5 things to know for November 13: Impeachment inquiry, Syria, DACA, Venice
Could we be heading for another government shutdown? The clock is ticking as lawmakers enter spending talks this week to get their financial ducks in order before next week’s funding deadline.
Here’s what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and Out the Door. (You can also get “5 Things You Need to Know Today” delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up here.)
1. Impeachment investigation
Today is the day. The House’s impeachment investigation officially goes public today when US diplomat Bill Taylor and State Department official George Kent give televised testimonies. If you watch, you may notice the format is a little different than previous big-ticket political hearings. The chairman and ranking GOP member of the House Intelligence Committee will each get 45-minute blocks to ask questions, rather than the usual, short back-and-forths. Democrats hope the blocks will give them more time to walk through witness stories and to do so without interruption from the GOP. The House Intelligence Committee has also teed up a full slate of witnesses for next week, including an aide to Vice President Mike Pence, the former US special envoy to Ukraine and the US ambassador to the European Union. The stocked docket indicates that Democrats are pushing to wrap up their impeachment proceedings in a swift manner — preferably before the end of the year.
2. Stephen Miller
A bushel of leaked 2015 emails reveals Stephen Miller, the controversial senior White House policy adviser, promoted stories from white nationalist and fringe media organizations to staffers of the far-right website Breitbart. Miller is known for his hard-line immigration stance, and emails show him trying to connect news stories about hurricanes to the possibility of increased immigration. Others show him trying to link race and crime. Some emails link to sites and articles that express anti-Muslim speech. Other messages reference VDARE, a prominent white nationalist website, or InfoWars, a site that often peddles conspiracy theories. The messages were published by the Southern Poverty Law Center, and the organization says it’ll release more over time.
3. Syria
Two US defense officials tell CNN that the US military has at least one drone surveillance video that may show a possible war crime being perpetrated by Turkish-commanded fighters in Syria. The video appears to show a possible extra-judicial execution of a detainee by Turkish-affiliated fighters, but officials caution that the quality of the video and the current lack of broader context make it hard to draw a firm conclusion. The US government is looking into several incidents carried out by Turkish-supported opposition forces in the area to determine whether they are war crimes. The latest video evidence comes at a sensitive time for the White House: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visits Washington today. The two leaders will likely talk about their roles in Syria and their respective relationships with Russia.
4. DACA
The Supreme Court yesterday weighed the fate of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, the Obama-era program that shields from deportation hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants who arrived in the US as children. President Trump has long said he wants to do away with the program, but the Supreme Court is apparently not finding it to be a simple task. The future of the program may hang on Chief Justice John Roberts and conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Their opinions could decide the whole thing, and after a day of hearing arguments, it’s not clear where either man will come down on the issue. Outside the court, immigrant advocates and DACA recipients from across the country gathered to listen to the proceedings and voice their support for the program.
5. Venice
One of Italy’s most popular tourism towns is requesting a state of emergency as it slogs through its worst flood in 50 years. An unusually high tide filled Venice’s streets with water last night, flooding at least 45% of the city. At least one person has died as a result. As the city starts to clean up, residents and businesses will be able to better assess the damage. Venice is a lagoon town that is prone to flooding, and wintertime high tides, known as acqua alta, are uncommon but not unprecedented. Venice’s mayor said in a tweet that the tide was “a wound that will leave a permanent mark.”
BREAKFAST BROWSE
Scientists may have figured out why we get hiccups
It would be great if they could also figure out how to stop them.
A cat was put in ‘solitary confinement’ after he kept letting out his shelter mates
The revolution begins with a single paw.
Treasure hunters salvaged liquor from a 102-year-old WWI shipwreck but haven’t tried it yet
A Facebook bug allowed app to access cameras while users were scrolling through news feeds
Hope they enjoyed our grimacing double chins.
TODAY’S NUMBER
7,120
The number of hate crime incidents reported to the FBI in 2018. That’s 55 fewer than 2017 but still in keeping with a historically high trend over the past few years.
TODAY’S QUOTE
“I’ve been in shape and ready for this for 3 years, can’t wait to see the head coaches and GMs on Saturday.”
Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, announcing that he has been invited to a private workout organized by the NFL to presumably see if there is any interest in signing him. Kaepernick has claimed the league colluded to keep him from playing because of his political activism.
TODAY’S WEATHER
AND FINALLY
Sonic is back on track
Paramount has released a new trailer for the “Sonic The Hedgehog” movie after fans recoiled at the original trailer’s strangely tall, toothy version of Sonic. Looks really different, right? Here’s a good side-by-side comparison. (Click here to view.)
