| THE BIG STORY
Democrats say Trump’s lawyers made a great case for calling witnesses and documents
On Saturday, the team defending President Donald Trump in his impeachment trial made their opening arguments. They made the case that no one has testified they heard Trump directly demand a political quid pro quo from Ukraine.
Democrats replied that one obvious way to solve this dispute is to subpoena new witnesses and documents. This is becoming a central quibble in the trial, as Republicans push back by saying there’s not enough evidence to impeach Trump, but too much evidence to call any witnesses.
With this fight over subpoenaing new witnesses and documents raging, the New York Times reported yesterday that Trump’s former national security adviser John Bolton will claim in a new book that Trump told him he held up aid to Ukraine until the government there helped him investigate his rivals.
Can Republicans continue to brush off calls to subpoena witnesses? Well, of course they can. But it’ll be a bit harder given this seismic development.
This all comes as President Trump was caught on tape talking about Marie Yovanovitch, the former ambassador to Ukraine, telling people to “take her out.” Here’s the audio.
Impeachment Today Splitting on defense. Trump’s defense offered their first preview of what’s to come. Spoilers: the president is a perfect angel who has never done anything wrong ever. We parse what Trump's defense had to say. Listen and subscribe. STAYING ON TOP OF THIS NBA star Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash
Bryant died Sunday in a California helicopter crash with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven other people. He was 41.
For a generation of basketball fans, Bryant’s name was synonymous with the sport. He was a basketball legend and widely considered the best player of his generation.
In 2003, Bryant was arrested for sexually assaulting a teenage woman at a Colorado resort. Though the charges against him were dropped, he issued a public apology saying he could see how the victim “feels that she did not consent to this encounter.” A civil lawsuit was settled out of court.
During his 20-year NBA career, Bryant won five championships, and was one of the game’s all-time highest scorers. Since retiring, he supported youth sports, including through the Mamba Sports Academy, a training facility not far from where the helicopter crashed.
Fellow Los Angeles Lakers, NBA stars, and celebrities are mourning Bryant’s death.
13-year-old Gianna Bryant wanted to carry on her father’s basketball legacy, and was already catching attention for her skills.
Ethan Miller / Getty Images SNAPSHOTS Mike Pompeo berated an NPR journalist for asking him a tough question, then called her a liar for reporting it. The Secretary of State did not deny that he lashed out at journalist Mary Louise Kelly after abruptly ending an interview, but claimed in a statement that the (reportedly profanity-laden) “post-interview conversation” between himself and Kelly was off the record.
The 2020 Grammy Awards took place last night. It was a big night for Billie Eilish, who swept four major categories: Record of The Year, Song of the Year, Album of the Year, and Best New Artist. Here is the list of all the winners.
A woman said she was attacked on a New York subway platform for being trans. Serena Daniari, a journalist and trans activist, posted a video to Twitter after the assault, tearfully reacting to what had just happened. The NYPD is now investigating the incident as a hate crime.
A 4-year-old died after being shot in the head while play-wrestling with his dad. Tyler Shaw had been wrestling on a bed with his son, Tripp, while he had a handgun concealed in the small of his back. The gun then reportedly fell and fired one shot, striking both Shaw and his son in the head. Shaw is expected to survive.
Here’s a running list of disinformation spreading about the coronavirus. There are plenty of fake videos and unsourced claims of how many people have been affected. We collected them here.
NO SLEEP TILL IOWA “Things are gonna get crazy”: Bernie Sanders’ camp is warning supporters about a backlash
We are a week away from the Democratic primary beginning in Iowa — and Bernie Sanders is leading the polls.
For some Democrats, it’s a scenario they say they’ve dreaded and feared: waking up to the reality that the Vermont senator, an independent who has reshaped party policy and promised to bring a revolution to Washington, has a real shot at capturing the nomination.
Inside Sanders’ campaign, they’re readying for a fight. At events across Iowa this weekend, the candidate and his top surrogates repeatedly warned of a coming clash with forces that would try to stop them, cautioning supporters to stay positive.
Read Ruby Cramer’s piece about a campaign’s big push to the Iowa polls.
WOMEN SUPPORTING WOMEN Billie Eilish and Lizzo both wanted other women to win their Grammys and people are loving the sisterhood
While accepting her award for Album of the Year, Eilish began her speech with, “Can I just say Ariana deserves this?” Ariana Grande shouted back, “Take your moment, girl!”
Meanwhile, while announcers were reading out the list of the nominees for Best Pop Solo Performance, Lizzo had her fingers crossed and was chanting Beyoncé’s name.
There was a lot of love for women supporting women at the Grammys.
Make a point of celebrating small victories today — they add up, 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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