Jessica Tarlov: Impeachment hearings confirm Trump’s misconduct, despite his denials - Fox News

While President Trump continues to insist that his July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was “perfect,” it is becoming increasingly obvious that his claim is absurd and that he improperly pressured Zelensky to interfere in our 2020 presidential election in return for vital U.S. aid.

This is the main takeaway from the House Intelligence Committee’s impeachment inquiry of President Trump that moves into its second day of public hearings Friday. More witnesses are certain to confirm Trump’s misconduct.

The unfortunate truth is that instead of pursuing America’s national interest by giving Ukraine nearly $400 million in assistance to resist invading Russian military forces, Trump tried to extort Zelensky to benefit Trump’s personal political interests. This is not what our presidents are supposed to do.

TRUMP HAMMERS DEMS FOR IMPEACHMENT FOCUS AT LOUISIANA RALLY: 'WE DID NOTHING WRONG -- AND THEY'RE DOING NOTHING'

Trump saw former Vice President Joe Biden as his likely Democratic opponent in the 2020 election, and so sought to get Zelensky to launch an investigation of Biden and his son Hunter (who served on the board of a Ukrainian natural gas company) that would smear the former vice president’s reputation and make Biden less likely to be elected president.

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Trump’s action was unquestionably improper, and many people – including me – believe it was illegal.

The Democratic-controlled House will have to decide this issue when it votes on whether to impeach Trump. If it does, the Republican-controlled Senate will have to hold a trial to determine if Trump’s conduct warrants his removal from office.

No president has ever been removed from office by Congress, though President Richard Nixon resigned in 1974 to avoid likely removal if he had gone to trial in the Senate in the Watergate scandal.

Trump’s Republican defenders in the House and Senate argue that since Trump eventually released the aid to Ukraine without getting Ukraine to investigate the Bidens he did nothing wrong.

But as Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, said at the House Intelligence Committee’s impeachment hearing Wednesday: “Is attempted murder a crime? Is attempted robbery a crime? Is attempted bribery and extortion a crime?”

We all know the answers to these questions: yes, yes and yes.

Trump’s attempted crime was interrupted by a whistleblower filing a complaint about the July 25 Trump-Zelensky call and news stories disclosing this. Without the whistleblower complaint, all indications are that Zelensky would have ordered the investigation of the Bidens – along with an investigation of a debunked claim that Ukraine interfered in our 2016 presidential election on behalf of Hillary Clinton.

Trump demanded both investigations in return for giving Ukraine the U.S. aid that had been approved by Congress, and had blocked the release of the aid as part of his plan to extort Zelensky to meet his demands. Only disclosure of the Trump attempted extortion prompted him to give Ukraine the aid it desperately needed.

At Wednesday’s impeachment hearing, acting U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine William Taylor and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State George Kent were perfect witnesses and gave damning testimony against President Trump.

Trump’s action was unquestionably improper, and many people – including me – believe it was illegal.

Taylor and Kent came off as nonpartisan, patriotic, researched and consistent. Their attention to detail was on full display, having taken copious notes documenting every aspect of their experience with Trump’s wrongful conduct regarding Ukraine.

Taylor even came with new information since his closed-door deposition in late October that gave additional fodder to the central charge of this impeachment inquiry: President Trump was trading arms for dirt on his political opponent.

Taylor reported that his aide David Holmes heard U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland on the phone with Trump on July 26 discussing the investigations Trump wanted into the Bidens and our 2016 election.

Holmes then asked Sondland what the president “thought about Ukraine.” According to Taylor, "Ambassador Sondland responded that President Trump cares more about the investigations of Biden, which Giuliani was pressing for.”

The Associated Press reported Thursday that a second diplomatic staffer, Suriya Jayanti, also overheard the conversation between Sondland and Trump. Trump has said he doesn’t recall this July 26 call, the day after his conversation with Zelensky.

Doesn’t recall? That sure is convenient.

I expect Ambassador Sondland will be amending his testimony one more time to account for these new details.

Protest as Republicans might, all the dots have been connected to show Trump’s unquestionable misconduct. The timeline that exists now is incredibly damaging to Trump.

