Free Republic

The Senate’s final verdict on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh – whose high-stakes, high-wire confirmation hearing begins Tuesday – will hinge on the views of just a handful of lawmakers. As it stands, Republicans hold a razor-thin, 50-49 majority with one vacancy. Arizona Republican Gov. Doug Ducey will soon appoint a successor to the late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., but even then the GOP majority can suffer few defections. These are the senators to watch: Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska These senators can be mavericks in their own right. Further, they fret about how health care issues...

MOUNDSVILLE — Trump Administration officials are continuing to listen as West Virginia officials push for an expanded Interstate 68 from Morgantown through Marshall County. Marshall County Commissioner Robert Miller led a contingent to Washington, D.C., last week to meet with Brittany Carter, the White House assistant director of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs. Miller said the group discussed the I-68 project’s prospects of being included within Trump’s expected $200 billion infrastructure improvement plan, which should be presented to Congress by the end of this year. The I-68 project is expected to cost at least $1 billion. “$200 billion isn’t a...

A Mingo County Schools bus driver was arrested Tuesday after police say he was driving the school bus while impaired. David Lee Justice Jr. was driving the Mingo Central High School girls team to a soccer game when he was pulled over along U.S. 119 in Boone County. One coach was also on the school bus. West Virginia State Police say he failed field sobriety tests and later had blood drawn to check for drugs or alcohol. Justice's father said he believes his son had a medical emergency on the bus, like a heat stroke. He said his son is...

So tolls will soon be increasing along the 88-mile West Virginia Turnpike. This doesnÂ’t come as much of a surprise, as the move to double tolls had gained significant momentum in recent months.Years ago, there appeared to be a solid push among lawmakers in the deep south counties to eliminate tolls once the original bond indebtedness associated with the construction of the turnpike expired. But a number of factors, including the stateÂ’s budget crisis in 2017, derailed those efforts.Members of the West Virginia Parkways Authority Board voted on June 7 to double tolls effective Jan. 1, 2019. The move will...

RUSH: To the audio sound bites. Trump last night in Charleston, West Virginia. Trump is an amazing figure in a lot of ways. But as Drudge headlined in the Drudge Report yesterday it was hell hour for Trump, hell afternoon. The media talking about the darkest days of Trump’s presidency, could the end be near? And everybody was thinking, “Oh, my God. This is it. They’re finally gonna get rid of Trump.” And Trump is not staying in the White House sulking or getting mad. He went out to a previously scheduled campaign rally in West Virginia, he gets off...

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) is breaking with calls from party leadership to delay Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings in the wake of former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen’s guilty plea. Asked about calls on Wednesday from his Democratic colleagues, including Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), to delay Kavanaugh's hearings, Manchin interjected “that’s not right.” “We do our job. Let’s do our job. ... Delaying is not going to help anything,” he said. Manchin noted that Democratic leaders had not looped him in on the strategy that was announced earlier on Wednesday, a day after Cohen pleaded guilty to...

For years, the most popular politician in West Virginia, hands down, was Joe Manchin. Twice elected governor, the centrist Democrat is now running for re-election as the Mountain State’s senior senator. In 2016, however, Manchin’s mantle was passed to Donald Trump, who carried the state by 42 percentage points over Hillary Clinton. The president remains nearly as popular today as he was on the last Election Day, and as the West Virginia Senate race approaches the post-Labor Day home stretch, the question is whether the Trump mystique will be enough to send Manchin into early retirement. He delivered a clear...

When Elise Jordan was writing speeches for George W. Bush and Condi Rice, it’s unlikely that her lexicon included such vulgarities. But now that she works for MSNBC, Jordan needs to establish her liberal street cred by breaking out such coarse lingo. On today’s Morning Joe, Mika Brzezinski asked Jordan whether the Trump base, as represented by the people at attendance at yesterday’s rally in West Virginia, would be moved by yesterday’s news about Paul Manafort and Michael Cohen. Responded Jordan. “The short answer is ‘no.’ It’s very baked in as of now and is not going to change that...

President Trump will hold a campaign rally in Charleston, WV, just hours after his former lawyer plead guilty to the FBI and his former campaign chair, Paul Manafort, was found guilty of tax evasion. Trump visits the state on behalf of Senate candidate Patrick Morrisey.

