by Lowell
Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, November 15.
- Floodwaters engulf Venice again just days after near-record high tide (“’The sea is rising, this is not in ten or fifteen years. This is now,’ said gondolier Roberto Nardin.”)
- Trump hikes price tag for US forces in Korea almost 500% as Seoul questions alliance
- Global debt surged to a record $250 trillion in the first half of 2019, led by the US and China
- N. Korea calls Biden a ‘rabid dog’ for insulting its dignity
- Trump’s corrupted foreign policy: Coddle the dictator, abuse the ally (Everything is backwards with Trump and his cronies.)
- Larry Kudlow Says First-Phase China Trade Talks in Final Stages
- Chile Lawmakers Reach Accord to Draw Up a New Constitution (“Chile took a big step toward solving the social crisis that has riven the nation for a month.”)
- Trump’s Iran envoy reassigned a staffer after right-wing media accused her of disloyalty
- Pelosi Points to Possible Bribery Charge Against Trump
- AP source: Second US official in Kyiv heard Trump call
- Democrats hope latest witness will detail Trump’s abuse of power
- Former Ukraine Ambassador Yovanovitch to Testify on Campaign to Oust Her
- Yovanovitch to Testify About Her Ouster: Impeachment Update
- Trump fired Yovanovitch. Now, she’ll tell her story.
- Trump asks Supreme Court to shield his tax returns from prosecutors (This is a huge test for John Roberts, Brett Kavanaugh, Neil Gorsuch, etc. I have zero confidence they will pass.)
- Follow Nancy Pelosi’s breadcrumbs on impeachment (“In essence, ‘bribery’ not only sounds clear and serious; it is precisely the right description of what occurred here, most clearly in the July 25 phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, when ‘Trump made clear to Zelensky that he was asking him for a ‘favor’ — not a favor to benefit the United States as a whole or the public interest, but a favor that would accrue to the personal benefit of Trump by harming his political rival.’ Using his office to obtain private gain (political dirt on a rival) is the ‘sort of corrupt use of public office to obtain a private benefit [that] fits squarely within the definition of bribery when the Constitution was written.'”)
- Giuliani Faces U.S. Probe on Campaign Finance, Lobbying Breaches
- Rudy Giuliani says Trump will stay loyal to him but jokes that he has ‘insurance’
- It’s the Wise Men vs. the wise guys in Trump’s America (“The question America now faces in impeachment and, should Trump prevail, in the 2020 election, is whose New York will serve us best in the long run — the wise guys’ or the Wise Men’s?”)
- The Sober Clarity of the Impeachment Witnesses (“William Taylor and George Kent were direct about their sense of dismay, and essential questions emerged from the stories they told.”)
- Trump talks Russia probe audit with attorney general and White House counsel in Oval Office meeting
- Career White House budget official expected to break ranks, testify in impeachment inquiry
- Russian spies likely intercepted ambassador’s cell phone call with Trump
- Besieged on all sides, Gordon Sondland clings to power
- Coverage of the first impeachment hearing illustrates how the media is falling short (“Outlets should know better by now than comparing politics to reality TV. Alas.”)
- History is in motion. Tweets and tantrums cannot stop it.
- Kavanaugh addresses the conservative legal establishment that championed his nomination
- Outcry after Facebook sponsors gala featuring Brett Kavanaugh
- Two New Staffers Destroy Trump’s ‘Hearsay’ Defense
- Confused by the impeachment defense strategies from Republicans? Yeah, so are they.
- Stephen Miller and Jim Jordan give us a taste of the Truly Trumpian Man
- What You’d Have to Believe to Let Donald Trump Off the Hook (“There is the simple explanation for what happened with Trump and Ukraine. And then there is the not so simple explanation.”)
- Trump has a Mike Pence insurance policy: The sanctimonious veep is implicated too (“A brief but telling moment from Wednesday’s hearing suggests Trump is protecting himself by implicating his veep”)
- Shame on Us for Getting Used to Trump (“If the impeachment hearing wasn’t shocking, it’s a sign of how far we’ve fallen.”)
- ‘He does nothing without a quid pro quo’ (“How Trump’s New York negotiating style clashed with the ways of Washington — and landed him on the brink of impeachment.”)