February: Congress approves $391 million in military aid to Ukraine.

Feb. 28: Trump tells Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., that the aid to Ukraine will be released immediately.

July 25: The Trump-Zelensky phone call takes place. Trump mentions the Bidens and tells the Ukrainian president “I would like you to do us a favor though” and launch investigations, according to a rough transcript of the call released by the White House.

Sept. 9: The Justice Department informs the House of the whistleblower complaint raising serious concerns about the Trump-Zelensky call.

Sept. 11: Trump releases the congressionally appropriated aid to Ukraine.

The order of events is critical to undermining the Republicans’ argument, since they have been relying on the fact that there couldn’t have been a quid pro quo because U.S. military aid was released without investigations.

As the timeline shows, Trump’s attempted crime was interrupted by the whistleblower complaint being filed. What’s more, our legal system holds people accountable for attempted crimes. Plenty of people are serving time in our prisons and jails for crimes they tried but failed to carry out because they were foiled in the act.

Republicans have also been arguing that since Zelensky said much later that he didn’t feel pressured by Trump in the July 25 call, nothing inappropriate had happened. It is obvious Zelensky said that because he feared angering Trump, which could create future problems for Ukraine.

But after Wednesday’s testimony, we know that the Ukrainians were acutely aware of what was happening with the withholding of vital U.S. aid, and felt pressure to do the bidding of Trump and Trump’s personal attorney, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

Not only did Giuliani publicly state that these investigations would be “very helpful” to Trump, but Taylor testified that Sondland told him that he had personally encouraged Zelensky to make it clear to Trump that Zelensky was committed to the investigations.

Additionally, Ukraine’s national security adviser told Taylor that Zelensky did not wish to be a pawn in a U.S. political campaign five days before the call occurred. By September, there are a number of indications that not only did the Ukrainians feel pressured, but they also knew that the American aid had been frozen, according to the testimony of Taylor and Tim Morrison, formerly of the National Security Council.

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Republicans tried desperately at the Wednesday hearing to divert attention from the real issues at hand by promoting conspiracy theories like the claim that the Ukrainians interfered in our 2016 election or that there was something sinister going on vis-à-vis the Bidens and gas company Burisma.

Kent and Taylor quickly knocked down these claims. But I expect that Republicans will continue to promote these fairytales that make the president seem a little bit less corrupt to his base.

Now the truth has come out. And more will come out as more witnesses testify about President Trump’s misconduct.

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Because the Senate would need the votes of 20 Republicans to remove Trump from office if he is impeached by the House, the odds are that he will remain in office.

But the House impeachment inquiry will shed needed light on how Trump has improperly used his office for his personal benefit, giving voters important information to consider when they cast ballots in the 2020 presidential election.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE BY JESSICA TARLOV

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2019-11-15 10:01:48Z
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Former US Ambassador to Ukraine testifies: Live updates - CNN International

Andrew Caballero-Reynold/AFP/Getty Images

Ambassador Marie "Masha" Yovanovitch will testify today at the second public hearing in the impeachment inquiry into President Trump.

Yovanovitch -- "someone who has never been hungry for the spotlight," as one former State Department official described her -- has increasingly found herself there as new developments in the Ukraine controversy have come to light.

But the former top US diplomat in Ukraine, maligned as "bad news" by President Trump and and known by her diplomatic peers as "one of the best," will share her perspective publicly today on Capitol Hill as part of the impeachment inquiry.

Since being unexpectedly removed from her post in Kyiv in May, Yovanovitch has become increasingly ensnared at the center of the widening scandal.

"I would imagine for her this is pretty much worse than her worst nightmare in that not only are you being publicly criticized and condemned by your head of state but also the idea of all of this public attention. She's a pretty reserved person," the official told CNN.

Trump personally ordered Yovanovitch's removal, according to The Wall Street Journal. She was accused without evidence by Rudy Giuliani -- a former New York mayor and Trump's personal attorney -- and others of trying to undermine the President and blocking efforts to investigate Democrats like former Vice President Joe Biden.

