Impeachment, A new virus, Regulation Rollbacks and More
Annie, Beck, Reyah, Rachel and Ellen break down the news
The Impeachment trial begins
by Ellen Yandel
- The Senate trial began Tuesday with votes that dismissed several Democratic motions to bring in new evidence and witnesses to the trial, including those from the White House, State Department, and Office of Management and Budget. All of these groups were involved in withholding aid from Ukraine.
- However, the Senate did agree to automatically include evidence from the House inquiry into the trial record, a change from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s original proposal.
- Each side’s managers will have 24 hours over three days each to make their argument, a day longer than McConnell originally planned.
- House managers began presenting their case Wednesday, using video clips of their inquiry witnesses and President Trump, as well as recaps of the Ukraine situation and support from past precedent on impeachment to argue that Trump had tried to “cheat” in the upcoming election, posing a threat to U.S. democracy.
- On Thursday, House managers focused on just one article of impeachment: abuse of power. Continuing to use a variety of media to present their evidence, managers argued that Trump’s conduct was exactly what the impeachment process was designed to handle. They also took time to argue that Trump’s allegations about the Biden family’s dealings in Ukraine had no basis.
The House of Representatives team includes:
- Adam Schiff: Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Schiff lead the investigation portion of the impeachment inquiry and was not a surprise choice for lead manager.
- Jerrold Nadler: Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Nadler oversaw the approval of two articles of impeachment and, like Schiff, was a clear candidate for manager.
- Val Demings: Though she has been on both the Judiciary and Intelligence Committees, Demings’ main background is in criminal law as the former police chief of Orlando, Florida. This contrasts with the other managers, who tend to have backgrounds in litigation.
Overall, Speaker Nancy Pelosi wanted a diverse group of managers to reflect a diverse House, as well as a group she believed would be able to present their case well under pressure.
Trump’s defense team includes:
- Ken Starr: Lead the investigation against President Bill Clinton that eventually led to his impeachment. More recently, he has appeared on television defending Trump.
- Pat Cipollone: The White House counsel, Cipollone has been heavily involved in defending the president throughout the impeachment process.
- Alan Dershowitz: Dershowitz, a celebrity lawyer who defended both O.J. Simpson and Jeffrey Epstein, seems to have been picked for his ability to perform well on television and for his reputation of being willing to defend anyone.
Trump’s team is mainly made up of those he believes will be able to argue his case effectively, particularly for television.
This week has been mostly the House managers’ turn to speak, and Trump’s defense team will begin presenting their argument Saturday. The president, seemingly emphasizing its importance, tweeted that the scheduling was unfair due to television viewership trends.
Meanwhile, the long proceedings featuring uninterrupted hours of speaking seemed to have already worn some senators. With electronics and all beverages — other than water and milk — banned, some have taken to fidget spinners, stress balls, written notes, snacks or even just getting up and leaving to weather the verbal storm.
"Some viruses are highly contagious (like measles), while other viruses are less so. It’s not clear yet how easily 2019-nCoV [the coronavirus from china] spreads from person-to-person. It’s important to know this in order to better assess the risk posed by this virus. While CDC considers this is a very serious public health threat, based on current information, the immediate health risk from 2019-nCoV to the general American public is considered low at this time," —The Centers for disease control and prevention online summary, risk assesment
A new virus from china arrives in the United States
by Reyah Doshi
Pictured: A microscopic image of a single Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus virion, a similar virus to the new coronavirus from China.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention activated their emergency response system on Tuesday following the outbreak of a new virus originating from Wuhan, China. The virus falls into the coronavirus family, meaning it causes respiratory illness and can lead to pneumonia.
So far, there have been 41 reported deaths and over 1,300 reported cases in China and nearby Asian countries. The CDC announced on Tuesday, however, that the first case entered the U.S. through a man who traveled from Wuhan to Washington on Jan. 15. Another case was identified in Chicago on Friday, affecting Lunar New Year celebrations among the Chinese American community there. The Wuhan coronavirus was thought to have originally spread in an animal-to-person manner by way of a large animal market, but the CDC says data from the growing number of patients suggests that person-to-person contact may also be a cause of the outbreak.
