by Lowell
Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Tuesday, November 19.
- Brazil’s Amazon rainforest destruction is at its highest rate in more than a decade (This is a huge problem, but unfortunately one that was 100% predictable under President Jair Bolsonaro)
- Israel’s West Bank Settlements Do Not Violate International Law, U.S. Says
- Why would Trump reverse US policy on Israeli settlements? Good question. (“Monday’s decision is a gift to conservative evangelical voters who support Israel for reasons of biblical prophecy, as well as to his US donors who are also supportive of right-wing politicians in Israel.”)
- Hong Kong Hospitals Flooded by Injured University Protesters
- Taliban say US and Australian hostages freed in prisoner swap (“Timothy Weeks and Kevin King have spent more than three years in captivity”)
- Iran says calm has been restored after fuel price hike unrest
- You’ll Never Believe It but Trump, a Pathological Liar, May Have Lied to Mueller (“The revelation could be added to Democrats’ articles of impeachment”)
- Days From Shutdown Deadline, Congress Races To Pass Temporary Government Funding Bill
- Impeachment Hearings Resume With White House, State Department Witnesses
- Impeachment inquiry enters most crucial stage with top witnesses on deck
- Impeachment witness: I’ve never heard anything like Trump-Sondland Ukraine call (“In newly released transcript, state department official details exchange in which Trump raised Ukraine investigations”)
- Congress Is Now Investigating Whether Trump Lied to Mueller (“This is a key part of the impeachment inquiry.”)
- Trump Personally Directed Mob-Linked Figure Tied to Ukraine Shakedown (“It’s even worse than it sounds!”)
- Tillerson swipes at Trump: ‘Asking for personal favors and using United States assets as collateral is wrong’
- Ukrainians ‘came to understand’ what Trump wanted, State Dept. aide testifies
- Lt. Col. Vindman to describe his alarm over Trump’s call with Ukrainian leader, girding for Republican attack
- Republicans’ defense of Trump is full of holes
- Poll: Americans Overwhelmingly Say Impeachment Hearings Won’t Change Their Minds
- Trump’s health under scrutiny again after unplanned visit to Walter Reed
- White House Denies Trump Health Emergency (Which, given that the Trump White House lies about everything, probably means something was going on.)
- Impeachment probe deepens a Trump team divide (“Political appointees are clashing with longtime professional staffers over the president’s Ukraine scandal, with witnesses sparring over major elements of the story.”)
- For Trump, incompetent bribery is still bribery
- The least useful question in impeachment coverage (“The only thing less reliable than the media’s ability to predict presidential nominees months in advance of the first primary votes may be the infamous question ‘Did it move the needle?’ I confess to being obsessed on this point, dashing off tweets and taking on co-panelists who pontificate whether impeachment hearings are “moving the needle.” To be clear: No one has any idea.”)
- State Department staffer resigns after allegations she inflated her resume (Only the “best people,” eh?)
- Republicans Are Following Trump to Nowhere (“There’s an impeachment lesson hiding in the president’s failure to produce the political results he wants.”)
- Trump advisory board member: Women should strive to be “handmaidens,” stay out of the workplace (“Trump surrogate Clarence Mason Weaver on women: ‘We don’t care how smart you are. We don’t care how strong you are'”)
- CNN Fact-Checker Nails ‘Unique’ Aspect Of Donald Trump’s Latest Lies
- Stop Assuming Republican Senators Will Do the Right Thing (I’ve always assumed they’ll do the wrong thing.)
- Two Loony Bill Barr Speeches Show It Didn’t Start With Trump (“The crazy has been metastasizing in the Republican Party and the conservative movement for decades.”)
- Pete Buttigieg says he was unaware that stock photo on his website depicted a Kenyan woman (“Buttigieg’s campaign has faced criticism for exaggerating his support in the Black community”)
- Russian web trolls boo Biden, often boost Gabbard, report finds
- If they’re not true to their history, Democrats risk squandering a rare opportunity
- Politico, DNC at odds over Democratic debate moderator (“Politico’s decision to push for Alberta has rankled officials at the DNC, as well as some journalists at PBS and even Politico, the sources said. The reason: Alberta previously wrote for National Review, a conservative magazine, and has spent the bulk of his recent career chronicling the Republican Party.”)
