Trump refuses to comply with the impeachment inquiry, trouble in Downing Street, Ellen defends herself
THE BIG STORY
The Trump administration says it won't comply with any requests from Democrats in the impeachment inquiry
So that'll be the hard way, then.
President Donald Trump's administration said it will not participate in any interviews or requests from the House's impeachment inquiry. In a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Democratic committee chairs, the White House called the inquiry unconstitutional.
White House counsel Pat Cipollone's letter said the inquiry "lacks any legitimate constitutional foundation, any pretense of fairness, or even the most elementary due process protections."
A senior administration official confirmed the administration plans to block all testimony and document requests related to the inquiry going forward "under the current circumstance."
Cipollone outlined that the precedent is for the full House to vote on whether to open an impeachment inquiry, a move that Pelosi has noted is not legally required.
Here's the thing: if the Trump White House stonewalls the inquiry's demand for information, that could be the basis for its own article of impeachment, too — Pelosi warned that "continued efforts to hide the truth...will be regarded as further evidence of obstruction."
Brendan Smialowski / Getty Images STAYING ON TOP OF THIS Downing Street is split as senior Boris Johnson allies turn on his chief adviser
The first thing you need to know is: Dominic Cummings is British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's chief aide — he's a bit of a controversial figure.
The next thing you need to know is: the last few days have been unusual, even by the standards of the British government's chaos. They've included anonymous statements from Downing Street officials attacking the German Chancellor Angela Merkel and threatening to withdraw from security cooperation with the European Union.
Now, as talks with the EU appeared close to a breakdown, a rift has emerged inside Number 10, as Johnson has been urged by other senior figures and members of his cabinet to reconsider the combative approach adopted by Cummings and his followers.
SNAPSHOTS Brett Kavanaugh asked just one question during his first big LGBTQ case on the Supreme Court. The justices will decide if a federal law against "sex" discrimination in the workplace applies to employees fired for being LGBTQ. It's the first major LGBTQ rights case to reach the court since Kavanaugh became a justice — and he gave little away, asking only one question.
Three scientists won the Nobel prize in Chemistry for lithium-ion batteries. John Goodenough, Stanley Whittingham and Akira Yoshino helped developed rechargeable lithium-ion battery technology that today powers a variety of modern electronics.
Joe Biden's sister called Trump "unhinged" for attacking her family. Valerie Biden Owens, who is one of the former vice president's closest political advisers, made the remarks during a meet-and-greet with voters in South Carolina.
A 15-year-old was suspended for "bullying" after saying there was a rapist at her high school. Aela Mansmann was suspended from Cape Elizabeth High School in Maine for "bullying" because she posted a note that read, "There's a rapist in our school and you know who it is." The note did not name anyone as an accused rapist.
Ellen DeGeneres explained why she's friends with George W. Bush and people are angry. After Ellen and her wife Portia de Rossi were seated next to the former president at a Dallas Cowboys game, Ellen was criticized for spending time with Bush over his role in the Iraq war and his poor record on LGBTQ rights.
POWERFUL ACCOUNTS What I wish I'd known when I started college
A new collection, Indelible in the Hippocampus: Writings from the Me Too Movement, has recently been released. The collection is edited by Shelly Oria, and raising a lot of internet chatter.
We've just published a powerful excerpt from the book, a piece from Caitlin Donohue, on what she would tell herself before starting college. I recommend the whole excerpt, but here's a taste:
"Be easy on these women. They live on this campus too. The embarrassment and self-doubt born on campus will never leave you. But they will form a shade in the palette you'll go on to use as a professional writer, a heavy matte gray that contrasts with the bright, beautiful colors of your many friends, your many triumphs."
TIME KEEPS ON SLIPPIN' A woman pinned a Cheez-it on a wall to see if her dad would notice. It took about 4 years
Way back in the halcyon days of 2015, Sara Smith pinned a single Cheez-It to the wall of her family's dining room. She wanted to test how observant, or oblivious, her father is. The results are, uh, clearly in the oblivious column: after four years, her dad finally noticed the running gag.
Smith, who now lives in San Antonio, pinned the cracker to the wall of her family home in Vermont after being inspired by a similar prank. But family members noticed the Cheez-it fell from the fall, Smith's brother-in-law jokingly asked her father if he finally noticed the cracker pinned on the wall.
Reader, he had not. The cracker lived its life on the wall, then fell, without the father noticing. Truly, peak dad. Anyway, people are loving this story.
The Cheez-It, before it fell to its demise. Give yourself credit for all the growth you've experienced this year, Elamin BuzzFeed, Inc.
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