Wednesday News: “Guess Who Else Trump Is Colluding With”; “Trump’s Ukraine Call Was ‘Crazy’ and ‘Frightening’”; “The White House Stonewall Letter Is a MAGA Rally Draped in a Toga”; Climate Change May Kill Virginia Maple Syrup

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Wednesday, October 9.

• Turkish Troops Begin Crossing Into Syria After U.S. Stands Aside (“Kurdish YPG fighters say they will defend themselves”)
• Trump Betrays an Ally at the Turkish Border (“An American withdrawal from northern Syria will leave Kurds who helped us against the Islamic State to fend for themselves.”)
• China Open to Partial U.S. Trade Deal Despite Tech Blacklist
• On North Korea, the Chickens Are Coming Home to Roost
• Guess Who Else Trump Is Colluding With (“While everyone’s focused on Ukraine, Trump is selling out to Turkey.”)
• Trump’s Ukraine Call Was ‘Crazy’ and ‘Frightening,’ Official Told Whistle-Blower (Wait, but didn’t Trump say the call was “perfect?” Oh yeah, almost forgot, every word Trump says is a lie.)
• Furor over Syria began with troubling Trump phone call and White House statement (“The results have been rapid and remain unpredictable — and, in the view of critics, amount to the abandonment of the U.S.’s Syrian Kurdish allies to a massive Turkish military assault.”)
• Trump is ignoring arms control. It’s a dangerous mistake.
• White House says it will defy impeachment inquiry, escalating standoff with an unbowed Congress (“The White House letter highlights the limitations of Democrats’ ability to exercise their oversight authority in the face of an administration that appears unfazed by flouting subpoenas.” Lock them up?)
• Pelosi Statement on Trump Administration Refusal to Comply with House Subpoenas (“The White House should be warned that continued efforts to hide the truth of the President’s abuse of power from the American people will be regarded as further evidence of obstruction. Mr. President, you are not above the law. You will be held accountable.”
• All the President’s Men, Ukraine Edition
• The Latest: Former SC Rep. Trey Gowdy joins Trump legal team (We truly are living in some sort of warped, dark, alternate timeline or maybe a simulation.)
• Former national security officials fight back as Trump attacks impeachment as ‘deep state’ conspiracy (“Deep state,” of course, really means “rule of law.”)
• Trump defies Democrats with all-out political warfare on impeachment
• The White House Stonewall Letter Is a MAGA Rally Draped in a Toga (“Gaze in awe at The Constitution According to Camp Runamuck.”)
• In Deranged Quasi-legal Rant, Trump Calls Impeachment Unconstitutional
• White House Sets Stage for Constitutional Clash in Ukraine Affair (“President Trump’s lawyer said in a letter to House leaders that the executive branch would not participate in the investigation. The letter came hours after the White House blocked the interview of a key witness, the diplomat Gordon Sondland, before he was to appear on Capitol Hill.”)
• Democrats see an upside to Trump stonewalling their impeachment inquiry (“They argue it looks like obstruction.”)
• Polls flash warning signs for Trump on impeachment
• Majority of Americans Back Trump Impeachment Probe, WSJ/NBC Poll Finds
• Louisiana Republican Ralph Abraham Files Resolution to Expel Nancy Pelosi From House (The worst of the worst right here.)
• The NBA Is Part of a Rich American Tradition of Appeasing China’s Totalitarian Regime (“The calculus is simple: China can do as it likes to the Chinese as long as it stocks the shelves at Walmart and loans us money.”)
• Justice Gorsuch emerges as an unlikely swing vote in the LGBTQ discrimination cases
• The Supreme Court Heard a Landmark LGBTQ Labor Rights Case, But it Was Preoccupied With…Bathrooms (“Bathrooms came up in oral arguments more than 50 times on Tuesday.”)
• The Republican Senate Confirmed the Russians Interfered in the 2016 Primaries (!) to Help Trump (“A new report from the Senate Intelligence Committee also makes clear this was no beta test—it was a full-blown intelligence attack.”)
