Thursday News: Rudy Giuliani Denies Saying There Was “No Collusion”; Pelosi “Wields the Knife”; 57% Will Definitely NOT Vote for Trump in 2020; Luria Swipes at Tlaib, AOC, Omar Over Israel

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Thursday, January 17.

• More studies show terrible news for the climate. We should be alarmed. (“World leaders should be scrambling to buy insurance against that risk by investing in emissions-free technologies.” Need to put a hefty price on carbon pollution as well.)/li>
• Killing of 4 Americans in Syria raises questions over Trump’s policy (“A month after President Trump declared the Islamic State defeated and ordered that the 2,000 U.S. troops in Syria be withdrawn, the bombing showed that the militants are likely to remain a force in Syria for the foreseeable future.”)
• Al-Shabaab’s Kenya attack proves the terrorist group is still deadly
• British Prime Minister Theresa May wins confidence vote despite Brexit defeat (“Labour’s gambit to force general elections failed. But the UK still has to figure out Brexit.”)
• Britain Races Toward a Cliff. Time to Slow Down. (“If a deal is impossible, and no deal is unacceptable, what’s the solution?”)
• Pelosi Asks for State of the Union Delay, Escalating Border Wall Battle (“Speaker Nancy Pelosi cited security concerns from the government shutdown in a letter asking to reschedule the speech or to have President Trump deliver it in writing. The extraordinary request came as bipartisan groups of lawmakers pressed Mr. Trump to reopen the government and make room for compromise.”)
• ‘She wields the knife’: Pelosi moves to belittle and undercut Trump in shutdown fight
• The GOP has become the drunken frat-boy party — and it sees no reason to sober up
• The many red flags raised by William Barr’s hearing (“His testimony sent up red flags for those who care about the independence of the Mueller investigation.” As always, the question is whether Republicans care more about protecting Trump than about protecting our democracy.)
• Barr May Do Exactly What Trump Wants (“The nominee for attorney general vowed independence, but his answers raised disturbing questions.”)
• I Wouldn’t Hire William Barr for Traffic Court (“Let alone as Attorney General of the United States.”)
• Pelosi Knows How to Play Chicken. Trump Doesn’t. (“The side that causes a government shutdown always takes more blame for the effects.”)
• If TSA Workers Go on Strike, Trump Might Relish the Chance to Play Reagan (“But replicating his predecessor’s strategy for air-traffic controllers won’t be easy.”)
• Trump’s populist veneer is being stripped away — and it’s accelerating (“Even devotees are questioning his 2016 working-class economic rhetoric. That bodes ill for him next year.”)
• Impeach Donald Trump (“Starting the process will rein in a president who is undermining American ideals—and bring the debate about his fitness for office into Congress, where it belongs.”)
• Nancy Pelosi Jabbed the President* Right in His Tender Ego (“The Speaker has rescinded Trump’s invitation to address Congress because of the shutdown.”)
• 57 percent of voters say they won’t support Trump in 2020 (“57 percent of registered voters said they would definitely vote against President Donald Trump, according to the latest poll from the PBS NewsHour, NPR and Marist. Another 30 percent of voters said they would cast their ballot to support Trump, and an additional 13 percent said they had no idea who would get their vote.”)
• Poll: Trump Approval Down, Slips With Base (“He currently stands at 39 percent approve, 53 disapprove — a 7-point net change from December when his rating was 42 percent approve, 49 percent disapprove.”)
• Recession warnings pile up as shutdown wraps up fourth week (“The impasse is triggering alarms about an already fragile economic environment.”)
• Senator: It’s disqualifying Wheeler hasn’t spent more time reading national climate assessment (Or that he won’t call it what it is, the #1 crisis facing humanity.)
• Trump Lawyer No Longer Denying Campaign Colluded With Russia
• Agency That Approved Trump’s Hotel Lease Ignored The Constitution: Report
• The Shutdown Is Hurting Trump’s Approval Rating. But Will It Hurt Him in 2020? (“There are some reasons for Trump and Republicans to worry that the shutdown could have both short- and long-term downsides.”)
• Trump Goes MIA in Effort to Win Dems Over in Shutdown Fight (“The president sold himself as a great deal-maker. But hardly any Democrat from a district he won has heard from him in weeks.”)
• House Intel Chairman Schiff Vows To Get Trump Jr. Phone Records — And More
• Senate Democrats fail to stop Trump administration from lifting sanctions on firms linked to Putin friend(“Sen. Mitt Romney, who had warned as a 2012 presidential candidate that Russia is the U.S.’ top geopolitical foe, votes against Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s resolution.” So how did DEMOCRATS fail? This was a massive failure by REPUBLICANS to protect our democracy.)
• Lindsey Graham just accidentally admitted that suppressing black voter turnout is a core GOP goal
• Rudy Giuliani’s New Story: I ‘Never Said’ There Was No Collusion Between Campaign and Russia (“The president’s lawyer, who has in fact previously said just that, now says he had only asserted that Trump himself had never colluded with the Russians.”)
