WATERTOWN (CBS) – When the pandemic began, Leah Pappalardo figured she might need to find a hobby. Never did she imagine the one she chose would explode into a popular small business. READ MORE: Armed Masked Men Rob Milford Smoke Shop Then Crash Getaway Car Leah is a 911 dispatcher by day, working for Massachusetts State 911 Department. By night, she is now a painter. And she specializes in pets. “Working in a stressful environment as a 911 dispatcher, it’s very exciting to come home and put a smile on somebody else’s face,” she told WBZ-TV from her apartment painting studio. Leah Pappalardo. (WBZ-TV) Leah mostly paints pets that have passed away, giving the owners a unique way to grieve and memorialize their dogs or cats. She does paint living pets, too, but the memorial paintings carry special meaning for Leah. “Because I feel like it means more to them because it’s a piece of their animal that they don’t have anymore,” she says. Some of Leah Pappalardo’s paintings. (WBZ-TV) One of those grieving customers is Carolyn Francis from Amesbury. She’s still broken up about the death of her beloved dog, Lucas, in August. “I think it was because of the special bond we had because I rescued him and he rescued me,” she says. READ MORE: Thousands Of Boston Students Return To In-Person Learning This Week Lucas helped Carolyn get through some real rough patches with a breakup and major medical issues. And when she got a painting of Lucas from Leah, after the dog had passed away, she couldn’t believe the likeness. “I said, ‘Oh my God,’ how could you capture his noble grin, his loving eyes, his temperament, his essence?” Carolyn says. “It was as if she knew Lucas as well as I did.” That gives Leah a lot of joy. “It’s the most rewarding part, because then I know that I did a good job,” she says. And the wildest part about all this is that Leah has no formal training. It’s a hobby that she started just last year when her own ...
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Trump and his CPAC fans lead GOP down a losing path
Scott Jennings, a CNN contributor and Republican campaign adviser, is a former special assistant to President George W. Bush and a former campaign adviser to Sen. Mitch McConnell. He is a partner at RunSwitch Public Relations in Louisville, Kentucky. Follow him on Twitter @ScottJenningsKY . The opinions expressed in this commentary are his own. View more opinion articles on CNN. Scott Jennings (CNN) Donald Trump's return to the national stage at the Conservative Political Action Convention (CPAC) was about what I expected: In a two-track speech where he was intermittently bored by a teleprompter and amused by his own adlibs, he teased a third presidential run, came home to his animating issue, immigration (which was inexplicably absent from his 2020 reelection campaign) and continued the farce that he actually won last November. He even ran through a "hit list" of Republicans to be ousted from the party. Of note was Trump shooting down the idea of a third party, which is actually a good impulse. Republicans cannot win with a fractured party, nor can they win if it gets any smaller. I don't understand the quest by some Republicans to shrink the party. The GOP just lost the White House by nearly 7 million votes and hasn't won the national popular vote in a presidential election with someone other than a Bush since 1984. Republicans lost the White House and don't control either house of Congress in Washington, despite the relative equilibrium in the congress. Yet, there was Sen. Ted Cruz at CPAC a couple of days before Trump, trying to excommunicate people he derided as "country club Republicans" -- Republicans who, I guess, Cruz finds distasteful for their incessant golfing and love of private dining. Is he unaware that Trump currently lives at a country club and owns a bunch of them? Cruz copied Rep. Jim Jordan with these statements, who the other day declared that the Republican Party no longer tolerates ...
