Welcome to a new kind of tension

THE BIG STORY

The first public hearing in Trump's impeachment probe begins today

The impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump began in September, with dozens of closed-door-sessions. Today, the probe goes public.

It's a historic moment given that before Trump, only three other US presidents have faced impeachment proceedings.

Let's review how we got here: An anonymous whistleblower filed a complaint about a July 25 phone call between Trump and Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, saying Trump asked Ukraine to investigate his political opponents in exchange for military aid.

What Republicans say: They've consistently opposed the impeachment probe, calling it a "sham" and arguing that Trump did nothing wrong. Trump has referred to it as an "impeachment hoax" and a "coup."

This is where the public hearings come in: Democrats expect to be validated by on-camera testimony from two key figures whose closed-door depositions provided a damning account of Trump's alleged quid pro quo request to Ukraine. Democrats want them to say the same thing, but in public this time.

Who are we going to hear from today? Bill Taylor, the top US diplomat to Ukraine, and George Kent, a career State Department official, are set to publicly testify.

Why does their testimony matter? Both officials' private testimonies corroborated many of the claims made by the whistleblower. Though Trump has insisted there was no "quid pro quo" in his dealings with Ukraine, Taylor described exactly that.

Why are they the first to testify? These are heavy hitters. House Democrats called Taylor's account "incredibly damning" to Trump and have described the body language of people hearing his deposition as "holy shit." Meanwhile, Kent, said that Trump "wanted nothing less" than Ukraine's president "to go to [a] microphone and say 'investigations, Biden, and Clinton.'"

What else do I need to know? The hearings will be broadcast across TV and radio starting at 10 a.m. ET.

Bill Taylor. Alex Wong / Getty Images

IMPEACHMENT TODAY

How lucky we are to be alive right now. On the first day of public impeachment hearings, we are only a little amped. Also, a longer discussion about Bill Taylor and the crucial role he plays. Listen and subscribe.

Talking about impeachment

Once the hearings get going, there will be a lot to digest. If you want to understand what's going on, our reporters will be tweeting about the impeachment hearings in plain English — follow the Twitter list we curated for you.

SNAPSHOTS

Conservative Supreme Court Justices appeared to side with Trump's decision to end DACA. About 700,000 undocumented immigrants who were brought to the US as children could face deportation if DACA is rescinded. A ruling on the case is expected next summer.

The FBI says violent hate crime has surged to a 16-year high. Activists aren't surprised. Despite the significant increase, experts and advocacy groups say that many hate crimes, if not most, are not counted.

Disney+ crashed on its first day, and fans think it's not so Raven. As the streaming service started rolling out, fans scrambled to start watching everything from old-school Disney Channel shows to Star Wars. Many reported getting an error message. You hate to see it.

Before Mark Zuckerberg wanted to kill TikTok, he wanted to own it. Three years ago, Zuckerberg tried to buy the Chinese company that became the basis of TikTok. Now he's demonizing it to make the case against regulating Facebook.

The new Sonic The Hedgehog design is here and fans are breathing a sigh of relief. After an extensive backlash over the initial design of Sonic in the first trailer released for the film, a new trailer unveiled a fully redesigned character. People love it.

ESCALATING PROTESTS

A college campus became a literal battleground in Hong Kong

Already-high tensions in Hong Kong escalated into a battle between police and students at one of the main universities, as the two sides fought for hours for control of a bridge that spans a highway near the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Pro-democracy protesters armed with Molotov cocktails, bricks, and javelins were met by police with water cannons and tear gas, and cars were set ablaze on the bridge. After months of unrest, the scene suggested a new front for violence between the police and protesters.

Read Rosalind Adams' report on the tense battle.

Dale De La Ray / Getty Images

CATS ARE AGENTS OF CHAOS

This mom left her car window open and a bunch of cats got inside and the video is chaos

Natasha Ryce can't remember the last time she laughed as hard, watching a squad of stunned, supercharged cats bounced around the inside of her car.

It all started when her daughter Jess went to the car to grab something. That's when she noticed half a dozen cats, going nuts.

They were bouncing off the windshield, scrambling up the leather seats, doing flips against the glass, launching themselves off the center console.

The video is a marvel, and you should watch it.

Wishing you a day where self-assurance comes easy,

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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