# data[].attributes.body
I'm surprised how fascinated I am by the impeachment proceedings...and I want to know how they will be perceived by different people in and outside of the U.S. I've attached a link to an article with live updates from Marie Yovanovitch's testimony today. You can also sign up for a daily newsletter from the Washington Post that summarizes (in 5 min or less) that day's testimony.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Yovanovitch opens by saying her removal will create a playbook for how to undermine U.S. policy

Yovanovitch - who has served as a career Foreign Service officer for 33 years under six U.S. presidents - began her public testimony in front of House impeachment investigators with a defense of a nonpartisan diplomatic service which she said is being hollowed out and demoralized by lack of support and leadership at the State Department.

Yovanovitch, who was recalled from her post as U.S. ambassador to Ukraine in May after a concerted effort to smear her by individuals including Giuliani, said her experience should "concern everyone," because it will lead foreign officials to doubt American representatives abroad and form a playbook for attacking others who challenge corrupt and entrenched interests.

"Our Ukraine policy has been thrown into disarray, and shady interests the world over have learned how little it takes to remove an American ambassador who does not give them what they want," she said. "After these events, what foreign official, corrupt or not, could be blamed for wondering whether the ambassador represents the president's views?"

Yovanovitch said that while she understands that she serves at the pleasure of the president of the United States, she continues to find it hard to understand how private and foreign parties were able to engineer her removal.

"Individuals, who apparently felt stymied by our efforts to promote stated U.S. policy against corruption - that is, to do the mission - were able to successfully conduct a campaign of disinformation against a sitting ambassador, using unofficial back channels," she said.

Yovanovitch noted that Foreign Service officers often face difficult and dangerous jobs abroad. She described service in a U.S. embassy that came under gunfire in Uzbekistan and being caught in a crossfire during an attempted coup in Russia in 1993.

She used her moment on national television to decry falling support for American diplomats, serving abroad to implement U.S. policy. While she did not mention Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in her opening remarks, she decried that State Department leadership for its silence in the wake of her recall from Ukraine.

"The State Department is being hollowed out from within at a competitive and complex time on the world stage," she said.

By Rosalind S. Helderman

Rough transcript conflicts with White House April readout of Trump/Zelensky call

After Trump spoke to Zelensky to congratulate him on his election victory in April, the White House put out a summary of the call, as it often does after the president speaks to foreign leaders.

In the readout of the call, the White House wrote that Trump "expressed his commitment to work together with President-elect Zelenskyy (sic) and the Ukrainian people to implement reforms that strengthen democracy, increase prosperity, and root out corruption."

But nowhere in the rough transcript of the call released by the White House Friday morning did Trump mention corruption in their 16-minute conversation.

The closest Trump came to offering his support for Ukraine was a reference to his ownership of the Miss Universe pageant.

"When I owned Miss Universe, they always had great people. Ukraine was always very well represented," Trump said. "We'll have a lot of things to talk about, but we're with you all the way."

Diplomatic muscle turns out for Yovanovitch

The diplomats who have spoken publicly in the House's impeachment probe have likened Yovanovitch to some of the greatest giants in the history of their profession. In a sign of that solidarity, Yovanovitch was accompanied to the hearing Friday by the daughter of George Kennan, author of the infamous 1946 "Long Telegram" that became the basis for the Cold War strategy of containment.

Grace Kennan Warnecke is a foreign policy expert and former Soviet Union specialist in her own right, and is currently chairman of the board of the National Committee on American Foreign Policy. She is also a personal friend of Yovanovitch, according to people familiar with them.

But her presence just behind Yovanovitch's right shoulder - ever so slightly outside most camera frames - is symbolic of how the career diplomatic corps has rallied around Yovanovitch since her ouster, considering her removal for political reasons to be an affront to their profession, even if it is within the president's purview.

Many witnesses have cited Yovanovitch's removal as an act that troubled them, and it has motivated some to testify in the impeachment probe.

White House press secretary says Trump will watch Nunes opening statement

White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said the president did not watch Wednesday's hearings, but would be watching some of Yovanovitch's hearing.

"The President will be watching Congressman Nunes's opening statement, but the rest of the day he will be working hard for the American people," Grisham said.

Separately, Grisham addressed the release of the rough transcript of the April call between Trump and Zelensky.

"The President took the unprecedented steps to declassify and release the transcripts of both of his phone calls with President Zelensky so that every American can see he did nothing wrong," she said.

Yovanovitch sworn in, begins testimony

Yovanovitch has been sworn in and is delivering an opening statement before the House Intelligence Committee.

Schiff praises Yovanovitch, Nunes accuses Dems of 'Watergate fantasies'

The top lawmakers on the House Intelligence Committee offered dueling opening statements on Friday, highlighting the parties' vastly different views of the Ukraine saga ahead of testimony from Yovanovitch.

