by Lowell
Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Thursday, April 4.
- Brexit: bill to prevent no-deal passes Commons by one vote (“A cross-party group of MPs has forced through an emergency bill in less than six hours to instruct Theresa May to seek an extension to article 50 and avoid a no-deal Brexit, despite government opposition…It finally passed its third reading about half an hour before midnight by just one vote – 313 ayes to 312 noes – and must now pass the House of Lords.”)
- Trump to Meet China’s Liu in a Sign Trade Talks Are Reaching Final Stages
- Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn Open Treacherous Brexit Negotiation
- Trump got no bounce from Mueller. That leaves him a narrow path back to the Oval Office. (“Analysis: The president’s approval rating has been a flatline, which means he may need a rival as unpopular as Hillary Clinton in 2016 to pull off a second term.”)
- A key House Democrat just officially demanded Trump’s tax returns (“Rep. Richard Neal invoked his authority to request the returns from the IRS.”)
- House Democrats seek six years of Trump’s tax returns, setting stage for fight (“The president has said he does not plan to hand over his tax returns to Congress — and that he would fight it to the Supreme Court, according to two administration officials.” Clearly, Trump has a *great* deal to hide!)
- Donald Trump wrongly claims his father was born in Germany – again (“President made the claim about his New York-born father, Fred Trump, during a press conference with the Nato secretary general”)
- Some on Mueller’s Team Say Report Was More Damaging Than Barr Revealed (“Some of Robert S. Mueller III’s investigators have told associates that Attorney General William P. Barr failed to adequately portray the findings of their inquiry and that they were more troubling for President Trump than Mr. Barr indicated, according to government officials and others familiar with their simmering frustrations.”)
- Limited information Barr has shared about Russia investigation frustrated some on Mueller’s team
- The Only People Who’ve Seen the Mueller Report Are the People We Can Trust the Least (“The longer the report stays the exclusive property of this particular Executive Branch, the less I am going to trust what eventually em…”)
- Boeing report: pilots followed guidance but could not control Ethiopian plane
- Ethiopia Report Rules Out Pilot Error, Saying Boeing 737 Max Plunged on Its Own
- At conservative event, Fox “news division” anchor Shannon Bream praised GOP tax bill and Trump “rolling back regulations” (The concept that Fox does real news is a bad joke.)
- Facebook said its ban on white supremacy would start this week, but it’s still the same cesspool
- Trump’s Budget Could Have Chilling Effect on U.S. Clean Energy Leadership (“The national labs are the country’s cradle of innovation for renewable energy and efficiency. Trump’s proposal for deep budget cuts sends a message.”)
- America’s Missed Climate Targets Cost Global Economy $1 Trillion, Dublin-based Think Tank Finds
- Sen. Michael Bennet discloses cancer diagnosis, still wants to run for president
- Mar-a-Lago Is a Spy’s Dream Come True (“The president’s private resort is the most glaring example of his lax approach to security. But there are plenty more.”)
- Feds are investigating possible Chinese spying at Mar-a-Lago and Cindy Yang, sources say
- Iowa Sen. Grassley: Trump wind turbine comments ‘idiotic’ (Every time Trump opens his mouth he says something ignorant, idiotic, bigoted, nasty, sadistic, insane, etc.)
- Will Trump Accept the Results of the 2020 Election if He Loses? (“The president’s speech before the National Republican Congressional Committee was equal parts terrifying and nonsensical”)
- Republicans trigger ‘nuclear option’ to speed Trump nominees (“Democrats blasted the move as a blow to the Senate and a sign the filibuster might soon be on its way out.”)
- Mitch McConnell undid 213 years of Senate history in 33 minutes (McConnell has done tremendous damage to this country.)
- Mitch McConnell Has the Same Relationship to the Truth That the President* Does (“He is completely devoid of shame or patriotism.”)
- We need constitutional reform — starting with the electoral college (“Our forebears were willing to work on reform, so what are we afraid of?”)
- Don’t want to turn the U.S. into Venezuela? Then don’t put this guy on the Fed. (“It’s always concerning when the president chooses an unqualified political operative to an important position.”)
- Wisconsin’s Progressive Tradition Is Dead. Walkerism Is Not. (“The Democrats appear to have blown a chance to seize the state supreme court majority Tuesday.”)
- Three more women come forward with allegations against Biden after pledge to change behavior
- ‘He won’t directly apologize’: Biden video falls short for some Democrats (“The former vice president says he’ll pay closer attention to ‘the boundaries of protecting personal space.’”)
