by Lowell
Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Tuesday, April 2. As for Jared Kushner, if he were a Democrat, crowds at Trump rallies would be screaming to “LOCK HIM UP!” But he’s a member of the Trump Cult, so it’s all good!
- Brexit’s Last Chance Before the Voters Take Control (“Theresa May should forget trying to reconcile the Conservatives’ factions. Her choice is a cross-party deal or going for a general election.”)
- UK Parliament fails to agree on a new Brexit plan — again (“Members of Parliament had another chance to break the political stalemate. But they rejected all four Brexit options, including a second referendum and a customs union.” The customs union vote was 273-276.)
- No-deal Brexit more likely by the day, says Michel Barnier
- Khashoggi children have received houses in Saudi Arabia and monthly payments as compensation for killing of father (Blood money.)
- Whistleblower Says White House Overturned 25 Denied Security Clearances
- Trump, in Reversal, Says Replacing Obamacare Can Wait Until After Election (Hahaha.)
- Republican Health Care Lying Syndrome (“Even Trump supporters don’t believe the party’s promises.”)
- Between Two Deadly Crashes, Boeing Moved Haltingly to Make 737 MAX Fixes (“The aerospace giant, which has worked on changes since November, pointed a finger at foreign pilots, argued with regulators”)
- Trump seems inclined to close border despite potential chaos (Bonkers.)
- Dems ramp up subpoena threats (“The chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee intensified a fight over White House security clearances on Monday, while the House Judiciary Committee announced it would vote Wednesday on authorizing a subpoena to compel the release of Mueller’s full report and underlying evidence to Congress.”)
- Democratic Green New Deal Defectors Chart Their Own Climate Path (“Carbon tax, renewable energy mandates eyed as alternatives. They will offer ‘tangible, achievable things,’ lawmaker says”)
- Pivot to center? Not Trump (Trump continues to be the “president” for his deplorable base, of his deplorable base, and by his deplorable base.)
- The Trump People Didn’t Even Craft a Decent Lie About the Security Clearances (“Meanwhile, congressional Republicans responded with predictable hackitude.”)
- Trump’s Cycle of Self-Sabotage at the U.S. Border
- Neil Gorsuch: Eighth Amendment “Does Not Guarantee a Prisoner a Painless Death” (The illegitimate Supreme Court Justice doesn’t comprehend – and/or doesn’t care – about what “cruel and unusual” means.)
- The Supreme Court’s Conservatives Just Legalized Torture (“In an appalling death penalty opinion, Justice Neil Gorsuch just overturned 60 years of precedent.”)
- Gorsuch just handed down the most bloodthirsty and cruel death penalty opinion of the modern era (“The Supreme Court just tossed decades worth of Eighth Amendment law into the wastebasket.” This Supreme Court is truly a menace.)
- “The Left Can’t Meme”: How Right-Wing Groups Are Training the Next Generation of Social Media Warriors (“Memes helped elect Donald Trump. Now well-funded conservative groups are using them to proselytize.” And progressives, as usual, are not in the ballgame.)
- Media outlets somehow make Trump the savior of Special Olympics funding that his budget aimed to cut in the first place (“Sloppy headlines and tweets that simply quote the president without context are just good PR for Trump” The corporate media sucks, part infinity.)
- Sunday shows ignore report that Trump may have committed bank fraud (Infinity plus one? LOL)
- Ongoing Struggles of Warren Campaign Provide Yet More Evidence That Voters Are Full of It
- Harris raises $12 million in 1st quarter of campaign
- ‘He’s disrupting the entire 2020 race’: Buttigieg’s $7M haul puts Dems on notice
- Connecticut woman says then-Vice President Joe Biden touched her inappropriately at a Greenwich fundraiser in 2009
- Pelosi: Accusations against Biden don’t disqualify him
- ‘He needs to be a lot more aware’: Dems agonize over Biden (“Senate Democrats are struggling with how to respond to allegations of inappropriate behavior toward women by their former colleague.”)