United States airports are increasing their health screening for incoming passengers from Wuhan, directing them to airports in Chicago, New York, Atlanta, Los Angeles or San Francisco for appropriate screening. China has been open with information in response to the virus, which is in stark contrast with its reaction to the 2002 SARS virus that started in Hong Kong and claimed hundreds of lives. The World Health Organization, which held a meeting on Tuesday in response to the Wuhan coronavirus, is actively working to combat the issue.
Federal Rollbacks in lunch, water regulations
by Rachel Hale
On Thursday, the Trump administration finalized the Navigable Waters Protection Rule, which will repeal President Barack Obama’s “Waters of the United States” rule, rolling back pollution controls for streams and wetlands, and lessening the need for some permits previously required by the Environmental Protection Agency. This is a win for land developers, farmers and fossil fuel producers, who have championed the pushback of Obama-era legislation due to what they see as undue burden on operations. As of Dec. 21, Trump has weakened or repealed 95 environmental rules, with some still in progress. Loosened or changed regulations include limits on air and chemical emissions.
In another rollback, the U.S. Department of Agriculture proposed changes to regulations on school lunches, effectively loosening health guidelines promoted by former First Lady Michelle Obama. Announced on her birthday, last Friday, two new rules were proposed in response to complaints of food waste and need for dining flexibility, giving schools more flexibility in regards to fruit and vegetable selection and à la carte snack offerings. In addition, the proposed legislation gives operators of the Summer Food Service Program more flexibility to determine meal offerings and service times. Some nutritionists are worried that starchy foods could replace vegetables at lunch, with pizza offered as an à la carte, or side, option.
In response to these complaints, the USDA said that there is no change in regard to starchy foods substituting vegetables — although serving sizes for some vegetable subgroups has changed — and that entrees such as burgers and pizza cannot be offered as à la carte options five days a week, as some critics suggested.
In other news from the week...
Britain bows out of the European union — by Nicholas Chen
On Friday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson signed a European Union withdrawal agreement, officially initiating Britain’s departure from the political and economic bloc and ending one of the most disruptive periods in the United Kingdom’s modern political history. Johnson signed the document after Parliament, Britain’s legislative body, voted to approve the agreement on Thursday. While the E.U. Parliament still needs to vote on the agreement, it is expected to be approved. Britain’s future relationship with the E.U. is also expected to be discussed well past the Jan. 31 date that has been touted as the official exit from the bloc. Generally, members of the E.U. share the same currency — the euro, which Britain never adopted — and many economic and political policies. In addition, citizens of E.U. countries are able to freely travel and work in other member-states. British skepticism over the E.U. mostly rose out of concerns over immigration and refugee policies, as well as continental control over Britain's economy and politics.
The agreement is a major political victory for Johnson, as his December parliamentary election wins mostly ran on the motto of “get Brexit done.” Those electoral victories largely allowed Johnson to rally support for his deal, another of which had previously been rejected. Brexit had been such an encompassing issue for Britain that two of the nation’s leaders left their position over the issue: previous Prime Minister Theresa May resigned last year after failing to pass her plans and former Prime Minister David Cameron resigned after the initial referendum on Britain’s membership in 2016.
Jeff Bezos hacked — By Annie Meyer
On Wednesday, the Guardian reported that Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ phone was hacked by Saudi Arabia. The alleged hack occurred after Bezos received a video from the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia’s WhatsApp account. It is believed that this video is how the Saudis first gained access to Bezos’ phone. Bezos owns the Washington Post, the paper that employed Jamal Khashoggi, a columnist and harsh critic of the Saudi regime. Khashoggi was murdered in 2018, almost certainly at the orders of the crown prince.
A tragedy in dozens of parts — Beck Pamplin
“The humor’s not lost on us either,” Deputy Chief P.J. Youker said Monday in response to a video of Wheaton cops shoveling donuts off the street. The tragic incident was documented on Twitter by Matt Topic. The Wheaton Police Department received a call at 10 a.m. that there was a roadway hazard on Naperville Road; the hazard was six dozen donuts. The heartbreaking scene showed cops shovelling donuts into large metal cans, and then stomping them down to make room for more. Youker confirms that yes, cops still like donuts. “Who doesn’t like a good donut?” Youker says, “Just not one that’s been run over 100 times on Naperville Road.”
Thank you for reading this week's edition, have a glazed weekend!
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Image Attribution
- "China" image from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).
- "Lunch" image by Chuck Kennedy via the Obama White House Archive.