Chairman Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.) praised Yovanovitch as "tough on corruption" in Ukraine - "too tough on corruption for some, and her principled stances made her enemies."

Schiff highlighted Trump's comments about Yovanovitch in his July 25 phone call with Zelensky, in which Trump said "the former ambassador from the United States, the woman, was bad news" and that she was "going to go through some things."

"The woman known for fighting corruption ... the woman ruthlessly smeared and driven from her post, the president does nothing but disparage - or worse, threaten," Schiff said.

"That tells you a lot about the president's priorities and intentions," he said.

Rep. Devin Nunes (Calif.), the committee's top Republican, accused Democrats of acting like "some kind of strange cult" seeking to "fulfill their Watergate fantasies."

He steered attention toward several debunked conspiracy theories alleging Ukrainian interference in the 2016 presidential election and what he termed corrupt actions by Hunter Biden, the son of the former vice president.

Then Nunes read a transcript of a Trump-Zelensky call before July 25 in which Trump congratulated him on winning the presidential election.

"It's unfortunate that today and for most of the next we will continue engaging in the Democrats' day-long TV spectacles instead of the problems we were all sent to Washington to address," he said.

Rough transcript shows Zelensky wanted Trump to attend his inauguration in Ukraine

When Trump called newly elected Zelensky to congratulate him on his victory, Zelensky made clear how badly he wanted Trump to attend his inauguration in Ukraine.

In a rough transcript of their April conversation released by the White House minutes before the impeachment hearing began, Zelensky calls Trump "a great example" and says, "I know how busy you are, but if it's possible for you to come to the inauguration ceremony, that would be a great, great thing for you to do to be with us on that day."

Trump promised to look into it and send a "great representative" if he couldn't attend.

Initially that person was going to be Vice President Pence, but then he canceled and Energy Secretary Rick Perry led the delegation instead.

"Words cannot describe our country, so it would be best for you to see it yourself," Zelensky pressed. "So, if you can come, that would be great. So, again, I invite you to come."

Trump then said he'd like to invite Zelensky to the White House. A meeting with Trump was allegedly conditioned on Zelensky publicly announcing investigations in the Bidens.

Zelensky thanked him for the invitation and again said, "And I think that it will still be great if you could come and be with us on this very important day of our inauguration ... So, it will be absolutely fantastic if you could come and be with us on that day."

During his opening statement, Rep. Devin Nunes, the top Republican of the Intelligence Committee, read the entire rough transcript into the record.

Pelosi tweets support for Yovanovitch

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) tweeted in solidarity with Yovanovitch, noting that the longtime diplomat had been "an anti-corruption crusader" - an apparent dig at Trump allies' defense that he was trying to root out corruption in Ukraine by requesting investigations into the Bidens.

"Today, we hear from one of our most respected diplomats, who spent her career as an anti-corruption crusader," Pelosi tweeted. "She was viciously smeared by Trump's allies, removed from her post, then threatened by the President on his 'perfect" call'."

White House releases rough transcript of April call between Trump and Zelensky

Just as the hearing was scheduled to get underway, the White House released the rough transcript of an April call between Trump and Zelensky.

That call took place a few months before the July call - in which Trump pressed Zelensky for investigations that could benefit him politically at a time when U.S. military aid was being withheld from Ukraine - that has been central to the impeachment inquiry.

Witnesses in the impeachment probe familiar with the first call have described it as relatively innocuous.

Trump lashes out at Pelosi minutes before scheduled start of hearing

Minutes before the second public impeachment hearing was scheduled to begin, Trump tweeted an attack on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), saying she should focus on her San Francisco district rather than his impeachment.

"Nervous Nancy Pelosi, who should be home cleaning up the dangerous & disgusting Slum she is making of her District in San Francisco, where even the filth pouring into the Pacific Ocean is rapidly becoming an environmental hazard, is getting NOTHING DONE. She is a Do Nothing Democrat as Speaker, and will hopefully not be in that position very long," Trump tweeted.

Trump also lashed out at Pelosi because the House has not yet approved trade legislation he is seeking. Pelosi indicated Thursday that passage would come soon.

At the same news conference, Pelosi suggested the House could charge Trump with bribery when it brings up articles of impeachment.

Yovanovitch arrives on Capitol Hill

Yovanovitch has arrived in advance of her scheduled 9 a.m. open testimony at the Longworth House Office Building on Capitol Hill.

Trump to deliver remarks on health care at the White House

On a day of expected drama on Capitol Hill, Trump has only one event on his public schedule.

According to the White House, Trump will deliver remarks "on honesty and transparency in healthcare prices" at 2 p.m. in the Roosevelt Room.

Yovanovitch scheduled in morning open hearing, Holmes in afternoon closed session

Yovanovitch is scheduled to appear at an open hearing of the House Intelligence Committee beginning at 9 a.m.

