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Trump leaving office in defeat | Morning Newsletter

Let’s speak to the “impeachment manager.”

    The Morning Newsletter

    Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter

Good morning.

First: It turns out, he alone could break it — the impeachment record that is. Trump became the first president to be impeached twice yesterday. Here’s how it all shook out.

Then: We also needed to speak to the “impeachment manager” from Pa. so we got on the phone with her last night.

And: Why this Philly Congressman’s vote against impeachment is so surprising.

— Ashley Hoffman (@_ashleyhoffman, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

In the most concrete consequence of the attack on the Capitol yet, Trump became the only President to be impeached twice yesterday. (The first time was different than this bonus round. Here’s how.)

Yesterday’s news came after he failed to will election fraud conspiracies into reality for months. Persisting with his baseless claims, he incited a mob attack on democracy’s temple that resulted in five deaths. And the tense political climate is far from over. The number of Pa. Republicans who broke with Trump matter. We break down what you need to know about the proceedings and where Pa. representatives stood on it.

Meet Montgomery County’s Congresswoman Madeleine Dean who will help bring the case against Trump.

Pennsylvania’s only Republican member of Congress from the Philly region, Brian Fitzpatrick, may have been a vocal critic of Trump, but he voted against impeaching him yesterday.

That surprising move came after he called the mob attack on the Capitol “nothing short of a coup attempt” and introduced an entire resolution to formally censure Trump “for trying to unlawfully overturn the 2020 Presidential election and violating his oath of office.” Fitzpatrick had recently broken from all the other Pa. House Republicans who voted to throw out Pennsylvania’s election results when he voted to certify Biden’s win in Pennsylvania in the months-old presidential election. But when it came to Trump crossing a new line by inciting a mob that turned deadly, there was a line he would not cross.

To put this in perspective, a historic ten of the 211 House Republicans joined Democrats in the vote to impeach Trump.

Helpful COVID-19 Resources

  1. We’re answering some of the most common vaccine questions in our updated FAQ.

  2. Be among the first to know when you’re up. How to sign up for a Philly COVID-19 vaccine alert that will tell you it’s your turn.

  3. Here are the updated coronavirus case numbers as COVID-19 continues to spread across the region.

  4. How to know whether you should replace your mask.

  5. What are the first symptoms of the coronavirus and what are the differences between COVID-19, the flu, a common cold, and allergies?

  6. Sign up to get free coronavirus news updates in your inbox three times a week.

What you need to know today

  1. We’ll make what goes down next in the Senate simple to follow on our liveblog.

  2. What happens now? Rep. Conor Lamb known for deftly working across the aisle doesn’t see how he can do that with “morally blind” colleagues now. Out of everything that horrifies him, this is the #1 thing that haunts him most.

  3. Nerds, Weedman and prosecutors are more than concerned after illegal cannabis candies send two children to hospitals in N.J.

  4. N.J. residents with high-risk conditions and people 65 and older can get COVID-19 vaccines starting tomorrow.

  5. A 30-year-old Philadelphia police officer has been arrested for an unspecified vandalism incident that happened in late 2019.

  6. How sobering is the number of Philly kids in low-performing schools? According to this report, it’s worrisome, especially now that the Philadelphia School District’s next move may be closing schools.

Through your eyes | #OurPhilly

This looks like a fun scenario to take part in as soon as possible. Thanks for sharing @sarahbrowningpoet.

Tag your Instagram posts or tweets with #OurPhilly and we’ll pick our favorite each day to feature in this newsletter and give you a shout-out!

That’s interesting

  1. 📅 Here’s how to honor Martin Luther King Day this Monday.

  2. 🦅 Will Carson Wentz have a role in the crucial Eagles play of choosing the next Eagles coach? It certainly looks that way to columnist Marcus Hayes.

  3. ⚾ The Phillies start spring training soon. Will J.T. Realmuto be there? Here’s a sign it’s possible.

  4. 🍗 Popeyes and Chick-fil-a have some non-beef competition to beef with. These are the chicken sandwich newcomers of which you should be aware in no particular order.

  5. 🏒 The Flyers season has begun. Here’s a breakdown of everything you need to know. And you’ll never guess who came back to make his grand entrance.

Opinions

“To survive as a nation, we must transform our democracy — from one in which a minority can exert more power than a majority; where lies are spread about noncitizens voting to justify the suppression of votes; where politicians can draw district lines to ensure their own re-election; and where lawmakers can be unduly influenced by big donors and corporate elites, to a democracy that enshrines the principles of fairness, equality, and participation at its core.” — Michael Pollack, Executive Director of March on Harrisburg, and Adam Eichen, Executive Director of Equal Citizen, write to call on Senators Toomey and Casey to support the For The People Act to safeguard voting from threats to democracy.

  1. We need a plan to clean up the harmful Philly refinery site before the deadline, Joseph Otis Minott, Esq. chief counsel of Clean Air Council writes.

  2. The vaccine prevents symptomatic infection, but we still don’t know to what extent people who get vaccinated could still carry and promote spread of the virus to other people, writes medical director for patient experience-regional practices at Penn Medicine Jeffrey Millstein.

What we’re reading

  1. Treat yourself to some soothing digital art that’s an extraordinary distraction for the eyes.

  2. There’s some movement on that proposed two-pit quarry that would take up 196 acres of the Bucks County wetlands.

  3. Eater Philadelphia tells us how restaurants can turn PPP loans into grants.

Your Daily Dose of | Community

“He sees a need and meets a need. What could be more simple than that, or more beautiful?” Meet the man leading an effort to support Black Philly moms by doing things like coming through with free refrigerators.