Three stories about the impeachment inquiry that you should know
A refresher for how we got here: A whistleblower complaint about a phone call between President Donald Trump and Ukraine’s president was made public last week, alleging that Trump asked for help investigating former vice president Joe Biden. The complaint claims the White House worked to keep the call secret. The complaint and the call are now at the center of an impeachment inquiry.
First: Ukraine was still checking its account for US aid a month after the Trump call. Officials told us the country believed $391 million in military aid was already on its way when Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke in July. The Ukrainian government didn’t know it was being held up in Washington.
Second: Rudy Giuliani, the president’s lawyer, claims the State Department told him not to meet with a top Ukrainian official. Giuliani says he was warned against meeting with one of President Zelensky’s top advisers. (Also, Giuliani won’t say whether he has an agreement with Trump to act as his lawyer.)
Third: The government told a judge it won’t destroy records about Trump’s calls with foreign leaders, for now. The voluntary assurance came a day after a judge strongly encouraged the White House to do so, rather than risk a formal ruling from the court they “might not appreciate.”
The Trump administration plans to collect DNA samples from some undocumented immigrants who are being detained
According to senior Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials, operators are currently discussing how to phase in DNA collection of people who are being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and US Customs and Border Protection.
The planned move is certain to anger civil liberties and immigrant advocates who argue the government should not draw sensitive personal information from people without being tied to a specific crime.
DHS’s planning will examine which populations will have their DNA collected, privacy concerns, and the rollout.
SNAPSHOTS
Let’s face it, you need British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s new Brexit strategy explained. The plan is a bit complicated, but it does exist. We break it down step by step here. Meanwhile, a leaked Tory memo orders MPs to call the European Union “crazy” if they reject Johnson’s proposals.
Ex-cop Amber Guyger has been sentenced to ten years in prison for killing her unarmed neighbor in his apartment. A jury reached a unanimous decision on the sentence for the former Dallas police officer who was convicted of murder in the fatal shooting of her neighbor, Botham Jean. In court, Jean’s brother hugged Guyger and forgave her, telling her, “I love you as a person and I don't wish anything bad on you.”
The red liquid an anti-vax protester threw at California legislators was human blood, tests confirm. The incident happened in September on the California Senate floor as lawmakers were set to roll back vaccine exemptions. “That's for the dead babies,” a woman yelled after she tossed what reportedly looked like a menstrual cup with red liquid onto the floor.
A beauty influencer is trying to defend the tough “hybrid” job of being an influencer, but not everyone is quite convinced. Amra Olević Reyes is taking a stand against what she's dubbed constant “influencer slander” — people who say being influencer is not a real job. Not everyone is buying her argument.
Bernie Sanders now faces something he hates: physical limitations and a focus on himself
On Tuesday night, Sen. Bernie Sanders noticed some chest pain during a campaign event in Las Vegas. According to a brief statement released the next morning, doctors found a blocked artery and successfully inserted two stents. Sanders is now recovering.
There is no denying that two things Sanders hates are converging: real physical limitations, and a focus on his health and personal life that will distract from his “political revolution.”
No time is ideal for heart surgery, but it’s a particularly inconvenient time for Sanders: He’s had to step off the campaign trail, halting his typically relentless schedule of town halls and rallies. And in Iowa, he’s postponed a $1.3 million television ad, his first of the race.
Read Ruby Cramer’s analysis on how an event like this might affect Sanders, who has always been aware of how a candidate’s health can affect a voter’s mind.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson surprised a 100-year-old fan with a birthday video
Marie Grover has been a fan of The Rock for the last 30 years, which is roughly as long as I’ve been alive. Now that’s a deep and dedicated fandom.
Jamie Klingler, a Philadelphia woman who lives in London, knows this. She told us that Grover, who is her best friend's grandmother, has always talked about her love for The Rock.
Klinger set a plan in motion to get the man himself to record a little video for Grover. And Johnson, being the people pleaser he is, responded by recording a birthday greeting and song.
I’ll leave you to watch Grover’s response, and inject some wholesome energy into your morning.