She was recalled from her post in May after facing an onslaught of attacks from right-wing media. With encouragement from Giuliani - but with no evidence - conspiracy theorists painted her as an enemy of the president who used her power to covertly undermine him and assist Democrats.

In an Oct. 11 closed-door deposition, Yovanovitch said that she remained worried that she would be a target of retaliation by Trump, who referred to her in a July 25 phone call with Zelensky as "bad news" and someone who was "going to go through some things."

State Department official who overheard Trump phone call on Ukraine has experience speaking his mind

House investigators also expect to hear in a closed-door session starting around 3 p.m. Friday from Holmes. He is an embassy staffer referred to Wednesday in testimony by William B. Taylor Jr., acting ambassador to Ukraine.

Holmes is one of two people believed to have overheard a July phone call in which Trump was said to have asked U.S. ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland about "the investigations" sought from Ukraine into Trump's political rivals.

Trump has told reporters that he has no recollection of the call.

By John Wagner and Elise Viebeck

Status of transcript of first Trump-Zelensky call remains unclear

It remains unclear when the White House might release a transcript of a call between Trump and Zelensky that took place in April, shortly after Zelensky had been elected president.

That's a few months before the July call that has been central to the impeachment inquiry in which Trump pressed Zelensky for investigations that could benefit him politically at a time when U.S. military aid was being withheld from Ukraine.

Witnesses in the impeachment probe familiar with the first call have described it as relatively innocuous.

Trump has pledged to release the transcript by the end of the week. He first suggested it would be released Tuesday and then Thursday. It hadn't been released by Friday morning.

'Is this an impeachment hearing or an episode of 'Dance Moms'?'

As the historic public impeachment hearings kicked off Wednesday with televised testimony that threatens Trump's tenure in office, more than 13 million people tuned into broadcast and news networks while an untold number streamed the event online.

For some critics, however, the opening day of the hearings came up short. It "lacked the pizazz necessary to capture public attention," according to an NBC News analysis. "Unlike the best reality TV shows - not to mention the Trump presidency itself - fireworks and explosive moments were scarce," Reuters reported. One Fox News commentator called it "a tepid bore."

These assessments did not sit well with Comedy Central host Trevor Noah.

"Impeachment is like a family reunion," Noah said Thursday night on his show. "If it's sexy, something has gone horribly wrong."

Noah wasn't the only one Thursday to attack coverage that focused more on the hearing's entertainment value than the substance.

RNC chairwoman seeks to play down significance of Yovanovitch's planned testimony

Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel sought to play down the significance of Yovanovitch's planned testimony on Friday, noting that she had already been removed from her position by the time of Trump's July call with Zelensky.

"So the first hearing we heard witnesses who had hearsay of hearsay of hearsay, and now we're going to hear from somebody who wasn't even there when the call took place," McDaniel said during an appearance on Fox News's "Fox & Friends." "I mean, it is so ridiculous. Democrats are grasping at straws."

McDaniel said Republican members of the Intelligence Committee should ask Yovanovitch what she knows about Hunter Biden's service on the board of Burisma, a Ukrainian energy company, while his father was vice president. That is among the issues Trump pressed Zelensky to investigate.

Trump says Democrats should apologize for impeachment inquiry

Trump seized late Thursday night on comments by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko to demand that Democrats apologize to the nation for the impeachment inquiry, which Trump claimed on Twitter "IS NOW DEAD!"

Prystaiko was quoted by the Interfax Ukraine news agency as saying his conversations with Gordon Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union, did not include explicit mention linking U.S. military aid with possible investigations of the Bidens.

Prystaiko, however, commented only on his direct interactions with Sondland, and not other U.S. officials.

"Democrats must apologize to USA," Trump said in tweets sent shortly before midnight, adding: "THE FAKE IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY IS NOW DEAD!"

His tweets followed a campaign rally in Louisiana at which he mocked two career diplomats who testified publicly Wednesday about their concerns regarding Trump's actions toward Ukraine.

"How about when they asked these two Never Trumpers, 'What exactly do you impeach him for?' They went like, 'What?'" Trump said.

Several times during Wednesday's public hearing, one of the two, acting U.S. ambassador to Ukraine William B. Taylor Jr., said he was there to present information he had and not to weigh in on whether to impeach Trump.

By John Wagner and Colby Itkowitz

Fareed Zakaria details backstory of planned Zelensky announcement on his CNN show

In his Washington Post column, Fareed Zakaria explained the backstory of how Zelensky planned to announce the investigations sought by Trump on his CNN show. The interview eventually was canceled.

"His team apparently concluded that since he was planning an interview with me anyway, that would be the forum in which he would make the announcement, though neither he nor any of his team ever gave us any inkling that this was their plan," Zakaria wrote. "However, after my meeting with him in Kyiv, my team began to discuss potential logistics of the interview with his team - time and place."

