeline, and certainly no rush. Governor Northam should call a time-out on all pipeline activities until a site-specific analysis has been done to ensure protection of Virginia’s waters.”)
- Atlantic Coast Pipeline plans moving along, environmental concerns remain (Still waiting for Ralph Northam to listen to “the science” on this.)
- Loudoun scores a huge win, and 3,700 new workers, with CBP lease
- Economic development board welcomes ideas for a new Virginia Beach pier
- Most on Hanover School Board signal support for keeping Confederate schools
- Chilly breezes may continue through the weekend. Snowflakes aren’t fully ruled out but unlikely.
