Friday News: Russia-U.S. Relations Go from Bad to Worse; Veterans Affairs “in Turmoil”; Pipelines “All risks and no benefits for Virginians”

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, March 30.

• Russia expels diplomats in tit-for-tat action over Salisbury attack
• The U.S. and Russia Are Caught in a Downward Spiral
• Mueller just connected a top Trump campaign staffer to Russian intelligence (“During the campaign, Paul Manafort was talking to a man tied to Russian spying.”)
• Putin just kicked out 150 Western diplomats. What comes next could be much worse. (“Relations are now at an even worse place than they were before.”)
• Lauren Hogg and David Hogg fight back against Laura Ingraham’s bullying (“David Hogg is calling for people to contact Ingraham’s Fox News advertisers. Here are some recent ones.”)
• Ronny Jackson’s Disturbing Lack of Independence (“He’s a friendly, affable physician. Which is why he shouldn’t be in charge of the Department of Veterans Affairs.”)
• Trump’s VA pick blindsides staff, deepens agency disarray (“‘He’s got a department that’s in turmoil,’ a former VA secretary says. ‘It’s in crisis.’”)
• Why Robert Mueller could be considering bribery charges
• Funeral For Stephon Clark Held As Sacramento Unrest Continues
• Surprise: Trump’s newest Cabinet nominee has no relevant experience
• This madness will pass. Conservatives can’t give up. (“Anti-Trump conservatives must not make peace.”)
• Advertisers Ditch Laura Ingraham After She Mocks Parkland Activist (Why the f*** would anyone have EVER advertised on her show, or on Hannity or any other Fox hatefest? That needs to stop.)
• E.P.A. Set to Roll Back Rules Forcing Cars to Be Cleaner (The Environmental DESTRUCTION Agency.)
• Making public lands white again: Ryan Zinke’s special brand of environmental racism (Who’s more despicable, Zinke or Pruitt?)
• Facebook VP wrote site’s actions were ‘de facto good’ – even if they led to deaths (Comments like that make me think it might be better if Facebook were broken up or even shut down.)
• When Facebook ‘Disrupts’ Journalism, It Degrades Our Democracy (Yep.)
• The Conservative Plot to Oust an Able V.A. Secretary
• Trump tells aides not to talk publicly about Russia policy moves (“But Trump, irked by Putin’s nuclear buildup, told him last week: ‘If you want to have an arms race we can do that, but I’ll win.'”)
• Hillary Clinton fires back at critics: No one told a man who lost an election to shut up
• How Much Taxpayer Money Has Scott Walker Wasted Fighting Courts That Told Him to Do His Job? (“Wisconsin Republicans will do anything to tamp down on democracy.”)
• Federal workers spill on life in Trump’s Washington (“From marital strife to high anxiety, civil servants reveal how the Trump administration has changed agency life.”)
• The Conservative Coddling of Scott Pruitt (“By allowing the EPA chief to spread false claims about his frivolous spending, right-wing journalists are failing the taxpayers they purport to protect.”)
• Laura Ingraham, Facing Boycott, Apologizes for Taunting Parkland Survivor David Hogg (She only “apologized” – in air quotes – because she was hemmorrhaging advertisers.)
• GOP tax message hits a snag (“A CNBC poll this week stated that just 32 percent of working adults reported having more take-home pay due to the new law, a problem for Republicans hoping to run on the measure and the health of the economy in November.”)
• Trump’s lawyer has a lawyer and he just made the Stormy Daniels situation a lot worse (“A disastrous interview on CNN.”)
• Pentagon says White House helped draft transgender military ban, contradicting White House’s claim
• The Census’s New Citizenship Question Could Hurt Communities That Are Already Undercounted
• Trump Announces We’re Leaving Syria ‘Very Soon.’ Hopefully, He Didn’t Mean It. (Just imagine if Obama had said something like this; the right wingnuts would be going…well, nuts!)
• Sessions declines to appoint second special counsel
• Freeda Cathcart column: All risks and no benefits for Virginians (“The Department of Environmental Quality should revoke permits for the Mountain Valley Pipeline and the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. New information makes it clear that Virginians are being asked to bear all of the risks and receive none of the benefits from the natural gas infrastructure.” Absolutely. And they should do it immediately.)
• Virginia Supreme Court issues decision concerning businesses and renewable energy (“Time and again, we’ve seen Dominion throw up roadblocks to prevent customers from directly accessing renewable energy. The Virginia Supreme Court today made clear that Dominion cannot control or impede the renewable energy industry, which is adding jobs faster than almost any other industry in the nation. If customers want clean energy, they have a right to get it, regardless of what the utilities say.”)
• Opinion/Editorial: Pipeline incidents are disquieting (“With Dominion Energy already cast as the bad guy in the minds of many Virginians, perhaps permanently damaging its corporate image, you’d think the company would act more circumspectly in launching its pipeline project.” Perhaps? “Cast as the bad guy?” This is how a right-wing editorial board opines. LOL)
• Supreme Court rules against Dominion in solar case (“The court upheld an earlier decision by state regulators allowing large customers to purchase 100 percent renewable energy from an independent producer without restrictions.”)
• Why Northam and Warner went to a school to talk about health care (“The current and former governor say Medicaid savings could be used for K-12 education.”)
• Republican Medicaid expanders in Va. say backlash is milder than expected (“But conservatives targeting them say expanders just aren’t listening.”)
• Virginia finance secretary doubts state can protect bond rating without Medicaid expansion
• Virginia could become the first southern state to launch a carbon market (“It would join an emissions-trading program started by northeastern states.”)
• Virginia Transportation Agency Faces Corruption Claims (“Seven people who pleaded guilty to a bribery scheme involving Virginia Department of Transportation officials and snowplow contractors say corruption is endemic to the agency.”)
• Drugs, lies, bribery exposed in Virginia’s transportation agency
• Bert Mizusawa Fails to Make GOP Ballot (This guy simply doesn’t have his act together when it comes to politics.)
• Hampton congressional candidate reports $1 million-plus investment (“A congressional hopeful under indictment for defrauding the government, and who has asked for a court-appointed attorney so she can sue the government in turn, has told federal ethics monitors that she had an income of $1 million to $5 million last year.”)
• Dredging up the money for Hodges’ waterways bills
• Editorial: Medicaid expansion or an SCC appointment? (Medicaid expansion yes. Watkins to the SCC, no.)
• HRT gets a mix of legislative misses and hopes for future
• Mountain Valley Pipeline protester charged with blocking Forest Service road
• Financial Ties with Dunbar Prompt Call for Chairman Sayre’s Resignation
• U.S. Sen. Mark Warner visits CVCC, speaks with dual enrollment students
• Joe Morrissey cleared of misconduct charges related to Doug Wilder’s slavery museum after Wilder doesn’t show up
• Williams: Poverty should not be treated like a crime. A new Richmond group seeks relief for those who cannot afford bail.
• Showers today, maybe even some thunder. Clearing out tonight, and sunny tomorrow.