by Lowell
Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, August 16.
- Israeli Decision on Omar and Tlaib Inflames Politics in Two Countries (“President Trump’s call to bar the lawmakers was an extraordinary step to influence an allied nation and punish his political opponents at home.”)
- Barring two U.S. lawmakers from Israel is un-Israeli and un-American
- After ban, Israel approves humanitarian request from Tlaib to visit grandmother in West Bank (“Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) pledged not to promote a boycott against Israel during her visit.”)
- King Bibi Bows Before a Tweet (“After Trump cowed the Israeli leader into reversing course on Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, the biggest loser was Israel itself.”)
- Israel’s Massive Self-Own (“Trump’s racism and Netanyahu’s dependency have driven a bulldozer through the bipartisan consensus.”)
- Trump’s Foreign-Policy Crisis Arrives (“Competition between the U.S. and China may be inevitable, but if Trump and Xi mishandle the Hong Kong crisis, they could lose the ability to calibrate.”)
- With Trump as President, the World Is Spiraling Into Chaos (“Trump torched America’s foreign policy infrastructure. The results are becoming clear.”)
- A Rare Western Voice With Little Sympathy for a Pro-Democracy Effort (“Mr. Trump’s cautious distance from Hong Kong has isolated him from Congress, his allies and his advisers, our correspondents write in an analysis.”)
- Construction workers prepare to battle former ally Trump (“A powerful union group uneasy about a Labor Department apprenticeship proposal has ‘the potential to be a significant force in the 2020 election.'”)
- Trump aides look into U.S. purchasing Greenland after directives from president (“The request has bewildered staffers, but President Trump has mentioned it for weeks. As with many of his internal musings, aides are waiting for more direction before they decide how seriously they should study the matter.” Trump’s bonkers, but there also is probably something corrupt here as well, knowing him.)
- President Trump Eyes a New Real-Estate Purchase: Greenland (“In conversations with aides, the president has—with varying degrees of seriousness—floated the idea of the U.S. buying the autonomous Danish territory”)
- North Korea Calls Off Further Talks With South, Launches More Projectiles
- North Korea Testing Missiles Faster Than Days of ‘Fire and Fury’
- The US isn’t the only major economy facing a possible recession (“Japan, Germany, the UK, and Brazil are seeing signs of trouble too.”)
- Varnish and rubber found in Arctic snow indicates “significant contamination of the atmosphere,” according to study
- Governing by grievance, Trump wields official powers against political enemies
- Trump’s transparent attempt to manipulate American Jews (“Trump’s support for Israel denying entry to Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib is a clear attempt to pit Jews against Democrats.”)
- Fracking may be doing more climate damage than we thought (“The mysterious recent spike in methane emissions? It just might be US fracking.”)
- Anthony Scaramucci Calls Trump “Crazy” and “Narcissistic”
- Trump in New Hampshire: ‘You have no choice but to vote for me’ (“In a week when bond markets flashed what has historically been a major recession warning, the president again argued that if he lost, the stock market would plummet.”)
- Fox News poll shows Trump losing to Biden, Warren, Sanders and Harris (“Former Vice President Joe Biden, meanwhile, beat Trump in the theoretical matchup with 50 percent support among those surveyed, compared to Trump’s 38 percent.”)
- ‘He’s rattled’: With 2020 in mind, Trump worries about economy
- O’Rourke: ‘I will not in any scenario run for the United States Senate’
- Warren and Biden Are on a Collision Course
- From Trump Boom to Trump Gloom (“The smart money thinks Trumponomics is a flop.”)
