Tucker Carlson and Mike Pence clash in heated exchange over Ukraine at GOP 2024 forum
Former Fox News presenter Tucker Carlson on Friday appeared to lose his patience with former vice president Mike Pence after the 2024 presidential candidate refused to back down from his support for arming Ukraine’s defence forces. Mr Pence and Carlson, who spoke for approximately 26 minutes as part of a GOP candidate forum in Iowa sponsored by Blaze Media and the Family Leader social conservative organisation, spent roughly half of their discussion sparring over Mr Pence’s view of the nearly 18-month-old war, which the ex-vice president described in stark terms based on his two visits to the region. The ex-Fox News host, who before his firing in April used his prime time programme to rail against US support for Kyiv while frequently parroting Russian government talking points, attempted to bait Mr Pence into denouncing the Ukrainian government for what he described as mistreatment of Christians. Carlson was referring to a series of actions by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who since the start of the war has imposed internal economic sanctions on a number of clergy from the Russia-linked Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The UOC is an offshoot of the pro-Kremlin Russian Orthodox Church, which is headed by Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin who according to Forbes was listed in Soviet archives as an agent of the KGB. After the former television presenter accused Mr Zelensky of having “raided convents, arrested priests [and] effectively banned[ing] a denomination,” Mr Pence replied that he had “raised that issue” with the head of the Orthodox Church in Ukraine, who he said had “assured” him that Mr Zelensky’s government “was respecting religious liberty even while recognising that they were very small elements of the Russian Orthodox Church that were being utilised for the purpose of advancing the Russian cause in Ukraine”. “The leader of the church at St Michael's in Kyiv told me personally that he he believed that this Zelensky government was respecting religious liberty, and I must tell you, other than the sanctity of life, there's no higher priority in my life than preserving the freedom of religion in America and championing religious liberty around the world,” he said. Carlson, who became rather irate at Mr Pence’s answer, asked the former vice president how “a Christian leader” such as himself “could support the arrest of Christians for having different views,” at which point Mr Pence said the church leader he’d spoken to in Kyiv had “assured [him]” that no one in Ukraine was being persecuted for their religious beliefs. The fired Fox presenter became yet more flustered when Mr Pence launched into a full-throated defence of American and European efforts to arm Ukraine’s defence forces, telling Carlson that what he’d seen during his visits there was “not just evidence of war” but of “evil”. After Mr Pence said he believes it is in American interests to continue supporting Ukraine, Carlson began to raise his voice and accuse Mr Pence of “plodding over” the “treatment of Christians” there. The former vice president interjected, telling Carlson: “The problem is you won’t accept my answer!” “I just told you that I asked the religious leader in Kyiv if it was happening, you asked me if I raised the issue, and I did. And I'm saying I also raised it with the Ukrainians, and I was told that there are there are religious leaders who have been working with the Russian military that is murdering people by the thousands,” he said. Read More Ukraine tells ‘clown’ Tucker Carlson to check his facts after pro-Kremlin rant in first Twitter show Tucker Carlson calls Ukraine’s Jewish leader ‘rat-like’ as he launches new Twitter show with pro-Kremlin rant Tucker Carlson receives a job offer from Russian state TV after Fox News firing Tucker Carlson doesn’t know why he was fired from Fox News but suggests his views on Ukraine were a ‘red line’ Volodymyr Zelensky: Year of tragedy and turmoil that turned comedian president into ‘Ukraine’s Churchill’ The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary
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Rex Heuermann charged with three Gilgo Beach murders as burner phones and truck tie him to serial killings
New York architect Rex Heuermann is facing charges in the murders of three Gilgo Beach victims, court documents released by the Suffolk County District Attorney on Friday revealed. Mr Heuermann, 59, is accused of murdering Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, and Amber Costello — all sex workers in their 20s who disappeared in the Long Island area before their bodies were found during a separate missing person investigation in 2010. The women’s remains along with the body of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, who is also believed to be one of the “Gilgo Four,” were found within one-quarter mile of each other, similarly positioned and bound in a similar fashion by either belts or tape. The unsolved murders sent fear through the shoreline community of Gilgo Beach for more than a decade. Few developments were made in the case until earlier this year, when the Suffolk County Police Department, New York State Police, Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI revamped the probe into the killings that ultimately led to Mr Heuermann’s bombshell arrest outside his Midtown office on Thursday. A bail application released by the Suffolk County District Attorney revealed that Mr Heuermann was linked to the serial killings through cellphone evidence and surveillance. Prosecutors argued in the application that no bail should be set for Mr Heuermann due to his recent searches for “sadistic materials, child pornography, images of the victims and their relatives.” This is a breaking story ... check back for developments.
