Stefanik embraces spotlight at impeachment hearings

The second day of the impeachment inquiry's public hearings, on Friday, began the same way as the first: with an attempt by Rep. Elise Stefanik, a New York Republican, to interrupt proceedings with a procedural objection. Stefanik accused House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., of shutting down Republican questions, prompting Schiff to bang his gavel and declare her objection out of order. Stefanik again engaged in theatrics later in the hearing, forcing Schiff to gavel down her attempt to break the rules of the hearing and ask questions of the witness before it was her turn.

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  Rep. Zeldin: Democrats exaggerated importance of Yanvanovitch testimony

  FOX News Videos
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  Amid attacks from Trump, former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine testifies to influence from 'foreign corrupt interests'

  Yahoo News

After Roger Stone conviction, star witness against him feels 'horrible'

The conviction of Roger Stone Friday on seven felony counts of lying to Congress, obstruction and witness tampering represents a capstone to special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation, establishing that one of President Trump's longtime political advisers did everything he could to conceal the truth from congressional investigators. The conviction takes on added importance because, in the course of a week-and-a-half trial, prosecutors presented fresh evidence that Stone was in repeated contact with senior members of Trump's campaign, who regarded him as an “access point” to WikiLeaks as the website was about to release emails damaging to Hillary Clinton.

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  Jim Carrey Slaps Roger Stone With A Cartoon Warning For The Kids

  HuffPost
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  WATCH: From Nixon to WikiLeaks, Roger Stone’s Scandalous Career

  The Daily Beast

Man caught at Houston airport with 35 pounds of liquid cocaine in shampoo bottles

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston caught an airline passenger trying to smuggle 35 pounds of liquid cocaine in shampoo bottles into the country earlier this week, the agency said in a press release. The CBP said officers discovered the bottles containing cocaine valued at more than $400,000 in the checked luggage of a 26-year-old Colombian citizen Monday after observing him at baggage claim and conducting a bag search. “Our officers are the first line of defense at our ports of entry, so they are trained in the various smuggling methods people use to bring illicit goods into the U.S.,” CBP Port Director Shawn Polley said in the press release.

Nicaraguan judge sentences man to 30 years in NY killing

A Nicaraguan judge sentenced a man to 30 years behind bars in the killing of a young nursing student in upstate New York, a district attorney in the state said Friday. The trial of Orlando Tercero in the 2018 killing of Haley Anderson marked an exceedingly rare legal proceeding in which the defendant was prosecuted under Nicaragua's legal system for a slaying that happened on American soil. Tercero is a dual citizen of the U.S. and Nicaragua.

After 50 years, it's past time to bring human LGBTQ+ characters to America's Sesame Street

Rumors have followed Bert and Ernie around the world as localized versions of Sesame Street are viewed in over 150 countries. Muppets aren't sexual, and making them so might hurt Sesame Street's standing around the world. But human beings are sexual, and millions of Americans are gay.

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  How “Sesame Street” has educated children for 50 years

  CBS News Videos
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  ‘Succession’ Meets ‘Sesame Street’: Watch Brian Cox Pitch a ‘Strategic Relationship’ With Cookie Monster

  Indiewire

See Photos of the 2020 Nissan Titan

Despite an updated powertrain and loads of new tech features, Nissan's half-ton pickup still lags behind the competition of domestic brands. From Car and Driver

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  2020 Nissan Titan Brings a Dull Knife to the Truck Wars

  Car and Driver
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  2020 Nissan Titan First Drive | Better but still mid-pack

  Autoblog

Chile police stopped rescue workers helping dying protester: human rights watchdog

Chile's independent human rights watchdog said on Saturday it would file a formal complaint for murder against police officers who allegedly prevented paramedics from attending a heart attack victim amid a protest Friday. Security forces firing tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons made it impossible for rescue workers to properly treat the victim, Chile's publicly-funded National Institute for Human Rights said. Twenty-nine year old Abel Acuna died shortly after at a nearby Santiago hospital.

Australia intel chair blocked from China after criticising Beijing

Australia's parliamentary intelligence committee head, who has previously criticised Beijing, said he had been blocked from entering China due to his "frankness about the Chinese Communist Party". Andrew Hastie warned several months ago that the world's approach to containing China's rise resembles the "catastrophic failure" to prevent the advance of Nazi Germany. Hastie, along with fellow government politician James Paterson, had planned to travel to China for a study tour next month but both have been banned from entering the country.

• China Urges Australian Lawmakers to ‘Repent’ Over Past Criticism

  Bloomberg
• Australian MP says he and colleague barred entry to China

  Associated Press

A federal judge ruled that New Jersey-born, ISIS-bride Hoda Muthana is not a US citizen

A federal judge on Thursday ruled that Hoda Muthana, a 25-year-old woman born in New Jersey who joined ISIS in 2014, is not a US citizen. Hoda Muthana is currently staying in a refugee camp in Syria with her young son. On Thursday, the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that there was sufficient evidence to indicate that Muthana was born while her father held diplomatic status in the US.

