And we're off to the races

THE BIG STORY

The public impeachment hearings began with a bombshell

"If we find that the president of the United States abused his power and invited foreign interference in our elections...must we simply get over it? Is this what Americans should now expect from their president?"

Those words were said by Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, who chairs the House Intelligence Committee, as he set up the stakes of the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump. It's an inquiry that has now been ongoing for 51 days, and this week, for the first time, it went public.

The first day saw the testimony of Bill Taylor, the top US diplomat to Ukraine, and George Kent, a career State Department official.

Taylor dropped a bombshell: He said Gordon Sondland, the US ambassador to the European Union, took a call from Trump in the presence of one of Taylor's staff, and the aide could hear the president ask about Ukraine starting "the investigations."

After the call, Taylor said, the staff asked Sondland what Trump thought about Ukraine. Sondland replied that the president cares more about the Biden investigations, which Rudy Giuliani was pressing for.

Meanwhile, Kent used his opening statement to push back on Trump's claims that the Bidens were fostering corruption in Ukraine.

👉 IMPEACHMENT TODAY: This is the reason we launched a daily impeachment podcast, folks. To dissect testimony in great detail. It's like SportsCenter, but for politics. Today's episode features a lot of analysis, so subscribe right here.

👉 Remember how Republicans pushed for open hearings? Now that they're here, they have a new message: the hearings are too boring.

SNAPSHOTS

Three school employees are being charged after a 13-year-old autistic boy died after being restrained. Max Benson died last year after a teacher used a banned prone restraint and kept him facedown for nearly two hours until he vomited and passed out. Three employees at a Northern California school will be charged with felony involuntary manslaughter in Benson's death.

An immigration hardliner was just elevated to the No. 2 position in Trump's Homeland Security department. Ken Cuccinelli, the controversial acting director of US Citizenship and Immigration Services, has been elevated to the acting deputy secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.

Two police officers shot a teen in the back, killing him. They won't be charged. De'Von Bailey was killed Aug. 3 after he ran away from two officers investigating an armed robbery. The two Colorado Springs police officers who shot and killed Bailey as he was running away will not face charges in his death.

Disney+ is putting a disclaimer for racism in popular old movies. Titles like Peter Pan and Dumbo come with a note that they "may contain outdated cultural depictions." People took notice online and praised Disney for adding the disclaimers. You can see them at the end of the descriptions:

"VENICE IS ON ITS KNEES"

These apocalyptic photos show Venice's worst flooding in decades

The highest tide in decades has submerged more than 85% of Venice in floodwaters, causing catastrophic damage to the Italian lagoon city and its monuments.

The city's mayor blamed climate change for Venice's second-worst flooding on record, declared a state of emergency and said the city will "need everyone's help to overcome these days that are putting us to the test."

The photos are astonishing. We collected some for you right here. Start with this one:

Manuel Silvestri / Reuters

Remember to take breaks and check in with yourself today,

Elamin

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📝 This letter was edited and brought to you by Elamin Abdelmahmoud and BuzzFeed News. You can always reach us here.

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