by Lowell
Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Monday, Christmas Eve, December 24.
- Death Toll Rises, Hundreds Dead After Tsunami Hits Indonesia
- Seething over coverage, Trump forces out Mattis two months early (“The president, who aides say has been frustrated by news of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis’s scathing resignation letter, abruptly said he was removing Mattis on Jan. 1 and installing Patrick Shanahan as acting defense secretary.”)
- Stock Market Rout Has Trump Fixated on Fed Chair Powell (“President Trump has unabashedly hitched his political fortunes to a rising stock market. Now, with stock prices in retreat, he has become fixated on the idea that Jerome H. Powell, chairman of the Federal Reserve, is to blame.” In fact, Trump should look in the mirror.)
- Government shutdown could last into new year
- Trump’s pick for acting defense secretary steps into spotlight (“Patrick Shanahan, a former Boeing executive, has no military experience, no previous government experience and little experience with foreign policy.”)
- Trump’s week of tumult shakes many in GOP (Whatever, the only thing that matters is what – if anything – they DO about it.)
- Trump Rings in the New Year in the Worst Possible Way (Michael Bloomberg: “One week sums up a failing presidency.”)
- Treasury secretary startles Wall Street with calls to bank CEOs (“In an unusual move, Steven Mnuchin contacted the heads of the biggest U.S. banks to confirm they are financially sound and not experiencing excessive financial stress.”)
- Top Trump official calls bankers, will convene ‘Plunge Protection Team’
- Trump Sees Winning Hand as Critics See Presidency Spiraling Down
- It’s ‘very telling’ Trump didn’t know anti-ISIS point man, ex-official says
- Trump’s Incoming Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan Pushed Military to Buy Weapons It Didn’t Want (“Patrick Shanahan’s corporate allies have thrived under Trump. Now he’s going to be Secretary of Defense.”)
- Chief Justice pauses contempt order for mystery company in Mueller investigation
- Court says Justice Ginsburg up and working after surgery
- Trump said a shutdown is the president’s fault, and a fireable offense (“Guess which president he was talking about?”)
- The Threat in the White House (Susan Rice: “With the impetuous decisions that drove Jim Mattis into retirement, President Trump does more to undermine American national security than any foreign adversary.”)
- The Political Insiders’ Guide to 2019 (“18 top analysts and strategists from both parties tell us what they’ll be watching for in the coming year.”)
- Roberts, Leader of Supreme Court’s Conservative Majority, Fights Perception That It Is Partisan (“‘We don’t work as Democrats or Republicans,’ he has said, a theme he has returned to while trying to strike a delicate balance as the chief justice.”)
- ‘Bushies’ creep into Trump’s administration (“Trump is suspicious of people who have worked for the Bush family, but has little choice but to keep hiring them — to the anger of some hard-core supporters.”)
- Mattis departure leaves Trump Cabinet increasingly thin
- Corker responds to Trump tweet: ‘Alert the daycare staff’
- The New Authoritarians Are Waging War on Women (“Donald Trump’s ideological cousins around the world want to reverse the feminist gains of recent decades.”)
- The Steady Bedlam of the Trump White House (“Making sense of the never-ending turnover in the administration.”)
- Jim Mattis and I Fought Together. No One Called Him Mad Dog. (“Jim Mattis was a scholar of war, blunt, courageous and loyal to his troops. Our enemies will cheer his departure.”)
- UN special rapporteur demands inquiry into death of Guatemalan girl held in US (“Exclusive: UN monitor calls for independent investigation into fate of Jakelin Caal, seven-year-old who died after crossing border”)
- White House: Trump would accept less money for border wall
- Trump Gets Into Holiday Spirit by Settling Scores on Twitter
- ‘He was Bob’: After 26 years, Bob Goodlatte retires from Congress (“Congressional lawmakers have accused Goodlatte of holding up bills for political reasons. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, a Democrat from South Dakota, has called out Goodlatte this month in the media for blocking her bill to curb violence against Native American women and girls.” Let’s just cut to the chase – this guy has been a HORRENDOUSLY BAD member of Congress; good riddance!)
- 18 of the Craziest Virginia Right-Wing Political Blog Posts of ’18…and Some Really Good Posts Too!
- Dominion Execs’ Fundraiser for Governor Northam to Draw Uninvited Guests, aka Voters
- All I want for Christmas is a 500 megawatt offshore wind farm
- Editorial: Early Christmas presents
- Battle over pipeline continues
- Mostly cooperative weather for Christmas week (“A breezy chill today gives way to a calmer and cold Christmas Day. Rain chances return late in the week.”)
