First Run News

MORE (Maine). Trump began the closed-door meeting by discussing the House impeachment proceedings and made reference to how hard it’s been to defend himself during the Democratic-controlled process. He then quickly pivoted to topics GOP senators wanted to discuss, such as legislation to lower prescription drug costs, the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade deal and proposals to curb vaping products.  Romney later praised the meeting as “delightful,” and Collins, who is up for reelection next year, said she got a chance to talk about one of her top priorities, prescription drug l

A career diplomat on Thursday described overhearing a conversation between MORE that he had raised on a call with Ukraine’s president a day earlier. “I sat directly across from Ambassador Sondland,” David Holmes, a top U.S. embassy official based in Kyiv, said during his opening remarks at a public hearing of the House impeachment inquiry.

In what could be the last round of public hearings in the Democrats’ high-speed impeachment inquiry, two senior national security experts testified Thursday that MORE had pressed for investigations in Ukraine that were designed to help him politically. David Holmes, a State Department veteran now based in Kyiv, and Fiona Hill, Trump’s former leading adviser on Russian affairs, testified for almost six hours on Capitol Hill, where they painted a damaging portrait of Trump and his allies clamoring for the launch of foreign-born probes that appeared to lack a national se

The party was held at the Capitol Hill establishment Hawk ‘n’ Dove, just a stone’s throw from where the impeachment hearings were held this week. About 15 staffers celebrated with Democrat counsel Daniel Goldman, with at least four rounds of cheers. There was a table topped with hamburger sliders and other snacks.

“The Navy will NOT be taking away Warfighter and Navy Seal Eddie Gallagher’s Trident Pin,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “This case was handled very badly from the beginning. Get back to business!” Trump commented after Gallagher’s lawyer appeared on Fox and Friends Thursday morning to discuss the military admiral readying to launch a review to strip Gallagher of his trident pin. The Trident pin is awarded to Seals who enforce good order and discipline.

David Holmes, a political officer at the U.S. embassy in Ukraine, is testifying before the House Intelligence Committee on Thursday.

BLOOMER, Wis. — Marc Boettcher’s day started before dawn, when he fired up the hammer mill that ground up corn for a mixture he fed to the steers in his barn. There was an empty room where he used to milk dairy cows until he sold them a couple of years back, but on a cold morning this summer, much of the barn was full of cattle — curious, anxious, and endearingly weird — who jostled one another to get a look at him. One left him a gift of manure in the drinking trough.

WASHINGTON — Massachusetts Representative Stephen Lynch lost his bid to become the chair of the House Oversight and Reform Committee to New York Representative Carolyn Maloney, who becomes the first woman to head the powerful committee. Maloney, the panel’s most senior Democrat, defeated Virginia Representative Gerry Connolly 133-86 in a secret ballot by House Democrats on Wednesday among the two finalists and will replace the late Elijah Cummings as the committee’s chair.

CHARLESTON, S.C. — Most politicians don’t understand the needs of the East Side, a primarily black neighborhood. But on Wednesday, Demond McElveen had a chance to help explain them to the newest presidential candidate. Former Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick spent three hours with McElveen, 46, and about 15 other people at a local nonprofit, then walked around their neighborhood and talked to more residents, who sat outside enjoying sunny 60-degree weather.