Thursday News: “Just How Crazy Is Boris Johnson?”; “The Mueller Hearings: The Movie”; Puerto Rico Governor Resigns; “Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney resigns from Jamestown committee over Trump invite”

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Thursday, July 25.

• Nuclear talks in doubt as North Korea tests missiles, envoy cancels trip
• Boris Johnson’s Plan to Solve Brexit: Believe Harder (“Britain’s new prime minister has an addiction to optimism, arguing that the country was being held back by ‘pessimists at home and abroad.'” Ridiculous.)
• Nicola Sturgeon calls for new Scottish independence vote (“Scotland’s first minister uses first letter to Boris Johnson to ask for alternative Brexit option”)
• Boris Johnson: new PM takes his revenge and sacks over half the cabinet (“Johnson shows ruthless streak as he packs team with Brexiters and rightwingers”)
• Just How Crazy Is Boris Johnson? (“If there is any consolation, it is that Johnson is not an extremist of any kind. By temperament and by upbringing, Johnson is a metropolitan liberal: pro-choice, pro-immigration, tolerant of diversity, educated about the world, and prepared to accept the consensus on climate change. The problem is that he is also so unserious and so unprincipled that it is impossible to know if he would maintain any of those positions under meaningful duress.”)
• Ricardo Rosselló, Puerto Rico’s Governor, Resigns After Protests (What a mess.)
• Puerto Rico Governor’s Resignation Shakes Bankrupt Commonwealth
• Mueller Testified. Now What? (“Will the results of this congressional hearing be enough for the Democratic leaders to pursue impeachment?”)
• They’re Doing It as We Sit Here’ (“Bob Mueller made clear the threat to American democracy is urgent. The politicians had other things on their minds.”)
• Mueller left impeachment breadcrumbs, if Democrats choose to follow (“Analysis: If Democrats want to impeach Trump, they’re going to have to take the former special counsel’s work, build on it, prove the case — and hope it doesn’t blow up in their faces politically.”)
• Nancy Pelosi and Her Caucus Are Slowly Moving Towards the Inevitable (“Sooner or later, even the most cautious Democrats will be forced to act and begin an impeachment inquiry into Donald Trump.”)
• Democrats are now left with one option to end Trump’s presidency: The 2020 election (That’s always been the case)
• The President* Is a Crook and Everyone in Congress Knows It (“Robert Mueller wasn’t Richard Pryor at the mic, but he confirmed it in his own way.”)
• Mueller gave a warning on Russian meddling. Congress — and America — should listen.
• Mueller’s hearing proves that Trump and his apologists are lying
• So this is why Mueller didn’t want to testify
• Robert Mueller Said All He Needed to Say (“He affirmed four instances of potential obstruction of justice. Now it’s up to Congress.”)
• Mueller’s Failure (“In the end, he didn’t quite do his job.”)
• Trump Escapes Accountability (“The special counsel’s congressional testimony was tough to watch, for many reasons.”)
• How Republicans Used Mueller’s Conservatism to Discredit Him
• The GOP’s questions to Mueller seemed bizarre — unless you watch Fox News (“Treating right-wing conspiracy theories as smoking guns shows that Republicans are mostly speaking to their base.”)
• On Mueller’s final day on the national stage, a halting, faltering performance
• The 5 Biggest Lies Republicans Told at Mueller’s Hearing (Almost every word Republicans uttered was misleading or a lie.)
• What We Learned From Mueller’s 7 Hours on Capitol Hill (“Testimony by Robert Mueller, the former special counsel, mostly reiterated the findings of his investigation into Russian election interference. Republicans and Democrats sparred over his conclusions, but under questioning, he had his moments.”)
• The Blockbuster That Wasn’t: Mueller Disappoints the Democrats
• MSNBC public editor: The Chuck Todd show (“For Chuck Todd all the political world’s a stage, and he’s the star…At a moment of particular gravity for the country, with the sitting president credibly accused of obstructing justice, and many of his campaign staff and associates under investigation and indictment, may I suggest that if you, a journalist, are bored with the politics of this—if you are demanding somehow to be entertained, right now—you’re not doing your job.”)
