by Lowell
Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Wednesday, September 18.
- Israel’s two main parties locked in dead heat as negotiations begin for a new government (“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his chief rival have started jockeying for the endorsement of smaller parties whose support could propel either one to a ruling majority in Israel’s parliament.” Bibi’s not gone yet.)
- Netanyahu’s Israel Election Gamble Fails
- Israel’s Election Is Too Close to Call, but Still a Setback for Netanyahu (“Exit polls showed that neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor his chief rival, Benny Gantz, had enough support to form a government. If the projections hold true, Mr. Gantz, a former army chief, would be given the first shot at putting together a governing coalition.”)
- Elections Do Little To Point The Way Out Of Israel’s Political Impasse
- Money Is the Oxygen on Which the Fire of Global Warming Burns (“What if the banking, asset-management, and insurance industries moved away from fossil fuels?” Bingo – do it NOW!)
- Saudis Keep Oil Flowing as They Patch Up Wounded Industry
- U.S. seeks U.N. action on Saudi attacks despite likely Russian opposition
- Pompeo making spur-of-the-moment trip to Mideast as Iran rules out talks
- Climate activist Greta Thunberg used her superpower of shaming adults on Senate Democrats (“I know you’re trying, but just not hard enough.”)
- How the Rise of Populism is Fuelling Climate Science Denial Across Europe
- Can a Climate Conscious Diet Include Meat or Dairy? (“…a shift to vegan diets reduced per capita greenhouse gas footprints by 70 percent, having the lowest per capita carbon impact in 97 percent of the countries”)
- ‘The world has no chance of beating climate change if natural gas is part of the mix’ (“A report by Germany’s Energy Watch Group thinktank has said we would be better off sticking to coal and oil than switching to gas because emissions of methane, the most potent greenhouse gas, caused by gas extraction render any related carbon savings irrelevant.”)
- Fed Prepares Second Rate Cut to Cushion Against Global Risks
- Trump officials to revoke California’s power to set auto emissions standards (“The move sets up a major court fight with the nation’s most populous state. Thirteen states and the District of Columbia have vowed to adopt California’s stricter standards if they diverge from the federal government’s, as have several automakers.” The Trump administration’s assault on the environment, on cleaner cars, on new technology, etc. continues.)
- Acting Intelligence Chief Refuses to Testify, Prompting Standoff With Congress
- How Fox News twisted the Kavanaugh scandal into a way to attack the New York Times (“They keep using the same false talking point to change the topic.”)
- Trump says homeless people hurt the ‘prestige’ of Los Angeles, San Francisco (As one of the top-rated comments says, “If anyone has ruined any place’s prestige, it is Trump ruining the prestige of the United States.”)
- Lewandowski pumps life into Trump obstruction story (“Analysis: The former campaign manager’s Hill turn provided details of the president’s efforts to intervene in the Russia probe.”)
- Corey Lewandowski Tried to Make a Mockery of the House (“At his recent hearing, the president’s former campaign manager had a much larger audience in mind than just congressional Democrats.”)
- The best evidence of obstruction of justice (“Trump is telling witnesses to obstruct an impeachment investigation.”)
- Corey Lewandowski debuts his Senate campaign theme: Unbridled nastiness (Corey Lewandoski is as bad as they get.)
- Corey Lewandowski testifying to Congress: “I have no obligation to be honest with the media”
- First poll after third Democratic debate shows Biden leading but Warren rising (“The poll, fielded by phone from Sept. 13-16 and with a margin of error of plus or minus 4.36 percentage points for results among Democratic primary voters, showed Biden with 31% and Warren with 25%. The poll has Warren up 7 points since early July, the last time NBC and the Wall Street Journal released a poll, and is another survey showing Warren’s support has grown in recent months.”)
- NBC/WSJ poll: Biden leads Dem 2020 field, Warren’s support grows
- Sanders campaign wracked by dissension (“A staff shakeup and loss of an endorsement to Elizabeth Warren has allies warning of deeper problems.” He’d probably be smart to drop out and endorse Warren at this point.)
- Democratic senators quietly hope Biden wins over rivals
- GOP struggles with retirement wave
- Trump fires back at Graham over Iran criticism
- McConnell says Congress in ‘holding pattern’ on gun control (Thanks to…McConnell.)
