by Lowell
Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, April 13.
- Trump’s lawyer was known for taping conversations, stoking fears the FBI has the recordings
- In memoir, Comey says Trump fixated on disproving lewd dossier allegations (“In a new book, former FBI director James B. Comey describes Trump as having been obsessed with the prostitutes portion of the infamous dossier compiled by a former British intelligence officer, raising it at least four times with the FBI head.” Given Trump’s usual pattern of behavior, this likely means the allegations are true.)
- Comey paints unsparing portrait of Trump in devastating tell-all book
- In sharp reversal, Trump tells officials to look at rejoining TPP amid trade dispute with China
- Paul Ryan forcefully resists calls to step aside for quicker transition to new House speaker
- James Comey Has a Story to Tell. It’s Very Persuasive.
- Comey book likens Trump to mafia boss ‘untethered to truth’ (“Ex-FBI director’s book A Higher Loyalty – seen by the Guardian – calls president ‘unethical’ and compares presidency to a ‘forest fire’” Dumb comparison; forest fires actually lead to new growth, while Trump’s presidency only leads to ruin and wanton destruction.)
- TPP Nations Welcome Trump’s Interest, Don’t Want Renegotiation
- Threat of U.S.-Russia clash hangs over Syria
- Israel and Iran Are Headed for a Collision in Syria
- The Most Revealing Moment in Mike Pompeo’s Confirmation Hearing (“Asked what’s behind bad relations with Russia, the nominee for secretary of state broke with Trump.”)
- Trump, Mueller teams prepare to move forward without presidential interview (“Monday’s raid on Trump’s personal lawyer upended talks for the president to sit down with investigators.”)
- Comey book claims President Trump sought loyalty like mafia boss ‘Sammy the Bull’s’ induction ceremony
- Democrats’ Chances Of Winning The Senate Are Looking Stronger
- 5 eye-popping revelations from James Comey’s book excerpts (“Trump was obsessed with the ‘pee tape,’ and more.”)
- The Donald Trump “love child” payoff scandal, explained (“A doorman claims Trump had a child out of wedlock with his housekeeper — and the National Enquirer paid him $30,000 to shut up.”)
- Trump may try to claw back as much as $60 billion from spending bill (“Budget director Mick Mulvaney is developing a proposal, expected to be released around May 1, to re-open the $1.3 trillion omnibus package.”)
- GOP breaks the glass as House outlook darkens (“The party is scrambling to shore up seats deep in Trump country, where incumbents won by double digits in 2016.”)
- GOP fractures over push to protect Russia probe
- How big of a problem is Ryan’s exit for GOP?
- Pain is the reward: Here’s what pundits keep getting wrong about Trump and his supporters (“Trump’s voters are suffering. They still love him. Mainstream journalists lack any understanding of this pathology”)
- Trump Attacks Comey for Handing Him the Presidency (Bizarre as usual with Trump. Also super boring with the “Lyin'” nickname, which he’s used before. No creativity! LOL)
- James Comey book: 6 new things to know about his highly anticipated memoir
- EPA Whistleblower allegations against Scott Pruitt prompt more calls for ouster
- Paul Ryan Was a Failure, Even on His Own Terms
- The Paul Ryan Story: From Flimflam to Fascism (“The same forces that elevated Ryan brought us to a constitutional crisis.”)
- Enabler in Chief (“Mike Pompeo offered few assurances that he’s willing to stand up to Trump’s worst instincts.”)
- President Trump poised to pardon Scooter Libby, Dick Cheney’s former chief of staff, sources say (Uh, why??)
- The Best Hope for Peace Is Now a Former Wingnut Congresscritter
- Pompeo has convenient memory lapse when asked about potentially incriminating meeting with Trump
- It Is Unbelievable That Missouri’s Governor Is Still in Office (“The allegations against Eric Greitens are horrific, and his reaction isn’t much better.”)
- Michael Cohen asks court to put Stormy Daniels case on ice, invokes 5th Amendment (“Cohen suggests proceeding with the case could be incriminating.”)
- Diamond and Silk’s Facebook censorship claim is a hoax (“The issue dominated a congressional hearing but we checked the numbers: it has no basis in fact.”)
- 12 senators call on FCC to investigate Sinclair Broadcasting for ‘deliberately distorting news’ (“The letter comes after Sinclair began requiring its anchors to read right-wing propaganda on air.”)
- Why the new National Enquirer story matters — whether or not Trump had a child outside of marriage (“The National Enquirer’s parent company reportedly forced the man to sign a contract threatening him with a $1 million penalty if he ever spoke out.”)
- Senator Booker just destroyed Pompeo on his Islamophobia and homophobia (“Do you believe gay sex is a perversion, yes or no?”)
- House Rejects Goodlatte Balanced Budget Amendment (More bad legislation from BADlatte.)
- Summit Of The Americas Begins, Minus 1 American: Trump
- Is Sean Hannity coordinating with the White House? (“Hannity denies it, but Hannity is also a liar”)
- Coal Lobbyist Becomes No. 2 Official at EPA, Just Behind Pruitt (Appalling.)
- New commerce and trade secretary highlights goals of Northam administration
- Our view: Virginia needs to approve Medicaid expansion now
- D.C. and Virginia should stop the secrecy about Amazon’s HQ2 (“The District and Virginia are among those that have refused to disclose the details of their offers out of a belief that showing their hands would put them at a competitive disadvantage.”)
- Regulatory board cracks open door for more review of pipeline projects (“…with the Atlantic Coast and Mountain Valley pipelines advancing rapidly toward construction, the State Water Control Board cracked open the door for more review of those water crossings. The board on Thursday approved a 30-day period to solicit comment on whether the approvals the corps granted for the projects under Nationwide Permit 12 are adequate to protect Virginia waterways from the blasting, drilling and trenching that crossing them could entail.”)
- Va. state senator who visited Assad defends Syrian president in General Assembly (Yet again, the corporate media gets to a story days after we do.)
- Va. revenues dipped in March, but remain up for fiscal year
- And then there were two … 2nd district Democratic primary list narrows
- Editorial: What we learned about Roanoke council candidates at The Park
- Housing Discrimination Rife In D.C. Region 50 Years After Fair Housing Became Law
- Editorial: The Confederate school-name controversy (Wow, for once I agree with the right-wing RTD editorial page: “white students should object just as much — because the Confederates defended a cause hostile to basic human rights. That is reason enough for anyone to find them unworthy of perpetual honor.”)
- Capitals open postseason with a thud, fall to Blue Jackets in OT
- Breezy but warm through tomorrow. Rain arrives Sunday, then temperatures drop.
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