• Pelosi rebuffs Nadler on impeachment after Mueller flop (“The two senior Democrats discussed the party’s next steps in a closed-door caucus meeting after the special counsel’s testimony.”)
• Mueller says report doesn’t exonerate Trump; Va. congressman says it’s time to ‘move on’
• 5 losers and 0 winners from Robert Mueller’s testimony to the House of Representatives
• Robert Mueller Kept His Promise (“’The report is my testimony,’ the special counsel had previously said. During six hours of questioning today, that proved to be the case.”)
• Trump claims Mueller has no power to ‘exonerate’ after months of stating the opposite (“The president has frequently claimed the special counsel’s report was a ‘complete and total exoneration.'”)
• Democrats didn’t hear what they wanted from Mueller. Neither did Republicans. (“In his clearest statement, Mueller contradicted the president, saying Trump ‘was not exculpated’ in his report”)
• Video: House Republicans parrot Fox at Mueller hearings
• Winners and losers from Robert Mueller’s testimony
• Right-wing media speculate about Mueller’s health, claiming he may not have written the Mueller report
• How Trump shut down the GOP deficit hawks (“Trump looked to his friend and Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin to work with Pelosi and McConnell to strike a budget deal that avoids another risky spending fight until after the 2020 election.”)
• Jeffrey Epstein found injured with marks on his neck in New York jail cell, sources say (“A source questioned whether Epstein might have staged an attack or a suicide attempt to get a move to another facility.”)
• Tesla Slumps on Profit Doubts, Co-Founder’s Surprise Retreat
• Kaine joins efforts to block Trump administration from gathering citizenship information
• Video: Following Mueller Testimony, Sen. Mark Warner Attempts to Pass Election Security Legislation (“Effort is blocked on the floor by Senate Republicans”)
• Courts must compel Pennsylvania to clean up Chesapeake Bay
• Editorial: Partners need to step up to protect the bay
• Chesapeake Bay underwater grasses resilient despite record rainfall
• “Not Larry Sabato” Ratings for Virginia State Senate, House of Delegates Races (Dems have “clear edge to win a State Senate majority this fall”; House of Delegates tougher.)
• Climate change could cost Va. coastal cities billions, experts warn Congress
• Gov. Northam Establishes Executive Leadership Team on School Readiness (“Directs state agencies to expand access to early education for all at-risk three- and four-year-olds by 2025”)
• Schapiro: Jamestown’s the photo-op some Republicans don’t want
• Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney resigns from Jamestown committee over Trump invite to commemoration
• Virginia mayor resigns from Jamestown commission over Trump (“Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney sent a resignation letter Monday saying Trump ‘denigrates our democracy’ and has no place at the event.”)
• AG Mark Herring Takes Additional Action to Help Blackjewel Workers
• ‘I can’t let go of it’: How a former secretary of the commonwealth dedicated herself to bolstering Virginia’s foster care system
• Audio: Hard-Right Del. Nick Freitas (R-HD30) Explains Why He Didn’t Make the Ballot, How He Now Thinks He WILL Make the Ballot
• Some special bills for the General Assembly’s gun violence special session
• Hoeft: The special session wasn’t so special
• Arlington Studying Zoning Changes to Encourage More Affordable Housing
• First phase of I–95 study in Virginia finds more problems than money to fix them
• Portsmouth Civic Center condemned, deemed “unfit for habitation” (“City Manager Lydia Pettis Patton says studies by contractors showed the 1960s jail building is ‘unsafe and unsuitable for human habitation.’ The city has not made the reports public.”)
• Judge dismisses charge against Virginia Beach employee who confronted supervisor following mass shooting
• Slain 15-year-old Newport News girl was pregnant, family says
• Questions remain over death of young worker at Fairfax Co. construction site (“Unanswered questions remain a day after a young worker was killed and a man was hurt at a McLean, Virginia, construction site, after they were trapped while working in a trench.”)
• We have to speak up now’: Hanover supervisors met with song, prayer, criticism over KKK rally
• Sunny skies and sweet summer weather for the next several days