| Greetings, QuickTake readers! In this edition: The U.S.-China deal gets inked, Russia's whole cabinet walks out, and a brand new class of robots wakes up.  House sends impeachment to Senate The impeachment case against President Trump officially moved to the other side of the Capitol Wednesday after House Democrats formally signed and delivered the two articles to the Senate, ahead of the trial that'll begin on Tuesday. The ceremony, led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, followed a 223-198 House vote to approve the handoff and the naming of the seven managers who'll prosecute the case against Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of the House. Senators, who'll decide whether to acquit or remove him from office, could be in for a lengthy trial that could disrupt Democratic campaigns for the Feb. 3 Iowa caucuses and cloud Trump's own State of the Union address the day after. More: - Senior White House officials told reporters they're prepared for the Senate trial to begin and excited for Trump to be vindicated.
- McConnell urged Trump's acquittal and said Pelosi had "taken our nation down a dangerous road" after "a 230-year tradition of rejecting purely political impeachments."
- After signing the articles, Pelosi said Congress had "crossed a threshold in history in support of the Constitution" and Trump would "be held accountable that no one is above the law."
$ignificant figures $200 billion. How much China pledged to buy in U.S. goods over two years, as part of a Phase One trade deal, inked Wednesday, that commits China to crack down intellectual property theft. 160. How many people were killed across Afghanistan and Pakistan by avalanches and severe winter weather this week in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir. 59. How many protesters Lebanese security forces arrested overnight in Beirut where the local currency has lost more than 60% of its value in the country's deepening financial crisis. Highly quotable "Very serious changes." Russia's government resigned after Vladimir Putin proposed a constitutional shake-up that could extend his 20-year grip on power beyond the end of his term in 2024. "Trafficking pyramid scheme." A civil lawsuit filed by the U.S. Virgin Islands alleges Jeffrey Epstein "lured and recruited" girls as young as 11 to his Caribbean home for almost two decades. "Circumnavigated the Earth." NASA says smoke coming off the Australian bushfires has circled the entire globe and is returning to the eastern region of the country. This is not normal SOS. Earth is warming faster than at any time in the history of civilization. 2019 was the second-hottest year ever with 10% of the planet hitting record-high temps, capping what also became the warmest-ever decade.  The future is now Meet the xenobot. It's a new type of organism made from frog stem cells that's part robot, part living thing, and may one day be used to clean up ocean plastics, digest toxic waste, or deliver drugs inside our bodies.  What's good Happy retirement. 100-year-old giant tortoise Diego is returning to the wild after fathering 800 offspring in captivity on the Galápagos Islands, single-handedly saving his entire species from extinction.  Now that you're caught up... Tell your friends to sign up to receive the QuickTake newsletter five days a week, and follow us on Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and Facebook. Before you go: From Biggie to Whitney to NIИ, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has brand new royalty. Meet the inductees of 2020. Thanks for reading!
-Andrew Mach | 
Post a Comment