Thursday News: Brexit Stalemate; 77% Want Full Mueller Report Released; Riggleman, Griffith, Wittman, Cline Vote AGAINST Closing Gender Wage Gap; TMac 2020?; Falwell Sells Jet Fuel to Pentagon???

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Thursday, March 28. BTW, watching the British Parliament is VERY entertaining!

• Brexit remains at a standstill after Parliament fails to pass alternate proposals
• Alternate Brexit Plans Rejected; Theresa May Offers to Step Down
• The Biggest Brexit Loser This Time Wasn’t May (“Her party’s euroskeptic wing overplayed its hand and is now faced with the prospect of Britain not leaving at all or a softer departure.”)
• U.S. approved secret nuclear power work for Saudi Arabia
• US-Mexico border at ‘breaking point’ amid immigration surge, official says (“Customs and Border Protection commissioner Kevin McAleenan declared ‘operational crisis’ and called on Congress for solutions”)
• Mueller grand jury ‘continuing robustly,’ prosecutor says (“The revelation — while laced with uncertainty — indicates that the ongoing cases Mueller handed off could still feature significant developments.”)
• Trump wants to drop a neutron bomb on the Affordable Care Act. Over to you, 2020 voters.
• CNN Poll: Majority says Trump not exonerated of collusion after Barr’s summary (As much as the corporate and right-wing media tries to claim, falsely, that Trump *was* exonerated.)
• Bad Times in Trumpville (“Nancy Pelosi, who’s been struggling to quash battles between left and center in her House caucus, got the best birthday present conceivable. Every wing of her party ran on making Obamacare better. Now all they’ll have to do is promise to make it Not Gone.”)
• Be Thankful for Mueller’s Timing (“Trump has no idea how to ride a win.”)
• Mueller report: Majorities across party lines want full report released, CBS News poll says (77% overall.)
• Boeing, initially defensive, now ‘humbled’ by 737 Max crisis
• Fox’s Judge Napolitano: ‘There Is Something There’ on Conspiracy in Mueller Report (“‘There is something there, but it is not enough to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt,’ the Fox News senior judicial analyst said Wednesday.”)
• Comey: Mueller report shows Trump lied about FBI, his attempt to destroy the agency failed
• Is Trump’s new Hill agenda ambitious — or hopeless? (“The White House wants to act in bold strokes after a claimed ‘exoneration’ in the Russia probe, but Democrats are skeptical.”)
• Trump’s Call for Russian Hacking Makes Even Less Sense After Mueller (“Many Americans have become numb to the president’s rhetoric. But his infamous plea to the Kremlin is still inexplicable.”)
• Trump’s latest attack on Obamacare damages the Justice Department (“The White House wants the courts to strike down the entire law. Good luck defending that.”)
• Trump’s new attempt to undo Obamacare is senseless (“His own Justice Department opposed his legal reasoning.”)
• ‘We need a plan’: GOP shaken by Trump’s healthcare demands (“The last time the party tried to get rid of Obamacare, it cost them control of the House and several state capitols.”)
• Trump Ally Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University Landed Pentagon Contract Months After Trump’s Election (“Falwell has used Liberty-owned Freedom Aviation for personal, business, and political travel. Now it’s selling jet fuel to the Pentagon.” Totally normal – and legal and moral – right? LOL)
• 187 Republicans vote against bill to close the gender wage gap (“And women voters continue to leave the Republican Party.” Guess who voted no? Yep: Virginia Republicans Denver Riggleman, Morgan Griffith, Rob Wittman and Ben Cline.)
• The House just passed a bill to close the gender pay gap (“The final vote was 242-187. Democrats were joined by seven Republicans.” That says a great deal right there.)
• The Fed needs experts — not Trump fanboys like Stephen Moore (This guy is WILDLY unqualified to be on the Federal Reserve Board.)
• Have Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump just pulled off the crime of the century? (“So, turns out you can conspire with a hostile foreign nation and get away with it if you don’t mind doing it on TV”)
• Elijah Cummings Seeks 10 Years of Trump’s Financial Records
• Neil Gorsuch’s Bad-Faith Ploy to Save Partisan Gerrymandering and Doom American Democracy (100% illegitimate Supreme Court Justice.)
• The Tragedy of Rod Rosenstein (“The deputy attorney general’s decision not to recuse himself from the Mueller probe will be his terrible legacy.”)
• US Banks Pledged to Fund Renewable Energy, But They Still Spend Way More on Fossil Fuels (“A new study shows that in the years since the Paris Agreement, banks have paid $1.9 trillion to finance fossil fuels.” That needs to go to ZERO immediately.)
• Federal Judge Rejects Trump-Approved Medicaid Work Requirement in Arkansas and Kentucky (How about here in Virginia?)
• William Barr has some explaining to do (“We deserve to know more about how he concluded there is no obstruction case. Congress needs to press the issue.”)
• Moscow shouldn’t misjudge the Mueller moment (“If Russia wants lasting improvement in its relations with the United States, it should stop its gloating about the special counsel’s report.”)
• 6 key moments from Cory Booker’s CNN town hall (“Booker said he would ‘absolutely’ consider issuing mass commutations and pardons for federal marijuana offenses.”)
