Saturday News: “Biden, in Germany, Urges Unwavering Support for Ukraine”; “More Jan. 6 Evidence That Trump Tried To Keep Hidden Is Out”; “Trump Is Speaking Like Hitler, Stalin, and Mussolini”; “‘Unstable and unhinged’: This is Harris’s best attack on Trump”

by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Saturday, October 19.

• The Earth’s Colors Are Changing—and Climate Change Could Be Partially to Blame
• Ukraine says North Korean troop involvement is ‘huge’ escalation risk
• Austin Reaffirms U.S., NATO’s Long-Term Commitment to Ukraine
• Biden, in Germany, Urges Unwavering Support for Ukraine
• North Korean troops preparing to help Russia’s war in Ukraine a ‘grave security threat,’ says South Korea
• Analysis | Trump blames Zelensky for the war in Ukraine. He rarely blames Putin.
• Sinwar’s Bloody Gambit Changed the Middle East—but Not as He Imagined (“Israel was wounded by last year’s Oct. 7 attack, but didn’t fold. Now Palestinian statehood is more remote than ever.”)
• Drone strike launched toward Israeli prime minister’s house. At least 50 killed in strikes on Gaza
• Hamas Seen Picking Leader Close to Iran After Sinwar Death (“The Tehran-backed group expected to replace Sinwar with Qatar-based Khalil Al-Hayya”)
• How IDF soldiers stumbled upon Israel’s most wanted man
• The Killing of Yahya Sinwar (“The Hamas leader who planned the October 7th attack is dead. What will be the effect on Israel, Gaza, and the Middle East?”)
• ‘They’ve Forgotten Their Own Recent History’: Why Israel Won’t Move Toward Peace (“Former U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker says what he most fears is Israeli overconfidence following the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.”)
• Harris: ‘Sinwar’s death can and must be a turning point’
• After Sinwar’s death, Israel aims to lock in strategic gains before US election
• Mexico navy seizes more than eight tonnes of illicit cargo in record drugs bust
• Cuban electrical collapse causes island-wide blackout, paralyzes economy
• Dow, S&P 500 close at record highs and mark the year’s longest winning streak
• A ‘New Day’? Justices Step Back, Slightly, From an Aggressive Climate Stance.
• Judges punishing Jan. 6 rioters say they fear more political violence as Election Day nears
• Inside the Republican National Committee’s Poll-Watching Army (“The R.N.C. claims to have recruited tens of thousands of volunteers to observe the voting process at precincts across the country. Their accounts of alleged fraud could, as one Trump campaign official said, “establish the battlefield” for after November 5th”)
• Trump Is Speaking Like Hitler, Stalin, and Mussolini (“The former president has brought dehumanizing language into American presidential politics.”)
• Trump’s talk of tariffs, like the wall, puts punishment over policy
• Let’s Take a Peek at Those January 6 Documents That Judge Chutkan Ordered Released
• Trump calls judge overseeing his Jan. 6 case ‘the most evil person’ (In fact, Chutkan is superb – Trump is the on ewho’s “the most evil person!”)
• New evidence unsealed of how Trump’s Jan. 6, 2021 rally was funded
• More Jan. 6 Evidence That Trump Tried To Keep Hidden Is Out
• “Horrible mess”: Trump called out for “ungodly” profanity-laced tirade at Catholic event
• Microphone malfunction: Trump waits on stage for 18 minutes during ‘technical difficulties’
• Trump Wanders Stage in Awkward Silence After Microphone Fail
• Trump Suggests Lincoln Should’ve Let the South Keep a Little Slavery
• The increasingly bizarre — and ominous — home stretch of Trump’s 2024 campaign
• Trump says ‘people from Fox’ helped him write Al Smith dinner speech. The network denies it
• Trump cancels a streak of events with only days until election
• An ‘exhausted’ Trump says no to another interview
• ‘Exhausted’ Trump Can’t Make It Through Interview at Home
• Kamala Harris Seizes on Trump’s ‘Low Energy’ Shortcoming
• Obama uses withering mockery in Arizona as he questions Trump’s competence (“While campaigning for Kamala Harris, former president Barack Obama sharpens his attacks on his successor — casting the Republican nominee as a huckster who lacks the mental fitness to lead the nation.” Yes, because Trump IS A HUCKSTER WHO LACK THE MENTAL FITNESS TO LEAD THE NATION – and the WaPo should say that!)
• Deceptive or delusional? Trump recalls ‘love and peace’ on Jan. 6.
