*By Carlo Versano*
Prof. Christine Blasey Ford ー emotional and at times defiant ー read an opening statement during Thursday's hearing in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee in which she said, in no uncertain terms, that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her in the early 1980s at a house party when they were both teenagers in Maryland.
For the first time since the allegations were made public earlier this month, the country both saw and heard Dr. Ford, who opened her testimony by stating, "I am terrified."
She continued, "I am here, because I believe it is my civic duty."
Ford's opening statement turned more resolute when she described death threats she has received since coming forward in an article in The Washington Post.
"Apart from the assault itself, these past couple of weeks have been the hardest of my life. I have had to relive this trauma in front of the world," she said.
She also pushed back forcefully on critics who said she couldn't possibly remember an attack from so long ago ー and referenced pundits and operatives who have proposed the idea that she was acting as part of a Democratic hit job on Kavanaugh's nomination.
"I am an independent person, and I am no one's pawn," Ford said.
The Florida Senate on Monday approved a bill to ban abortions after six weeks, a measure supported by Gov. Ron DeSantis as the Republican prepares to launch his expected presidential candidacy.
Floridians will be able to carry concealed guns without a permit under a bill Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed Monday, giving the governor another legislative victory as he prepares a campaign for president.
President Joe Biden's administration is making $450 million available for solar farms and other clean energy projects across the country at the site of current or former coal mines, part of his ongoing efforts to combat climate change.
Disney CEO Bob Iger on Monday said any retaliatory actions by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature against the company that threaten jobs or expansion at its Florida resort is not only “anti-business ... but anti-Florida.”
Finland has joined the NATO military alliance. The move deals a major blow to Russia with a historic realignment of the continent triggered by Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
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A state appeals court has ordered a new trial for the man accused of gunning down a Chicago honor student days after she had performed at Barack Obama's 2013 presidential inauguration.
