by Lowell
Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, January 31.
- Brexit Is Finally Happening on Friday, But the Drama Is Far From Over
- What Will Brexit Britain Be Like? (“The signs point to a kind of hybrid nation: more welcoming to foreign capital but more hostile to foreign people.”)
- Battered at the Polls, Pro-Europe Britons Gird for the Next Fight
(“Having bet it all on stopping Brexit and lost, Remainers now look to keeping Britain as close to the European Union as possible.”) - Coronavirus deaths surge as U.S. warns on China travel; Hong Kong shuts schools until March
- U.S. Issues ‘Red Alert’ After Week of Skyrocketing Coronavirus Cases
- Trump: Coronavirus will have ‘a very good ending for us’ (These people are ghouls.)
- No, Team Trump, the Coronavirus Isn’t Good for America (“The commerce secretary just flunked microbe economics.”)
- Outbreak Reaches U.K.; Global Cases Near 10,000: Virus Update
- State Department warns against travel to China amid coronavirus outbreak
- Erdogan Attacks Arab States for Stance on Trump Mideast Plan (“He says the proposals, if implemented, would amount to stealing Palestinian lands.”)
- 14 more U.S. troops diagnosed with brain injury following Iranian missile attack
- ‘Longest ever’ drug-smuggling tunnel discovered at U.S.-Mexico border, officials say
- New Reports Show That Trump’s Economic Promises Were Empty
- Trump faces pressure to respond to coronavirus threat
- AP Exclusive: Woman who says Trump raped her seeks his DNA
- New video shows indicted Giuliani associate with RNC chief Ronna McDaniel
- Second video demonstrates Lev Parnas’ access to Trump
- Senate appears ready to reject witnesses in Trump impeachment trial (“Acquittal vote possible on Friday”)
- Impeachment trial to end but its aftershocks will rock America (“The impeachment saga will not end when Republicans vote to acquit President Trump. The consequences to the 2020 election and our democracy remain to be seen.”)
- GOP Zombies Lurch Toward an Inevitable End (“Embarrassing, the whole lot of them. But South Carolina’s Tim Scott once gave me particular hope. Now, he’s a goner, too.”)
- Sen. Alexander calls Trump’s actions ‘inappropriate’ but rejects witnesses (“Sen. Susan Collins, who faces a difficult 2020 reelection, will buck her party leadership to vote yes on witnesses.”)
- Analysis: 4 takeaways from the second day of questions in Trump’s impeachment trial
- Analysis: Trump lawyer Jay Sekulow really doesn’t want to talk about who’s paying Rudy Giuliani
- A president ‘is not above the law,’ Trump lawyer asserts in batting back criticism of his impeachment defense
- Don’t let the defense fool you. This impeachment is all about corruption.
- Trump’s Impeachment Trial Could All Be Over (“Unless an act of God – or Chief Justice John Roberts – allows Democrats to call for witnesses”)
- America’s democracy is failing. Here’s why.
- The trial brings Trump’s acquittal — at a terrible cost
- If Senate Republicans give Trump the coverup he wants, his acquittal will be worthless
- Ex-GOP Senator Urges Republicans To ‘Uphold The Constitution’ And Allow Witnesses In Trump Trial (“John Warner, who served in the Senate for 30 years, warned his former GOP colleagues of the possible lasting damage if they don’t.”)
- A Good Portion of the United States Senate Doesn’t Care If the Whistleblower Lives or Dies
- The reasons not to call John Bolton are ridiculous
- In Austin, John Bolton voices support for officials called in impeachment hearing
- Dems Fed Up With GOP’s Refusal to Budge on Impeachment: ‘It’s More Than Frustrating—It’s Pathetic’
- The God President (“Impeachment is a tool of accountability, but Trump’s defenders are using it to give him the powers of a dictator”)
- Trump says he cares about migrant trafficking. His policy tells a different story.
- Trump’s anti-immigrant agenda isn’t about rule of law or economics
- Trump’s border wall, vulnerable to flash floods, needs large storm gates left open for months (“The wall at the southern border likely will need hundreds of storm gates that must be kept open every summer, said officials, agents and engineers. The open, unmanned gates already have allowed smugglers and migrants to enter easily.”)
- Democrats Never Found Their Hero
- Why Chief Justice Roberts refused to read a question from Rand Paul at Trump’s trial (“He’s said he won’t read questions attempting to out the intelligence community whistleblower.”)
- Multiple media outlets glossed over Trump lawyer Alan Dershowitz’s radical claim of limitless executive power (Yep, the corporate media failed yet again.)
- Give it up, media cowards — there’s no way to “both sides” impeachment (“Yes, the parties are different: Republicans are lying and staging a cover-up, Democrats are fighting for the truth”)
- Fox’s straight news coverage of impeachment is just recycled GOP talking points
- Pence aide who testified in impeachment inquiry to leave VP’s office
- White Nationalist State Department Official Still Active in Hate Movement
- There Is No Christian Case for Trump (“When faith is treated as an instrumentality, it’s bad for politics and worse for the Christian witness.”)
