| THE BIG STORY
Donald Trump is swarming Iowa because he can’t not be the center of attention
John Bolton, former national security adviser to President Trump, reportedly wrote in an unpublished book manuscript that Trump withheld military aid from Ukraine, until he got guarantees that the country would investigate his political rivals.
This information isn’t new. But the fact that Bolton said it changes things. He’s a highly regarded figure in conservative policymaking circles. Bolton’s recollections completely cut against Trump’s main defense: That withholding the aid had nothing to do with his desire for an investigation into the Biden family.
The question now is if Bolton’s account is enough to move some Republican senators to vote in favor of calling witnesses in the Senate impeachment trial. They’ve so far resisted calls to subpoena new witnesses and documents.
Meanwhile, Trump will be holding a rally in Des Moines on Jan. 30, and more than 80 campaign surrogates will swarm Iowa on caucus day, Feb. 3. The president isn’t actually in danger of losing the state’s Republican caucuses, but the push is a means of trying to give him what he wants: all the attention on himself.
👉 Also in Iowa: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is campaigning for Bernie Sanders, and it’s really, really working for voters.
Win McNamee / Getty Images Impeachment Today Through the looking glass. The time has come, the lawyers said, to talk of many things. We discuss Donald Trump's defense in the impeachment trial. Listen and subscribe. STAYING ON TOP OF THIS Teenage girls and beloved coaches were among the nine victims of the helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant
Seven other people died in the helicopter crash that killed NBA legend Kobe Bryant, 41, and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna Bryant.
The victims included two other teenage girls with their family members, a beloved college baseball coach, and the pilot of the helicopter. The victims were on their way from Orange County to a girls basketball game at Bryant’s Mamba Sports Academy. Here’s everything we know about who died in the crash.
The helicopter pilot radioed in that he was climbing to avoid a cloud layer just before the crash.
LeBron James, who now plays for Bryant’s old team the Los Angeles Lakers, posted an emotional goodbye message. We also collected photos of fans grieving Bryant’s death. Like this one:
Abaca Press / Sipa USA via AP SNAPSHOTS The Supreme Court is allowing the Trump administration to deny green cards to immigrants who might use public benefits. The government will now be able to deny permanent residency to immigrants who officials believe are likely to use public benefits, such as food stamps and Medicaid.
A former production assistant said she “felt like an idiot” after Harvey Weinstein allegedly raped her a second time. Mimi Haley broke down on the stand describing how Weinstein allegedly raped her twice over two years. A sexual violence expert testified that it’s common for victims to initially blame themselves for what happened.
A father is suspected of killing five of his infant children over nine years. Paul Allen Perez, 57, is suspected of killing five of his infant children between 1992 and 2001 in a case that had stumped investigators for years. He was arrested at the Kern Valley State Prison, where he was serving time for unrelated offenses.
US prosecutors say Prince Andrew isn’t cooperating in the Jeffrey Epstein investigation. Andrew said in November that he would comply with law enforcement in the Epstein inquiry. Prosecutors say he has provided “zero” cooperation.
Chinese state media spread a false image of a hospital for coronavirus patients in Wuhan. Officials spread a false image they claimed showed a newly constructed hospital building in Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak. The image actually shows an apartment building, and was taken from an online listing.
A CIVILITY THAT NEVER EXISTED Meghan McCain on The View is the epitome of white women’s tears
The View sells itself as a show that fosters a robust cultural and political debate between women from different backgrounds. This, Scaachi Koul writes, is nonsense — the point of the show is the fighting with no promise of a resolution.
To that end, co-host Meghan McCain gets more than the regular share of being dunked on for her contributions to the show. There are regular roundups and YouTube compilations of her meltdowns and her voice cracking on air.
What’s going on here? Koul untangles this, and connects it to an outdated civility argument: “She appears to yearn for an idealized version of the world that right-of-center politicos like to pretend was once real: Remember when everyone on either side of the aisle could get along despite their disagreements over little things like access to safe abortions and whether we should be in a war?”
BOOK PEOPLE ARE MY PEOPLE 10 US cities you need to visit if you love books
This week, Apartment Guide put out a helpful bit of research — they ranked US cities for book lovers, based on calculating “the ratio of book-related establishments per 100,000 residents in each.”
It won’t be a surprise to you that Cambridge, Massachusetts tops the list. The Boston suburb is home to both Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It rocks 51 book-related establishments per 100,000 residents.
Here’s the rest of the list, so you can plan your book nerd summer road trip. Invite me, too!
Remember you are more capable than you give yourself credit for, 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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