Bpd smear campaign

Fox News host Sean Hannity railed Friday against former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch as a "narcissistic diplomatic snowflake" in his latest defense of President Donald Trump. Trump himself received widespread criticism and allegations of witness intimidation for ridiculing Yovanovitch on Twitter during her testimony before House lawmakers Friday. But Hannity, one of Trump's most prominent cheerleaders on Fox News, labeled her and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff "liars" and narcissists. Hannity described her as a "snowflake" for testifying Friday about attorney Rudy Giuliani and other Trump administration officials leading a smear campaign against her. Although Trump's tweet did not directly threaten Yovanovitch, the law also covers intimidation and harassment, which is an impeachable offense punishable by up to three years in prison. Hannity followed the president's lead and repeatedly labeled Yovanovitch a self-important official looking to make … [Read more...] about Sean Hannity attacks Marie Yovanovitch, calling her a “narcissistic diplomat snowflake”

Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch testified for hours on Friday about being removed from her post and attacks on her from President Donald Trump as part of the House Democrats' ongoing impeachment inquiry. Yovanovitch appeared before the House Intelligence Committee for a public hearing and was the third witness to testify to Congress this week about the Ukraine controversy. On Wednesday, diplomat William Taylor and State Department official George Kent gave damning testimony against the president. Yovanovitch was appointed ambassador under several different presidents, both Republican and Democrat, and began serving in Ukraine in August 2016. In May 2019, she was abruptly removed from her post even though, she says, her bosses assured her she'd done nothing wrong. The reasoning behind her dismissal has become a major focus of the House investigation of the president's conduct toward Ukraine. Yovanovitch told Congress that Trump and his personal attorney Rudy … [Read more...] about Five highlights from former Ukraine ambassador Marie Yovanovitch’s testimony at Day 2 impeachment hearing

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 SLOVIANSK, Ukraine (AP) — Russia was mounting an all-out assault on the last Ukrainian stronghold in the eastern Luhansk region, “pouring fire" on the city of Lysychansk from the ground and air, the local governor said Monday, as Western leaders met to discuss ways of bolstering support for Kyiv. Luhansk Gov. Serhiy Haidai said Russian forces were pummeling Lysychansk after capturing the neighboring city of Sievierodonetsk in recent days. It's part of a stepped-up Russian offensive to wrest the broader Donbas region from Ukrainian government control in what Western experts say has become the new main goal of President Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine, now in its fifth month. “They’re pouring fire on the city both from the air and from the ground. After the takeover of Sievierodonetsk, the enemy army has concentrated all its forces on capturing (our) last stronghold in the Luhansk … [Read more...] about Russia ‘pouring fire’ on Ukrainian city as offensive mounts

The development of the internet has completely transformed the way we do business; and the “oldest profession” is no exception. In a world of online chatrooms, webcam performers can market anything from conversation to explicit sex acts. And unlike pornography or prostitution, there are virtually no laws regulating this form of sex work. Webcamming is an easy market to enter. All it takes is a computer, a decent webcam, access to a high-speed internet connection and a webcam hosting site. The hours are flexible, the working environment is safe and the salary can be very rewarding. The majority of performers are women, but there are also male and transgender performers. On sites such as Chaturbate and MyFreeCams, a tipping system operates in public chatrooms. Here, payment is voluntary, and performers are tipped for performing sexual and non-sexual acts. This makes a show profitable for the performer, at a relatively low cost to the viewer. Recommended Mother … [Read more...] about Webcamming: The sex work revolution that no one is willing to talk about

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 8 ELMAU, Germany (AP) — In 1975, leaders of the world’s wealthy democracies gathered to deal with an energy crisis sparked by a war and rampant inflation. Those same sore points are bedeviling their successors representing 46% of the global economy at this week's Group of Seven summit, with high consumer and energy prices threatening to trigger recessions in the U.S. and Europe. Here are key facts about the Group of Seven: WHAT IS THE GROUP OF SEVEN? It's a group of wealthy democracies with large, advanced economies and high standards of living. Annual summits give leaders a chance to hash out common approaches on pretty much anything they want to talk about. The first summits in the 1970s were convened to deal with the first post-World War II recession, and focused on fiscal stimulus and exchange rates. Economic policy still tends to be front and … [Read more...] about EXPLAINER: G7 provides forum for like-minded democracies

