Saturday News: Australia Elections; “Trump Isolated on Iran as World Sees Confusion in U.S. Strategy”; “Fossil fuels are underpriced by a whopping $5.2 trillion”; “Faith leaders lead march in protest of Atlantic Coast Pipeline”

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Saturday, May 18.

• Trump Isolated on Iran as World Sees Confusion in U.S. Strategy
• Australia 2019 Election Live Updates: Tony Abbott Loses Seat (“Australia’s federal election result could have major implications for policy on climate change, China, immigration and the economy.”)
• Venezuela’s Collapse Is the Worst Outside of War in Decades, Economists Say (“The crumbling of Venezuela’s economy has now outpaced the fall of the Soviet Union, Cuba’s unraveling in the 1990s and Zimbabwe’s collapse under Robert Mugabe.
 Shortages of food, water and medication have sunk most of the population into a deepening humanitarian crisis.”)
• To Contain Iran, Trump’s Newest Line in the Sand Looks a Lot Like Obama’s (“A one-year time limit on Iran’s ability to build a nuclear bomb was at the heart of the 2015 accord that the U.S. left in 2018, our reporter writes in an analysis.”)
• Trump declares some auto imports pose national security threat (He’s really trying to hurt the great Obama economy.)
• Trump reaches deal to lift steel, aluminum tariffs on Mexico, Canada
• Exclusive: U.S. may scale back Huawei trade restrictions to help existing customers
• Fossil fuels are underpriced by a whopping $5.2 trillion (“We can’t take on climate change without properly pricing coal, oil, and natural gas. But it’s a huge political challenge.”)
• Flynn contacted GOP Mueller critic while cooperating with special counsel
• Steven Mnuchin Refuses to Comply With Subpoena for Trump’s Tax Returns (“Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Friday refused to comply with a congressional subpoena to hand over President Trump’s tax returns, a move that is likely to be the final step before the matter heads to the courts.”)
• Trump’s New Immigration Plan Doesn’t Make Any Sense (“If the White House believes migrants depress wages, why does it want to recruit them specifically for high-paying jobs?”)
• Acting secretary blocked Stephen Miller’s bid for another DHS shakeup
• New court filings in Michael Flynn’s case spell trouble for Trump
• Companies warn Trump trade war is about to hit consumers
• Trump’s Huawei Ban Is a Bigger Deal Than His Trade War
• Why Black Voters Are Gravitating to Biden (“Yes, his civil-rights record is spotty. But Joe Biden had Barack Obama’s back for eight years, and people will remember that.”)
• All the World’s Crooks Can Depend on the Trump Administration* (“The Department of Agriculture funnels trade war bailout money for American farmers to a Brazilian meatpacking operation.”)
• Top Dem: Trump helps GOP erase enthusiasm gap; Ohio a big problem (“Cecil unveiled a new poll that found a generic Democratic presidential candidate leading Trump 47 percent to 38 percent in Florida, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.”)
• Elizabeth Warren just announced her abortion platform. It’s aggressive. (“It has little chance in Congress. But Warren is one of the few Democratic candidates with a clear reproductive rights plan.”)
• Missouri lawmakers approve extreme eight-week abortion ban (“The legislation, which is expected to be signed by the governor, echoes even tighter restrictions passed by Alabama this week”)
• Louisiana governor breaks with Democratic Party on abortion
• Our Fury Over Abortion Was Dismissed for Decades As Hysterical (“But we were gaslit”)
• Previously Unreleased Poll Shows Alabama Voters Disapprove of Extreme Abortion Ban (“This could be a repeat of 2012, when extremism on abortion doomed GOP Senate campaigns.”)
• Ohio State Finds Team Doctor Sexually Abused 177 Students (What was “Gym Jordan” up to when that was going on?)
• Bernie’s mystery Soviet tapes revealed (“It’s the height of Glasnost and Perestroika, where there are genuine efforts by Americans to reach out to Soviet cities and try to establish these relationships.”)
• Herman Wouk, 1915 to 2019 (R.I.P.)
• 173 Republicans vote against Equality Act banning LGBTQ discrimination
• U.S. House Passes Equality Act; Every Virginia Dem Votes Yes, While Every Virginia Republican Votes No
• Virginia delegation splits on party lines on LGBTQ rights bill
• Virginia Senators, Reps urged to protect Appalachian Trail
• Warner, Kaine Reintroduce Legislation to Tackle Root Causes of Central American Migrant Crisis
• As Virginia’s industrial hemp market takes off, police have no quick way to tell if it’s marijuana
• NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia and Former Alabaman Pro-Choice Champion Sen. Jennifer Boysko Respond to Alabama’s Total-Abortion-Ban
• Protestors March Against Fracked-Gas Pipelines
• ‘That’s part of our responsibility’: Faith leaders lead march in protest of Atlantic Coast Pipeline
• Yes Virginia, We Can Stop the Mountain Valley and Atlantic Coast Pipelines. Here’s How.
• Analysis: Could Virginia House Speaker Kirk Cox (R) Not Just Lose His Speakership but His House of Delegates Seat?
• Analysis: Can Dems Defeat the Deplorable Del. Dave LaRock in HD33 This November?
• Crooked Media and Data for Progress Launch Fundraising Effort to Flip Virginia Blue
• Raising Funds for Prince William Delegate (“Arlington women support Haya Ayala’s pro-ERA, pro-health care stance.”)
• Del. Bob Thomas misstates provision in Virginia abortion bill (“The bill would not have tinkered with a woman’s right to choose a doctor who would speak to her before performing an abortion. It would have simply removed a requirement that she be offered an opportunity to speak to the physician before the procedure. There’s a big difference between those two provisions.”)
• Warner Talks Tariffs and Taxes with Loudoun’s Craft Beverage Creators
• Pharrell Williams tells UVa’s Class of 2019 ‘there’s still a lot of work to be done’ in fiery speech
• Heating up through Monday, with rising humidity and some scattered storms