- Stacey Abrams is focused on voting rights. But she wouldn’t mind being vice president.
- Have The Democratic Debates Moved The Polls At All?
- Kamala Harris Facing Home-State Heartburn (“Her once-plausible path to the Democratic nomination is now very low”)
- Warren under pressure as 2020 rivals step up attacks
- Fox News and CNN have hardly covered Stephen Miller’s white nationalist emails
- Stephen Miller Is a White Nationalist. Does It Matter? (“Leaked emails from a top Trump aide test our capacity for outrage.”)
- The Hill announced it will review John Solomon’s columns that have driven Trump’s Ukraine conspiracy theories (Why did The Hill allow Solomon a column in the first place?!?)
- Virginia Democrats could repeal right-to-work. It shows how America is changing.
- Buttigieg is first Democratic presidential candidate to file for Virginia’s March primary ballot
- Congratulations, You’re a Congresswoman. Now What? (“Ayanna Pressley and Abigail Spanberger were part of a wave of Democrats who took office this year full of hope. Maintaining it has not been easy.”)
- Is Abigail Spanberger All In On Impeaching President Trump?
- Virginia Delegate John McGuire (R) Abandons Constituents Days After Re-Election to Run for Congress
- A Republican state lawmaker joins the race to challenge Rep. Abigail Spanberger (“John McGuire is a former Navy SEAL who recently won a second term in the House of Delegates.”)
- Virginia Dems Introduce First Bills for 2020…Plus the Equal Rights Amendment [UPDATED: Lots More Bills!] (Also: no-excuse absentee voting, universal background checks, fair housing)
- Virginia Democrats out of the gate quickly with bills for next year: ERA, gun control, voting access (“New measures filed on a day when Republicans exercise control over the General Assembly for the last time until at least 2021”)
- Audio: Incoming VA Senate Majority Leader Dick Saslaw (D) Rips Clean Virginia, Says Senate Will “Move the State Forward” but Not “Turn the Place Upside Down” (Clean VA responds: “Dominion Energy advertises heavily on the John Fredericks Show, and it is all-too-common to hear blatant lies about our work on the broadcast”)
- Audio: Trump Virginia 2016 Chair Rips New REPUBLICAN House of Delegates Leadership as “Mr. Rogers Meets the Addams Family” (“You can’t make this stuff up, folks…generational armageddon”)
- Graphics: Virginia Trumpublicans Losing Ground in Rural, Suburban and Urban Areas – In Other Words, Everywhere
- How Tommy Norment Led Republicans Over the Cliff
- Bearing Drift, Online Community Mourn the Passing of Colleague Rick Sincere (Rest in peace.)
- Virginia AG Mark Herring Outlines Priorities for Criminal Justice Reform
- From housing to restaurants to school bathrooms, Virginia LGBTQ advocates plan broad 2020 agenda
- A kinder, gentler Todd Gilbert? ‘It depends on the day and the issue.’
- Northam lays out new trade initiative as Virginia loses business
- EDITORIAL: ‘Report Card’ presents challenge in Virginia
- Ashley Corr column: Virginians deserve affordable choices for coverage
- Stolle to request recount in Virginia Beach House of Delegates race
- Editorial: Virginia recycling on the rise
- COMMENTARY: Fredericksburg needs a climate change plan
- Virginia election officials recommend 45 days of early voting
- Henrico prosecutor clears officers in fatal shooting inside mentally ill woman’s Short Pump home
- Federal Complaint Filed Against Proposed Richmond Coliseum Developers NH District Corp.
- Roanoke City Council votes to move elections
- The federal government threw up its hands in the Bijan Ghaisar case. Virginia can do better.
- DC, Va. reps want release of 911 calls in fatal Park Police shooting of Bijan Ghaisar
- Hundreds gather to celebrate life of longtime delegate, educator Mary T. Christian during service at Hampton University
- Former Virginia Beach Economic Development director indicted on 14 embezzlement charges
- Alexandria puts final touches on 3-year opioid action plan
- I-64′s new Norfolk toll lanes boosted rush-hour speeds, even in the free lanes, state study finds
- Sunshine is slow to return as a warming trend starts, then expect a wet end to the week
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