| THE BIG STORY
Republican impeachment attacks are complicated and kind of boring. That’s the point.
Democrats are pursuing an impeachment inquiry now because it’s a simple story to tell: the narrative is that President Donald Trump demanded a political quid pro quo from a foreign leader — dirt on his political opponents in exchange for military aid.
When you can say it in one line, it becomes easier to sell a story. So how do the Republicans go about killing a global scandal? The strategy is to talk about the most boring thing: process.
Republicans are burying the simple narrative under a mountain of process objections. These include that the impeachment inquiry is behind closed doors, that the House didn’t formally vote to kick off an impeachment inquiry, that the scope of the inquiry is not defined, and the list goes on.
So far, Democrats have preferred not getting pulled into a process debate that will make most Americans’ eyes glaze over. But if they want to blunt Republican complaints, they’ll have to address them soon.
👉 Which brings us to Impeachment Today We know impeachment stories are exhausting — but you can’t afford to sit this one out. It’s a big deal, and we’re living through history. So to help you make sense of the mess, so we launched a brand new daily podcast, called Impeachment Today. In just 10-15 minutes, Hayes Brown will cut through the noise to the stories that matter and catch you up. Subscribe to the podcast right here. Let's talk about process, baby. Yuri Gripas / Reuters STAYING ON TOP OF THIS Boris Johnson said he’ll try to get a general election on Dec. 12
Britain’s prime minister announced he would be tabling a motion to call an election, to be voted on by MPs on Monday. He needs a two-thirds majority in the House of Commons to call the election.
Johnson said he’ll bring his Brexit deal back to Parliament before seeking the election. The government will allow MPs to mull over the deal until Nov. 6, at which point they will dissolve Parliament.
If the Brexit bill passes by that time, Johnson will go into an election having delivered Brexit. If it’s blocked by MPs, the Tories will go into the election with the UK still a member of the European Union.
SNAPSHOTS A California power line suffered a malfunction. Six minutes later, a ferocious wildfire was born. The fast-moving Kincade fire, which has burned 16,000 acres and was 5% contained as of Thursday evening, forced thousands of people in Sonoma County to evacuate their homes.
Harvey Weinstein turned up at an event for young actors. A woman confronted him and was thrown out. One comedian, Kelly Bachman, called the disgraced Hollywood mogul out in her act onstage, referring to him as “the elephant in the room” and “Freddy Krueger.”
TMZ emailed the Secret Service about Eminem’s Donald Trump lyrics. Agents then investigated the rapper. In his latest album, Eminem claimed that the Secret Service interviewed him about lyrics critical of Trump. The Secret Service refused to confirm this. We obtained documents that prove they really did interview Eminem.
A car slammed into a drunk driver running a red light, protecting a couple pushing a stroller. The video of the whole thing is so, so intense. Shannon Vivar, who blocked the drunk driver from running over the family, says she didn’t plan it but believes it was meant to be.
COMPOUNDED TRAUMA When the horror of losing your baby turns into years behind bars
In El Salvador, the trauma of having a miscarriage or the death of a newborn baby can often be compounded by serious jail time — as much as 40 years in prison. Women’s rights activists there see it as a war on women living in poverty.
It’s not just a handful of cases — since 2000, at least 129 women have been imprisoned after pregnancy or birth-related complications. Their stories are all different: Some pregnancies were the result of rape, other women were eagerly awaiting having a child. Often, they were alone during at-home deliveries.
We spoke to eight women persecuted by the state following birth-related complications — including three in prison and two whose babies survived distressing deliveries — as well as judges, doctors, and police officers.
Their stories come together to give a clearer picture of life in one of the most repressive nations to be a woman.
Erica Canepa / BuzzFeed News PUT THE TEA ON Let these longreads keep you company this weekend
The 2010s Broke Our Sense Of Time. “Time has melted.” How many times have you heard someone say that lately? The fact of the matter is: this decade was really disorienting. Katherine Miller wrote the definitive piece on how algorithms, TV, and Trump changed our sense of time — and why we can’t go back.
Jojo Rabbit Challenges Knee-Jerk Reactions To Holocaust Stories. Are you planning on seeing Jojo Rabbit, the new Taika Waititi film? It opened to mixed reviews and strong box office numbers. Manuel Betancourt writes that this movie does something few Holocaust movies can even attempt: Jojo Rabbit “dares audiences to laugh at Nazis — who have generally been regarded for most of the past century as nothing to joke about.”
I Roasted Pork In A Last Ditch Effort To Save My Dying Relationship. We rarely realize the absurdity of the things we do to save something that is just not working. In an excerpt from Eat Joy: Stories & Comfort Food From 31 Celebrated Writers, Melissa Febos writes about attempting to cook 12 pounds of raw meat...while being a lifelong vegetarian, all in an effort to save a relationship: “The roast came out wonderfully. It was tender and savory and filled our tiny apartment with a delicious and slightly repulsive scent. He barely touched it.”
Invest in the things that bring you joy 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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