• Senate Intel Committee Releases Bipartisan Report on Russia’s Use of Social Media (“Outlines Russia’s efforts to sow discord during 2016 U.S. presidential election”)
• Judge signals Dems may get to see Mueller’s secrets
• Refuse, block, stonewall – but Trump’s strategy leaves little margin for error (“The president is counting on the loyalty of subordinates who will face growing pressure to testify, and analysts say that’s risky”)
• House Democrats subpoena E.U. ambassador after State Department blocks testimony (“Democrats warned that if Gordon Sondland fails to comply with the subpoena, it would strengthen their case for obstruction by the president.”)
• Republicans seize on impeachment in bid to retake House
• Sanders Says He Will ‘Change the Nature’ of His Campaign After Heart Attack
• Trump threatens to sue Minneapolis for demanding he pay for rally security in advance (“Trump’s campaign has stiffed at least 10 cities, going back to the 2016 campaign. Minneapolis won’t stand for that”)
• Elizabeth Warren Is Officially Leading the 2020 Polls
• What in the world is Lindsey Graham thinking? (“Graham’s offer really is too good to be true, so do not expect Giuliani to testify under oath. Nevertheless, the reaction to the possibility of his testimony should tell you a lot about the trouble Trump is in, and the impossibility of defending him once somebody (or many bodies) spill the beans.”)
• Nobel Prize in Chemistry awarded for work on lithium ion batteries that ‘revolutionized our lives’
• Axios publishes boosterish piece on NBC’s ‘Meet the Press’ without disclosing organizations’ corporate ties
• The staggering toll in dead horses makes it clear: It’s time to outlaw horse racing (Absolutely; this is a no-brainer.)
• Only 2% of U.S. businesses have a 100% renewable goal (“A survey conducted by Deloitte shows the healthcare industry surprisingly leading the way for near-term renewable goals, as well as a cross-industry focus on carbon reduction over renewable procurement.”)
• US energy giant says renewables and batteries beat coal, gas and nukes
• PG&E shutdown: 800,000 people to lose power to prevent California wildfires
• Spanberger discusses stance on impeachment inquiry, Virginia’s 7th Congressional District in 8News interview (“This is about the oath that I swore to protect the Constitution and defend all that it represents.” Correct, and any member of Congress who doesn’t understand that needs to be voted out at the next possible opportunity.)
• Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton hosts roundtable on domestic violence (“Attendees discuss how immigration and affordable housing issues relate to domestic violence”)
• Stephen J. Farnsworth and Jeremy R. Engel column: Northam’s political troubles take a backseat
• For decades, maple syrup was one of Virginia’s best-kept secrets. Now climate change may spell its end (Ugh.)
• VA Secretary of Natural Resources Praises Op-Ed Advocating Reining in Dominion Energy, Reforming Virginia’s Energy System — Then Quickly Deletes the Tweet
• Metro train operator moved forward despite stop order before crash, safety commission says
• Editorial: Northam administration audited the Tech report; here’s what it found
• 12 years after Virginia Tech shootings, majority of safety recommendations adopted, review shows
• Charlottesville to ask Virginia Supreme Court to settle issue of Confederate monuments
• ‘The Chase is on, with a few Miles left before its Pohl time’
• Del. Aird and Independent Challenger Haake Face Off in Petersburg
• Virginia capital’s state-low graduation rate drops again
• Thoughts and Tips from Three Weekends of Canvassing Voters in Fairfax County and Loudoun County
• Video: Right-Wing Republican Fairfax County School Board Candidate Rants About Diversity (“Today we’re out to victimize each other and…our children”)
• Parents sue Fairfax schools, allege improper seclusion and restraint of students with disabilities
• The hidden power behind the Chickahominy gas power plant proposal (“Now it will be the job of Dominion’s ex-PR director Grant Neely to explain how Gov. Northam can be a climate leader and still champion fracked gas infrastructure that will drive more climate change from methane leaks than his renewable energy plans would mitigate?”)
• Fredericksburg School Board to interview six superintendent candidates
• Washington’s sports teams have been a treat lately — except for the one with that name (“The pro football team is changing coaches once again. If it really wants a fresh start, it should change its nickname.”)
• Maybe an early shower today, but still searching for significant rain; otherwise, seasonable into the weekend (“Any early showers do little to help help our precipitation deficit, with no significant rainmakers in the near future.”)