- New study: Trump’s Electoral College win was no fluke — and is likely to happen again (“Republicans likely to win 65 percent of close elections where they lose the popular vote, according to new analysis” Yep, time to ditch the Electoral College. While we’re at it, why the heck do even tiny-population states – smaller than Fairfax County, in some cases – get two senators each?)
- The GOP May One Day Regret Brett Kavanaugh (“It’s clear now that a large portion of Americans will never find Kavanaugh’s confirmation legitimate…A party hell-bent on winning triumphed this round, but it has no idea what’s coming if an institution that most Americans no longer respect tries to move the law in an unpopular direction—like banning abortion.”)
- Abortion rate drops to lowest rate since Roe v. Wade (“Guttmacher attributed the decline to two factors: a declining pregnancy rate and a growing disparity between abortion access in liberal and conservative states. That divide stems largely from laws targeting the operations of clinics that provide abortions, a style of regulation known as a Targeted Regulation of Abortion Provider – or TRAP – law.”)
- Trump delivers ‘false choice’ for Latinos between country, racial identity: Experts
- Mulling Run Against Green New Deal Sponsor Ed Markey, Joe Kennedy Is Heavily Invested in Fossil Fuels
- ‘The Personification Of Human Decency’: Nina Totenberg Remembers Cokie Roberts (R.I.P.)
- ‘Jeopardy!’ host Alex Trebek says he is undergoing chemotherapy again after ‘numbers went sky high’ (I’m rooting for Alex Trebek for a big win in the “Final Jeopardy” of his life.)
- School shooting hoodies with bullet holes land fashion company in hot water (Please tell me this is a bad joke…)
- Family Feud: Denver Riggleman vs. Rappahannock GOP (“Local GOP discuss censure and possible primary of Congressman ” Are they trying to, ahem, “Bigfoot” Riggleman? LOL)
- Gov. Northam Executive Order Sets 100% Carbon-Free Goal by 2050. That’s Nice, But We Need a LOT More, Including by the Legislature.
- Northam calls for carbon-free electric grid by 2050
- EDITORIAL: Dominion shouldn’t keep all overcharges
- Racist yearbook photo investigation cost nearly $368,000
- Video: PFAW Virginia Campaign Kickoff Event with Terry McAuliffe, Dolores Huerta, Andrew Gillum, and 16 Great Democratic Candidates (Andrew Gillum: “We need you all to win ‘bigly'”; “the other 49 [states] are watching”)
- Domination: Virginia Democrats Crush Republican Fundraising In Top Races
- Democrats have nearly $1 million cash advantage in House, filings show large hauls in Speaker’s district
- Major Anti-LGBTQ Donor Gives Massive Donation to VA Republican Delegate
- Incumbent state lawmakers in Western Virginia hold fundraising edge
- Shad Plank: Summertime, and for candidates, the living is … all about fundraising
- Right-wing megadonor tries to buy Virginia legislative seat with $500,000 (We need limits to this s*** in Virginia, ASAP. And no, I don’t care if it’s left-wing or right-wing donors, this is a travesty of democracy.)
- Shad Plank: Looking for an unusually tense budget debate (“…the two biggest bills the state faces – K-12 education and health (mainly Medicaid)—have been growing at about a 5% to 7% a year pace. They account for about three quarters of state spending. Those growth rates mean another $800 million to $1 billion a year in state spending.”)
- Editorial: Further restricting visitors is not smart prison reform
- Seeking ‘quick wins’ for a distressed region: New economic initiative aimed at Southwest Va.
- Judge Allows Republican Carpetbagger Running for Loudoun Commonwealth’s Attorney to Stay on Ballot
- Wittmann Cleared to Run for Commonwealth’s Attorney
- Washington Sell-Out Mary Margaret Kastelberg Will Kill Gun Safety (“Her campaign is funded by Speaker Cox and the RSLC — avid gun safety opponents”)
- Before jobs are even posted, Amazon ‘Career Day’ draws thousands to Virginia
- Fairfax Supervisor candidates in Sully and Braddock talk housing and transportation
- James Walkinshaw: Fairfax GOP Candidate Jason Remer Appoints Hate Group Leader as His Campaign Manager
- Navy mulls opening up parts of Oceana to public, leasing land
- Williams: School names matter. But Richmond Public Schools needs to think this through.
- Virginia Beach police plans to reveal findings of mass shooting investigation
- Bright and beautiful through Friday, still nice but hotter this weekend
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