Senate Continues with Impeachment Trial

UPDATE 1/31/20 9:51 PM EST: The Senate voted 51-49 to reject any additional witnesses in Trump's impeachment trial.

The US Senate took up the impeachment case against President Donald Trump this month, and is currently in the question-and-answer phase of the trial. This comes after the president's impeachment (similar to an indictment) by the US House of Representatives last month and the presentations both by the House managers, who argue for the president's removal from office, and the president's defense team.

The House impeachment managers, led by House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA) argued that Trump's actions on a phone call last year with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky constituted an impeachable offense after Trump asked Zelensky to open an investigation into the dealings of Hunter Biden, son of former Vice President and Democratic presidential contender Joe Biden. Witnesses allege that Trump planned to hold military aid to Ukraine, previously appropriated by Congress, unless the investigation occurred. The aid was released, though only after a whistleblower reported it. Democrats called such the alleged act an abuse of power in an attempt to hurt a domestic political rival, and also added another article of impeachment alleging obstruction as Trump did not allow key administration figures, such as acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, to testify.

The president's defense team countered the arguments put forth by House Democrats, saying that the president never threatened the Ukrainian officials directly with withholding aid, and such an act is not even an impeachable offense as no written statute exist outlawing it. Senators will soon vote whether to allow more witnesses, such as former National Security Advisor John Bolton, to testify. Bolton is believed to have first-hand knowledge of the decisions Trump was making in the matter. Republican defenders of the president have countered that they will ask Joe and Hunter Biden to testify and answer questions about alleged profiting from Joe Biden's political office. Joe Biden denies the allegations and had originally said he will not comply with a Senate subpoena, though he has since said he will testify if compelled by a lawful Senate order.

Coronavirus Declared Health Emergency by WHO, US

Both the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United States government this week declared the outbreak of a new strain of coronavirus a health emergency. This virus causes a respiratory illness that has led to 213 deaths, all in China, though its overall mortality rate is relatively low.

The US has limited to the number of airports that in which direct flights from China can land, and the State Department has issued a ‘Do Not Travel’ advisory for the country and encouraged travelers to rethink their plans. The Chinese government has continued its lockdown in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province and the city in which the outbreak began, to prevent the virus from spreading further.

While the symptoms from this strain of coronavirus are not as severe as other previous viral outbreaks, such as SARS and MERS, the threat of continued spread, as well as a more severe mutation emerging in the near future, have put pressure on public health officials. The virus has already infected over 10,000 people worldwide.