by Lowell
Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Wednesday, October 23.
- Trump’s Syria Trifecta: A Win for Putin, a Loss for the Kurds and Lots of Uncertainty for Our Allies (“It’s pure genius!”)
- Climate Change Will Cost Us Even More Than We Think (“Economists greatly underestimate the price tag on harsher weather and higher seas. Why is that?”)
- Boris Johnson Eyes Election After Parliament Forces Brexit Delay
- EU to rule on Brexit extension as UK faces possible election
- Russia warns Syrian Kurdish YPG must pull back or face Turkish army
- Justin Trudeau’s Victory Was Narrow, but Still Significant
- Canada’s election results are a victory for the planet (“In this challenging political environment, the prime minister made big promises on climate change. He had already imposed a carbon tax system on Canada’s provinces and, after Monday’s results, there is little doubt it will fully phase in early next year. He pledged to plant 2 billion trees and to adopt substantially more ambitious greenhouse emissions goals — to net-zero emissions by 2050, the direction scientists say the world must go.”)
- Defense chief arrives in Baghdad for talks on U.S. troops leaving Syria
- British police find 39 dead in truck container, arrest driver
- Impeachment Diary: The words that could end a presidency
- Bill Taylor’s Quid Pro Quo Testimony Blows Up Trump’s Last Line of Defense
- Today’s Impeach-O-Meter: Gasp-Inducing Testimony Confirms Corrupt Quid Pro Quo for Billionth Time
- There’s No Lynching Here, But There Is a Smoking Gun (“Bill Taylor’s testimony on the Ukraine fiasco drove several nails into the Trump administration*’s rapidly closing coffin.”)
- Dramatic deposition rocks Trump’s impeachment defense
- William Taylor Delivers the Smoking Gun (“It doesn’t matter what President Trump wants to call it—of course it was a quid pro quo.”)
- Trump made Ukraine aid contingent on public pledge to investigate Bidens and 2016 election, U.S. envoy says he was told
- Ukraine Envoy Testifies Trump Linked Military Aid to Investigations
- 5 explosive lines from Bill Taylor’s statement
- Testimony undercuts Trump’s claim of no quid pro quo. How will Washington respond? (“It is no longer a question of whether this happened. It is now a question of how the president explains it and how lawmakers choose to respond to it.” Typical Dan Balz “both sides-ism”; in fact, it’s now only a question of how REPUBLICAN lawmakers respond to it.)
- An Envoy’s Damning Account of Trump’s Ukraine Pressure and Its Consequences
- Top US diplomat to Ukraine testifies there was a quid pro quo (“This is absolutely devastating to President Trump’s case.”)
- Here’s the quid pro quo proof, Lindsey Graham
- Alarming circumstances’: A distressed diplomat tells a tale of venal intrigue
- Democrat: Top diplomat’s testimony on Ukraine is ‘sea change’ in impeachment probe
- McConnell denies telling Trump his Ukraine call was “innocent”
- Trump Whines That Senate Republicans Are Failing Him on Impeachment and Not Owning Nearly Enough Libs
- Federal Investigators Are Probing Suspicious Financial Transactions By Two Giuliani Associates Who Ran A Back-Channel Campaign
- Prosecutors flagged possible ties between Ukrainian gas tycoon and Giuliani associates
- Mike Pompeo Cornered After Ukraine Envoy’s Testimony
- Support for impeaching Trump soars among independents – Reuters/Ipsos poll
- Anonymous author of Trump ‘resistance’ op-ed to publish a tell-all book
- Senate Republicans block two election security bills (WTF?)
- Trump’s grotesque racism matters (“The evidence of impeachable conduct is overwhelming, and there has been no coherent defense of the president’s attempt to extort Ukraine into influencing the 2020 election. Trump therefore deploys a go-to move to buck up his base: He flaunts his racism, and invites his supporters to indulge in another bout of victimization.”)
- Democrats say they have game changer on impeachment
- Susan Rice: Lindsey Graham is ‘a piece of s–t’ (Crude but accurate.)
- Clinton 2020 whisper campaign hits new heights (“Republicans just can’t quit Hillary Clinton. In recent weeks, as Clinton has made the rounds to promote a new book, the rumors have come fast and furious from the GOP: She’s running for president again. “)
- Anxiety rises among Democrats worried about party’s prospects in 2020
- CNN Poll: Biden’s lead in Democratic primary hits widest margin since April (“Biden has the support of 34% of Democratic and Democratic-leaning registered voters, his best showing in CNN polling since just after his campaign’s formal launch on April 25. Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Bernie Sanders of Vermont are about even for second, with 19% and 16%, respectively. Behind them, South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Kamala Harris of California each have 6% support, with Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and former Texas Congressman Beto O’Rourke each at 3%.”)
