DV Plus - Westchester, NY
Politics
Westchester Congressman, NY Senator Seek Broader Probe Into Ousted Ukraine Ambassador Westchester Congressman, NY Senator Seek Broader Probe Into Ousted Ukraine Ambassador
Westchester Congressman, NY Senator Seek Broader Probe Into Ousted Ukraine Ambassador U.S. Rep. Eliot Engel said newly-released impeachment documents "include a profoundly alarming dialogue (suggesting) a possible risk to Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch’s security in Kyiv before she was recalled from her post last year."  In a statement released on Wednesday, Jan. 15, Engel, who is chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, referred to text messages between  Lev Parnas and Robert Finley Hyde, a Republican candidate for Congress in Connecticut. (See "New Impeachment Evidence Drags Connecticut Congressional Candidate Into Trump Trial.") Engel further demanded…

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by Jon Craig
DV Plus - Fairfield, CT
Politics
New Impeachment Evidence Drags Connecticut Congressional Candidate Into Trump Trial New Impeachment Evidence Drags Connecticut Congressional Candidate Into Trump Trial
New Impeachment Evidence Drags Connecticut Congressional Candidate Into Trump Trial New evidence released by the House of Representatives has pulled a Connecticut congressional candidate into President Trump's impeachment trial. Republican Robert Finley Hyde, who is challenging U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes, a Democrat, in Connecticut’s 5th Congressional District, contacted an associate of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s personal lawyer, about efforts to oust the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, according to the documents released on Tuesday, Jan. 14 by the House Intelligence, Foreign Affairs, and Oversight and Reform committees. On Wednesday, Hyde told Daily Vo…

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by Jon Craig
DV Plus - Fairfield, CT
Politics
U.S. House Begins Taking Open, Televised Testimony Against President Trump U.S. House Begins Taking Open, Televised Testimony Against President Trump
U.S. House Begins Taking Open, Televised Testimony Against President Trump In his defense, President Donald Trump's supporters point to what the Republican from New York described as a "perfect" transcript of summer phone calls with Ukraine's president. Trump admitted requesting help investigating alleged corruption in Ukraine. The matter allegedly involved former Vice President Joe Biden's son, Hunter. Outside the White House fence, protesters chanted during Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erogan's visit to Washington, D.C.  During a news conference Wednesday afternoon, President Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan faced reporters from their resp…

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by Jon Craig
DV Plus - Westchester, NY
Politics
Westchester Congressman Has Lead Role In Opening Public Impeachment Testimony Westchester Congressman Has Lead Role In Opening Public Impeachment Testimony
Westchester Congressman Has Lead Role In Opening Public Impeachment Testimony This story has been updated with links to the opening days' questioning by U.S. congressmen representing Westchester County, NY, and Fairfield County, CT. In his defense, President Donald Trump's supporters point to what the Republican from New York described as a "perfect" transcript of summer phone calls with Ukraine's president. Trump admitted requesting help investigating alleged corruption in Ukraine. The matter allegedly involved former Vice President Joe Biden's son, Hunter. During a news conference on Wednesday Nov. 12, President Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Er…

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by Jon Craig
DV Plus - Fairfield, CT
Politics
Impeachment Hearings Hoist Himes Into National Spotlight Impeachment Hearings Hoist Himes Into National Spotlight
Impeachment Hearings Hoist Himes Into National Spotlight Nearly as quickly as the CIA whistleblower attracted national attention, U.S. Rep. Jim Himes was hoisted into the media spotlight. Himes was the second congressman to question Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire as a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence on Thursday, Sept. 26. Himes’ questions were part of a broader Democratic Party effort to uncover how Maguire may have collaborated with the White House and Department of Justice to stall or prevent scrutiny of President Trump’s telephone conversations with the president of Ukraine. Maguire was …

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by Jon Craig
DV Plus - Westchester, NY
Politics
U.S. Reps. Lowey, Maloney Support Impeachment Inquiry Of President Trump U.S. Reps. Lowey, Maloney Support Impeachment Inquiry Of President Trump
U.S. Reps. Lowey, Maloney Support Impeachment Inquiry Of President Trump This article has been updated. As House Speaker Nancy Pelosi drew closer to calling for a vote on whether to launch an impeachment inquiry, U.S. Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney became the latest New York congressman to support hearings. “I have had a high bar for putting the country through an impeachment inquiry, especially so close to an election. But these allegations go to the heart of the oath I took," Maloney said on Tuesday, Sept. 24. U.S. Rep. Nita Lowey, a Harrison Democrat who called for President Trump's impeachment in July, is among the longest-serving members of Congress.  Onl…