- Economic Trouble Signs Hang Over Trump’s Trade War
- Don’t Burn Trees to Fight Climate Change—Let Them Grow
- Trump Shifts From Background Checks To Mental Illness Reform At N.H. Rally (Yep, Trump wasn’t serious, as usual)
- Ex-Rep. Joe Walsh apologizes for supporting “unfit” Trump, calls for GOP challenger (“Tea Party congressman turned right-wing radio host airs repentance for “racial arsonist” in New York Times op-ed”)
- John Hickenlooper’s graceful exit sets a standard
- House Dems subpoena Corey Lewandowski, Rick Dearborn in ongoing Trump obstruction probe
- Ghislaine Maxwell’s Great Escape Didn’t Get Her Far
- Jo Swinson says she would work with Labour to avoid no-deal Brexit (“Lib Dem leader also says she thinks Corbyn-led unity government would not win MPs’ confidence”)
- A truck drove into a line of ICE protesters outside a detention facility in Rhode Island
- A Prison Guard Drove A Truck Through A Group Of Jewish ICE Protesters, Injuring Several (“If they’re willing to do that to us, we can’t imagine the violence the ICE detainees behind those walls may be subject to every day”)
- Trump administration reverses decision to use ‘cyanide bombs’ to kill wild animals (The entire concept of a “cyanide bomb” is sadistic, warped shit.)
- Portland prepares for city’s largest far-right rally of the Trump era (“Police are fearful of an outbreak of violence at the ‘End Domestic Terrorism’ rally, which is targeted at Portland’s antifascist groups”)
- Fox failed to cover Rep. Steve King’s latest abortion comments. Other networks missed the context. (“Fox spent less than two minutes covering King, but CNN and MSNBC didn’t adequately contextualize King’s anti-abortion stance”)
- Stephanie Grisham gave her first TV interview as White House press secretary to birther and reported sexual harasser Eric Bolling (“Bolling hosts a weekly show for Sinclair that often features Trump loyalists and right-wing extremists”)
- Fox News has called immigration an “invasion” multiple times since El Paso
- Sinclair teams up with immigration official Ken Cuccinelli to defend ICE raids (“Sinclair’s Boris Epshteyn: ‘What ICE is doing is not a targeted attack on people in our country. It is our government enforcing our laws. Period.'” Reminder not to watch any Sinclair-owned “news” shows, like WJLA7 in the Washington, DC area.)
- Editorial: Cuccinelli is wrong: ‘Poor, huddled masses’ are an inextricable part of our history
- Virginia company accused of exploiting immigrants needing bail (“The lawsuit filed last week in Rockingham County and announced Thursday accuses Verona-based Libre by Nexus of fraud and violating Virginia’s consumer-protection laws. It says immigrants desperate to be released from detention paid Nexus thousands of dollars and agreed to onerous GPS monitoring imposed by the company.”)
- Two national groups make six-figure bids to boost Virginia Democrats in election
- Video: In Richmond, Human Rights Campaign Holds Announces Major Investment in Virginia House and Senate Races
- Human Rights Campaign endorsements jolt prospects for equal rights in Virginia
- Chesapeake Climate Action Network Statement: Mountain Valley Pipeline Voluntarily Suspends Construction [UPDATED – Sierra Club statement]
- Mountain Valley suspends work on pipeline (“Developers of the Mountain Valley Pipeline have voluntarily suspended work on parts of the embattled project, three days after a lawsuit raised questions about its impact on endangered species.”)
- Photos of Insanity: Active Landslide Threatens Lives Along Route of Mountain Valley Pipeline
- Mountain Valley Pipeline voluntarily suspends construction that could harm endangered species
- Conservative activist rebukes Virginia Tech’s ‘leftist’ freshman orientation (“Nance wrote she was disturbed by students and faculty stating their pronouns when introducing themselves, and listing those on their name tags.”)
- Coalition to Stop Gun Violence Releases First Round of 2019 Virginia Candidate Endorsements
- VA Crime Commission Chairman Mark Obenshain Has Dark History of Staunch Opposition to Gun Safety Legislation
- Invasive emerald ash borer found in Virginia county
- A Virginia teen saw a historic black cemetery in disrepair. He recruited his fellow Boy Scouts to restore it.
- Virginian-Pilot to remove comments from website
- Why a Virginia Democrat says he launched a political fundraiser off of a mass shooting that was still unfolding (“In an interview Thursday afternoon, Levine said he stands by his fundraiser.”)
- Editorial: Investments in our infrastructure (“Aug. 5 was a new day for development in downtown Richmond.”)
- Editorial: Why Reimagine 419 matters
- High humidity is entrenched as temperatures rise into the 90s this weekend
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