Trump has twice disparaged Yovanovitch -- once in early October at the White House and another time in his July 25 call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

"The former ambassador from the United States, the woman, was bad news and the people she was dealing with in the Ukraine were bad news so I just want to let you know that," Trump said to Zelensky, according to a rough White House transcript.

Diplomatic support: The diplomatic community has rallied behind Yovanovitch since the contents of Trump's call were disclosed, and some former diplomats have also called for the State Department and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to lend their public support to the career foreign service officer.

Retired US Ambassador Nicholas Burns called for "the higher levels of the State Department" to "come out and defend her."

"They should say she was a good ambassador, she did what was asked. She did what her constitutional duty asked her to do, represent the United States ably and honorably," Burns told CNN. "She deserves an apology, a public apology."

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2019-11-15 09:27:00Z
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Hong Kong in first recession for a decade amid protests - BBC News

Hong Kong has entered its first recession in a decade as the territory continues to be gripped by protests.

Its economy shrank 3.2% in the July-to-September period compared with the prior quarter, figures showed, confirming earlier preliminary data.

It means the economy has contracted for two quarters in a row, which is the usual definition of a recession.

Tourists are staying away and shops are suffering amid battles between anti-government protesters and police.

Compared with a year ago, Hong Kong's economy was 2.9% smaller in the third quarter of the year.

Hong Kong's protests started in June after the government planned to pass a bill that would allow suspects to be extradited to mainland China.

Many feared this bill would undermine the city's freedoms and judicial independence.

The bill was eventually withdrawn but the protests continued, having evolved into a broader revolt against the police, and the way Hong Kong is administered by Beijing.

Protests have taken place every weekend over the past few months, causing widespread disruption and a number of deaths.

On Thursday, a 70-year-old cleaner died after he was hit in the head during a protest in the Hong Kong border town of Sheung Shui.

Video purported to be of the incident shows two groups throwing bricks at each other before the man falls to the ground after being struck on the head.

Dramatic scenes such as these have kept tourists away. In August, arrivals to the city - a popular travel destination and transit hub - hit their worst level since the SARS crisis of 2003.

Some hotels have slashed prices as they struggle to fill their rooms.

On Thursday, two companies with major operations in Hong Kong revealed the financial impact of the protests.

Luxury fashion house Burberry said its sales in Hong Kong had fallen by more than 10% and would "remain under pressure".

Airline Cathay Pacific cut its profit guidance and said the civil unrest had "been exceptionally challenging, severely impacting demand and operations of the business".

Why the spike in anger?

This week has seen a marked escalation in violence with intense street battles, violent clashes at universities and lunchtime protests in the financial heart of Hong Kong.

It is the first time in weeks that protests have taken place during weekdays.

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Monday's protests followed a weekend of vigils and demonstrations after a 22-year-old student protester died last week.

Alex Chow had been in hospital since he fell from the ledge of a car park during a police operation a week ago.

Later on Monday, violence escalated further when a police officer shot an activist in the torso with a live bullet and a pro-government supporter was set on fire by protesters.

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2019-11-15 09:25:56Z
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Trump hikes price tag for US forces in Korea almost 500% as Seoul questions alliance - CNN

Trump is demanding that South Korea pay roughly 500% more in 2020 to cover the cost of keeping US troops on the peninsula, a congressional aide and an administration official confirmed to CNN.

The price hike has frustrated Pentagon officials and deeply concerned Republican and Democratic lawmakers, according to military officials and congressional aides. It has angered and unnerved Seoul, where leaders are questioning US commitment to their alliance and wondering whether Trump will pull US forces if they don't pay up.

"Nothing says I love you like a shakedown," said Vipin Narang, an associate professor at MIT who follows the Korean peninsula, summarizing South Korean uncertainty about the US.

Hard feelings

In the US, congressional aides and Korea experts familiar with the talks say the President's $4.7 billion demand came out of thin air, sending State and Defense Department officials scrambling to justify the number with a slew of new charges that may include Seoul paying some costs for US personnel present on the peninsula and for troops and equipment that rotate through.