• Michigan State’s president to resign after he said sexual abuse victims enjoyed the spotlight (“John Engler’s resignation makes him the university’s second leader to step down under pressure in the scandal surrounding Larry Nassar, the former Michigan State sports medicine doctor who is serving a prison sentence of at least 40 years.” Engler is, of course, a Republican.)
• Michael Cohen fears Trump rhetoric could put his family at risk: Sources
• Poll-Rigging for Trump and Creating @WomenForCohen: One IT Firm’s Work Order (“Behind the scenes, Michael Cohen hired RedFinch Solutions, then allegedly stiffed it—and his boss”)
• Rudy Giuliani loses his temper and curses on live TV after CNN’s Chris Cuomo embarrasses him with fact checks
• A Democratic senator wants to protect federal contractors — the people most screwed over by the shutdown (“A new bill from Sen. Tina Smith would guarantee them back pay.”)
• Democratic Rep. Eliane Luria denounces anti-Israel sentiment in party, urges bipartisanship (I wouldn’t say “denounces,” but Luria definitely took a swipe at Ilhan Omar, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Tlaib)
• New to Capitol Hill, Reps. Riggleman and Spanberger face shutdown’s added pressure
• Kaine opposes Senate adjourning over MLK holiday, presses for votes on spending bills
• Terry McAuliffe Polling in Iowa (“The ‘big takeaway was that Terry McAuliffe has a lot of money that he doesn’t know what to do with, and he has no idea what’s going down in Iowa'”)
• Virginia’s Rep. Spanberger, among seven Democrats who met with Trump, says skipping would have been ‘dereliction of my duty’ (“The freshman, opposed to the wall, said she told Trump how the shutdown is hurting her suburban Richmond district.” No, sorry, it would NOT have been a “dereliction” in any way. Also, please stop blaming “both sides” for this, as it’s 100% the fault of Trump, McConnell/Senate Republicans and House Republicans)
• Virginia Air Board Member Who Approved a Controversial Atlantic Coast Pipeline Permit Has Links to a Dominion Gas Partner (“Ferguson is senior vice president at Harvey Lindsay CRE, a prominent Virginia commercial and industrial real estate company. One of his clients is meat-processing giant Smithfield Foods, which recently partnered with Dominion to create a new energy business.”)
• Editorial: Redistricting resolution looks promising
• Va. House panel snuffs out marijuana bills
• Redistricting must be independent of politics
• Shutdown could squeeze Va. benefits programs
• Dominion Bought-and-Paid-For Virginia Republicans Try to “Ram Through” Rabidly Anti-Enviro Ken Cuccinelli’s Former Chief Deputy AG to Powerful SCC [UPDATE: They Did It]
• Assembly elects Patricia West, former judge and top aide to Allen, Cuccinelli to SCC post (This woman is about as extreme as you can get. The fact that Republicans rammed her through tells you all you need to know about them.)
• West elected to SCC
• ‘Raw political power:’ Virginia Republicans force issue of powerful judgeship (“Position on influential commission sparks first big partisan showdown of General Assembly session” Remember in November…and vote Democratic!)
• On the Senate floor with a gun on her hip, Republican says packing heat can deter violence (“Sen. Amanda Chase decided to openly carry her gun after a colleague said he was mobbed by activists.”)
• Video: Republican Who Spent Years Demonizing Dems Now Claims to Be About “Building Consensus & Bringing Democrats and Republicans Together” (“John Whitbeck must really think that Loudoun County voters are idiots.”)
• Former Virginia GOP chair announces bid for Loudoun County board chair (We need to help kick this guy’s butt.)
• Candidate for Chair of Fairfax County, Largest Jurisdiction in the Commonwealth, Endorses Green New Deal Virginia
• Virginia woman says President Trump turned her into a professional (unpaid) protester (“A Virginia woman says President Trump inspired her to become a professional and unpaid protester.”)
• Your guide to clean energy and climate bills this session (blink and you might miss them) (“Republicans hold a bare majority of seats overall, but they dominate the powerful commerce and labor committees that hear most energy bills. And Republicans overall (though with some exceptions) are more hostile to clean energy legislation than Democrats and more willing to side with utilities against customers and competitors…a lot of these bills have the same problem they’ve always had. Dominion Energy opposes them, and Dominion controls the legislature.”)
• Senate Finance panel backs incentive package for Amazon
• Editorial: Should we bet on casinos?
• School safety bills from select committee move forward in House of Delegates
• House subcommittee kills bill aimed at helping social workers in the field
• Mountain Valley Pipeline starts the new year with new complications
• Planning Commission favors only portion of proposed massive Spotsylvania solar farm (“The proposal now goes to the Board of Supervisors for a decision. It will hold a special meeting at 7 p.m. on Feb. 5 at the Marshall Center.”)
• Editorial: In pushing solar schools, Stanley thinks out of the box. Why is he alone? (Interesting question; not sure what the answer is, though.)
• Light snow tonight then a messy weekend storm