- Soros foundation requests banning of Joe diGenova from Fox News/Fox Business after anti-Semitic rant
- Buttigieg surges ahead of Iowa caucuses (“Democrats are also battling over how far left to go in the primary, but Buttigieg may be a candidate who appeals to centrists without turning off liberals.”)
- We’ve Got Some New Polls For Bloomberg’s Potential Campaign. They Aren’t Great.
- How Michael Bloomberg and Deval Patrick Could Alter the 2020 Race (“They want to lead the Democratic Party’s moderate wing. But it will not be easy to displace Joseph R. Biden Jr., and then battle Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders.”)
- Trump and His Party of Pollution (“Environmental destruction may be their biggest legacy.” Evil incarnate.)
- California School Shooting Is Another Nightmare Made Real (“Two students were killed when a young man opened fire at Saugus High School in Santa Clarita, Calif.”)
- Amazon cites ‘unmistakable bias’ in Microsoft’s military cloud contract win
- Matt Bevin forced to admit defeat in Kentucky following election review
- Editorial: After nearly 50 years, the Equal Rights Amendment finally has a chance. Thanks, Virginia
- Chad Wolf Becomes Acting Head Of Homeland Security, Names Ken Cuccinelli His Deputy (Appalling and 100% unacceptable.)
- Two Republicans start campaigns for U.S. Senate in Virginia (Yeah, good luck with that! LOL)
- Kaine: Teen Vaping Epidemic is “Absolutely Frightening”
- Rep. Elaine Luria is in a vulnerable House seat. She stood in favor of the impeachment inquiry anyway. (Luria’s a hero.)
- McEachin back in Congress, plans to be ‘full time and wide open’ after Thanksgiving, run again in 2020
- Video: Great to See Rep. Donald McEachin (D-VA04) Back in Action! (Rep. McEachin speaks out on “establish[ing] real environmental justice across the country and put[ting] #PeopleOverPolluters”)
- Audio: More Looniness, Courtesy of Rep. Denver Riggleman (R-VA05), This Time on Impeachment, the USMCA and “Far-Left Twitter Trolls”(In short: It makes no sense for Dems to impeach Trump if they like the USMCA trade deal)
- Starting a To-Do List for Virginia’s New, Democratic-Controlled General Assembly’s 2020 Session
- Northam: Major changes coming with Democrats rise to power (“We’re going to deal with gun violence. Enough is enough. We’ve lost over 1,000 Virginians last year to gun violence. I asked the legislature to come back in July. They spent less than 90 minutes and that’s just unacceptable”)
- Virginia Speaker-Designee Eileen Filler-Corn Announces Committee Chairs
- Editorial: Four questions — on Roanoke’s bus station, Denver Riggleman, the whistleblower and impeachment (Ridiculous and “both sides-ist” as usual – the entire concept that VA05 Democrats don’t have candidates in the “center” is false and assinine.)
- Del. Mark Levine (D-Alexandria/Arlington) to Debate OneVirginia2021 Executive Director on Redistricting Reform
- EDITORIAL: Is Northam still for campaign finance reform?
- Battery storage could be a key to cutting emissions. What’s Virginia doing about it?
- Larry Stimpert and Robert Lindgren column: Virginia’s TAG program: Investing in Greater Access for Virginia’s Students
- Editorial: Crime commission disappoints Virginia (100% the fault of Republicans.)
- No federal charges in fatal shooting of unarmed motorist by Park Police (WTF?)
- The case of Bijan Ghaisar has enshrined injustice
- Park Police Officers Who Shot Unarmed Driver In 2017 Won’t Face Charges
- ‘This is not justice’: Officers won’t face charges in fatal shooting of VCU graduate Bijan Ghaisar
- Virginia lawmaker says Virginia Beach school board member threatened him. She calls the claim “ridiculous.”
- Report: Digitizing Va. State Police tickets could make traffic stops last half as long
- Did arena developers pay people to hold signs at a Richmond City Council meeting? No one’s denying it.
- Portsmouth police officer’s statement on shooting doesn’t appear to match video
- Salacious Facebook posts about a former Virginia Beach City Council candidate lead to defamation lawsuit
- Longtime Blacksburg Mayor Hedgepeth remembered for decorum and ‘gentle soul’
- Today may be the least chilly for days. Back to wintry and windy tomorrow. (“Another cold front passes tonight. Saturday is wind chilled, and Sunday features plenty of clouds.”)
********************************************************
Sign up for the Blue Virginia weekly newsletter