- Bloomberg surges past Warren into third place in new national poll (“The survey, released Thursday, showed Bloomberg’s support ticking up 4 percentage points to 11 percent from from a Jan. 13-14 poll. Warren dropped 2 points, to 9 percent. Other candidates registering in the single digits included former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg, at 5 percent, and businessman Andrew Yang and billionaire Tom Steyer, who each received 4 percent. The rest of the White House hopefuls polled at 2 percent or less.”)
- Why Warren vs. Buttigieg Could Decide the Future of Campaigning (“The Iowa caucuses might finally settle a long argument over what really works better for politicians: social media or TV?”)
- Progressives and moderates, don’t destroy each other. The enemy is Trump, not Clinton or Obama. (“Democrats are part of a diverse party. They should thrive on it, not worry about it”)
- Joe Biden’s Big Advantage in Iowa Is the Old Shoe Factor (“People know the former vice president. They’re comfortable with him. They’ve seen him before.”)
- Their 2018 win was
historic. What have these Democrats accomplished? (“Rep. Elaine Luria (D-Va.) sponsored the new law that raises benefits for disabled veterans.”) - Trump rails against ‘deranged’ foes as Iowa rally clashes with impeachment trial (Trump, of course, is the “deranged” one.)
- In 2020, the Cost of Schadenfreude’s Just Too Damn High.
- Sen. Mark Warner Statement on Trump Administration’s Plan to Cut Medicaid Funding
- Video: Virginia AG Mark Herring Speaks at Temple Rodef Shalom on “The Crisis Of Anti-Semitism”
- BREAKING: Virginia AG Mark Herring Sues U.S. Archivist to Ensure ERA Recognized as 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- Virginia, Illinois And Nevada Seek Court Order To Certify Equal Rights Amendment
- Herring, other state AGs file lawsuit demanding addition of ERA to Constitution
- Dorothy McAuliffe column: Nutrition programs feed student success
- Del. Cia Price’s Locality Gun Regulation Bill, Del. Rip Sullivan’s “Red Flag” Bill, Other Gun Violence Prevention Bills Pass Virginia House of Delegates
- Virginia’s Democratically controlled House passes seven gun control measures
- What Made Virginia Change Its Mind on Guns? (“Attitudes about guns are shifting in the state amid demographic changes. In one State Senate district that flipped to Democratic control in November, guns were a key topic.”)
- Va. Democrats have passed most of their gun-control bills. A big one is still missing. (“Legislation to ban assault weapons was withdrawn immediately in the Senate and a bill filed in the House of Delegates hasn’t been brought up for a committee hearing.”)
- Hurst traffic stop triggers police internal review, call for limits to legislative immunity in constitution
- Va. legislators would lose immunity from arrest under proposed change to constitution (“The proposed amendment comes days after a delegate was let go after a traffic stop.”)
- Virginia State Corporation Commission Orders Heavily Fossil-Fuel-Based Appalachian Power to Model 100% Clean Power by 2050
- Virginia shows some TLC for TOD: Transit-Oriented Development (“Last week, the House Committee on Transportation voted narrowly in favor of HB585 introduced by Delegate Elizabeth Guzman of Dumfries. Guzman’s bill requires that each locality incorporates strategies to promote transit-oriented development into its comprehensive plan review process.”)
- Senators Lucas and Spruill Have Failed Everyone Who Supports Climate Action, Transition to a Clean Energy Future
- Democrats promised to raise the minimum wage. Now they have to figure out how much, how fast and for whom.
- Paid family leave. A higher minimum wage. More union rights. Virginia Democrats are pushing worker-friendly laws.
- General Assembly notebook: Virginia House passes gun-control measures; House panel backs Del. Rasoul’s domestic violence housing bill
- Senate panel kills Sen. Bill Stanley’s referendum on schools modernization
- Video: Del. Danica Roem Calls Out Use of Stigmatizing Terms Like “Illegals” and “Transgender” as a Noun
- Rosalyn Dance & Chris Peace: “Balance billing” a good place to start on health care reform
- Editorial: Virginia correctly moves to ensure safe water for schools
- Senate subcommittee rejects energy competition proposals (So much for Republicans believing in capitalism, the free market, etc.: “Both Norment and Sen. Stephen Newman, R-Bedford, aired concerns about the effect increasing competition could have on captive ratepayers”)
- Charge dismissed against Mountain Valley Pipeline opponent
- In blow to Navy Hill plan, Bourne drops bill to devote state sales tax to Coliseum replacement
- As General Assembly Considers Casino Bills, Pamunkey Tribe Jockeys for Position with Two Locations
- Bill Giving State Tax Revenue To Richmond’s Coliseum Redevelopment Fails
- Bourne says he’s dropping bill to direct state sales tax to disputed downtown Richmond development (Good – “I think City Council, the mayor, the entire city, need to have a longer, broader conversation about what type of development, if any, they want either downtown or other areas that are ripe for development.”)
- Alexandria should be a leader in government ethics
- Mack to open truck manufacturing plant in Roanoke County
- More clouds than sun in the days to come, with highest rain chances tonight
********************************************************
Sign up for the Blue Virginia weekly newsletter
