by Lowell
Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Thursday, July 19.
- Trump Threatens Auto Tariffs Despite Widespread Opposition
- Trump Goes After Montenegro, a ‘Tiny Country’ With ‘Aggressive People’ (“Fresh off of meeting with Vladimir Putin, the U.S. president again questions NATO commitment”)
- Trump Struggles to Explain Putin Posture as Zigzag Worries Aides
- Trump Weighing Putin’s Bonkers Plan to Let Russia Interrogate U.S. Diplomat
- U.S. Officials ‘at a Fucking Loss’ Over Latest Russia Sellout (“Current and former American diplomats are expressing disgust and horror over the White House’s willingness to entertain permitting Russian officials to question a prominent former U.S. ambassador.”)
- From the Start, Trump Has Muddied a Clear Message: Putin Interfered (Putin attacked our democracy.)
- Trump tries to douse Putin storm — but his cleanup tests credulity
- Time for Republicans to Grow a Spine (“Some Republicans say President Trump embarrassed himself and the country in his meeting with Vladimir Putin. Here’s what they can do about it.”)
- Blow: ‘Sort of a Double Negative’ (“Is a Trump-led America still a democracy as we understand it? Is it still an independent country? Is he accountable to the American public or to a foreign republic?”)
- As Russians describe ‘verbal agreements’ at summit, U.S. officials scramble for clarity
- Trump Tries To Walk Back Disastrous Helsinki Performance In CBS Interview
- Only This President* Could Make Montenegro a Foreign Policy Problem (“It just happens to be a problem that lines up with Russia’s view on things.”)
- Russia’s not meddling? Then explain Maria Butina. (“Maria Butina isn’t part of Mueller’s investigation, but she is in U.S. custody.”)
- The stench from Trump’s execrable performance grows ever more putrid (“Republicans have gone from denouncing useful idiots to becoming useful idiots.”)
- Trump’s worst moment since Charlottesville (“His retraction of his retraction on Russia is his presidency in a nutshell.”)
- Trump’s Plot Against America (“Much as Trump’s behavior is ratifying the alternative history speculations of Philip Roth, so the Butina subplot lends further credence to Richard Condon, whose Cold War masterpiece, The Manchurian Candidate, posited that Russia’s most sustained attack on America would be cloaked in right-wing rhetoric and fronted by right-wing politicians.”)
- Trump’s damage control falters
- Trump’s Russia spin falls flat with GOP
- Putin wants to silence one of his biggest critics. Trump is eager to help. (“As Putin tries to stifle Bill Browder, Trump champions the Russian strongman’s agenda.” Fundamentally, this is the fault of a) everyone who voted for and still supports Trump; b) the Republican Party)
- In Celebrating Nelson Mandela, Barack Obama Indicts Trumpism
- The NRA Has Deep Ties to Accused Russian Spy Maria Butina
- VA purges, reassigns staffers perceived to be disloyal to Trump before new secretary starts (Completely unacceptable.)
- Senate GOP breaks record on confirming Trump picks for key court (This is disastrous.)
- Trump-regret syndrome is spreading among Republicans after Helsinki: How far will it go? (“Many Republicans are turning their backs on Trump after the Helsinki disgrace. Will they come crawling back?”)
- Sarah Sanders thinks you’re dumb. Her spin of Trump’s bizarre Russia comment proves it. (“How stupid does she think people are?”)
- Democrats Need an Unbreakable Presidential Candidate in 2020 (“That means, above all, Democratic candidates for president should be thoroughly and fearlessly vetted for missteps or misstatements that could become dangerously dominant in a general election campaign…Democrats owe it to their voters and their country to make sure victory in 2020 is not squandered by a presidential nominating process that produces a divided party or a fragile nominee.”)
- This email from accused Russian spy Maria Butina did not age well (“I’m sorry to disappoint you, but there is no international conspiracy at work…”)
- Zuckerberg believes Holocaust deniers are simply misinformed (Zuckerberg is an imbecile and his creation, Facebook, is fatally flawed.)
- Mark Zuckerberg Doesn’t Want to Ban Holocaust Deniers or Sandy Hook Truthers (Zuckerberg is a fucktard.)
- European Union fines Google record-breaking $5 billion
- Trump’s Botched Putin Summit May Help Protect the Russia Probe
- House GOP refuses to renew election security funding as Democrats fume over Russian interference (Republicans: Party Over Patriotism)
- Guns, God And Trump: How An Accused Russian Agent Wooed US Conservatives (“It’s hard to tell how much of the story 29-year old Maria Butina told Americans about herself for years is real. But it’s clear that her persona — a scrappy girl from Siberia fighting for Russian gun rights — was carefully calibrated to appeal to US conservatives.”)
- A GOP congressman once lamented not being able to call women ‘sluts’ anymore
- Measure to split California into three states removed from ballot by the state Supreme Court
- Brett Kavanaugh Is Impressively Unpopular, But Not With the People Who Will Confirm Him
- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Scares Joe Lieberman. Good. (“She has made mistakes, as any new politician will, but this isn’t one of them.”)
- FBI Director Christopher Wray reaffirms Russia continues to try to meddle in U.S. elections (This word “meddle” is super weak; try “attack.”)
- Abigail Spanberger expects Trump’s Helsinki controversy to linger in bid to oust Dave Brat
- Photos: Crowds gather for a candlelight vigil outside of Dave Brat’s office
- Bluegrass and blue jeans: Kaine, Wexton rally Loudoun Democrats at B Chord Brewing Company
- Eileen Woll: It’s time to harness offshore wind energy (“While Dominion still dominates energy policy in Virginia, strong leadership from Northam can make it impossible for Dominion to continue its noncommittal, slow-walk on developing offshore wind.”)
- Editorial: What was Griffith thinking? We asked him. (“How will all this play politically in the 9th District, a district where Trump took 69 percent of the vote and where Griffith faces a re-election challenge from Democrat Anthony Flaccavento? Is this an opportunity for Flaccavento to outflank Griffith and take a harder line against Moscow?”)
- State board clears local jails of responsibility in 23 deaths but won’t release details of investigations
- Flaccavento: A high court for the high and mighty (“Donald Trump and leading Republicans talk a good game when it comes to working folks vs Washington elites. But the proof is in the pudding. The Supreme Court they’ve built couldn’t be more adversarial to everyday people.”)
- Editorial: Finally, a glimpse of sunshine in Virginia
- Whitescarver: Governor Northam, these pipelines aren’t being done ‘right’ (“If Dominion can’t follow directions to cut a tree down, how can we trust them to follow directions with the largest fracked gas pipeline in Virginia and the largest soil disturbance since the interstate highways were built? The truth is we can’t.”)
- Back to school at one Virginia district: Teachers with guns (“After a school board vote, rural Lee County was set to be first in the state to arm educators.”)
- Public could pay $10 million for redistricting lawsuits
- Portsmouth jurors find Mark Whitaker guilty of felony forgery – but recommend no jail time
- World’s largest oyster reef restoration continues on the Piankatank River
- Debate over Fairfax school security continues as vote nears (“The school board vote is scheduled for July 26.”)
- Prosecutors claim congressional candidate lied to investors, falsified campaign finance documents (“Brown’s jury trial starts July 24 in Norfolk.”)
- Richmond City Council mulling own analysis of arena redevelopment proposal
- Dry weather through Friday, but tropical air this weekend brings shower chances
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