Thursday News: Mueller Probe Entering Homestretch?; “Neo-Nazi in coast guard plotted attack on Democrats and journalists”; “What Is CNN Thinking?”; “Biden gets closer to a White House bid”; GOP Stands “Athwart Virginia, yelling ‘Stop!’”

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Thursday, February 21.

• Allies decline request to stay in Syria after U.S. troops withdraw
• Andrew McCabe claims Trump wanted war in Venezuela because “they have all that oil”
• Antisemitism at worst levels since second world war, says Macron (“French president says his party will introduce legislation to combat hate speech online”)
• Netanyahu’s political rivals unite in one party (I strongly encourage Israelis to boot Bibi.)
• Pope Opens Summit on Sexual Abuse: ‘Hear the Cry of the Little Ones’ (It’s not just “the little ones,” by the way…there’s lots of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church of adults, too.)
• Exclusive: U.S., China sketch outlines of deal to end trade war – sources
• U.S., China Are Working on Multiple Memorandums for Trade Deal
• Is This the End of the Anglosphere? (“After decades of intellectual dominance, Britain and the U.S. are losing influence. The rest of the world shouldn’t celebrate just yet.” The UK appears hell-bent on committing suicide. The US might be as well.)
• Justice Department preparing for Mueller report as early as next week
• 7 Scenarios for How the Mueller Probe Might ‘Wrap Up’
• Report: Climate Denier to Lead White House Climate Panel (Demented.)
• Robert Mueller Isn’t Going to Rescue the Country (“Congress has clear constitutional obligations—and more than enough in the public record to commence impeachment proceedings.”)
• This Administration* Is Arguing With Itself About Climate Change (“Of course, the president* is on the wrong side.”)
• Pelosi: House moving ‘swiftly’ to block Trump’s emergency declaration
• Trump rails against the press after NYT report (“President Donald Trump on Wednesday labeled The New York Times ‘the enemy of the people’ in a tweet, attacking the newspaper over a report in which it spelled out the president’s alleged efforts to influence ongoing investigations into his campaign and allies.” Actually, the truth and the law are the enemies of Donald Trump.)
• The Supreme Court Unanimously Weighs in on Civil Forfeiture (“Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote in the majority opinion that excessive fines can be used to retaliate against enemies or chill political speech’)
• Bernie crushes 2020 Democratic field in first-day money chase (“The Vermont senator rakes in $5.9 million in the first 24 hours.” Wow.)
• Trump’s War on California (“It’s undoubtedly a blue-state bastion. But far from being a socialist hellhole, the Golden State is thriving after years of malaise.”)
• Lindsey Graham’s Claims About an Anti-Trump ‘Coup’ Are Just Trolling (There’s something seriously wrong with Lindsey Graham.)
• Why Trump is lowering expectations for next week’s Kim Jong Un summit
• Biden gets closer to a White House bid but serious concerns remain (“As he weighs a decision, Biden is carefully considering how a campaign, and the president’s likely attacks, would impact his family.”)
• ‘I am dreaming of a way to kill almost every last person on earth’: A self-proclaimed white nationalist planned a mass terrorist attack, the government says
• Neo-Nazi in coast guard plotted attack on Democrats and journalists, say prosecutors (“Lieutenant Christopher Hasson allegedly intended to ‘murder civilians on a scale rarely seen in this country’” As usual, far-RIGHT terrorism is a much greater threat than “Islamist” terrorism in this country.)
• The number of hate groups in the United States has reached a record high (“Experts fear members of white nationalist groups in particular, many of them disillusioned with the political system, could incite violence.”)
• Feds: Racist ‘Domestic Terrorist’ Coast Guard Lieutenant Plotted To Kill Democrats, Reporters (“Prosecutors say Christopher Hasson stockpiled weapons and wrote about creating a white homeland through violence.”)
• What is CNN thinking? (“The network’s decision to hire Sarah Isgur Flores, former spokeswoman for Jeff Sessions, is baffling.”)
• “She Was Pitching Her Intimate Knowledge of the Mueller Probe”: Sarah Isgur Flores, Former Trumper, Talked to MSNBC Before Signing with CNN (“The former Jeff Sessions spokesperson is now a power player at a network she once called the ‘Clinton News Network.’ How’d she close the deal?”)
• CNN in Damage-Control Mode With Dems Over GOP Operative Hire (“The hiring of longtime Republican operative Sarah Isgur has set off alarms for Democrats. Now the network is doing some cleanup.” They need to un-hire her immediately.)
• Does Tom Friedman’s Latest Column Prove That Capitalism Was a Mistake? (“The problem with this argument is that none of its premises are true. In fact, some are so egregiously false, it is difficult to understand how anyone who reads the New York Times on a regular basis — let alone, writes for it — could actually believe them.”)
