| THE BIG STORY
President Trump delivered his State of the Union address without mentioning impeachment
Donald Trump gave his third State of the Union address, one day before the Senate decides whether to acquit him in his impeachment trial.
In last year’s speech, the president brought up the House investigations that led to his impeachment. This time around, Trump did not mention the trial. Instead, he spoke about the economy and his 2020 agenda, and took repeated swipes at Democrats.
During the speech, Trump awarded conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh, who announced he had been diagnosed with lung cancer, with the presidential medal of freedom. He also surprised one of his guests, whose husband was deployed to Afghanistan, with the return of her husband.
Though Trump did not bring up impeachment explicitly, he ignored House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as she reached out for a handshake. Not to be upstaged, at the end of his remarks, Pelosi tore up her copy of his speech. She later told reporters she ripped up the print out because it was "a courteous thing to do considering the alternative."
Patrick Semansky / AP Impeachment Today
More like acquittal today. As we head towards the resolution of the impeachment trial, we discuss the six biggest questions left once the trial ends. Listen and subscribe here. STAYING ON TOP OF THIS Iowa caucus results are finally coming in after reporting delays
After a nightmarish delay that left the campaigns on edge, the Iowa Democratic Party (IDP) has begun to release results from the state’s caucuses.
The partial results were released after what the state's Democratic Party said was a “coding error” in an app being used in caucuses. The numbers made public so far reflect 71% of the precincts — and campaigns said they were not told when the IDP planned on releasing more results.
With a fair bit still unknown, in terms of raw votes, right now Sen. Bernie Sanders has a slim lead over Pete Buttigieg — Sanders is at 26.25%, Buttigieg at 25.19%. Sen. Elizabeth Warren is in third place, with 20.64%. Joe Biden sits in fourth, at 13.21%.
But raw votes aren’t the end of the story — the complex caucus system in Iowa means that one candidate, like Sanders, could pull in more votes, but another could end up with more state delegate equivalents. Traditionally, the candidate with the most state delegate equivalents is declared the winner in Iowa.
By that metric, as things stand, Buttigieg is in the lead. SNAPSHOTS Shoddy coronavirus studies are going viral and stoking panic. Scientists are rapidly posting findings about the new coronavirus outbreak online, accelerating the speed of scientific discoveries — and of misinformation.
A Muslim teen in Biden’s new campaign ad says she doesn’t support him, but was there to press him on climate change. 17-year-old Sabirah Mahmud, a supporter of Sen. Sanders, said she was shocked to see herself in a new Biden ad, and that she only attended the Biden event to ask about his climate change policy.
A doctor and his girlfriend will no longer face charges of drugging and raping women. Dr. Grant W. Robicheaux and Cerissa Riley were charged in 2018 with kidnapping, rape by use of drugs, and other crimes. Prosecutors initially said they had more than 1,000 videos of what may be women being sexually abused. A District Attorney who was elected after the case was filed said there were no such videos.
A grocery chain asked customers to report shoplifters of tampons. It has since apologized after being called out online. A tweet calling out British grocery chain Tesco has gone viral, inspiring more conversation online about the cost burdens placed on people who need menstrual health products.
23 eerie pictures of Wuhan, China, after nearly two weeks under lockdown. On Jan. 23, the Chinese government locked down the city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus that has infected more than 20,000 people and killed hundreds. The photos of a locked-down city are unsettling. Here’s one:
A PLAN OF ACTION Twitter just released its plan to deal with deep fakes
After being on the receiving end of criticism for not doing enough to combat the spread of misinformation and doctored content, Twitter said it has a plan.
The company said it will soon begin removing altered videos and other media it believes threaten people’s safety, risks mass violence, or could cause people to not vote. It will also start labeling significantly altered media, no matter the intent.
You can immediately see the need for action on this front. Last year, Facebook came under fire after a slowed-down video of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, which was meant to make her look intoxicated, went viral — and Facebook did not clearly say it was altered.
A Twitter executive said under its new policy, Twitter would have labeled the Pelosi video as altered.
THE SNEAK ATTACK Emily Blunt told the story of how she moved in with John Krasinski, and it is hilarious
Blunt and Krasinski have been together for 12 years now, and they continue to delight people — even people who aren’t normally delighted by celebrity couples.
In a recent interview, Blunt outlined the hilarious way she moved in with Krasinski — how her stuff just “accumulated” at his house: “I think it's the best way to do it — just to sneak-attack them, rather than turn up with trunks.”
Set aside time to nurture your dreams 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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