The Latest: Hill recalls Giuliani’s ‘incendiary’ remarks

Politics

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on the House impeachment hearings into President Donald Trump’s dealings with Ukraine (all times local):

11:05 a.m.

A former National Security Council adviser says the president’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani had been making “incendiary” remarks on television about Ukraine.

Fiona Hill is testifying Thursday before a House committee in the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump. Investigators are trying to determine whether Trump wrongly held up critical military assistance unless Ukraine’s new president publicly said he’d investigate Democratic political rival Joe Biden and his son.

She was asked why Ambassador John Bolton would call Giuliani a “hand grenade.” She said that Bolton was referring to Giuliani’s many TV appearances floating conspiracy theories on the 2016 election and the Bidens.

She says that Giuliani was “clearly pushing forward” issues that would “probably come back to haunt us.”

And she says: “That’s where we are today.”

___

10:40 a.m.

A former White House national security aide is testifying at a House impeachment hearing that Russia’s goal in 2016 was to put whomever was elected president “under a cloud.”

Fiona Hill is an expert on Russia. She says increased partisanship is “exactly what the Russian government was hoping for.”

She says it is “absolutely the case” that it is to Russia’s benefit to blame Ukraine for intervention in the U.S. election. And that falls into “a long pattern of deflection” by Russia.

President Donald Trump and other Republicans have pushed the theory that Ukraine intervened in the 2016 election while U.S. intelligence agencies have stated unequivocally that it was Russia.

Hill told the committee in her opening statement that Republicans should quit pushing a “fictional” narrative about Ukraine.

10:10 a.m.

A Foreign Service officer says that former White House national security adviser John Bolton mentioned critical security aid to Ukraine will be held until the new president could “favorably impress” President Donald Trump

David …read more

Source:: The Mercury News – Politics

      

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Livermore company fined $100,000 for ruptured gas lines

Business

A Bay Area utility contractor will pay $100,000 in civil penalties after rupturing gas lines 15 times in five years and failing to report their activities to utilities, according to prosecutors.

A Santa Clara County Superior Court judge ordered the penalty Wednesday after an investigation that began back in 2017, when the Milpitas Police Department first reported a slate of incidents at MCH Electric construction sites.

While working on various infrastructure projects, the company repeatedly ruptured gas lines — including those along major roadways — and used backhoe equipment closer to gas and electrical lines than legally allowed, prosecutors said.

Workers also allegedly failed to tell utilities of their plans to dig near gas lines within the required two days, and did not call 911 immediately after a gas release, according to the complaint, while the company did not train them in proper excavation notifications and practices.

Through a joint investigation, the Santa Clara County and Alameda County District Attorney’s offices uncovered malpractice across sites in the South Bay and East Bay.

In one incident, an operator with the company caused a gas leak along the sidewalk of Montague Expressway for an hour, forcing the closure of the roadway during rush hour, prosecutors said.

The case is one of the first to be prosecuted under the state’s 2016 Dig Safe Act, which set a legal framework around underground infrastructure practices like excavation and drilling.

MCH Electric was founded more than two decades ago and has worked on a range of projects over the years, from apartment buildings in Dublin to industrial work in Tracy.

Representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Mott & Bow’s Black Friday sale starts this week with discounts up to 35% — here’s what you should buy

News
mott and bow black friday cyber monday sale

Denim startup Mott & Bow is having a sitewide sale with discounts up to 35% from November 22 to December 2.
Beginning December 8, it’ll also offer a 25% discount on a different category of clothing each day for the week.
We’re also keeping track of the best Black Friday deals overall, Amazon Black Friday deals, Target Black Friday deals, Nordstrom Black Friday deals, and Cyber Monday deals here.
Check out Business Insider Coupons for up-to-date coupons to potentially save even more during online shopping.

Denim startup Mott & Bow is offering discounts up to 35% from November 22 to December 2, hitting Black Friday and Cyber Monday with one big promotion.

Everything from tees to sweats and jeans for men and women is initially discounted by 25%, but the more you buy, the more you save. If the full-price value of items in your purchase is $250 or more, the discount goes up to 30%; if the value is $400 or more, the discount goes even higher to 35%. To take advantage of these savings, use the code “BF19” at checkout when shopping from November 22 to December 1, and “CM19” on December 22.

Beginning December 8, Mott & Bow will also take 25% off a different category each day for the week, almost like a 24-hour flash sale. There’s no promo code for this, the discount will be automatically applied at checkout.

Mott & Bow first earned internet fame for its affordable denim, but it’s expanded into more casual-wear in recent years. We’ve reviewed a ton of the brand’s clothes, including twill denim,

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A former MLS player has been arrested on suspicion of running a drug cartel in Spain after $775,000 and approximately a ton of hash were seized during a raid

News
Sergio Contreras Pardo

A former MLS player has been arrested on suspicion of running a drug cartel in Spain.
Sergio “Koke” Contreras Pardo was taken into custody on Tuesday following a number of raids throughout Malaga, Granada, and Sevilla, according to Agence France-Presse.
19 others were arrested, and about a ton of hashish, $775,000, and various firearms were also seized, says AFP.
Police told AFP that Contreras was suspected to be the “head of the organization.”
Contreras, 36, played for number of clubs across the world during his career, including Malaga, Marseille, and the Houston Dynamo.
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A former MLS player has been arrested on suspicion of running a drug cartel in Spain.

Sergio “Koke” Contreras Pardo, formerly of the Houston Dynamo, was taken into custody on Tuesday following a number of raids throughout Malaga, Granada, and Sevilla, according to the Agence France-Presse.

19 others were arrested, however police told AFP that Contreras was suspected to be the “head of the organization.”

About a ton of hashish, $775,000, and numerous weapons that included sidearms and rifles were also seized, according to the report.

The police operation to capture Contreras was dubbed “Operation MasKoke” in reference to the former forward’s nickname.

Koke, 36, played for a number of clubs across the world during his 15-year professional career, including stints at Malaga, Marseille, and Houston Dynamo, the latter for whom he only made seven appearances before asking to have his contract terminated for personal reasons.

He most recently played for Greek side Aris Thessaloniki in 2016, however has since retired.

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