Negotiations are underway as North Korea threatens to step up its weapons development, deepening Seoul's anxiety. On Thursday, Pyongyang condemned US-South Korean joint military exercises, saying it was "enraged" and threatening to respond with "force in kind."

North Korea has already launched 24 missiles this year, each a violation of UN resolutions, to match the country's previous annual record for firing off projectiles that threaten South Korea and Japan, according to Bruce Klingner, a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation.

Germany, France and the United Kingdom recently condemned Pyongyang for the launches, saying they undermined regional security and stability. Meanwhile, South Korean leaders are acutely aware that Trump has downplayed the launches, saying he is "not at all" troubled by them.

"There are a lot of hard feelings," Klingner said of South Korean views of the US right now, adding that "people are questioning the viability of the US as an ally."

That's being driven in part by US acquiescence to North Korea's missile launches, which "is raising angst... about whether the US is a reliable ally," Klingner said. "The exorbitant push to further increase the US demand for the cost of stationing US forces overseas is adding to that."

Scott Snyder, director of the US-Korea policy program at the Council on Foreign Relations, said the extreme nature of the price hike is creating "worry that Trump is doing this as a pretext for withdrawal" of US troops.

"The main side effect that I see is that it raises questions about the credibility of the United States as a protector, as an alliance partner," Snyder said. "And that's not good for the relationship."

The administration official said the argument is that the US does many things to ensure South Korean security that haven't been accurately accounted for, for decades. "It was one thing when Korea was recovering from the war, but now they're one of the world's leading economies," the official said.

"The Koreans have said themselves they ultimately want to take over the security of Korea and stand as a peer in the security sphere," the official said. Now, "they need to make some fundamental investments to get where they say they want to be, so this is an opportunity for them."

Shared responsibility

A spokesperson for the State Department, which has the lead on negotiations, said that "sustaining the costs of our global military presence is not a burden that should fall on the US taxpayer alone, but is a responsibility that should be shared fairly with allies and partners who benefit from our presence."

The Korean embassy did not return requests for comment.

The US-South Korea cost sharing agreement has been in place for decades and, until Trump, was renegotiated every five years. During the 2016 campaign, candidate Trump declared that he would pull US troops from the peninsula if he didn't get 100% compensation for their presence.

Last year, when the Special Measures Agreement came up for negotiation, Trump asked for a 50% increase from Seoul. Ultimately, the two sides agreed South Korea would pay 8% over the prior year's cost, but that the agreement would be renegotiated yearly.

This year, Trump raised the asking price from approximately $1 billion to $5 billion before being convinced by officials at the State Department and Pentagon to winnow that down to $4.7 billion, according to a congressional aide and the administration official.

Esper, like other administration officials, has refused to confirm that figure publicly, saying Wednesday only that "we have asked for a significant increase in the cost-sharing for our deployed troops."

'A backwards process'

Klingner is one of several Korea experts who suggest that Trump pulled the figure out of thin air. Officials at the relevant agencies and aides in Congress who follow Asia are similarly perplexed. "I have no idea where the President pulled this number from," said the congressional aide.

"It seems pretty clear ... that State and DOD were working to figure out how to justify the $5 billion figure... it's not like, 'We were developing a new concept that includes the following 17 categories and this is what it comes to.' It was a backwards process," said the aide characterized the reaction to be one of shock, " 'the President wants $5 billion and how do we justify that to the Koreans?' They were throwing everything in there that allowed them to argue with a straight face that this covers the burden-sharing costs of the alliance."

To justify the price tag, officials at State and the Pentagon expanded the costs Seoul would cover "from basing, sewage, the usual things, to include 'readiness,'" the aide said. Administration officials would not confirm that.

But it could mean charging Seoul for joint military exercises, including rotational forces that aren't always present on the peninsula. "So if we had bombers stop by the peninsula as a show of force, I guess like an Uber driver, we would bill them for the trip," the aide said.

