The official global death toll from the coronavirus pandemic surpassed 2 million on Friday, according to Johns Hopkins University. The tragic milestone came just over a year after the first Covid-19 death was reported in Wuhan, China.

While the 2 million figure is horrifying, experts say the real death toll is likely much higher. Only confirmed Covid-19 deaths are included in the tally, which means that people who die without a firm diagnosis may not be included.

To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy

Federal prosecutors offered the most chilling description yet of rioters who seized the Capitol last week, writing in a new court filing that the intention was "to capture and assassinate elected officials."

The view was included in a memo seeking to keep Jacob Anthony Chansley, who rallied people inside the Capitol using a bullhorn, in detention. According to Capitol Police information included in the filing, Chansley was notable for his headdress, face paint and carrying of a six-foot spear.

To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy

New York Attorney General Letitia James is suing the New York City Police Department and its leadership over its "excessive, brutal and unlawful" handling of George Floyd protests, James said in a news release.

James also wants to install an external monitor to oversee the department's policing tactics.

The suit, filed Thursday in Manhattan federal court, comes after a monthslong investigation into the NYPD's actions during protests over the killing of Floyd that found that officers allegedly used "indiscriminate, unjustified, and repeated use of batons, pepper spray, bicycles and a crowd control tactic known as 'kettling' against peaceful protestors," the release said.

To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy

The National Mall will be closed to the general public on Inauguration Day due to security concerns, according to an official familiar with discussions.

The official said there will be no big screens, no toilets, no panels were people stand, and that the public will not be able to get down to the mall.

To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy

The House voted Wednesday to impeach President Donald Trump for a second time in a swift and bipartisan condemnation of the President's role inciting last week's riot at the US Capitol.

To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy

More than 20,000 National Guard members could be in the nation's capital to help secure President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration, Washington Police Chief Robert Contee said Wednesday.

Contee's announcement came as the US Secret Service on Wednesday officially took charge of security for Biden's inauguration.

To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy

The House is poised today to make Donald Trump the first President in United States history to be impeached for a second time with a swift and bipartisan vote to condemn his role inciting the riots at the US Capitol.

Here is a breakdown of what to watch in today's vote.

The speed of the vote and support from at least a handful of Republicans underscores the fury that lawmakers feel about Trump's role inciting the rioters who overtook the Capitol following months of false rhetoric about the election being stolen from him. The impeachment resolution the House will vote on Wednesday charges Trump with a single article, "incitement of insurrection." 

To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy

The House of Representatives is expected to vote Tuesday on a measure calling for President Donald Trump to be removed from office through the 25th Amendment in the wake of the violent siege of the US Capitol last week, though Vice President Mike Pence made clear that he has no plans to comply with the request.

Pence's office released a letter Tuesday evening to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi shutting down the idea.

To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy

Wyoming's Liz Cheney, the third-ranking GOP leader in the House, announced in a statement today that she will vote to impeach President Trump, saying that he "summoned this mob, assembled the mob, and lit the flame of this attack."

"There has never been a greater betrayal by a President of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution," she said in the statement.

To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has indicated that he believes that impeaching President Donald Trump will make it easier to get rid of the President and Trumpism from the Republican Party, according to a source with knowledge of the matter.

Another person with direct knowledge told CNN there's a reason McConnell has been silent on impeachment as other Republicans have pushed back: he's furious about last week's attack on the US Capitol by the President's supporters, even more so that Trump has shown no contrition. His silence has been deliberate as he leaves open the option of supporting impeachment.

McConnell has made no commitments on voting to convict Trump, and wants to see the article itself before voting. It's a stark contrast to the President's first impeachment when McConnell repeatedly spoke out against Democratic intentions to hold Trump accountable for a pressure campaign on the Ukrainian government to investigate Joe Biden and his family.

To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy