by Lowell
Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Sunday, January 13.
- Trump has concealed details of his face-to-face encounters with Putin from senior officials in administration (“President Trump has gone to extraordinary lengths to conceal details of his conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, including on at least one occasion taking possession of the notes of his own interpreter and instructing the linguist not to discuss what had transpired with other administration officials, current and former U.S. officials said.” Nope, nothing unusual here – move right along!)
- Trump Tweets Lengthy Attack on F.B.I. Over Inquiry Into Possible Aid to Russia (Nor is the “president” attacking the FBI unusual in any way!)
- Americans blame Trump and GOP much more than Democrats for shutdown, Post-ABC poll finds (Although the Republican “base” is still strongly behind Trump, which is 100% who he’s playing to…)
- Brexit and the U.S. Shutdown: Two Governments in Paralysis (“Rarely have British and American politics seemed as synchronized as they do in the chilly dawn of 2019, when pro-globalization elites battle the populists. The similarities abound: Brexiteers love to compare their cause to America’s war for independence.” It’s interesting that both the U.K. and U.S. went insane at the same time.)
- Trump vents fury over Russia stories and again threatens national emergency
- ‘In the White House waiting’: Inside Trump’s defiance on the longest shutdown ever (“Trump offered no path to victory — other than brinkmanship.” Everyone does realize that Mitch McConnell and Company could end this shutdown in a heartbeat, right?)
- There Is a Bombshell of a Word in the New York Times Report on the Trump FBI Investigation (“This is the most astounding evidence of Oval Office criminality since the release of the ‘smoking gun’ tape in 1974.”)
- Trump’s Five Craziest Arguments About the Shutdown
- Mueller Is Investigating Trump as a Russian Asset (“The president may be ‘working on behalf of Russia against American interests'” And the Republican base is totally cool with this???)
- The Republican Test at the Border (“If Trump does declare a national emergency, a humanitarian crisis could become a constitutional one.”)
- Here’s How Jair Bolsonaro Wants to Transform Brazil (“Land rights, education, the economy, and public security lie at the nexus of the Brazilian president’s priorities and critics’ concerns.” This guy’s a nightmare.)
- As Trump Sticks With His Wall, His Ratings Stay Stuck in Place (“The border wall remains popular only with the president’s base, and shutting down the government over the issue seems unlikely to win new fans.”)
- The shutdown is causing real suffering — and not just to federal workers
- Trump is the president of the Republican base — not the country (“All of this stands in contrast with how presidents normally act.”)
- The wall is a testament to Trump’s toxic narcissism
- Trump calls Joe Biden ‘weak,’ says Obama took him off the ‘trash heap’
- Infowars Must Turn Over Internal Documents to Sandy Hook Families, Judge Rules
- Traffickers at the El Chapo trial say drugs aren’t smuggled through open parts of the border (“Most drugs are smuggled into the United States onboard fishing boats, trains, tractor-trailers and ordinary cars that come into the country at legal ports of entry, according to former cartel members who’ve testified in the trial of notorious cartel leader Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman.”)
- Gabbard-Hirono clash shocks Hawaii (Sen. Hirono: “It is unfortunate that Congresswoman Gabbard based her misguided opinion on the far-right wing manipulation of these straightforward questions”
- Warren calls for ‘systemic change’ in first New Hampshire swing
- Trump’s scandal-plagued administration gets a congressional committee all to itself (“Topping the agenda of investigations? Trump’s mysterious private meeting in Helsinki last year with Russia’s Vladimir Putin.”)
- Julián Castro declares his 2020 presidential candidacy (“The former San Antonio mayor and HUD secretary is jumping into what is likely to be a crowded Democratic primary field.”)
- How Julian Castro Could Win The 2020 Democratic Primary (“Castro’s path to victory likely involves gaining support from some mix of Hispanics voters, Millennials and Party Loyalists.”)
- It could take years for these workers to recover from America’s record-breaking government shutdown (“Contract workers are among the lowest paid federal employees. Most won’t be getting back pay when the government shutdown ends.”)
- Ocasio-Cortez calls out CBS News for not assigning a ‘single black journalist to cover the 2020 election’
- An Ocean Engineer and a Nuclear Physicist Walk Into Congress (“Elaine Luria, an engineer who operated nuclear reactors in the Navy, flipped Virginia’s Second Congressional District, which had been represented by a Republican for 16 of the past 20 years.”)
- Virginia has had a member on House Appropriations for 104 years. Not anymore.
- Editorial: Virginia’s should seize chance to end gerrymandering
- State legislators torn on funding sources for improving Interstate 81
- Right track to diversity (“The General Assembly is becoming more diverse in race, gender, sexual orientation and points of view” But only on the Democratic side.)
- Coal-Barons-Turned-Gambling-Promoters Throw $$$ at Virginia General Assembly to Ram Through Economically Dubious Bristol Casino
- Video: At Townhall Meeting, Sen. Saslaw Makes Outlandish Comments About Housing Costs and the Amazon Deal, the Green New Deal, the Pipelines, etc.
- My son was shot by Park Police officers. We still don’t even know their names. (“Kelly Ghaisar lives in McLean. She is the mother of Bijan Ghaisar.”)
- As Shutdown Continues, Thousands Of Federal Workers Visit D.C.-Area Pop-Up Food Banks
- “This Is What Democracy Looks Like”: Big Turnout for HD86 Democratic Nominating Caucus [UPDATE: Ibrahim Samirah Declares Victory]
- Samirah wins Democratic nomination for 86th House of Delegates District special election
- Special election to fill Boysko’s former House of Delegates seat set for Feb. 19
- A new hurdle for a Pamunkey casino in Norfolk: A tribal challenge from the Nansemond
- Shutdown’s varied impact on sciences seen clearly in Hampton Roads
- Governor declares state of emergency as winter storm hits Virginia
- As Amazon heads to Arlington, residents air concerns for county board
- Snow will turn to a rainy, icy mix in the Richmond area on Sunday
- Washington’s first significant snowfall of 2019 has arrived, but hasn’t gone.
- Snow continues to accumulate today; chilly through midweek (“We’ll continue to build on the several inches that fell last evening and overnight, with totals in the immediate metro area around 5-8″ by afternoon.”)