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Maryland Gains Ground Over Virginia in Race for FBI Headquarters
The FBI is increasingly likely to move its headquarters from Washington to Maryland, despite Virginia lawmakers’ furious fight
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JPMorgan Eyes Sale of $350 Million Loan on Manhattan’s HSBC Tower
JPMorgan Chase & Co. is looking to sell a loan backed by Manhattan’s HSBC Tower as banks face
1970-01-01 08:00
Trump Asks Georgia Supreme Court to Halt 2020 Election Probe
Donald Trump asked the Georgia Supreme Court to halt a state investigation into his efforts to overturn the
1970-01-01 08:00
Trump Indictments Sparked Threats Linked to Russians, Extremists
Donald Trump’s criminal indictments in New York and Miami sparked a barrage of threats from his extremist supporters
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Everything we know about missing toddler in French Alps as police abandon search
Police in France are wrapping up the search for a missing toddler after scouring a remote village in the French Alps for five days. Two-year-old Emile was on holiday with his grandparents when he vanished while playing in a garden, sparking a frantic hunt that involved thermic camera drones, helicopters and sniffer dogs. Searches have so far yielded no clues to the whereabouts of the missing boy and police launched a last-ditch bid to find him on Thursday. Here’s a look at everything we know about the case so far. Where did Emile disappear? Emile, whose surname has not been reported, was playing in the garden of a property in Le Vernet - a small village of around 20 houses in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence on Saturday when he went missing. His family was preparing to go out hiking for the day when they realised the child, who lives near Marseille, had disappeared.The boy’s grandparents had been packing the car when he vanished. Emile is described as 3ft tall, with brown eyes and blonde hair and was wearing a yellow T-shirt, white shorts with a green pattern and walking shoes when he vanished. Reports said he was seen by two people when he left the property but they “lost sight of him”. Police said on Wednesday that at least 10 people were present at the property where Emile was last seen amid a family reunion, with “several uncles and aunts of the child, of all ages, including some minors”, a police source said. How has the search unfolded Authorities in France issued an appeal for information about Emile on 9 July after the boy was reported missing by his grandparents at 5.15pm the previous day. The search operation covered the land and air around Le Vernet and involved hundreds of police officers, soldiers and volunteers, The manager of a local restaurant said staff had looked “everywhere” for the boy as local volunteers helped with the search. “We were preparing for the evening service, when we were told the child had gone missing,” the manager told La Provence. “We all went to see what we could do to help as quickly as possible. “We have looked in places where he could be, we have really looked everywhere for him.” At one point during the search, police helicopters played the voice of Emile’s mother through speakers in the hope that it could help bring him out. On Wednesday evening it was reported that a vehicle with blood on it had been found amid the ongoing search for missing French toddler Emile. In a statement to La Provence, local prosecutor Rémy Avon said analysis had revealed the sample “animal blood”. Emile has now been missing for a week, as investigators admitted they have “no clue” what happened to him. Mr Avon also said that he had taken the decision to call off the “physical” search for Emile on Thursday. Police had been looking at a final plot of land in an area of Vernet, with around 50 officers taking part. “The judicial investigation into the causes of the disappearance will continue,” Mr Avon added. “In particular by analysing the considerable mass of information and elements collected over the past four days.” Police are today combing a 1.8km-long road, that has previously been searched before, in the hope of finding new evidence in Emile’s disappearance. But police say they will be searching the stretch of road more “meticulously” this time. What have politicians said? The mayor of Le Vernet on Friday said the best hope for the missing toddler is that “he’s been kidnapped and is alive”. In an interview with French newspaper Le Figaro, Francois Balique commented on police calling off the physical search for Emile after five days and possible explanation’s for his disappearance. “Our only hope now is that he’s been taken and is alive. It’s the last thing we can hope for and it’s already terrible. “We could consider that someone wanting to cause harm to a child passed by the area, that he saw this beautiful little boy and took him away. He couldn’t survive alone in the wild, that’s for sure.” Mr Balique said it is ”difficult to favour one hypothesis over another” but explained that “the probabilities and the rationality would lead us to believe that we are dealing with an accident”. He continued: “And since little Emile’s body has not been found, it means that he was not alone at the time. We can consider a car accident in which the driver would have panicked and concealed the body. That’s one hypothesis.” Local politician Sylvie Belmontes had earlier said the search reminded her of the case of Yannis Moré, who vanished from Ganagobie, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence in 1989 while playing with friends. “It reminds us of a lot of things. I sent a little message of support to the mayor of Vernet, François Balique”, Ganagobie mayor Sylvie Belmonte told La Provence, referencing the disappearance of 3-year-old Yannis Moré in May 1989. “I was town clerk and I took part in the search to try to find little Yannis”, he added. Mr Avon told a press conference earlier this week that police had “no clue” where the boy was. “His grandparents realised he was no longer there when they went to put him in the car.” What happens next Mr Avon said the previous searches did not yield any clues to solving the mystery of the boy’s disappearance and instead, investigators will be shifting their focus to evaluating evidence already gathered. “The investigation into the causes of his disappearance will continue, notably through analysis of the considerable amount of information and elements gathered over four days,” he added. Read More ‘Best hope’ for toddler missing in French Alps for week is ‘if he’s been kidnapped’ Desperate search for French toddler who vanished on holiday with grandparents Missing French toddler – latest: ‘Only hope is Emile has been taken and is alive,’ Le Vernet mayor says Greece ‘like Africa’ as Europe melts in deadly heatwave forecast to smash record Russian antiwar activist allowed into Serbia after spending more than a day at the Belgrade airport Wagner mercenaries are in Belarus and training the country’s soldiers
1970-01-01 08:00
Big Banks Are Finally Giving Depositors a Cut of Windfall From Fed Hikes
As big US banks earn more from lending, the question has gnawed: When will depositors see their reward?
1970-01-01 08:00
Western Digital and Japan’s Kioxia Seek to Reach Merger Deal by August
Western Digital Corp. and Kioxia Holdings Corp. — after months of talks — aim to reach a merger
1970-01-01 08:00
Republican 2024 Hopeful Burgum Raises $12 Million for Long-Shot Campaign
North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, who’s largely self-financing his long-shot presidential campaign, took in $11.7 million in the
1970-01-01 08:00
FIFA to pay MLS clubs more than $7m as part of Benefits Program for World Cup
MLS clubs are going to receive a hefty check for their players featuring in the 2022 World Cup.
1970-01-01 08:00
Citigroup Says It ‘Significantly’ Curbed Lending to Buyout Firms
Citigroup Inc. has heavily cut back on its business of lending to buyout firms as part of the
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