Wednesday News: Iran Calls Trump “Mentally Retarded”; “Mueller to testify before Congress about probe”; “House passes $4.5B border funding bill”; 10 Dems Debate Tonight; “Northam signs ‘Jacob’s Law’ in Arlington”

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Wednesday, June 26.

• Asked about war with Iran, Trump says ‘I don’t do exit strategies’ (“Iran, meanwhile, seethes, wondering what to make of the president’s mixed messages.”)
• Trump threatens ‘obliteration,’ Iran calls White House ‘mentally retarded’ (This is productive, eh?)
• As insults fly, options for avoiding conflict between the U.S. and Iran narrow
• U.S. Set to Delay More China Tariffs Ahead of Trump-Xi Meeting
• U.S., North Korea in talks to set up 3rd Trump-Kim summit, Moon says (Because the first two went sooooo well?)
• Mueller to testify before Congress about probe (“The former special counsel will appear publicly before two committees July 17 — a made-for-TV moment that Democrats have craved for months.”)
• Trump’s Protocol Chief Is Quitting Just Before the G-20 Summit (“Sean Lawler faces a probe into claims of verbal altercations” Only the best people, huh?)
• ‘Children Were Dirty, They Were Scared, and They Were Hungry’ (Absolutely inexcusable.)
• House passes border aid bill with help for migrant children amid outcry over condition of facilities (“The bill’s passage sets up a high-stakes negotiation with President Trump and Senate Republicans to deliver aid days before a looming deadline.”)
• House passes $4.5B border funding bill (And, of course, almost every Republican voted no.)
• This photo of a dead father and daughter shows the true nature of Trump’s immigration policy (“This is what nativism is.”)
• Trump has no excuse for mistreatment of children
• A woman watched her husband and daughter drown at the Mexican border, report says (Ugh…)
• A grim border drowning underlines peril facing many migrants
• This Sounds Crazy, But Trump’s Rape Denial Might Not Be True
• Trump will never be held accountable for his treatment of women
• America must listen to E. Jean Carroll. It’s clear Trump won’t.
• Bernie Sanders is running on a plan to bail out rich kids (It’s a really stupid idea.)
• Trump Names Stephanie Grisham, Aide to First Lady, as Sarah Sanders’s Successor
• Toasting Sarah Huckabee Sanders. By the Press. Really. (“‘You’d better not say I was here,’ said one White House reporter, who attended the awkward drinks at a nearby steakhouse.” The corporate media is totally f’ed up.)
• Sarah Huckabee Sanders Was an Arrogant Liar on Behalf of a Corrupt Administration* (“With “farewell drinks” on her behalf, the elite political media once again shows it will not stop pretending everything is normal in a time of larval tyranny.”)
• 5 things to watch in the Democratic debates
• Democratic Presidential Debate: See The 20 Candidates Who Will Be Onstage
• The first Democratic debate: Everything you need to know (“Twenty Democratic candidates will take the stage Wednesday and Thursday in Miami for the first presidential primary debates of the 2020 election.”)
• Everything Is So Insanely Dumb and It’s Going to Kill Us (“An update on the current regime’s attitude towards the climate crisis.”)
• Trump’s agriculture secretary dismisses climate change as ‘weather patterns’ (In a sane country, he’d be fired immediately and never hired by anyone.)
• Joni Ernst Just Showed Off the Republican Line of Attack in 2020: Socialism, Socialism, Socialism (“It’s going to be one and a half years of this—with nary a mention of those subsidies the president dished out to farmers.”)
• 150 young activists to camp out at DNC for climate debate
• Judge gives democrats the green light to start digging through trump’s business records (“Democrats just got a “tremendous victory” in their fight to prove Trump violated the Emoluments Clause.”)
• Warren’s brilliant plan to neutralize Republican voter suppression (“Build a wall around voting rights. If they try to go around the wall, surround them with a moat.”)
• N.R.A. Shuts Down Production of NRATV (A great loss for humanity, no doubt.)
• NRA permanently shutters NRATV: Good riddance (“Angelo Carusone: NRATV was a malevolent and destructive force that infected public discussions with dangerous misinformation, fomented extremism, and increasingly promoted actual white supremacists”)
• Oregon Republicans are in hiding to avoid voting on a climate bill. They might succeed. (This is very disturbing.)
• Climate advocates ramp up pressure in advance of debate in ‘ground zero’ Miami (“Candidates typically aren’t asked about climate change during debates. Will this time be different?” Not only should they be asked, it should be the #1 question.)
• Beto O’Rourke’s war tax could radically change the political calculus for foreign intervention (“Nonetheless, it is in fact a potentially transformative foreign policy proposal. Currently, wars are financed through debt and borrowing. Most people therefore don’t feel the effects of these conflicts in any direct concrete way. A war tax would change that…”)
• Florida Republicans Try Ugly New Way to Steal the Presidency (“I don’t even ascribe it to hate. I ascribe it to math. They’re doing whatever it takes to stay in power.”)
• Senators introduce bipartisan bill forcing tech companies to disclose value of users’ data
• Queens District Attorney Democratic Primary Election Results (“Tiffany Cabán leads by 1.3 percentage points, or 1,090 votes, over Melinda Katz with 99 percent of precincts reporting.”)
• As tensions with Iran worsen, 2 Va. members of Congress urge diplomacy (“It’s an escalating dynamic that’s worrying at least two area politicians who sit on different sides of the aisle: Sen. Tim Kaine and Rep. Rob Wittman, both from Virginia. On Tuesday, both explained why a return to diplomacy is needed.”)
• Video: Rep. Abigail Spanberger on C-SPAN Discusses Iran Situation, Immigration/Humanitarian Crisis, Supposed “Deep State,” Relationship with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
• Editorial: Republicans create their own political mess (“The entire episode stinks. The coordinated smear job has created turmoil beyond the boundaries of the 97th District. The dispute has also caused discord between state Senate Majority Leader Tommy Norment, who backed Wyatt, and House Speaker Kirk Cox, who stood behind Peace. And although some GOP leaders wanted Peace removed, he remains popular with his constituency.”)
• Ralph Northam signs ‘Jacob’s Law’ in Arlington
• Jacob’s Law to Strengthen Surrogacy Rights in Virginia (“A gay couple’s lengthy legal battle to gain custody of their son inspired the bill”)
• Virginia will give taxpayers special refunds of $110 or $220. Who gets one, and when?
• AG Mark Herring Files Suit Against Roanoke Robocallers (“Adventis Inc. and Skyline Metrics, LLC made hundreds of thousands of robocalls nationwide”)
• Lt. Governor Fairfax says remarks on scandal raising his profile are mischaracterized
• Audio: Asked About Justin Fairfax Allegations, Sen. Chap Petersen Says “General Assembly…need[s] to be about representing the people of Virginia, not trying to figure out what happened in some bar in 2004”
• Water board should support call for federal action to halt pipeline damage
• After paperwork lapse, senior House Republican asks state board to put him on the ballot (Gotta love the Kilgore brothers…)
• Buckroe will not cower after gunfire injured four
• Virginia doctor in Belize on vacation found dead with tour guide
• The Latest: Separate probe considered for Virginia shooting
• Virginia Beach City Council members signal support for independent investigation into mass shooting
• 2-year-old boy still missing, Hampton police say
• Heat wave gradually intensifying through Saturday, becoming more humid as well (“Friday and Saturday should be the hottest days of the bunch, with a bit better chance of a few showers and storms this weekend.”)