- Buttigieg draws huge crowd at Northeastern U.
- Bernie’s biggest fans: The global left (“Sanders is viewed abroad as a potential figurehead for a worldwide movement against right-wing populism.”)
- Ralph Northam still hasn’t explained the racist yearbook photo (“Mr. Northam himself pledged to get to the bottom of that mystery, saying he would hire a private investigator to unearth the truth. Since then, nothing. If such a detective was hired, he or she was not identified. If an investigation was undertaken at the governor’s behest, its results are unknown.”)
- Sports betting is no sure deal (“Virginia is right not to rush into sports gambling, where money can have a dark influence on games”)
- House rejects Northam’s amendment to bill allowing felony murder charge for fatal overdose
- General Assembly to Northam: Win some, lose some (“…other amendments that would’ve benefited lower-income residents — such as a boost to the tax credit available to low-income households — were rejected.” Love the passive voice here; how about “Republicans rejected amendments that would’ve benefited lower-income residents?”)
- In a last-ditch effort to stop climate regulations, Virginia Republicans try legislating by budget amendment
- Virginia lawmakers vote to scrap license suspensions for unpaid court fees
- Video: Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax – “I did not assault Vanessa Tyson. I did not assault Meredith Watson. I look forward to clearing my good name.”
- Fairfax on accusers’ interviews: ‘Sensationalizing allegations does not make them true.’
- Justin Fairfax Dismisses His Accusers’ Stories Yet Again (“Virginia House Majority Leader Todd Gilbert, a Republican and former prosecutor, sniped to the Post that ‘Ted Bundy passed a polygraph’ and noted such evidence isn’t admissible in court.” I mean, I don’t give a crap what right wingnut Todd Gilbert has to say about anything, but…yeah, polygraphs are not reliable at all.)
- Statements by Virginia House and Senate Dem Caucuses, Gov. Northam on Today’s Veto Session (“Democrats Fight GOP Attacks on Healthcare”)
- Legislature sustains Northam’s vetoes and backs major highway plan, despite scandal (Why “despite scandal?” What does that have to do with this?)
- Editorial: Four takeaways from the General Assembly’s historic I-81 vote
- Photos: Women’s Reproductive Rights Advocates Rally in Richmond (“Virginians should have the ability to make their own personal health care decisions, without interference from politicians”)
- Thousands show up for Virginia’s first March For Life, bringing abortion rights into focus for election season
- Vowing to ‘never quit,’ Joe Morrissey officially announces run for Virginia Senate (Absolutely not.)
- Friends, family march at VCU in honor of alumnus Bijan Ghaisar, who was killed by U.S. Park Police
- A Va. university temporarily removes yearbooks with blackface from digital archives
- Schapiro: An overlooked window into Wilder-#MeToo controversy? (“A seemingly unrelated issue could provide clues about the #MeToo moment that threatens Wilder’s legacy.”)
- Opinion/Editorial: Transparency lacking in jail-death controversy
- Ahead of An Historic Special Election, Prince William Republicans Go Ugly
- Video: Packed House at Arlington Dems Meeting for Commonwealth’s Attorney Debate
- Mooradian to challenge Siddiqi in supervisor’s race (“Siddiqi, currently vice chairman of the county School Board, announced March 18 that he is switching parties and running for the Board of Supervisors as a Democrat. Two days later, Mooradian said he started getting ‘bombarded’ with texts, phone calls and Facebook messages imploring him to run for the Board of Supervisors instead of the School Board.”)
- Four Democrats vie for Lee District Supervisor in Virginia (“The driving issues in the race for Lee District Supervisor for urbanists will be transportation, housing, and the environment…The ability to work in concert with other state and federal agencies, as well as with the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors itself, will be of paramount importance…As for the environment, all four candidates have expressed support for a “Green New Deal” but differ in what exactly that means and how to implement it. Similarly, all four candidates agree that the rules regarding short-term rentals in the district need to be reevaluated in order to help people afford to live here, but disagree on specifics.”)
- Plaintiffs say white supremacists are ignoring requests in rally lawsuit
- Police investigating racist threat made against Loudoun Co. high school (“The Snapchat post threatened violence at Tuscarora High School.”)
- Editorial: An impasse over pot laws in Norfolk
- Mild and dry today, rainy Friday, then on to a warmer weekend
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