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by Jon Craig
DV Plus - Fairfield, CT
Politics
U.S. Senators Blumenthal, Murphy Support Impeachment Hearings Against President Trump U.S. Senators Blumenthal, Murphy Support Impeachment Hearings Against President Trump
U.S. Senators Blumenthal, Murphy Support Impeachment Hearings Against President Trump This article has been updated. U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy have called for an impeachment inquiry against President Trump. "I am calling today for a House Select Committee to investigate and move forward with impeachment proceedings against the President. I reached this decision with sadness, but also anger, after the President has repeatedly broken laws and betrayed his oath of office," Blumenthal said on Tuesday, Sept. 24. Earlier, Murphy warned that the United States is on the verge of turning into a "Banana Republic." Murphy's full statement can be read by cl…

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by Jon Craig
Newtown, CT
Politics
19-Year-Old Brother Of Sandy Hook Victim Announces Run For State Senate 19-Year-Old Brother Of Sandy Hook Victim Announces Run For State Senate
19-Year-Old Brother Of Sandy Hook Victim Announces Run For State Senate The teenage brother of a Sandy Hook school shooting victim has thrown his hat in the ring and announced that he is planning to run for public office. JT Lewis, of Newtown, whose brother died in the December 2012 mass shooting and who is a strong supporter of President Donald Trump, announced his intentions to run for state Senate, claiming that current elected officials have fallen short. In a video posted on social media on Monday, July 15, the 19-year-old announced his plans. “After the Sandy Hook shooting, a mom and a little boy who just lost a son and a brother, made a call to their st…

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by Zak Failla
White Plains, NY
Politics
New NY Law Would Allow Nursing Mothers To Delay Jury Duty New NY Law Would Allow Nursing Mothers To Delay Jury Duty
New NY Law Would Allow Nursing Mothers To Delay Jury Duty Can't get out of jury duty? Have a baby.  That's not a joke.  Nursing mothers may avoid jury duty in New York, thanks to state legislation passed this week in Albany by the Assembly and Senate. Women could delay jury duty for up to two years if they are breastfeeding a baby. If signed into law by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, as expected, nursing mothers would need to provide a doctor's note to postpone jury duty. Assemblyman Marcos Crespo, a Bronx Democrat, sponsored the bill. 

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by Jon Craig
Brentwood, NY
Politics
Ocasio-Cortez Joins Bernie Sanders' Call For 15 Percent Cap On Credit Card Interest Ocasio-Cortez Joins Bernie Sanders' Call For 15 Percent Cap On Credit Card Interest
Ocasio-Cortez Joins Bernie Sanders' Call For 15 Percent Cap On Credit Card Interest Freshman Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s latest major bill since taking office has a powerful backer. The 2007 Yorktown High School graduate and presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders just introduced a proposal to cap credit card interest rates at 15 percent this week, which would rein in the profits major banks can capitalize on. The legislation has been dubbed the “Loan Shark Prevention Act.” Currently, the national average annual percentage rate his 17.73 percent, while the median was sitting at 21.36 percent, according to CreditCards.com. “Despite the fact that banks can borro…

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by Zak Failla
DV Plus - Fairfield, CT
Politics
Local Drivers No Longer Spared Tolls Aimed At Out-Of-State Trucks? Keep Your Eye On Legislators Local Drivers No Longer Spared Tolls Aimed At Out-Of-State Trucks? Keep Your Eye On Legislators
Local Drivers No Longer Spared Tolls Aimed At Out-Of-State Trucks? Keep Your Eye On Legislators Gov. Ned Lamont's Republican challenger last fall, Bob Stefanowski, warned, "Give an inch, take a mile." Stefanowski predicted that Democrat Lamont of Greenwich, who once favored tolls for all drivers -- cars and trucks -- would revert back to that money-grabbing proposition once he got initial support for out-of-state trucks only. Earlier this year, Lamont and a coalition of business leaders, labor officials and state lawmakers called for the restoration of highway tolls to finance upgrades to the Connecticut’s crumbling transportation system -- which is expected to run a deficit in 2023 w…

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by Jon Craig
Fairfield, CT
News
Thinly Staffed IRS Won't Issue Refunds During Shutdown Thinly Staffed IRS Won't Issue Refunds During Shutdown
Thinly Staffed IRS Won't Issue Refunds During Shutdown As tax season draws near, the Internal Revenue Service, thinly staffed due to the partial government shutdown, can’t currently issue any refunds. In addition, the IRS has not announced an official start date for the 2019 filing season. The IRS began the filing season last year on Jan. 29. The IRS is now working under non-filing season shutdown plans with only 12.5 percent of the IRS workforce authorized to work. The partial shutdown marked its 14th day on Friday, Jan. 4. As the standoff drags on, about 800,000 federal employees are working without pay or being furloughed.  …

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by Joe Lombardi