The US may also ask South Korea to pay for "a whole range of personnel costs for US personnel stationed on Peninsula," the aide said. In response, the aide said, the Koreans are asking, " 'Are you guys mercenaries now? Is this a business arrangement?' "

Military officials have told CNN they are distressed about the request and that they have been concerned the President's foreign policy decision making could increasingly be shaped by his concerns about the 2020 election campaign or impeachment pressure.

The congressional aide said Pentagon officials are expressing their discomfort on Capitol Hill as well. "The career professionals and career military: they're beside themselves," the aide said, "but [Trump is] the commander in chief, so they're in a box."

"The Koreans are outraged," the aide continued, particularly because elections are coming in April and they don't think the cost increase is defensible in their National Assembly.

Council on Foreign Relations expert Snyder said that historically, the formula for cost sharing has seen increases of 5% to 10%, but "the gap between 5% and almost 500%... stretches the bounds of political plausibility."

A particular hurdle, Snyder said, is any request that Seoul pay for assets "that may be used in the event of a conflict, but that aren't actually based in Korea. That's the most sensitive question if you're talking about the Korean taxpayer."

'A lot of concern'

Sen. Edward Markey, the leading Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee on Asia said that he was "troubled by President Trump's demand. ... If South Korea decides that it is better off without the United States, President Trump will have undermined an over 60-year shared commitment to peace, stability, and rule of law. The region is less safe when countries lose confidence in America's ability to lead."

Sen. Cory Gardner of Colorado, the Republican chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee on Asia, did not respond to repeated requests for comment. Neither did the second ranking Republican on the subcommittee, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, or the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. James Risch of Idaho.

Behind closed doors though, the congressional aide echoed another colleague on Capitol Hill, saying that "there's a lot of concern up here with both Democratic and Republican staff. People ... are not happy. They think this is really dangerous."

CNN's Barbara Starr contributed to this report

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2019-11-15 08:20:00Z
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Behind the barricade, Hong Kong protesters turn a university into a fortress - Washington Post

Tyrone Siu Reuters Anti-government protesters at the Chinese University of Hong Kong on Thursday.

HONG KONG — Behind a barricade made of bamboo scaffolding, desks and umbrellas, Damon naps in a truck tire next to a baseball bat.

At midday Thursday, the junk offers a bit of shade. The 17-year-old high school student — dressed in black and wearing knee pads — has barely slept since he moved onto the Chinese University campus. The tire leans against a car door, and he’s not sure where either came from.

“I don’t know, maybe that truck,” he says, gesturing to the scorched, toppled vehicle a short distance away.

Some of the city’s working men and women are using their spending power to help front-line protesters confront police during the demonstrations in Hong Kong.

Two nights ago, the truck ignited when police besieged a bridge leading to the university, among Hong Kong’s most prestigious colleges, provoking one of the fiercest clashes of the pro-democracy uprising.

For nearly six months, protesters have taken to the streets of the semiautonomous financial hub demanding more democracy and less Chinese encroachment. The movement assumed new urgency Tuesday night when police pummeled students with tear gas and rubber bullets, turning the Chinese University campus into a conflict zone as students fought back with gasoline bombs and bricks.

[As unrest paralyzes Hong Kong, college students from elsewhere begin to evacuate]

Since then, the campus has been usurped by students and volunteers, transforming it into a fortress. The bridge, which reeks of petroleum and burned rubber, has become an arsenal, equipped with a makeshift catapult, javelins, bows and arrows, molotov cocktails. There are shopping carts stacked with bricks, and boogie boards for use as shields.

“They can deal with tear gas and rubber bullets,” says Jonathan, a 29-year-old alumnus and finance worker who, like Damon, gave only one name for fear of retribution. “We don’t have anything for real guns.”

Tyrone Siu

Reuters

An anti-government protester holds a bow and arrow during a standoff with riot police at the Chinese University.

Police have described the university — in Hong Kong’s northern reaches, about 14 miles from the central business district — as a weapons factory. As protesters mill about the 340-acre campus, a day after classes were suspended, the atmosphere feels volatile. Exchange students preparing to leave the city drag suitcases down the barricaded access road.

When sirens sound, everyone goes silent and looks for the source.

