Day: October 12, 2019

As the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump continues, Trump pushed back Saturday against speculation about whether he and his personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani — a key figure in that inquiry — were on the outs.

“He may seem a little rough around the edges sometimes,” Trump tweeted of Giuliani, “But he is also a great guy and wonderful lawyer. Such a one sided Witch Hunt going on in USA. Deep State. Shameful!”

At a rally in Louisiana Friday night, President Donald Trump came out swinging against the impeachment inquiry he faces and signaled plans to embrace a general election strategy that will again rely on personal attacks against the Democratic Party leaders and his potential 2020 rivals.

Trump was at the Friday evening rally, in part, as the head of the Republican Party, a role he has not always fully embraced. While before the crowd in Lake Charles, a small city in southwest Louisiana, he called on voters to support either of the state’s two Republican gubernatorial candidates, saying, “One …

Wildfires are burning across California this week as risks for more blazes remain high throughout the state. Dry, warm weather and strong seasonal winds this week have created a “recipe for explosive fire growth,” according to the National Weather Service.

The state’s largest fire currently is the Saddleridge Fire burning near Los Angeles. As of Saturday, the blaze has spread over 7,500 acres and was 19 percent contained, shutting down highways and schools in the area. About 100,000 people in Southern California are under mandatory evacuation orders.

Meanwhile, the Briceburg Fire has now burned more than 5,100 acres …

Marie Yovanovitch, the former US ambassador to Ukraine, testified before a joint House of Representatives subcommittee for nearly ten hours on Friday, asserting that she was ousted from her post in response to her anti-corruption work in the region.

Yovanovitch is a key figure in the growing Trump administration Ukraine scandal that has led to an impeachment inquiry in the House. The White House attempted to stop her testimony, telling her she couldn’t testify if she did not utilize an administration lawyer, but she appeared after receiving a last-minute subpoena.

In doing so, she provided the House Democrats leading that …

Welcome to Vox’s weekly book link roundup, a curated selection of the internet’s best writing on books and related subjects. This week’s edition is a little longer than usual, because it will have to hold you for two weeks — I’ll be gallivanting around on vacation next week. So in the meantime, here’s the best the web has to offer for the week of October 6, 2019.

The Nancy Drew books make a case that you can be a complete nonentity — okay, a privileged nonentity — and still do tons of courageous, adventurous, altruistic stuff. Her glamour isn’t to

Kevin McAleenan, the acting Secretary of Homeland Security who attempted to distinguish himself from immigration hardliners in the Trump administration while leading the agency charged with carrying out its policies, announced Friday night that he is leaving the agency.

A career law enforcement official, McAleenan served longer than any other DHS head without Senate confirmation, assuming his acting post in April after his predecessor Kirstjen Nielsen was asked to resign.

During McAleenan’s tenure, President Donald Trump got what he wanted: The number of migrants apprehended at the southern border fell to about 52,000 in September from almost 133,000 at …

Vox Sentences is your daily digest for what’s happening in the world. Sign up for the Vox Sentences newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox Monday through Friday, or view the Vox Sentences archive for past editions.

This week in impeachment

• Former Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch defied Department of State orders and testified before Congress Friday, stating that her removal from her post in Ukraine was a coordinated effort based on “unfounded and false claims by people with clearly questionable motives.” [Politico / Andrew Desiderio, Kyle Cheney, and Nahal Toosi]
• What else happened this week in the