Watch it live at 7 p.m. EST right here on ClickOnDetroit. Trump returning to campaign in West Virginia President Donald Trump is making his sixth visit to West Virginia since taking office. Trump’s campaign says the president will hold a rally Tuesday in Charleston at the Charleston Civic Center. He’s expected to encourage voters to turn out for Republican candidates in the midterm elections, including West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey. Morrisey is running against incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin. Trump’s campaign said he will speak on topics such as the economy, national security, trade and Supreme Court nominee...

CUMBERLAND, MD (WTRF) - The FBI continues their search for a man who allegedly made threats against the President. Authorities said Shawn Richard Christy is wanted for threatening President Trump on Facebook back in June. Reports indicate Christy was last seen in Cumberland, Maryland.

South Carolina man who, police said, wanted to “cannibalize” a young girl after turning her into a “full time baby maker and sex slave” was sentenced to probation, according to court records. Justin Teeter Bensing, 36, of Myrtle Beach, Cpleaded guilty to two counts of criminal solicitation of a minor, according to Greenville County online court records. The records show he was sentenced to 10 years in prison, but that the prison sentence was suspended to five years probation. The suspended sentence means if Bensing violates the terms of his probation, he could be sent to prison for 10 years....

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WCHS/WVAH) — Members of the West Virginia Senate will be called back Monday to start preliminary work on the Supreme Court impeachment process. The Senate’s communication director said that Senate President Mitch Carmichael will call members back at noon Monday, to receive the articles of impeachment approved by the House of Delegates. Coverage of the meeting will be imbedded in a media player below, with video courtesy of West Virginia Public Broadcasting. Senators will discuss and adopt rules and procedures and the trial portion of the process will start at a later date. The West Virginia House of...

Red-state Democrats are embracing one of Obamacare’s most popular provisions to help them win re-election in November. Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota unveiled ads this week slamming GOP opponents for trying to gut Obamacare’s protections for people with pre-existing illnesses, such as diabetes or cancer. Sen. Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., did the same in a Twitter video. Each of the candidates is seizing on actions by congressional Republicans and the Trump administration to unravel Obamacare. But instead of highlighting the law in general, they are centering on its rules obligating insurers to cover...

With three West Virginia Supreme Court Justices headed to a Senate impeachment trial, 7News spoke to West Virginia Senate Majority Whip Ryan Weld about what's next. Senator Weld (R-Brooke) said he, the Senate Judiciary Chairman, Senate President and staff attorneys from both sides have been spending time over the last few weeks putting together rules for the trial.

NBC News reported the state lawmakers voted to impeach all four justices over spending issues and abuse of authority. The state lawmakers first voted to impeach Justice Allen Loughry on eight articles after he spent $363,000 in renovations to his office, according to the network. He was reportedly found to have lied to the House Finance Committee about having a $42,000 antique desk and computers, owned by the state, transferred to his home and using state vehicles for his personal use. Justice Robin Davis was impeached after using $500,000 for office renovations, the network added. State lawmakers initially overlooked Chief...

UPDATE (11:50 PM 8/13/18): The West Virginia House of Delegates has impeached all four of the state's Supreme Court justices. The Republican-led House on Monday night impeached Justice Beth Walker and the other justices for abusing their authority. The article says they failed to control office expenses and not maintaining policies over important matters such as working lunches, the use of state vehicles and office computers at home. Walker was the last of the four justices to be impeached. She had avoided impeachment earlier when the House voted not to pass an article against her for $131,000 in renovations she...

<p>7:30 p.m.</p> <p>An indicted West Virginia Supreme Court justice has been impeached on four more charges, bringing the number of charges to six that he could face at trial in the state Senate.</p> <p>The House of Delegates on Monday night impeached Justice Allen Loughry on a charge of lying to the House Finance Committee about his involvement in lavish office renovations.</p>

West Virginia’s House Judiciary Committee moved to impeach the state’s entire Supreme Court this week

U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) sent a letter to Bank of the West President and Chief Executive Officer Nandita Bakhshi pushing back on the bank’s decision to no longer conduct business with companies engaged in the exploration and production of coal, oil and natural gas. Bank of the West, headquartered in San Francisco, CA, has 23 branches with dedicated employees who work hard to serve communities and families across Wyoming. In his letter, Barrasso condemned the San Francisco headquarter’s attack on Wyoming’s communities and businesses that depend on fossil fuels for energy security, jobs and economic growth. “This misguided and...