Friday News: “The North Korea summit nobody wanted”; “The Mueller Report Is Coming. Here’s What to Expect.”; VA House Dems “concerned that an investigative panel could impede possible criminal investigations”

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, February 22.

• May Faces Revolt as EU Says No Deal in the Desert: Brexit Update
• The North Korea summit nobody wanted (“President Trump is excited to meet Kim Jong Un in Hanoi. Others fear he’ll give too much away.”)
• Peace Treaty, and Peace Prize, for North Korea Appear to Tempt Trump
• Netanyahu’s Most Cynical Ploy Yet (“By allying himself with one of Israel’s most despicable parties, the prime minister is jeopardizing his legacy.”)
• Trump Revises Total Syria Withdrawal Plan, Will Keep 200 U.S. Peacekeeping Forces
• It’s clearer than ever that the US’s North Korea policy is in total chaos
• Judge denies request to free Coast Guard officer accused of mass murder plot
• Congress could block big chunk of Trump’s emergency wall money (“Full funds likely to be unavailable from the sources president has identified”)
• ‘I don’t know’: Trump draws blank on homosexuality decriminalization push
• Michael Cohen Will Reportedly ‘Pull the Curtain Back’ on Trump’s Crimes (“The president’s former attorney and fixer will testify before Congress next week. According to his attorney, Lanny Davis, Cohen has a lot to say”)
• Hillary Clinton met with Biden, Klobuchar on 2020
• “What About MAGA”: Trump Rips Jussie Smollett in Latest Round of Mind-Spinning National-Political Social Clusterfuck
• Trump’s National Emergency Policy Is Unpopular But Not Really Really Unpopular (“And that will likely matter to Republicans in Congress.”)
• Science denier who once compared CO2 to Jews in Nazi Germany will head Trump’s climate panel (“William Happer once said CO2 is ‘actually a benefit to the world, and so were the Jews.’ In context, still weird” This person sounds severely f’ed up.)
• Roger Stone cannot speak publicly about case, judge rules
• Why was the Trump administration so eager to give nuclear technology to the reckless Saudi regime?
• Adam Schiff: An open letter to my Republican colleagues
• Early Poll of New Hampshire Voters Shows Potential Problems for Trump a Year Out from 2020 Presidential Primary Season (“With nearly 40 percent of likely Republican primary voters in New Hampshire saying they would welcome a primary challenger to President Trump, a new poll by the University of Massachusetts Amherst could highlight potential problems for the president.”)
• Why didn’t Amazon pay federal taxes for the second consecutive year?
• It’s Plausible Mueller Will Drop the Biggest Bombshell Ever. It’s Also Plausible He’ll Do Nothing.
• U.S. banks raked in record profits thanks to GOP tax bill (“New FDIC data further proves Wall Street has gained the most from the bill.” Yep, the GOP is the party of Wall Street.)
• Court: Feds Broke the Law with Billionaire Pedophile Jeffrey Epstein’s Sweetheart Deal
• The Mueller Report Is Coming. Here’s What to Expect. (“A concise report will probably act as a “road map” to investigation for the Democratic House — and to further criminal investigation by other prosecutors.”)
• What If the Mueller Report Does Actually Drop Next Week?
• Don’t look for House GOP to defy Trump on border wall
• Here’s What Beto Could Unleash on Trump (“He almost beat Ted Cruz. Could he take down Donald Trump? Inside the radical campaign strategy of Beto O’Rourke.”)
• Sanders has early lead over Warren in battle of the left (“The two are heading for a likely collision, but so far they seem intent on avoiding one another.”)
• Democrats for Family Values (“Elizabeth Warren has another very good proposal.”)
• N.C. elections board orders new race in disputed House district
• Jussie Smollett staged Chicago ‘hate crime’ seeking higher pay: police
• Jussie Smollett’s alleged lies will bring great harm to innocent victims
• Why Would Somebody Fake a Hate Crime? (“Exploring the psychology of “factitious victimization”)
• After release from jail, pro-ERA protester who exposed breast says female inmates need more support
• Recounting his family’s experiences with racism, Virginia lawmaker says state must face the ‘chasm between black Virginia and white Virginia’
• Video: VA House GOP Kills ERA Ratification for 2019, Won’t Even Allow Floor Vote. We Will Remember in November!
• ERA bill dies for good in GOP-controlled Virginia House of Delegates
• VA Ratify ERA Vigil Continues, as Virginia Republicans Do Everything They Can to Block Floor Vote on ERA Ratification
• Why a Republican who co-sponsored the ERA resolution says she helped block its passage (Because Republicans never really supported the ERA, only pretended to do so for cynical, political purposes?)
• 150+ Bryn Mawr School Alumnae Sign Statement of Support for Fellow Alumna, Meredith Watson: “Meredith, we believe you and stand by you”
• House Republicans say Democrats are blocking Fairfax investigation; Democrats accuse GOP of pursuing ‘political show’
• Virginia House speaker: Democrats resisting proposal for panel to investigate Fairfax (“House Minority Leader Eileen Filler-Corn (D-Fairfax) confirmed that she and other Democratic leaders have met with Cox but said that they were concerned that an investigative panel could impede possible criminal investigations.”)
• Kristen Amundson column: We have a lot to learn about race. Start with the public schools
• Virginia Republicans Allow Minor Tweak to Voting Laws While Killing FAR More Important Bills to Expand Voting Rights
• Montgomery Supervisors Biggs, DeMotts to run again
• Williams: For Northam, talk is cheap. True reconciliation won’t happen without action.
• Editorial: Northam’s racial equity list should include fixing old schools
• Single drug sale justifies seizure of truck, Virginia Supreme Court rules (The Virginia Supreme Court is a bunch of right-wing hacks)
• Editorial: Fixing I-81 requires innovative thinking
• Shelley McKinley: Rural broadband key to Virginia’s future
• Editorial: Details of Jamycheal Mitchell’s death indict the entire system
• BREAKING: New Democratic Call to Caucus to Determine Democratic Nominee for Neabsco District, Prince William County (“The ;unassembled caucus,’ informally known as a firehouse primary, has already drawn the interest of at least three Democratic candidates: Victor Angry, Patrick Jones and Don Shaw.”)
• Local Dems to hold ‘firehouse primary’ Sunday for Neabsco District race
• Shaun Brown asks for new trial, saying court’s order on jurors was ignored
• Longer Metro hours could make the system less safe and reliable
• Former Planning Commissioner Joins Democrats Vying for Hunter Mill District Supervisor’s Seat (“Former Fairfax County Planning Commissioner Walter Alcorn is the latest Democrat to join a crowded race to replace Cathy Hudgins as the Hunter Mill District Supervisor…Alcorn will face the three other Democrats — Parker Messick, Laurie Dodd and Shyamali Hauth — vying for the seat at the June 11 Democratic primary.”)
• ‘We’ve seen a real renaissance in this city,’ Warner says of Danville tour
• Arlington manager proposes 1.5-cent tax rate hike to boost funding for schools
• Isle of Wight board votes to hand over land for new state juvenile detention center
• BREAKING: New Democratic Call to Caucus to Determine Democratic Nominee for Neabsco District, Prince William County
• D.C.-area forecast: Gray days ahead with a few raindrops possible today. Steadier rain may arrive Saturday.