House Republicans have geared up for the first public impeachment hearings in the Ukraine scandal, set to take place this week, by having GOP staffers send a memo to lawmakers that outlines the strategy to best defend President Donald Trump. But flaws remain within their arguments, which fail to address some of the damning allegations that Democrats will focus their questions on. The 18-page document details four main points of evidence that Republicans believe "are fatal to the Democrats' allegations" that Trump made an effort to force his Ukrainian counterpart to investigate Democrats and 2016 election interference by withholding foreign military aid. "The July 25 call summary—the best evidence of the conversation—shows no conditionality or evidence of pressure." "President Zelensky and President Trump have both said there was no pressure on the call." In his now-infamous call with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Trump said he "would like you to do us a favor, … [Read more...] about House Republicans’ defense strategy for impeachment hearings reveals flaws: Analysis

Fox News anchor Chris Wallace called out Republican House Minority Whip Steve Scalise after the GOP representative from Louisiana attempted to discredit the testimony against President Donald Trump in the ongoing impeachment inquiry, suggesting that the witnesses were partisan. As Wallace emphasized that Trump had specifically urged Ukraine to investigate his domestic political rivals in exchange for military aid, according to multiple credible witnesses, Scalise interrupted, saying: "Those were Schiff's witnesses," during an interview on Fox News Sunday . The congressman's remark was a reference to Democratic Representative Adam Schiff of California, who chairs the House Intelligence Committee and is leading the impeachment inquiry. "Well wait a minute, no sir," Wallace responded. He then proceeded to fact-check Scalise's claim, pointing out that the witnesses served in Trump's administration and were not partisan. "They're career foreign service officers and these are people … [Read more...] about Fox News anchor fact-checks GOP congressman as he attempts to dismiss impeachment witnesses as partisan

In an interview with CBS' Face the Nation from Friday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi blasted President Donald Trump for his Twitter attacks of former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch during the congressional impeachment inquiry hearing, calling them a reflection of "his own insecurity as an imposter." Face the Nation host Margaret Brennan asked Pelosi about Trump's tweets attacking Yovanovitch while she was giving her testimony at the hearing. Trump began his tweet with: "Everywhere Marie Yovanovitch turned went bad." Pelosi noted that Trump's knowledge of his own error was the source of his decision to tweet about Yovanovitch. "He made a mistake, and he knows her strength, and he was trying to undermine it." She went on to denounce the president's decision to tweet about Yovanovitch. "People don't insult people, especially when they're giving testimony before the Congress of the United States." Brennan pointed out that the White House stated that Trump wasn't … [Read more...] about Pelosi says Trump’s Twitter attacks on Yovanovitch are part of “his own insecurity as an imposter”

A long-simmering dispute between San Francisco’s Catholic leaders and the city’s elected officials escalated Friday when a Bay Area archbishop took the extraordinary step of barring House Speaker Nancy Pelosi from receiving Communion over her support for abortion access. The move, occurring just as the U.S. Supreme Court appears poised to overturn Roe vs. Wade, underscores deep divisions among Catholics over the issue. Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone told Pelosi in a letter Thursday that she had not offered “an accommodation to my many requests to speak with you again since you vowed to codify the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision in federal law” after a Texas law effectively banning most abortions took effect last year. Cordileone said he had written to Pelosi in April warning her that he was prepared to bar her from receiving Communion. “As you have not publicly repudiated your position on abortion, and continue to refer to your Catholic faith in justifying your position and … [Read more...] about San Francisco archbishop bars Rep. Nancy Pelosi from receiving Communion over abortion rights stance

Nearly a month after objecting to electoral votes cast for President Biden, Rep. Mike Garcia wanted to clear the air. In a lengthy Jan. 30 op-ed in a local newspaper, the Santa Clarita Republican and former Navy fighter jet pilot denounced the blowback on social media that branded him “a seditionist, a traitor, or even worse.” Roughly 150 miles to the north, Rep. David Valadao also had some explaining to do after voting to impeach President Trump for his part in inciting the deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol. He, like Garcia, was disparaged by some constituents as a traitor. Two votes in Congress in successive weeks — one to certify Biden’s election and another to impeach the president — snared the two California Republicans into the pitched battle over the future of their party: whether the GOP will demand allegiance to Trump or break from his influence. On one side sits Garcia and the majority of House Republicans, who on Jan. 6 aligned with Trump in rejecting the will of the … [Read more...] about For two California Republicans, diverging approaches to Trump lead to the same place: Backlash