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  US-born woman who joined Isis not a citizen and cannot return to America with her son, judge rules

  The Independent
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  Judge: US-born woman who joined Islamic State not citizen

  Associated Press

Scientists Are Fighting Over One of the Hottest Places on Earth

Two recent studies came to opposite conclusions about the same evidence of life in a caustic pool in Ethiopia. Extreme environments on Earth may model habitats on other planets, like the moon Titan. The evidence of life found in Ethiopia is DNA from archaea, an organism similar to bacteria.

Trump commits new offence which could lead to impeachment in the middle of his own impeachment hearing

It should not, perhaps, be surprising in the extraordinary state of affairs of Trumpworld that in the middle of his impeachment proceedings the president would tweet something which could lead to a further article of impeachment. The tweet disproves Mr Trump's claim that he was ignoring the hearings which he had claimed would go nowhere, and attacked using his usual terms against investigations into his conduct – a “worst ever witch-hunt”, “totally fake” and so on. At the same time the standing ovation from the public gallery for Marie Yovanovitch was a spontaneous moment of popular support for the former US ambassador to Ukraine traduced by the president in the formal proceedings.

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  Yovanovitch calls Trump tweets very intimidating

  USA TODAY
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  Twitter Users Wonder Why Rep. Devin Nunes Keeps Bringing Up Trump Nude Photos

  HuffPost

From 'Anonymous,' key excerpts from inside Trump White House on Putin, Hillary

Can we just get rid of the judges? Let's get rid of the f---ing judges,” Trump fumed one morning. There shouldn't be any at all, really.

The Latest: Protesters block main road in Hong Kong

Protesters have shut down a main street in Hong Kong's Mongkok district, as police fire tear gas to try to disperse them. The Sunday afternoon traffic disruption appears to be a diversionary tactic as other protesters face down police tear gas and water cannons in a daylong standoff outside Hong Kong Polytechnic University. A Hong Kong police officer has been struck in the lower leg by an arrow during a faceoff with protesters outside Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

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  Is China About To Brutally Crackdown on Hong Kong's Protestors?

  The National Interest
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  Chinese Troops Join Hong Kong Cleanup as Protesters Retreat

  Meredith Videos

Why Russian Fighter Jets Are Threatening NATO In The Baltics

Key point: Russia and NATO's military buildup in the Baltics is creating a tense situation. In the most recent illustration of ongoing Russia-NATO military tensions over Baltic airspace, recently released footage shows a Russian Su-27 fighter making a sharp turn into an American F-15C. It is unclear when the video was filmed, with some speculating that it occured during a prior NATO BAP (Baltic Air Policing) mission. When viewed in that light, this incident seems to fall into the trend of what US officials have previously described as “unsafe” Russian interceptions and “aggressive maneuvers” in high-tension airspace.

The Last Chevrolet Corvette C7 Rolls off the Production Line in Bowling Green

Chevrolet has built its final C7 Corvette, which sold at auction for $2.7 million, with all proceeds to charity. The end of the C7 era means the new mid-engine C8 is finally that much closer to production at the iconic plant in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Sold before it was even built, the last Chevy Corvette C7 came off the production line yesterday.

Chicago gang leader accused of attempting to help Islamic State

A purported street gang leader from Chicago who allegedly became radicalized in prison faces federal charges accusing him of seeking to provide money to Islamic State militants in Syria, according to a complaint unsealed Friday in U.S. District Court in Chicago.

St Mark's closed as Venice faces more floods

Another exceptional high tide swamped flood-hit Venice on Friday, prompting the mayor to order St Mark's square closed after Italy declared a state of emergency for the UNESCO city. Luigi Brugnaro ordered the iconic square closed as the latest sea surge of around 1.6 metres (over five feet) struck and strong storms and winds battered the region -- lower than Tuesday's peak but still dangerous. "We've destroyed Venice, we're talking about one billion (euros) in damage and that's just from the other day, not today," Brugnaro said, as far-right leader Matteo Salvini joined the list of politicians to visit the stricken city.

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  Flood-hit Venice to face another exceptional high tide on Sunday

  Reuters
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  Geox, René Caovilla + More Brands Help Save Venice From Flood Damage

  Footwear News

One of Jamal Khashoggi’s close friends said Twitter is the 'only free platform' for many Saudis, but it also may have led to Khashoggi’s brutal murder

Omar Abdulaziz, a Saudi activist in exile in Canada, said that Twitter is an important tool for many Saudi dissidents but comes with risks. Abdulaziz was friends with murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The two of them were working to create an "army" of internet users to combat Saudi propaganda before Khashoggi was killed.