Juan Williams: Hypocrisy runs riot in GOP
We all know about the big lie. Now we face the big hypocrisy. Let’s begin with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnell Trump shows he holds stranglehold on GOP, media in CPAC barnburner Trump rules out starting a new party: 'Fake news' Sunday shows - Trump's reemergence, COVID-19 vaccines and variants dominate MORE ’s (R-Ky.) incredible announcement last week that if former President Trump Donald Trump Sacha Baron Cohen calls out 'danger of lies, hate and conspiracies' in Golden Globes speech Sorkin uses Abbie Hoffman quote to condemn Capitol violence: Democracy is 'something you do' Ex-Trump aide Pierson planning run for Congress MORE is the GOP nominee for president in 2024, he will endorse him. ADVERTISEMENT Talk about hypocrisy. Less than a month ago McConnell said Trump was “practically and morally responsible for provoking” the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol. “The people who stormed this building believed they were acting on the wishes and instructions of their president,” McConnell said on the Senate floor for all to hear. Sen. Lindsey Graham Lindsey Olin Graham Portman on Trump's dominance of GOP: Republican Party's policies are 'even more popular' Overnight Defense: Biden sends message with Syria airstrike | US intel points to Saudi crown prince in Khashoggi killing | Pentagon launches civilian-led sexual assault commission Graham: Trump will 'be helpful' to all Senate GOP incumbents MORE (R-S.C.) is in the same river of hypocrisy. After the ransacking of Congress, Graham announced he was done with Trump: “Oh my God, I hate it…but today all I can say is count me out. Enough is enough.” Graham now says Trump is going to “dominate the party for years to come…There is no way we can achieve our goals without Trump.” Please note that Graham once voted to impeach then-President Clinton for lying about sex. But today he is willing to look away ...
GOP says Ron Klain pulling Biden strings
Republicans are attacking White House chief of staff Ron Klain Ron Klain Democrats scramble to rescue minimum wage hike Biden 'disappointed' in Senate parliamentarian ruling but 'respects' decision The Memo: Biden faces first major setback as Tanden teeters MORE as “the guy behind the curtain” and “Prime Minister Klain” as they try to push back on someone they see as formidable opponent in the battle over President Biden Joe Biden Biden offers support to union organizing efforts Senate Democrats nix 'Plan B' on minimum wage hike Kavanaugh dismays conservatives by dodging pro-Trump election lawsuits MORE ’s agenda. The GOP blames Klain for Biden’s refusal to negotiate the price down on his $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package, an approach they say conflicts with Biden’s campaign pledges. “We’ve gotten the impression from our members that have been in meetings down there that he’s kind of the guy behind the curtain,” said Senate Republican Whip John Thune John Randolph Thune Rick Scott acknowledges Biden 'absolutely' won fair election After vote against aid package, Golden calls for more bipartisanship Graham: Trump will 'be helpful' to all Senate GOP incumbents MORE (R-S.D.). ADVERTISEMENT Aides to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnell Trump shows he holds stranglehold on GOP, media in CPAC barnburner Trump rules out starting a new party: 'Fake news' Sunday shows - Trump's reemergence, COVID-19 vaccines and variants dominate MORE (R-Ky.) have taken to describing the White House chief of staff as “prime minister Klain,” an effort aimed at hurting Biden. A Republican aide said the point of focusing on Klain is to undercut public perception of Biden as a leader who is totally with it. “It plays into the theme of Biden’s not really running the show here,” said the aide. “It plays into the theme is he’s the figurehead and jovial ...
Fauci on Johnson & Johnson vaccine: ‘Just be really grateful’
Anthony Fauci Anthony Fauci 'SNL' envisions Fauci as game show host, giving winners vaccines Sunday shows - Trump's reemergence, COVID-19 vaccines and variants dominate Fauci lays out timeline for vaccinating teens, children MORE said during a discussion of the recently authorized Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine on Sunday that people should be “really grateful that we have three really efficacious vaccines” despite its lower reported efficacy. On ABC’s “This Week,” host George Stephanopoulos George Robert Stephanopoulos Khashoggi colleague: 'Why are we making an alliance with a dictator?' Fauci on Johnson & Johnson vaccine: 'Just be really grateful' Portman on Trump's dominance of GOP: Republican Party's policies are 'even more popular' MORE noted that Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine has been reported to be 72 percent effective at preventing coronavirus infection, lower than the 95 percent effectiveness reported by the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines. "We've got to get away from that chain of thought, George, for the following reason. The only way you really know the difference between vaccines is by comparing them head-to-head. We have three highly efficacious vaccines that are safe and efficacious. That's the bottom line," Fauci said. "This is a good vaccine," he added. "I think we need to pull away from this comparing and parsing numbers until you compare them head-to-head. Just be really grateful that we have three really efficacious vaccines." NEW: After the FDA authorized use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, @gstephanopoulos asks Dr. Anthony Fauci Anthony Fauci 'SNL' envisions Fauci as game show host, giving winners vaccines Sunday shows - Trump's reemergence, COVID-19 vaccines and variants dominate Fauci lays out timeline for vaccinating teens, children MORE about hesitancy from people over its reported efficacy compared to others: "We have three highly ...