• ‘Unstable and unhinged’: This is Harris’s best attack on Trump
• Uncertainty reigns as strategists predict ‘closest election since Bush v. Gore’ (This election, of course, shouldn’t even be close!)
• GOP ads on transgender rights are dominating airwaves in the election’s closing days
• Donald Trump ‘Amazed’ That Harvey Weinstein, Serial Sexual Abuser, ‘Got Schlonged’
• Donald Trump ‘Exhausted and Refusing Interviews’: Report
• The Emperor Has No Closing (“At least for now, going into these final weeks, there seems to be a growing drumbeat of negative press assessments of Trump. We won’t know until the polls close whether this will make much difference in the end, but one thing is already clear: Trump’s closing argument is not only landing with a thud, his campaign is actively removing him from view to limit the damage. His handlers simply don’t want voters to see how far he has declined from his former self, and they are hoping now to run out the clock, before the naked truth is revealed for all to see.”)
• It Sure Looks Like Trump Watches Are Breaking Copyright Law
• Trump again refuses to release current health records, as Harris questions his fitness
• Harris says it is part of the American tradition for VPs not to criticize the president (Correct.)
• Cher endorses Harris, Walz: ‘She is fighting for all of us’
• Harris and Trump converge on razor-tight Michigan in pursuit of a winning coalition
• Exclusive: Pro-Trump group funded by Musk struggles with outreach targets, inflation of doorknocking figures
• This Is Exactly How an Elon Musk-Funded PAC Is Microtargeting Muslims and Jews With Opposing Messages
• Elon Musk says all voting should be ‘in person’ while his super PAC promotes voting by mail (Musk is pure evil.)
• Exclusive: Pro-Trump group funded by Musk struggles with outreach targets
• Exclusive: DCCC brings in $30 million in September
• Defense contractor Raytheon to pay almost $1B for defrauding DOD
• Ted Cruz really could lose (“No Democrat has won a statewide race in Texas in decades. But conditions are friendlier than ever.”)
• Montana GOP candidate who could flip control of Senate nagged by claims he lied about bullet wound
• Video: Kaine For Virginia Campaign Launches New TV Ad, “Unbelievable,” Highlighting How Hung Cao Is Out-Of-Touch With Virginians On Health Care (Cao actually said “No one in the United States is like, ‘Oh my gosh, I will die if I don’t have health care.’”)
• Sen. Tim Kaine visits Cameron Station to chat with West End businesses
• Video: At Debate Last Night with Democrat Gloria Witt, VA05 GOP Nominee/Insurrectionist/Extremist John McGuire Defended His Participation in the 1/6/21 Insurrection and Wouldn’t Commit to Accepting 2024 Election Results (McGuire also ranted insanely about the “plandemic:,” DEI as “Marxist,” etc., etc. NUTJOB!)
• Video: Missy Cotter Smasal Releases New TV Ad: “Twice” (“‘Twice’ features testimonials from U.S. veterans contrasting Jen Kiggans’ hypocrisy with Missy Cotter Smasal’s commitment to veterans”)
• VA10 GOP Nominee Mike Clancy, a Heritage Foundation Alumni, Helped Fund Project 2025 (During a recent debate, Clancy lied, claiming “I never heard of Project 2025”)
• Running for governor, Spanberger a force in 7th District race
• EXCLUSIVE: Youngkin defends voter purges, calls DOJ lawsuit “unprecedented” (Just remember, Youngkin has gone 100% MAGA. Also, assume every word he says is a lie.)
• Virginia Republicans say they’re optimistic about November. Experts say they shouldn’t be.
• ‘Momnibus bill’ plans announced at Virginia’s Black Maternal Health Summit
• Virginia Attorney General sued by former election worker for malicious prosecution
• Schapiro: Seaside district is no resort for Virginia Democrats
• Dominion Energy pairs solar with honey bees to preserve agricultural land
• Influential Virginia Beach business groups lobby city to restore at-large council seats
• 5 reported donors to Tavares Floyd say they never made contributions (“Five donors listed in Floyd’s campaign finance filings say they never gave money to his City Council campaign. Those donors include a Maryland assistant attorney general and a Chicago businessman.”)
• Virginia Beach inmate’s death ruled a homicide, 5 deputies fired
• UVA Coach Tony Bennett: I came to the realization that I can’t do this
• Faculty at Northern Virginia Community College say president’s leadership is ‘harming students’
• D.C.-area forecast: Warm and pleasant this weekend, then warmer early week