Black South Carolina Leaders Distance Themselves from Buttigieg Campaign’s ‘Douglass Plan’

Several black leaders in South Carolina who were listed as supporters of the Buttigieg campaign's “Douglass Plan” distanced themselves from the proposal and the campaign when pressed for comment, saying that the campaign was “intentionally vague” in asking for their endorsements. According to a report from The Intercept, three South Carolina black leaders — Columbia City Councilwoman Tameika Devine, Rehoboth Baptist pastor and state Representative Ivory Thigpen, and Johnnie Cordero, chair of the state party's Black Caucus — all expressed misgivings over the way that the Buttigieg campaign featured their names prominently in an open letter published in the the HBCU Times touting the plan's details.

Trump attacks impeachment witness on Twitter, Democrats see intimidation

President Donald Trump launched a Twitter attack on a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine on Friday while she was testifying to an impeachment hearing in Congress, in an extraordinary moment that Democrats said amounted to witness intimidation. Trump blasted Marie Yovanovitch, a career diplomat, as she explained to the second day of televised impeachment hearings how she had fought corruption in Ukraine and how the Trump administration abruptly removed from her post earlier this year.

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  Impeachment Hearing: Marie Yovanovitch, fired ambassador to Ukraine, says she felt 'big threat'

  WLS – Chicago
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  Despite House rules against it, Stefanik tries to question impeachment hearing witness

  Yahoo News Video

3 judges drunkenly fight at an Indiana White Castle, leaving 2 shot. Now, they're suspended

Three judges involved in a fight at an Indiana White Castle in May, which ended with two of the judges shot, have been suspended without pay after the Indiana Supreme Court determined they committed judicial misconduct. In an opinion issued Tuesday, the court said judges Bradley Jacobs, Andrew Adams and Sabrina Bell "engaged in judicial misconduct by appearing in public in an intoxicated state and behaving in an injudicious manner and by becoming involved in a verbal altercation." Adams' whole blood-alcohol level was approximately 0.157 upon admission to the hospital, and Jacobs' was approximately 0.13, according to the opinion.

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  Three judges suspended following drunken shooting in car park after failing to get into strip club

  The Independent
• Indiana Supreme Court suspends 3 judges for a night of partying gone horribly wrong

  The Week

Man who shot, wounded school bus driver sentenced to prison

A Minnesota man who shot and wounded a school bus driver on a Minneapolis freeway during a snowstorm has been sentenced to more than seven years in prison. Thirty-two-year-old Kenneth Lilly, of St. Paul, pleaded guilty in August to first-degree assault for the February attack that left Thomas Benson deaf in one ear and unable to continue working as a bus driver due to nerve damage in his hand. Lilly was sentenced Friday to 86 months.

No More Air: How An Entire Chinese Submarine Crew Died a Tragic Death in 2003

On April 25, 2003 the crew of a Chinese fishing boat noticed a strange sight—a periscope drifting listlessly above the surface of the water. At the time, some commentators expressed surprise that Beijing acknowledged the incident at all, and speculated it was obliquely related to contemporaneous criticism of Beijing's attempts to downplay the SARS epidemic. Read the original article.

Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) on streets of Hong Kong for clean-up operation

China's People's Liberation Army troops appeared on the streets of Hong Kong yesterday as part of a clean-up mission that risked a backlash from pro-democracy protesters who have brought the city to a standstill in recent months. The appearance of the PLA soldiers outside their barracks - even dressed in shorts and t-shirts - to help clear away barricades and debris from another night of protests could be seen as an incremental raising of the political stakes from Beijing. Demosistō, a pro-democracy organisation, said the clean-up operation could set a "grave precedent" if the city's government invites the military to deal with internal problems.

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  Hong Kong officer hit by arrow as activists vow to 'squeeze economy'

  AFP
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  China's PLA soldiers help clean up Hong Kong streets

  Reuters Videos

Teenager Who Killed His Father and a 6-Year-Old Is Sentenced to Life Without Parole

A South Carolina teenager who in 2016, at age 14, killed his father before driving to an elementary school and fatally shooting a 6-year-old boy and injuring two other people was sentenced Thursday to life in prison without parole. After a judge decided that the gunman, Jesse Dewitt Osborne, now 17, should be tried as an adult, he pleaded guilty in December 2018 to two counts of murder and three counts of attempted murder. On Thursday, Circuit Court Judge R. Lawton McIntosh in Anderson County, South Carolina, handed down the sentence after three days of special hearings during which mental health professionals and family members, including Osborne's grandfather and half brother, spoke to Osborne's age and maturity at the time of the crimes, his home and family life, his psychological state, his awareness of legal rights and the chance for rehabilitation.

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  Life without parole for teen who killed his father and a child

  Yahoo News Video
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  S.C. Teen Sentenced to Life for Killing Father, 6-Year-Old Boy at Elementary School

  People