“Police?” exclaims Jonathan, when he mishears a conversation about a nearby protest. “No, no, Poly University,” comes a comrade’s reply, referring to another campus where police fired tear gas at students on Thursday. “Oh, okay.”

https://twitter.com/caseyquack/status/1194921200364843008?s=20">

Between shifts hauling supplies to lecture halls and hammering bricks, hundreds hang around the graffiti-covered campus-turned-commune — napping wherever they can, checking their phones, enjoying the respite. But as the hours tick by, there’s a sense that things could flare again at any moment.

Hong Kong’s government, urged on by Chinese leaders, has intensified a clampdown on demonstrators who have responded to each uptick of force with a reciprocal escalation. Unrest increased sharply this week after the police shooting of a protester and the death of another who fell from a parking garage as police dispersed crowds nearby. On Thursday, Hong Kong’s government suspended all school classes through Sunday and said it would recruit correctional officers to reinforce police ranks.

Police fired shots at protesters in the eastern district of Sai Wan Ho on Nov. 11 and critically injured a 21-year-old protester who appeared to be unarmed.

The police raid at Chinese University has been a clarion call for other colleges to erect barricades. Protests flared Thursday at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and in the city’s downtown area.

[‘We are in a war’: In Hong Kong, an accountant by day becomes street fighter by night]

The campus clashes have reinforced a growing sense that the next phase of the struggle would be centered on the city’s classrooms.

This week, China’s cabinet published an education policy document outlining revisions to promote loyalty to Beijing. The issue of patriotic education has been divisive in Hong Kong; parents and students took to the streets in 2012 to force the withdrawal of a proposal to introduce Chinese textbooks that appeared to criticize democracy and applaud the “China model” of one-party rule.

Thomas Peter

Reuters

A protester at the occupied campus of the Chinese University in Hong Kong.

The document released by China’s cabinet did not give details but said a new, nationwide curriculum would “consolidate the common ideological and political foundation,” boost support for the socialist system and the Communist Party of China, and “guide” residents of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, as well as overseas Chinese, “to enhance their national identity and consciously safeguard national and ethnic unity.”

On Chinese social media, commentators appeared to express shock at the depth of antipathy toward the mainland among Hong Kong youth.

In a widely circulated post, Lu Kewen, a popular columnist, blamed Hong Kong’s Western-style education system for making “Hong Kongers under 30 fully stand with the ideology of the Western world,” adding that “they are disgusted by everything about the mainland.”

[A Hong Kong campus becomes a combat zone, fueling doubts about elections]

On Thursday, the Nanchang Aviation University in southern China announced it would “severely handle” the case of a professor who expressed sympathy for Hong Kong protesters in a private messaging group.

At the Chinese University, protesters have maximized every resource to make the campus a perfect citadel. The first-aid team took over the gymnasium: Nurses and volunteers man tables of creams and bandages while others sleep on the floor under space blankets. A whiteboard keeps track of the injuries — calf wound, eye injury, ankle sprain — who’s on duty, and emergency numbers.

Anthony Kwan

Getty Images

Protesters sleep in tents and sleeping bags at a sports ground at the Chinese University of Hong Kong on Thursday.

The racetrack is the most popular sleeping quarters, although some protesters erect tents on the inner field. Strewn around are protective items, flip-flops and slippers. Some use winter coats as blankets and sleep under umbrellas. A lecture hall operates as a supply center, where piles of donations are at their disposal: clothes, blankets, battery packs, protective gear. A makeshift store offers candy, cup noodles and more.

Rare weekday fighting in Hong Kong carried into Tuesday night as authorities admitted that the city is on the verge of collapse.

China has pressed Hong Kong officials to end the protests. The state-controlled Global Times tweeted Thursday that Hong Kong officials would soon impose a curfew, before quickly deleting the message, saying the sourcing did not meet the nationalist tabloid’s standards.

Hong Kong’s government later said in a statement that rumors of a curfew were “totally unfounded.”

Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s students are bracing for another possible attack. Some here talk of “June 4” — a reference to the Tiananmen Square massacre of 1989, when China’s ruling Communist Party gunned down hundreds, perhaps thousands, of pro-democracy demonstrators in Beijing.

