TOP STORIES

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Monday, January 20

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NYT BACKS 2 FOR PRESIDENT The New York Times editorial board endorsed Sens. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) and Amy Klobuchar (Minn.) in the race for the Democratic presidential primary after interviewing the top nine contenders on issues that are most important to voters in this heated election year. [HuffPost]

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TRUMP'S BOAST ABOUT GOP STRENGTH GETS BRUTAL FACT CHECK President Donald Trump bragged that the Republican Party has never been stronger or more united than it is right now. More than a few of his critics stepped in with a fact-check. To dispute the strength portion of his claim, they noted the wave of GOP losses in local, state and national elections since Trump took office in 2017. [HuffPost]

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JOHN DEAN: TRUMP'S DEFENSE SO WEAK HE 'PROBABLY DICTATED' PARTS Watergate figure John Dean criticized the brief laying out Trump’s impeachment defense as an unconvincing “scorched earth” strategy that lawyers in the Senate aren’t likely to buy. Some sections are so unsophisticated, according to Dean’s characterization, that they may have been “dictated” by Trump himself. [HuffPost]

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JUSTICE DEPARTMENT IGNORES KUSHNER COURT ORDER In apparent defiance of a court order, the Justice Department has held back all notes in the Robert Mueller investigation concerning interviews with Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner. [HuffPost]

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VIRGINIA GOP LEADER: WHITE SUPREMACIST 'GARBAGE' NOT WELCOME Virginia House Republican Leader Todd Gilbert said white supremacists and other extremists planning to attend a pro-gun rally in Richmond today are “not welcome” as tensions mount. [HuffPost]

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162 BILLIONAIRES HAVE THE WEALTH OF HALF OF HUMANITY In a stark reminder of gaping global inequality, a new report says 162 billionaires, including Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, have as much wealth as the poorest half of the world. There are 2,153 billionaires globally, and, in 2019, they held more wealth combined than 4.6 billion people, according to the report. [HuffPost]

WHAT'S BREWING

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DUCKWORTH: AMTRACK'S $25,000 QUOTE FOR DISABLED RIDERS 'OUTRAGEOUS' Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) called reports that Amtrak wanted to charge a group of disabled passengers $25,000 for rail tickets that usually cost $16 apiece “outrageous,” requesting a meeting with the railroad's CEO to determine how it could better serve wheelchair users. [HuffPost]

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TRUMP'S INFURIATING RESPONSE TO RISING SEAS Trump tweeted: "Get your mops and buckets ready!” as he criticized discussions about constructing a sea wall to protect New York City. Low-lying areas have already experienced increased flooding from the encroaching ocean. The president called it an “environmentally unfriendly idea” that will “look terrible.” [HuffPost]

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PUERTO RICO'S EMERGENCY SERVICES DIRECTOR FIRED People in a southern Puerto Rico city discovered a warehouse filled with bottled water, cots and other unused emergency supplies, then set off a social media uproar when they broke in to retrieve goods as the area struggles to recover from a strong earthquake. [AP]

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2 DEAD 15 MISSING IN MISSOURI SHOOTING Police in Kansas City, Missouri, say at least two people are dead and 15 injured in a shooting outside a bar crowded with people celebrating the Kansas City Chiefs' victory. The shooting took place shortly before midnight Sunday. Capt. David Jackson said responding officers found “a chaotic scene” and had to call in help from around the city. A man and a woman were found dead. [AP]

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VIOLENCE ESCALATES IN BEIRUT Lebanese security forces used tear gas, water cannons and rubber bullets in clashes with hundreds of anti-government protesters outside the country’s parliament, as violence continued to escalate in a week of rioting in the capital. [AP]

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CHINA REPORTS 17 NEW CASES OF DEADLY VIRUS Seventeen more people in central China have been diagnosed with a new form of viral pneumonia that has killed two patients and placed other countries on alert as millions of Chinese travel for Lunar New Year holidays. [AP]

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