Monday News: Trump to Foolishly Scuttle Iran Deal?; In Today’s GOP, ‘The fringe guys are no longer fringe’”; Will Sen. Barbara Favola Host “Red” as Her Guest for a Day in the State Senate?

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Monday, May 7. As for the Sen. Barbara Favola story, it’s very funny IMHO. As Ben “Not Larry Sabato” Tribbett explained yesterday afternoon: “Tonight is big @FairfaxDems dinner- and various elected officials donated items to the auction. Horrified at what Senator @BarbaraFavola sent in- she is literally auctioning off an *official* introduction on the Senate floor and inside access to her office for the day.” Favola responded on Twitter, “I am horrified as well. I never approved this auction item and I asked that the item be pulled!” So then a guy named Brian White “submitted the winning bid and am requesting that @BarbaraFavola honor my bid and give Red introduction from the senate floor, access to committees and her office for the day.” LOL!

• Cambridge Analytica kept Facebook data models through US election (“Exclusive: Social network failed to make firm delete valuable models derived from data until campaign was over”)
• Boris Johnson: Don’t Scuttle the Iran Nuclear Deal (“Mr. Johnson, the British foreign secretary, will be in Washington this week for talks with the Trump administration.”)
• Israel and Iran Issue Warnings as Nuclear Deal Deadline Nears (Clearly Bibi, Bolton and Bozo – Trump, that is – want war.)
• The End of a Nuclear North Korea Will Be Difficult to Verify
• Final Pitches Coming as Trump Weighs Whether to Exit Iran Deal (Does anyone have any confidence in Trump to actually have a clue what he’s doing and/or to do the right thing?)
• NAFTA talks enter critical week with U.S. still pushing hard line
• Rudy Giuliani: Cohen might have paid other women for Trump ‘if necessary’
• Nunes, in spat with Justice Department, threatens Sessions with contempt over Russia materials (Nunes is a menace to America.)
• Giuliani: I’m ‘focused on the law more than the facts right now’ (Ha!)
• Gina Haspel sought to withdraw nomination to be CIA director
• Giuliani Says Trump Could Plead the 5th, Doesn’t Have to Comply With Mueller Subpoena (Pleading the 5th in this case definitely means Trump has something – probably a great deal – to hide.)
• Republican Fears About Holding The Senate Start To Sink In (“Most still think it’s a better than even chance that they do keep the Senate — albeit narrowly — but it’s no longer out of the realm of possibility that the upper chamber could change hands, especially given the volatility of the GOP’s two-seat majority.”)
• Trump’s GOP ‘warriors’ lead charge against Mueller (One of them is Virginia’s Bob BADlatte. Ugh.)
• Once-safe GOP lawmakers are struggling for a survival strategy
• No wonder there’s an exodus from religion (“Jesuitgate and Trumpian hypocrisy show how politics is driving people from church.”)
• Michelle Obama on 2016 election: ‘What is going on in our heads where we let that happen?’ (Many of us tried to make sure it didn’t happen.)
• Israeli Operatives Who Aided Harvey Weinstein Collected Information on Former Obama Administration Officials (That should be a major scandal, but these days, I bet it won’t be.)
• Where the Story of Trump’s $400 Million Cash Spending Could Go Next
• White fear elected Trump: Political scientist Diana Mutz on the “status threat” hypothesis (“‘Economic anxiety’ had nothing to do with the 2016 election, study finds. White people felt they were under threat” Bingo.)
• House Democrats Plan to Release 3,000 Russian-Linked Facebook Ads (“Lawmakers on House Intelligence Committee could release trove of ads as soon as this week”)
• Dershowitz: Giuliani playing into prosecutors’ hands
• Juan Williams: Trump’s useful idiots
• Sessions is Trump survivor — and punching bag
• This Ex-Con Coal Baron Is Reportedly Within Striking Distance of West Virginia’s GOP Senate Nomination (“National Republicans are panicked about a Roy Moore vs. Doug Jones repeat.”)
• What’s At Stake In The First Big Primary Day Of 2018 (“Regardless of whoever emerges with the nomination, the real winner of the Republican primary could be Donnelly, whose campaign will have ample opposition research to deploy no matter whom it faces. Any of the three Republicans would likely emerge from the primary a weakened — and less wealthy — candidate for the general, but make no mistake: This will be a competitive race regardless.”)
• ‘The fringe guys are no longer fringe’: Watch John Oliver take on racist ex-con who is now leading Republican senate candidate
• Racist ex-con poised to win Republican bid for West Virginia senate seat — threatens third-party run and slams Donald Trump Jr
• In the Year of the Woman, These Are the Races to Watch (“Barbara Comstock is near the top of the list of vulnerable House Republicans in November…The race is a bellwether for the attempt by Democrats to retake control of the House.”)
• Warner, Kaine announce $2.1 million to preserve historic battlefields in Virginia
• Qarni and Gecker column: Appreciating Virginia’s teachers – more than just one week a year
• Pamela Northam: Remember to thank a teacher
• Northam ‘stands behind parole board’ regarding Jens Soering case
• Politically active Va. inmate, now in solitary, transferred three times after complaints about prisons (WTF?)
• The Charles Koch Foundation paid to pull strings at George Mason. It’s time for transparency. (It’s time for action by state legislators.)
• Editorial: Virginia House panel must talk about guns
• Editorial: How Bob Goodlatte just saved the music industry (Wait, what? BADlatte actually did something good for once in his godawful career?)
• Hampton Watch campaign material sparks reaction
• Richmond budget deliberations put City Hall’s divisions on display
• Ships Unearthed in Virginia Offer Glimpse of Colonial Era
• Claude Moore Colonial Farm in McLean could close after National Park Service dispute (Here’s the top-rated comment on the WaPo article: “This situation REALLY needs to be fixed. Let’s not take something terrific and throw it away. The Department of the Interior and the National Park Service have much bigger fish to fry, than to destroy something small, lively, and good that works well and serves the community. This is a special treasure for our area that is beloved, has many participants and volunteers, is in fine condition, and should not be destroyed by personality disputes or bureaucratic indignation.”)
• A great week of weather, though we turn toasty toward the end