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Andrew Weissmann, one of the most prominent members of special counsel Robert Mueller’s team investigating Russia, let slip on Thursday that they were “trying to get rid of” President Trump, in part by laying a perjury trap to get him on record under oath. Known as Mueller’s “pitbull,” Weissmann was heavily involved in the criminal case against Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort. He stepped down before Mueller released his final report and struck a deal with a publisher for a book about his experiences on the special counsel. He would also sign with NBC and MSNBC as a legal...

The Senate has voted against impeaching President Donald Trump, defeating two articles of impeachment by votes of 52-48 and 53-47. Trump joins two former presidents, Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton, in being impeached by the House of Representatives before being acquitted by the Senate. The House failed to produce credible evidence that the president committed any “high Crimes and Misdemeanors” or engaged in any action that justified his impeachment by the House, let alone his conviction and removal from office by the Senate. Despite Democrats’ loss in the Senate, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Reps. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and...

Construction crews have started blasting hills at Organ Pipe National Monument to clear space for a new border wall. The Arizona Daily Star reports crews are bulldozing through Monument Hill to prepare for construction of a 30-foot steel fence. U.S. Customs and Border Protection says targeted blasting will continue intermittently through the end of the month.

Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, who made waves as a witness during the Trump impeachment proceedings, was fired Friday by the National Security Council and escorted off of the White House grounds, Fox News has confirmed. Vindman was on detail to the National Security Council from the Department of Defense, and it is expected he will return there. It comes just two days after President Trump was acquitted in the Senate on the impeachment charges brought by the House last year over his dealings with Ukraine. VINDMAN DRAWS APPLAUSE DURING IMPEACHMENT HEARING: 'THIS IS AMERICA' In a lengthy statement, Vindman’s attorney,...

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) made clear in an interview with The Atlantic on Wednesday that he will not vote for President Trump's re-election in November. Driving the news: Romney sent shockwaves through Washington after announcing he would vote to convict Trump in the impeachment trial — becoming the only Senate Republican to break ranks and vote for the president's removal from office. "The president delayed funds for an American ally at war with Russian invaders," Romney said in a speech on the Senate floor. "The president's purpose was personal and political. Accordingly, the president is guilty of an appalling abuse...

When the man from Hangzhou returned home from a business trip, the local police got in touch. They had tracked his car by his license plate in nearby Wenzhou, which has had a spate of coronavirus cases despite being far from the epicenter of the outbreak. Stay indoors for two weeks, they requested. After around 12 days, he was bored and went out early. This time, not only did the police contact him, so did his boss. He had been spotted near Hangzhou’s West Lake by a camera with facial recognition technology, and the authorities had alerted his company as...

The White House asked scientists to rapidly assess the origins of the new coronavirus, which started in China in December 2019 and has since spread to over two dozen countries, including the United States. Dr. Kelvin Droegemeier, director of The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, conveyed the request to Dr. Marcia McNutt, president of the National Academy of Sciences, in a letter this week. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine should “rapidly examine information and identify data requirements that would help determine the origins of 2019-nCoV,” Droegemeier wrote, using another name for the...

Earlier this week James Carville went on MSNBC and told Democrats it was time to panic. “I mean, I’m 75 years old why am I here doing this? Because I am scared to death that’s why,” Carville said. The clip of Carville’s on-air panic went viral and today, Vox interviewed Carville and gave him a chance to revise and extend his remarks: Sean IllingWhy are you “scared to death” about the 2020 election?James CarvilleLook, the turnout in the Iowa caucus was below what we expected, what we wanted. Trump’s approval rating is probably as high as it’s been. This...

34,375 confirmed cases worldwide, including 719 fatalities.

Jorge Ramos has an opinion piece in the NY Times today in which he argues that Mexico’s president Obrador is making a terrible mistake by, essentially, becoming Trump’s border wall: Mexico is now the wall. President Trump got his wish.The heart-wrenching images documenting a recent confrontation in the state of Chiapas, near the border with Guatemala, are evidence of this. Dozens of Mexican National Guard troops equipped with helmets, batons and transparent shields coalesced on the highway connecting the Mexican cities of Ciudad Hidalgo and Tapachula to stop a caravan of migrants heading to the United States from Central...

Below is a piece I wrote up for a social media forum on Scientology (COS). While I don’t have extensive experience with that cult, I do have many years of experience dealing with many other groups. I am publishing it here because I think what I offer might be beneficial to others who have experience with other groups. Extreme Measures. I’ve probably spent the most amount of time dealing and conversing with Jehovah’s Witnesses out of all of the various cults, sects, and fringe groups. It is common when someone leaves the Watchtower to become an atheist. The reasoning goes...

TGIFF! Its Fiddle Friday and we have Brilliancy by Howdy Forrester (1962). THE WESTERNER https://thewesterner.blogspot.com/

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Purdue University will offer free tampons and other feminine hygiene products in the campus’ bathrooms in response to student advocates who have been pushing for the move for three years. University President Mitch Daniels on Thursday credited the University Senate, a faculty-led body, for proposing the initiative in a resolution that described feminine hygiene products as a basic necessity that should be in campus restrooms free of charge. Alison Rickert, a junior studying neurobiology and physiology at Purdue, founded The Period Project— an initiative aimed at providing menstrual products to those who need them both in...

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, under pressure from the Trump administration, has beefed up his strategy to fight drug cartels, including bringing the marines, Mexico’s elite security force, back to the front lines of the drug war. The moves mark a shift by Mexico from a counternarcotics strategy that largely ended the pursuit of high-profile arrests and focused almost exclusively on poverty alleviation. “We are operating again,” said a senior Mexican navy officer. “The targets we need to go after have been defined.” The change in strategy comes amid growing alarm in Washington at Mexico’s failure to crack down...

Democrats already have lined up possible charges if they choose to pursue impeachment 2.0. Still pending is a wide-open probe launched by Rep. Adam B. Schiff, California Democrat. Mr. Schiff has been investigating President Trump, his family and businesses, the Trump Organization, over the congressman’s suspicions of blackmail, money laundering and bribery. Republican staffers say the inquiry was put on hold last fall pending the Ukraine impeachment proceedings led by Mr. Schiff. But there is no sign Mr. Schiff has given up trying to prove Mr. Trump is corrupt, and if the president is impeached again, the charges would likely...

Just Like Impeachment Knocked Biden out of the Demo Pres Race, Romney has knocked Kelly Loeffler out of the Georgia Senate Race

Joe Biden is reorganizing his top presidential campaign leadership after a fourth-place finish in the Iowa caucuses, elevating Anita Dunn to a role that effectively puts her in charge of his third White House bid. Two people with knowledge of the decision confirmed that Dunn, once the top communications aide in President Barack Obama’s White House, would take on an elevated role, but that campaign manager Greg Schultz would retain his title. One of the people told The Associated Press that Dunn will have final decision-making authority. The people spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal campaign strategy. The...

With reports from 100% of the precincts in, we are taking steps to ensure the accuracy of the results. An independent investigation of what happened is necessary once we finalize the results. @iowademocrats are committed to earning your trust and electing Democrats in Nov. Troy Price

People who are quarantined aboard the Diamond Princess in Japan have been wondering how long their isolation would last. On Friday, a health official gave an answer they might not like: the quarantine will be extended every time a new case of the Wuhan coronavirus is confirmed on the ship.