- How Centrist Democrats Botched the 2020 Primary
- Sinclair’s Boris Epshteyn fearmongers about undocumented immigrants raping children in new “must-run” segment (Reminder never to watch any Sinclair “news” product, such as WJLA-7 in Washington, DC.)
- GOP Representatives Push Conspiracy Theories Defending Trump (“A hearing on election security was hijacked by far-out Republican questions.”)
- Battleground states lose 27,000 manufacturing jobs despite Trump’s promises
- Anti-abortion group funded by dark money is advising Trump on 2020
- Google quantum computer leaves old-school supercomputer in the dust (“Our machine performed the target computation in 200 seconds, and from measurements in our experiment we determined that it would take the world’s fastest supercomputer 10,000 years to produce a similar output”)
- Ben Carson won’t apologize for his smears because it would ‘destroy our nation’ (Hahahaha.)
- Sen. Mark Warner files bill aimed at promoting social media competition
- Vice President Mike Pence says he plans to help campaign in Virginia ahead of Election Day (Where’s Trump? LOL)
- AG Mark Herring Investigating Facebook for Potential Antitrust Violations
- Northam kicks off statewide investment program at Darden event
- First Lady Pamela Northam, Virginia Secretary of Education Host Summit on Early Childhood Education
- Virginia’s spending on schools expected to rise by $596 million over two years
- Video, Photos: With 14 Days Until Virginia Votes, Alec Baldwin Campaigns for Democrat Amanda Pohl in SD11
- Actor Alec Baldwin all-in for Virginia Democrats
- Knock, knock. It’s Alec Baldwin at the front door: Virginia Democrats import celebrity firepower. (“Outside interest is strong before key Nov. 5 election; GOP says rivals are not focused on Virginia.”)
- Actor Alec Baldwin rallies Democrats for Senate candidate Amanda Pohl in Chesterfield
- From Alec Baldwin to Wanda Sykes, national celebrities campaign for local Democrats in Virginia
- Debunking Desperate Delegate Yancey’s Dishonest Campaign Mailers
- Northam returns to political campaign scene months after blackface scandal
- Republican Glen Sturtevant Receives Endorsement, “A-” Rating from NRA; Gun Group Pulls It “After realizing it would do more harm than good”
- Laura Galante: Front Royal & Warren County Deserve Accountability
- Census Data: Older Virginians Maintain a Significant Influence Over Elections
- After the Virginia Beach Shooting, This Democrat Is Focusing on Guns to Unseat the Firearms Dealer Incumbent Republican (“How gun policy ended up dominating this year’s state legislative races.”)
- “Gunimals Van Cleave” Group Endorses Henrico County GOP Sheriff’s Candidate
- Editorial: A $64 million question for the Roanoke and New River valleys is actually $80 million or more
- Chafin, Kilgore, O’Quinn and Pillion: What Amazon’s visit to Southwest Virginia means for our region
- Jambalaya and Justice in Arlington Hosted by Parisa Dehghani-Tafti
- Write-in candidates without much attention are late entries in Virginia state races (“Alexandria Republicans, annoyed by unopposed Democrats, have launched low-key campaigns.”)
- Virginia Beach police correct mass shooting timeline
- Norfolk can move Confederate monument, Virginia attorney general says
- Republican senator’s challenger has focused on gun control — but now says she may drop out (“Raveson said in an email Oct. 15 she was withdrawing from the race after she refused to disclose her age and was told by a reporter that The Virginian-Pilot would be publishing the age associated with her public records, which is 72. Her name will still be on the ballot Nov. 5.”)
- Peninsula delegates face familiar challengers (Very weird editorial, which comes right up to making endorsements but never actually makes endorsements.)
- Mountain Valley Pipeline another cost increase, new completion date (This thing is a mess.)
- Virginia is still studying casinos. But two communities are about to vote on miniature versions.
- Loudoun County chairman candidate Q&A: Phyllis Randall (D), John Whitbeck (R) and Bob Ohneiser (I)
- Conservative Virginia political consultant admits diverting money, filing false reports
- Former school board member challenging for Spotsylvania Board of Supervisor seat
- Nationals hold off Astros to steal Game 1 of World Series, 5-4
- Magnificent midweek with a murkier forecast for this weekend
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