
How old is Ryan Reynolds? Fans extend heartfelt birthday wishes to actor as Wrexham invites people to sign online card
The special online card marks Ryan Reynolds' birthday to 'repay some of the inspiration and happy times' he has provided Team Wrexham to date
2023-10-24 03:16

Trial over Kari Lake’s last challenge to loss in Arizona governor’s race wraps up 1st day
Attorneys for Kari Lake, the 2022 Republican candidate for Arizona governor, say Maricopa County has a “failed process” for verifying thousands of ballot signatures
2023-05-18 09:46

Fight still ahead for Texas' Ken Paxton after historic impeachment deepens GOP divisions
The historic impeachment of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton plunged Republicans on Sunday into a fight over whether to banish one of their own in America's biggest red state after years of scandal and criminal accusations that will now be at the center of a trial in the state Senate. Paxton said he has “full confidence” as he awaits judgement from the Senate, where his conservative allies include his wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, who has not said whether she will recuse herself from the proceedings to determine whether her husband will be permanently removed from office. For now, Texas' three-term attorney general is immediately suspended after the state House of Representatives on Saturday impeached Paxton on 20 articles that included bribery and abuse of public trust. The decisive 121-23 vote amounted to a clear rebuke from the GOP-controlled chamber after nearly a decade of Republican lawmakers taking a mostly muted stance on Paxton's alleged misdeeds, which include felony securities fraud charges from 2015 and an ongoing FBI investigation into corruption accusations. He is just the third sitting official in Texas' nearly 200-year history to have been impeached. "No one person should be above the law, least not the top law officer of the state of Texas,” said Republican state Rep. David Spiller, who was part of a House investigative committee that this week revealed it had quietly been looking into Paxton for months. Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has remained silent about Paxton all week , including after Saturday's impeachment. Abbott, who was the state's attorney general prior to Paxton's taking the job in 2015, has the power to appoint a temporary replacement pending the outcome in the Senate trial. It is not year clear when the Senate trial will take place. Final removal of Paxton would require a two-thirds vote in the Senate, where Republican members are generally aligned with the party's hard right. The Senate is led by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who has served as state chairman for former President Donald Trump's campaigns in Texas. Before the vote Saturday, Trump and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz came to Paxton’s defense, with the senator calling the impeachment process “a travesty” and saying the attorney general’s legal troubles should be left to the courts. “Free Ken Paxton,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social, warning that if House Republicans proceeded with the impeachment, “I will fight you.” Paxton, 60, decried the outcome in the House moments after scores of his fellow partisans voted for impeachment. His office pointed to internal reports that found no wrongdoing. “The ugly spectacle in the Texas House today confirmed the outrageous impeachment plot against me was never meant to be fair or just,” Paxton said. "It was a politically motivated sham from the beginning.” Lawmakers allied with Paxton tried to discredit the investigation by noting that hired investigators, not panel members, interviewed witnesses. They also said several of the investigators had voted in Democratic primaries, tainting the impeachment, and that Republican legislators had too little time to review evidence. “I perceive it could be political weaponization,” Rep. Tony Tinderholt, one of the House’s most conservative members, said before the vote. Republican Rep. John Smithee compared the proceeding to "a Saturday mob out for an afternoon lynching.” Rice University political science professor Mark P. Jones said the swift move to impeach kept Paxton from rallying significant support and allowed quietly frustrated Republicans to come together. “If you ask most Republicans privately, they feel Paxton is an embarrassment. But most were too afraid of the base to oppose him,” Jones said. By voting as a large bloc, he added, the lawmakers gained political cover. To Paxton’s longstanding detractors, however, the rebuke was years overdue. In 2014, he admitted to violating Texas securities law, and a year later was indicted on securities fraud charges in his hometown near Dallas, accused of defrauding investors in a tech startup. He pleaded not guilty to two felony counts carrying a potential sentence of five to 99 years. He opened a legal defense fund and accepted $100,000 from an executive whose company was under investigation by Paxton’s office for Medicaid fraud. An additional $50,000 was donated by an Arizona retiree whose son Paxton later hired to a high-ranking job but soon was fired after displaying child pornography in a meeting. In 2020, Paxton intervened in a Colorado mountain community where a Texas donor and college classmate faced removal from his lakeside home under coronavirus orders. But what ultimately unleased the impeachment push was Paxton's relationship with Austin real estate developer Nate Paul. In 2020, eight top aides told the FBI they were concerned Paxton was misusing his office to help Paul over the developer's unproven claims about an elaborate conspiracy to steal $200 million of his properties. The FBI searched Paul’s home in 2019, but he has not been charged and denies wrongdoing. Paxton also told staff members he had an affair with a woman who, it later emerged, worked for Paul. The impeachment accuses Paxton of attempting to interfere in foreclosure lawsuits and issuing legal opinions to benefit Paul. The bribery charges included in the impeachment allege Paul employed the woman with whom Paxton had an affair in exchange for legal help and that he paid for expensive renovations to the attorney general's home. A senior lawyer for Paxton’s office, Chris Hilton, said Friday that the attorney general paid for all repairs and renovations. Other charges, including lying to investigators, date back to Paxton’s still-pending securities fraud indictment. Four aides who reported Paxton to the FBI later sued under Texas’ whistleblower law, and in February he agreed to settle the case for $3.3 million. The House committee said the probe was sparked by Paxton seeking legislative approval for the payout. “But for Paxton’s own request for a taxpayer-funded settlement over his wrongful conduct, Paxton would not be facing impeachment,” the panel said. ___ Bleiberg reported from Dallas. Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Texas GOP Attorney General Ken Paxton impeached by Republican-controlled Statehouse AP News Digest 3 a.m. Texas' GOP-held House set for impeachment proceedings against Attorney General Ken Paxton
2023-05-28 12:23