• Blackface, KKK hoods and mock lynchings: Review of 900 yearbooks finds blatant racism (“In one of the most extensive searches of college yearbooks ever, we found blackface and Ku Klux Klan photos like Ralph Northam’s far beyond Virginia.”)
• Jussie Smollett Faces Felony Charge, Accused of Faking Own Assault (Why would someone do that?)
• What the Jussie Smollett Story Reveals (“It shows a peculiar aspect of 21st-century America: victimhood chic.”)
• Measles Outbreaks Are Increasing. Experts Think It’s Because of Anti-Vaxxers on Facebook. (“Online disinformation is giving rise to real—and potentially deadly—effects.” Gotta love Facebook, huh?)
• Sen. Warner talks Trump, Northam during stop in Salem (“Senator softens stance on governor, criticizes border wall”)
• Sen. Mark Warner discusses solutions to food insecurity with nonprofit, private sector leaders
• Can Warner and Burr stick together on Russia inquiry?
• Athwart Virginia, yelling ‘Stop!’ (This session, Virginia Republicans have killed almost every single bill that’s progressive, pro-environment, pro-clean-energy, etc. In November, we need to boot them the hell out of there.)
• And Yet ANOTHER New Poll of Virginia, This Time by Quinnipiac University: Voters Don’t Believe Anyone Should be Impeached or That Northam’s a Racist (“By nearly 2:1 margin, Virginia voters support third-trimester abortion if mother’s health at risk”)
• Virginia voters — including African-Americans — have Northam’s back (“A pair of new polls show the embattled governor seems to have weathered his blackface scandal.”)
• IPSOS/UVA Center for Politics Poll: Virginians Divided on Northam, Fairfax; Strong Dem Lead for November 2019, Also for 2020(“Trump’s approval horrendous, as expected.”)
• Voters are split over whether Lt. Gov. Fairfax should resign, new poll shows (“Fifty-one percent of voters in the Quinnipiac poll said they did not know whether to believe Fairfax or his accusers. Of those who had an opinion, 37 percent believed Tyson and Watson, and 12 percent believed Fairfax, the survey showed.”)
• Al Gore, civil rights leader William Barber call on Northam to seek forgiveness through action
• Woman Who Reenacted Virginia State Seal – “With One Breast Exposed” – Held Without Bond??? (“Sen. Surovell – ‘No bond for a public nudity charge in connection with First Amendment political speech sounds more like Russia than the United States of America.'”)
• Judge orders ERA activist who exposed breast outside Capitol held without bond until trial (That’s bonkers.)
• Northam cancels launch of ‘reconciliation’ tour after student leader objects to visit
• Northam drops plans to attend racial reconciliation event Thursday at Virginia Union University
• Video: Delegates David Toscano, Hala Ayala Call Out House Republicans for Using “Raw Political Power” to Block ERA Floor Vote (“You just eliminated the ability of us to have a straight up-or-down vote on this House floor for the Equal Rights Amendment.”)
• ‘Shenanigans’ dominate Va. fight over ERA vote in Richmond (“On Wednesday, House Republicans hurriedly killed a Republican-backed Senate resolution meant as an alternative to ratifying the federal Equal Rights Amendment without allowing debate, after Democrats attempted to amend it into a ratification vote.”)
• Video: Every Politician in Virginia – and Anyone Who Takes $$$ From Dominion – Needs to Watch This Speech by Rev. Dr. William Barber. NOW.
• Video: Al Gore Rips Dominion, Says the Atlantic Coast Pipeline Is “a colossal, world-class ripoff of the energy ratepayers in in the state of Virginia” (“And why did [Northam] disband the Environmental Justice Advisory Board?…It’s called putting the fix in for Dominion.”)
• Video: Virginia House Republicans VERY Offended at Being Called Out for Their “Dog-Whistle Politics” (The truth hurts.)
• Lawmakers vowed to do something about balance billing this session. They didn’t. (“Several bills were filed this session that would prohibit emergency room balance billing — when a patient goes to an in-network hospital but is assigned a doctor who is out-of-network, usually without the patient’s knowledge.” This whole situation is an absolute disgrace and is a serious argument for something like Medicare for All.)
• Redistricting proposals expected to head to conference
• Editorial: Virginia unfazed by NYC’s Amazon about-face
• Juvenile probation reforms are welcome
• No charges to be filed in 2015 death of Hampton Roads Regional Jail inmate Jamycheal Mitchell
• Gloucester school board mum on transgender bathroom policy change; no vote scheduled
• D.C.-area forecast: Partial clearing and milder today, but a wet Saturday lies ahead