Read Zakaria's column here.

Updated November 15, 2019

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Live updates: 'It sounded like a threat,' ousted U.S. ambassador says of Trump's comments about her to Ukrainian president

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Yovanovitch - who has served as a career Foreign Service officer for 33 years under six U.S. presidents - began her public testimony in front of House impeachment investigators with a defense of a nonpartisan diplomatic service which she said is being hollowed out and demoralized by lack of support and leadership at the State Department.

# data[].attributes.body
What has caused our country's domestic terrorism rates to rise exponentially in the past couple years? What can leaders and citizens do to stop the "bad" beliefs from affecting the future of our country?

# data[].attributes.body
What has the government / media done to suppress or promote the homophobic / xenophobic / sexist ideals presented by hate groups (or just individuals)? What can be done to prevent further domestic terrorist attacks? Why isn't more being done currently?

# data[].attributes.body
How do the stereotypes of feminism hold back the progress of women in today’s society?

# data[].attributes.headline
How do people use their religion to justify hate against LGBTQ

# data[].attributes.subject
How do people use their religion to justify hate against LGBTQ

# data[].attributes.body
Specifically schools shootings and why the government hasn't blamed guns for these crimes.

# data[].attributes.body
Who was the justice system made for and who does the "justice system" target?

Morgan M & I are looking into how the prison system was formed and how stats play a role in police brutality.

# data[].attributes.body
Does being a member of the LBGTQ+ community have an effect on your likelihood to "succeed"?

# data[].attributes.headline
How do people use religion as a way to support their ideas on homophobia and abortion?

# data[].attributes.subject
How do people use religion as a way to support their ideas on homophobia and abortion?

# data[].attributes.body
How have homophobic and anti-LGBTQ communities affect the LGBTQ community?

I am looking to research aspects of homophobia throughout history.

# data[].attributes.body
How does your gender affect your ability of getting a certain position within the workplace

# data[].attributes.headline
How much of a role do socioeconomic status and race have in a student's chance of going to college and being successful?

# data[].attributes.subject
How much of a role do socioeconomic status and race have in a student's chance of going to college and being successful?

# data[].attributes.body
Basically how do wealth and race affect SAT/ACT scores and the odds of them actually applying to college and getting in.

# data[].attributes.body
How does history fuel anti-semitism in America?

We are given the information about the conflict between Israel and the Gaza Strip from many different perspectives; how do we know what to believe?

What classifies terror?

# data[].attributes.body
what are the outcomes of hate deeply interwoven in American society? (domestic terrorism, homophobia, racism)

# data[].attributes.headline
Why do we learn so much about the history of events regarding discrimination by race but not by religion? 

# data[].attributes.subject
Why do we learn so much about the history of events regarding discrimination by race but not by religion? 

# data[].attributes.body
Antisemitism

# data[].attributes.body
Something I am interested in is Gun violence specifically within mass shootings. I feel like this is something I would like to learn about it due to when it first happens we hear people would like to change however after awhile it is never brought up again. I think that it would be interesting to learn both sides of the arguments and what (if any) has been done towards this issue. I also would like to learn about new ideas on how to prevent this.

This link shows purely the facts and basics: https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/10/2/16399418/us-gun-violence-statistics-maps-charts

This is a list of popular and unique ways that we can reduce gun violence- https://time.com/5209901/gun-violence-america-reduction/

This video shows a very interesting perceptive of gun violence with real-life experience- https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/i-used-to-think-gun-control-was-the-answer-my-research-told-me-otherwise/2017/10/03/d33edca6-a851-11e7-92d1-58c702d2d975_story.html

# data[].attributes.headline
Schools Fear Deportation of DACA Recipient Teachers: What do laws on immigration mean our education system and diversity with in schools?

# data[].attributes.subject
Schools Fear Deportation of DACA Recipient Teachers: What do laws on immigration mean our education system and diversity with in schools?

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.usnews.com/news/education-news/articles/2019-11-12/daca-recipient-teachers-outline-implications-of-scotus-decision

I am really interested in America's educational system, I saw this and it also plays into immigration laws and current events.

# data[].attributes.headline
Query: How do people purposefully shape public dialogue using "books"? (impeachment proceedings have linked Trump policy advisor Stephen Miller emails to 1973 novel promoting white nationalist views on immigration policies)

# data[].attributes.subject
Query: How do people purposefully shape public dialogue using "books"? (impeachment proceedings have linked Trump policy advisor Stephen Miller emails to 1973 novel promoting white nationalist views on immigration policies)

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/13/us/politics/stephen-miller-white-nationalism.html
I am fascinated by how politicians are using literature--this novel, and also Emma Lazarus' poem on the Statue of Liberty--are being used currently to shape both rhetoric and policy.