“We can see the Chinese government and the Hong Kong police are trying to invade our school campus, our liberty, our future,” Damon said.

Justin Chin

Bloomberg

A makeshift brick wall forms a barricade on Pokfulam Road outside the University of Hong Kong on Thursday.

Shih reported from Beijing. Tiffany Liang contributed to this report.

Read more

As unrest paralyzes Hong Kong, college students from elsewhere begin to evacuate

‘We are in a war’: In Hong Kong, an accountant by day becomes street fighter by night

A Hong Kong campus becomes a combat zone, fueling doubts over elections

Today’s coverage from Post correspondents around the world

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2019-11-14 11:25:00Z
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Dominican Republic teacher dies: Officials say American Patricia Anton was found dead in her home after apparent robbery - CBS News

Last Updated Nov 14, 2019 7:47 AM EST

An American teacher's death in the Dominican Republic was being investigated Thursday as a murder. Police said they found Patricia Anton deceased in her apartment in Puerto Plata, on the country's northern coast, with her hands and feet bound.

Officials have said the 63-year-old was strangled.

CBS News correspondent Jericka Duncan said police have not yet indicated the identification of any potential suspects in the case, but they've revealed that Anton's death may have been part of a burglary.

Investigators said multiple items were missing from her apartment, including a cellphone, laptop, television, sheets and a pair of sports shoes.

Anton, from Michigan, dedicated her life to helping children. She had lived in the Dominican Republic for the last five years, where she worked as a consultant at an elementary school.

The school's website said she had more than 20 years of teaching experience and was previously a legislative aide at the Michigan state capitol.

It is with much sadness and an extremely heavy heart that we send this message out tonight. Patty Anton, our Montessori...

Posted by 3 Mariposas Montessori on Wednesday, November 13, 2019

On their Facebook page, school administrators at the 3 Mariposas Montessori school said Anton would "light up a room upon entering it and be sure to make everyone smile and laugh with her wonderful sense of humor."

"She shared our belief that peace in the world can only come from getting close to and understanding people who are different from ourselves," the school said. "That is why she gave her heart and soul to our school." 

Anton is one of at least 11 Americans who have died in the Dominican Republic this year. The rest have been tourists, and the reasons range from natural causes to deaths possibly linked to tainted alcohol.

Anton's body was to be taken to a lab in the country for further testing. Police have urged anyone with knowledge of the crime to come forward.

The U.S. State Department did not offer any immediate comment on the American's death.

© 2019 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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2019-11-14 11:15:00Z
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Gaza militants fire 5 rockets at Israel hours after cease-fire declared - Fox News

Five rockets were launched from the Gaza Strip toward Israel just hours after a cease-fire was declared between Israel and Gaza’s militant Islamic Jihad group early Thursday morning, an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson confirmed.

CEASE-FIRE REACHED WITH ISRAEL TO END GAZA FIGHTING, ISLAMIC JIHAD SAYS

An explosion caused by Israeli airstrikes is seen in Gaza City, early Thursday, Nov. 14, 2019. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)

Two of the rockets were intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome aerial defense system.

The cease-fire was meant to halt a 48-hour surge in cross-border fighting sparked by the assassination of top Islamic Jihad leader Baha Abu al-Ata along with his wife.

The IDF said Wednesday it was “raining rockets” across the country, with Gaza militants firing one projectile every seven minutes since Baha Abu al-Ata was killed by the Israeli military in a targeted airstrike Tuesday morning.

"Baha Abu Al Ata was the senior commander of Islamic Jihad in Gaza, responsible for most attacks emanating from Gaza over the last year," IDF Chief of General Staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kohavi said Tuesday. "He was a ticking time-bomb ... there was a window of opportunity that we utilized precisely."

The Islamic Jihad leader was also actively planning new attacks against Israel, an IDF spokesperson said.

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At least 34 Palestinians, including three women and eight children have been killed in the two-day barrage.

Fox News' Talia Kaplan and the Associated Press contributed to this report

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2019-11-14 11:08:33Z
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