What A Day

The House voted to impeach Donald Trump for the second time yesterday, making him the first president to be impeached twice. Soon-to-be minority leader Mitch McConnell said the Senate won’t take up the impeachment until after Biden takes office, and whether Republicans will convict him remains unknown.

There were over 4,400 deaths from COVID-19 in the US on Tuesday, and hospitalizations are still exceeding 130,000. Experts are cautioning that the new, more transmissible variant of the virus first found in the UK could begin to become the dominant strain in the US in a couple months.

And in headlines: the Census Bureau has stopped all work on a Trump policy, SCOTUS upholds a rule making it more difficult to get the abortion pill, and a star-studded lineup is announced for the Biden-Harris inauguration.

The House is planning to vote on impeachment today. Democrats and some number of Republicans are expected to support it, like Wyoming Representative Liz Cheney. The FBI and DOJ held the first press conference since the attack on the Capitol yesterday. Their investigation will likely be a months long process that could lead to hundreds of charges.

The Trump administration will move to release all available doses of COVID vaccines instead of reserving some for booster shots. As of Monday, about 9 million people are estimated to have received at least one dose.

And in headlines: Michigan’s former governor and several state officials will be charged for their roles in the Flint water crisis, Congress set to start fining reps for not wearing masks, and “baby sharks” the size of adult humans.

The business community is responding to the siege on the Capitol by suspending contributions to lawmakers who didn’t vote to certify the election results, or in some cases, suspending political donations altogether.

Security concerns continue to arise following the events of last week, including armed protests that the FBI says are being planned in all 50 state capitals between now and the inauguration. We talk about the effort to ramp up security around the country.

And in headlines: Rudy Giuliani’s license to practice law is at risk, the State Department re-designates Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism, and Patriots coach Bill Belichick won’t accept the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Trump.

Show Links:

"More corporations suspend donations to Republicans who objected to Electoral College vote"

https://popular.info/p/update-more-corporations-suspend

This week, Speaker Nancy Pelosi says the House will try to pass a resolution to get Vice President Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment, and if he doesn’t, the House plans to begin the process of impeaching Trump for a second time. We spoke to Representative Mondaire Jones of New York, who experienced the violent siege on his fourth day on the job, and was one of the first to call for impeachment.

The FBI reportedly arrested two men yesterday who were pictured in the Senate chamber last week with zip ties and military-type clothing. Others, like the man who wore a fur headdress during the attack on the Capitol, have been arrested as well.

And in headlines: Amazon Web Services to stop hosting Parler, Biden plans to release all the available vaccine doses at once, and Hilaria Baldwin loses her first sponsor following Spanish-gate.

After Trump incited an attack on the nation’s Capitol, Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi want Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove the President, and a second impeachment of Trump by Democrats is also on the table.

Resignations abound in Trump-world right now. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos resigned yesterday, along with others responsible for security at the Capitol building.

Plus, writer and comedian Grace Parra joins us for headlines: Elon Musk becomes the richest man on Earth, no booze on American Airlines flights from DC, and the legend of Denmark’s John Dillerman.

Violent mobs broke into the nation’s Capitol yesterday in a failed coup attempt, which was incited and encouraged by President Trump and many other Republican politicians who continue to reject the results of the election. By evening, lawmakers resumed their effort to certify the election.

The two Georgia Senate runoff races were called for Democrats Jon Ossoff and Reverend Raphael Warnock. Organizers like Stacey Abrams worked tirelessly in Georgia to stop gerrymandering, disenfranchisement, and oppression in the state… their efforts continue to pay off.

And in headlines: two detectives responsible for Breonna Taylor’s death fired in Louisville, police in Hong Kong raid the homes of pro-democracy figures, and Trump slams gig workers on his way out.

Votes are coming in from the Georgia runoff elections, with the results generally looking positive for Democrats… but we’re still waiting on the final calls. Congress meets today to certify Joe Biden’s presidential victory, with about a dozen Republican senators and more House Republicans set to object and add hours of needless debate.

Yesterday, the Surgeon General said that the CDC guidelines for the order of vaccinations should not be used to allow doses to sit in freezers. This runs counter to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has been doing in his state.

And in headlines: the police officer who shot Jacob Blake won’t face criminal charges, Trump’s EPA fights war on birds, and Amazon is disrupting shirts.

Today's Senate runoffs in Georgia will determine control of Congress, the future of economic relief, and the country’s response to existential threats like climate change. We spoke to Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey about the Georgia races, what Biden can do on his own on climate, and how to deal with Republicans who want to erase the will of voters.

And in headlines: the UK says Assange can’t be extradited to the US, hundreds of Google workers unionize, and Florida counties use EventBrite for vaccine scheduling.

Show Links:

If you are in Georgia and need more information on how to vote, please go to votesaveamerica.com/georgia

If you run into any issues voting or witness voter suppression or intimidation, call the voter protection hotline: 1-833-DEM-VOTE — 1-833-336-8683

In a leaked phone call from this weekend, Trump used every line he could to pressure Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensberger to overturn the state's election results. About a dozen GOP senators say they’re going to raise objections during the congressional vote to certify the presidential election this week, in a show of election theater that will lead nowhere.

A more-contagious coronavirus variant first discovered in the UK has been identified in California, Florida, and Colorado. Despite predictions from the federal government that 20 million Americans would receive their first vaccine dose by the end of December, the current number is about 4.2 million… we discuss why that is.

And in headlines: India approves two COVID vaccines, Pelosi reelected as Speaker, and Bitcoin does huge numbers on its 12th anniversary.

The future of our democracy hinges on the outcome of two Senate races in Georgia, a state that shocked the nation by flipping for the first time in nearly three decades. In this multi-part podcast, visit the frontlines with two of Atlanta’s own - journalists Rembert Browne and Jewel Wicker as they detail the struggles and triumphs that led to this moment, and hear from the organizers, strategists, and voters hoping to change the South forever. 

Our new podcast, “Gaining Ground: The New Georgia” is a co-production of Tenderfoot TV and Crooked Media. Subscribe and listen to the first 2 episodes now, wherever you listen to podcasts: gaininggroundpodcast.com