| THE BIG STORY
Trump’s impeachment trial proceedings have begun
Shortly after noon Thursday, seven House impeachment managers, who will serve as prosecutors to make the case against President Donald Trump, presented the articles of impeachment in the Senate, formally kicking off the trial proceedings.
Rep. Adam Schiff, the lead House manager, read aloud the charges against the president — abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
Shortly after, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts was sworn in as presiding officer of the trial, by Sen. Chuck Grassley. Justice Roberts administered an oath to all 100 senators, who promised that they will “do impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws.”
Most of Thursday’s action was pageantry and formality — the real stuff of the trial starts next week.
Under current impeachment rules, the trial will run Monday through Saturday every week.
Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts arrives. Olivier Douliery / Getty Images Impeachment Today The One Where The President Is On Trial. Before the big theatrical parts begin, we revisit the man in the middle of all of it: President Donald J. Trump. What does the impeachment trial mean for the presidential election this year? Listen and subscribe. STAYING ON TOP OF THIS The judge in the Harvey Weinstein trial told potential jurors “the case is not a referendum on #MeToo”
So far, five people — three men and two women — have been selected for the jury in the Weinstein rape trial in New York. As jury selection continued, Judge James Burke told approximately 140 people in the courtroom that the trial would not be a “referendum on #MeToo.”
Burke told the prospective jurors in the courtroom that they have a right to their own beliefs as long as they don’t interfere with determining the verdict of the case.
Jury selection will continue through next week. Opening statements are expected Jan. 22.
SNAPSHOTS Ukraine is investigating whether Marie Yovanovitch was under surveillance by Rudy Giuliani’s associates. Authorities in Ukraine said they had opened a criminal investigation, citing documents released by House Democrats that included messages between Lev Parnas and Robert Hyde that discussed monitoring the former US ambassador’s physical movements.
The FBI arrested three white supremacists days before a gun rally that is attracting “threats of violence.” Two of the three men have military training, and all three are members of the white supremacist group “the Base,” according to an affidavit filed in a Maryland court.
Progressive groups are uniting to call for a truce between Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, and their allies. A wide network of groups, including top allies of both candidates, are pushing a progressive unity pledge to stop the camps from “fighting each other.”
A 13-year-old gave an emotional speech about his dad, who died in the Iran plane crash. Ryan Pourjam's father, Mansour Pourjam, died after Iran shot down the Ukrainian jet just outside Tehran. Ryan gave a moving speech at a memorial service at Canada’s Carleton University.
This dad taught his 10-year-old son how to use Photoshop by adding lifeboats to famous paintings. Andy Doe's son Henry, a young artist and sailor, asked his dad to teach him to use the program. Their efforts resulted in a whole collection of famous paintings edited to show help on the way — and the internet loved it.
THE BLOOMBERG WAY Mike Bloomberg’s campaign doesn’t look like anything else happening in the Democratic primary right now
The former New York mayor is not your typical primary candidate.
Michael Bloomberg conducted his first two campaigns for mayor of New York as a Republican and his third as an independent. He toyed with running for president in the past, but only made good on the idea this cycle — storming into the campaign with a shock-and-awe approach, using his enormous fortune to fund a massive advertising campaign and hire, as of now, 1,000 staffers.
As other Democratic candidates departed a freezing Iowa ahead of next month’s caucuses, Bloomberg hosted the first big hometown event since he announced his campaign nearly two months ago.
Though he’s competing in Iowa’s primary, Bloomberg said his next stops were to be in California, Utah and Washington DC. His strategy, reporter Rosie Gray writes, appears to be “to not run a primary campaign at all, and to act as though he’s in a general election.”
Read Gray’s account of the first major event of an unorthodox candidate.
SIT AND SLOW DOWN Make some tea and make some time for these essays this weekend
Meghan Markle Knows That Some Fights Aren’t Worth It. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle shocked the royal family (and the world) by announcing their plans to step back from their public royal life. As Sandi Rankaduwa writes, it’s the royal family that has more to lose: “By not enforcing or understanding the need to protect Meghan from vicious, racist press coverage in a more deliberate way, they are losing her and what she had to offer.”
Netflix’s Aaron Hernandez Documentary Finally Talks About His Sexuality. The documentary, Killer Inside, provides insight into his relationship to his sexuality, which was completely ignored in other accounts. From Pier Dominguez’s piece: the documentary “adds important (and not sensationalist) context to the role his queerness and denial might have played in his now-well-documented life, death, and crimes.”
What Were The Makers Of Joker Even Upset About? The critical success of Joker has come with strange consequences. Despite winning at the box office and at award shows, the people behind Joker have acted as though they are underdogs. Scaachi Koul writes about this unevenness: “The makers of Joker aren’t responsible for the lack of nominations for women and people of color...But their response to any criticism at all — defensive, childish, prickly, even when things are going their way — is telling. Even when they win, they’re worried it won’t last.”
I hope you have clarity in organizing your priorities today, Elamin P.S. If you like this newsletter, help keep our reporting free for all. Support BuzzFeed News by becoming a member here. (Monthly memberships are available worldwide). 📝 This letter was edited and brought to you by Elamin Abdelmahmoud and BuzzFeed News. You can always reach us here.
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