• ‘You don’t run for second place’: Stacey Abrams shoots down Joe Biden VP rumors (“If I’m going to enter a primary, then I’m going to enter a primary.”)
• 2020 Journalism Will Paint Elizabeth Warren as a ‘Wonk’—and Make That a Bad Thing (“The label doesn’t do justice to her real message: an all-out assault on monopoly power.”)
• Terry McAuliffe leaning toward jumping into 2020 race (LOL)
• Facebook is finally banning white nationalist content (“The new ban, which will also apply to content supporting white separatism, comes after months of advocacy from civil rights groups.”)
• Lindsey Graham Is Securing His Spot as Trump’s Best-in-Show at Westminster Next Year (“Meanwhile, Betsy DeVos shows us just what an unprincipled, unqualified incompetent she is.”)
• Exclusive: NRA Official Sought Sandy Hook Hoaxer To Question Parkland Shooting, Emails Show (“NRA official Mark Richardson emailed a day after the Parkland shooting to say the shooter ‘was not alone.'”)
• Kaine introduces domestic terrorism prevention bill
• Video: Rep. Gerry Connolly Questions Sec. Mike Pompeo on Murder of “My Constituent” Jamal Khashoggi
• ‘We’re pretty pleased;’ What Northam’s done to address his promise to bolster racial equity (“At the same time, the bigger picture that emerged over the past week was that of a man doing less to position himself as a ‘healer in chief’ and more establishing himself as a walking, talking, fully functional governor. The kind who, for instance, appears in public with other lawmakers without having to dodge awkward questions and calls for him to step down.”)
• General Assembly Republicans Deepen Ties to Trump with Pence Fundraiser
• Schapiro: Divisions notwithstanding, Va. Democrats attempt to stand together (“Kaine and Northam remain of like mind on flipping the legislature back to the Democrats and are working together — through their political operatives — to achieve that objective…This is where Kaine’s chief of staff, Mike Henry, and Northam’s chief of staff, Clark Mercer, come in — among others.”)
• Northam’s push to overhaul DEQ moving forward (“‘It’s encouraging that Gov. Northam recognizes that protection for poor and vulnerable communities deserves more attention, but the governor ignored the most important environmental justice issue in the state,’ said Dawone Robinson of the Natural Resources Defense Council. ‘If he is serious about racial equity, Northam should end his support for the harmful compressor project in Union Hill.’”)
• Northam budget moves play well with black legislators (“Gov. Ralph Northam has found a new budget tool for regaining some favor with African-American legislators: money to help minority- and woman-owned businesses compete for government procurement contracts.”)
• New campaign aims to fix Virginia’s severe shortage of foster families
• New Report on Virginia Health Rankings Highlights Glaring Geographic, Racial, Income Disparities
• Atif Qarni: Northam delivers on education promises
• Foster care reform signed into law (“Perhaps the most far-reaching legislative initiative of the 2019 General Assembly was the series of bills to tighten oversight of Virginia’s foster care system, as well as to begin to bring prevention and residential treatment programs in line with new national standards and to make it easier for relatives to take care of kids when their own parents can’t.”)
• One month later, still no hearing scheduled for women accusing Lt. Gov. Fairfax of sexual assault (“Two women have come forward accusing Fairfax of assault, but so far have not been allowed to address their accusations in front of the legislative body.”)
• Shine a light on Virginia’s jails
• Experts say Chesapeake Bay water quality is the best since monitoring began (“Well over half of the Chesapeake Bay still is polluted, but experts say water quality has improved significantly — and, in fact, is now the best they’ve ever measured”)
• Youth pleads guilty to threatening violence at Charlottesville school (“The commonwealth’s attorney said the defendant wanted attention and had no means to commit violence.”)
• Beyer, Wexton, Norton, Connolly Blast FBI, Justice Department For Refusal To Answer Questions In Ghaisar Case
• FBI blasted for failure to answer basic questions about Ghaisar shooting
• Self-professed neo-Nazi who drove into Va. crowd pleads guilty to federal hate crimes (“James Alex Fields Jr. reached a deal with prosecutors and will not face the possibility of the death penalty. He was convicted in state court last year and sentenced to life in prison.”)
• Video: Packed Fairfax County Democratic Committee Meeting Features Speeches by Candidates, Sen. Mark Warner
• Virginia Tech increases minimum pay to $12 an hour for full-time employees
• Halal slaughterhouse and shop wins approval from divided council in Alexandria, Va. (“Neighboring businesses, including providers of pet services, had objected to the killing of poultry nearby.”)
• Roanoke, New River valley lawmakers divided on I-81 funding issue
• Gay University of Richmond law student running for Va. Senate
• Portsmouth interim police chief holds first public forum after ex-chief’s resignation
• Editorial: Western Virginia’s stake in future baseball expansion
• 9 Charged for Human Trafficking in Arlington County
• Charge dropped against Loudoun County teacher accused of inappropriate relationship
• Hampton School Board approves budget with 3 percent raises, $1.3 million for academies
• A strong warming trend through Saturday before cooler showers Sunday