海角大神

Remember the State of the Union? President Trump鈥檚 speech was only last Tuesday. But already, in news terms, it seems the semidistant past.

It鈥檚 been superseded by big events that combine catchy elements of our polarized, Facebook- and Twitter-dominated culture.

Take the confrontation between Jeff Bezos, Amazon鈥檚 chief, and the owners of the National Enquirer. Mr. Bezos accuses the Enquirer of blackmail, saying it threatened to publish intimate photos of him unless he stopped his investigation of the tabloid.

It鈥檚 a story that combines a billionaire鈥檚 private life with allegations of criminality at a publication that has links to President Trump and Saudi Arabia. If it were fiction, it would be dismissed as over the top.

Then there鈥檚 the bizarre implosion of Virginia鈥檚 state leadership. What started out as an apparently simple tale of the governor鈥檚 racial insensitivity in his medical school yearbook has morphed into a larger tale of persistent, systemic racism that involves a number of top officials and crosses partisan and political lines. (See our top story today.)聽

And Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker appeared before the House Judiciary Committee today. He denied talking about the Russia inquiry with the president. It鈥檚 the first big clash of House Democratic investigation efforts.

Now to our five stories for your Friday.聽