- ‘Friendly grandpa’ or creepy uncle? Generations split over Biden behavior (“‘I come from a different generation,’ said one female septuagenarian donor, ‘when people were really friendly and were not afraid to show it.'”)
- Trump eyeing Kris Kobach, Ken Cuccinelli for ‘immigration czar’ (Neither Kobach nor Cooch should be anywhere near the government in *any* capacity.)
- Trump Considering Two Bad Men for Horrible Job (“Cuccinelli, meanwhile, is no stranger to xenophobic hysteria himself. As a Virginia state senator in 2008, he introduced legislation which would have allowed businesses to fire employees and render them unable to receive unemployment benefits simply for not speaking English.”)
- “Mass panic and chaos” at Nipsey Hussle vigil as suspect named in his slaying
- Sen. Mark Warner praises Mark Zuckerberg’s call for tech regulation (“Sen. Mark Warner is ‘glad to see’ Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg acknowledge the need for tech regulation…Other politicians met Zuckerberg’s calls with mixed sentiments.”)
- Stormy Daniels, Christine Blasey Ford, Virginia’s lt. gov. all took lie detector tests (“The lie detector ‘basically measures how nervous you are,’ an expert at Brandeis University said.” And nervousness can be the result of any number of factors, including underlying personality traits. That’s why they’re not “lie detectors” at all.)
- The End Of The Mueller Probe Hasn’t Been A Game-Changer For Trump (“At least not yet.”)
- History To Be Made As Chicago Votes For Mayor
- ‘It Just Went Poof’: The Strange Aftermath of Virginia’s Cascade of Political Scandals (“’Don’t apologize, move on, and everybody will talk about something else next week,’ is how Ben Tribbett, a Democratic strategist, described it.” Definitely the case in today’s light-speed news cycle.)
- Editorial: Protect states’ say on coastal drilling
- McAuliffe says he’s ‘very close’ to deciding on 2020 run that would emphasize his pro-business record in Virginia (And when he says “pro-business,” he means “corporate welfare” and also “anti-worker” and “anti-environment,” as far as I can tell. Also note that *every* governor of Virginia claims to be “pro-business,” so not sure what makes TMac so speeeecial.)
- Democrats File to Run for Virginia State Senate in Record Numbers
- Dispatches from the Campaign Trail: Does Climate Amnesia Afflict Virginia Democratic Candidates?
- Video: Vanessa Tyson Interview on “CBS This Morning”; “Some of the details she shared with @GayleKing are disturbing”
- Accuser: Virginia lieutenant gov’s response ‘disgraceful’
- Virginia explained: Why Republicans keep pushing bare-bones, high deductible health plans and Northam keeps batting them down (“They’re very cheap, but for a reason. They aren’t compliant with the Affordable Care Act, so they don’t have to cover pre-existing conditions, nor do they have to offer the ACA’s essential health benefits, such as maternity care, mental health care or prescription drug coverage.”)
- I-81 funding, driver’s license suspensions among issues General Assembly will consider Wednesday
- Northam blackface yearbook investigation will be made public – inquiry ongoing (“All the facts will be made public about the 1984 infamous blackface photo on Virginia Gov. Northam’s yearbook page. But there’s no deadline for the end of the inquiry.”)
- Va. pipelines set off ‘an alarm bell’ for skeptical energy regulator
- Slemp: Holding drug dealers accountable for overdose deaths should be a priority in upcoming veto session
- Editorial: No consequences for legislators who vote against I-81 fix
- Judge orders Fairfax police to stop collecting data from license plate readers
- Who Do You Support in Contested County Board Races (Fairfax, Prince William, Loudoun Counties)
- Another Fairfax County School Board Endorsement: Melanie Meren (Hunter Mill District)
- Clouds return with light rain chance later today; sunny and warmer tomorrow (“Partly to mostly cloudy, chance of light PM rain. Highs: 49-55.”)
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