Darts craze hits the bullseye in Papua New Guinea
At a smoky sports club in Papua New Guinea's rough-and-tumble capital, security guards check for weapons as players with smiles stained betel-nut red...
2023-05-30 13:22

‘I just don’t have that energy’: Kim Kardashian says she can no longer be Kanye West’s ‘cleanup crew’
'I used to run around and call everyone behind his back, and be like, ‘It’s gonna be OK, don’t worry. Just give him another chance,' said Kim
2023-06-02 20:49

'The Voice' Season 24: Who is Nini Iris? Singer wows judges earning 4-chair turn during Blind Audition
'The Voice' Season 24 singer Nini Iris claimed to have picked Team Niall Horan
2023-10-10 08:48

Tesla sues Swedish agency as striking workers halt delivery of license plates of its new vehicles
Tesla has filed a lawsuit against the Swedish Transport Agency as striking workers in the Scandinavian country halted the delivery of license plates of new vehicles manufactured by the Texas-based automaker
2023-11-27 20:55

City of Valencia Invests in IoT Project Powered by the Helium Network to Combat Energy Poverty
VALENCIA, Spain--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov 8, 2023--
2023-11-08 18:24

Sean McVay: Rams want nothing to do with Matthew Stafford trade...for now
Matthew Stafford is going to be the starting quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams, at least for the 2023 season.This offseason, there were teams that had a need at the quarterback position. The thing is, the options were scarce. Geno Smith and Daniel Jones re-signed with the Seattle Seahawks and...
2023-07-28 00:22

Migrant encounters at U.S.-Mexico border on pace to reach record highs in September
By Daina Beth Solomon and Ted Hesson MEXICO CITY U.S. border authorities encountered more than 142,000 migrants at
2023-09-22 00:54

Dutch Far-Right Leader Wilders Scores Shock Election Victory
Far-right lawmaker Geert Wilders won the Dutch elections and said he plans to lead the country’s next government,
2023-11-23 07:18

Morgan Stanley cuts China's 2023 and 2024 growth forecasts
LONDON Morgan Stanley revised down its China 2023 economic growth forecast by 0.7 percentage points to 5% on
2023-07-17 18:27
You Might Like...

Eight-year election ban for Brazil's Bolsonaro

'Saint X' Episode 6 Review: Emily fights her demons as Alison’s murder investigation wears off

Logan Paul opens up about boxing match WWE attempted to set up against Nate Diaz: 'I came to take over'

Rockies' Elias Díaz becomes unlikely All-Star MVP, 3 1/2 years after cut loose by Pirates

DNP: Newly Designed LCD Backlight System Components Achieve Both High Luminance and Wide Viewing Angle

Sebastian Aho scores twice as Carolina Hurricanes cruise past Buffalo Sabres 6-2

The women who run Antarctica's 'penguin post office'

Greek islanders dismayed by plan to scale up fish farming