Evening Briefing: Senate prepares for impeachment trial

January 22, 2021

Your Friday Evening Briefing

By Remy Tumin, Amelia Nierenberg and Jeremiah M. Bogert, Jr.

Good evening. Here's the latest.

Samuel Corum/EPA, via Shutterstock

1. No. 46 may be in the White House, but No. 45's legacy still lingers in Washington.

The House will transmit its article of impeachment charging former President Donald Trump with "incitement of insurrection" to the Senate on Monday, prompting the start of a trial unlike any other in American history.

Mr. Trump's impeachment trial, just weeks after he urged on a mob that attacked the Capitol, is the second one in just over a year. No other president has ever been impeached twice, and no former president has ever been put up on trial.

Senators Chuck Schumer, above, and Mitch McConnell have been discussing delaying the heart of the trial — in-person arguments — until the following week. That could appeal to Democrats who have been trying to ensure that the impeachment trial does not get in the way of confirming President Biden's cabinet picks.

Mr. Biden did secure a key appointee today: The Senate confirmed former Gen. Lloyd Austin as defense secretary on a 93-to-2 vote, making him the first African-American to lead the Pentagon.

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Frederic J. Brown/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

2. President Biden signed several executive orders that aim to provide economic relief to the unemployed and others suffering during the coronavirus pandemic.

The first order is designed to get more aid to families struggling to afford food and speed delivery of millions of stimulus checks. The second will lay the groundwork for the federal government to require a $15-an-hour minimum wage for its employees and contract workers. Above, volunteers with the Los Angeles Food Bank.

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Mr. Biden's top economic adviser said that the orders were not a replacement for the sweeping $1.9 trillion relief program that Mr. Biden outlined earlier this month. That plan has already met swift resistance from Republicans in Congress.

Separately, Mr. Biden called the chief of the National Guard Bureau to apologize after troops who were brought in to protect his inauguration were forced out of the Capitol and ordered to sleep in an unheated parking garage. Photos of the troops sleeping on the floor have sparked an uproar.

James Estrin/The New York Times

3. As the U.S. vaccine rollout continues to stumble, federal regulators are tweaking their recommendations for second doses.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said people could switch to another vaccine for their second dose, though only in "exceptional situations." Patients can also extend the interval between doses to six weeks from three or four.

Scientists have not studied those changes in large clinical trials, and Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, has repeatedly advised against them.

The shift comes as new variants threaten to erase recent gains made in curbing the spread of the virus. In the past few days, coronavirus cases have been dropping steadily across the U.S. Hospitalizations have fallen as well. But health officials are growing increasingly concerned that more contagious variants could cause new surges of cases even faster than the U.S. can distribute vaccines.

Gilles Sabrie for The New York Times

4. 365 days ago, Wuhan locked down.

In 2020, the Chinese city prophesied destruction, becoming the first epicenter of what is now a global pandemic. Now it is a post-pandemic showcase after a complex rebirth. People walk around without masks and spend time inside. But they also still grieve, coping with silent emotional aftershocks.

The Times has two moving stories on the anniversary. In one, people struggle to memorialize the dead. In another, six survivors share reflections on the past year. "I always thought I wasn't afraid of death," one man said. "But I found out during the epidemic that I'm terrified of it."

Mark Rucker/Transcendental Graphics, via Getty Images

5. Hank Aaron, who faced down racism to become one of baseball's greatest players and its home run king, has died at 86.

The Atlanta Braves, his team for many years, confirmed the death but did not provide a cause.

Aaron's pursuit of Babe Ruth's career record of 714 home runs proved a deeply troubling affair beyond the pressures of the ball field. When Aaron hit his 715th home run in 1974 against the Los Angeles Dodgers, he prevailed in the face of hate mail and death threats from racists who were outraged that a Black man could supplant a white baseball icon.

"It really made me see for the first time a clear picture of what this country is about," Aaron later said of the accomplishment. He would go on to hold the title of most home-runs — 755 in total — for 30 years. It was one of many outrageous stats held by Hammerin' Hank.

Whitney Curtis for The New York Times

6. What defines domestic abuse? Survivors say it's more than assault — and lawmakers are starting to listen.

Some states have begun to reshape their laws to acknowledge that controlling and isolating behaviors, often referred to as "coercive control," are not only steppingstones to violence but can also be criminally abusive. By broadening the definition of abuse, activists hope to help victims reclaim their autonomy and catch perpetrators before cases spiral out of control.

Representative Cori Bush of Missouri, above, has been sharing her story as a survivor of domestic abuse to help "normalize the conversation," adding, "I've allowed myself to be vulnerable about it."

Mick Tsikas/Australian Associated Press, via AP

7. Google threatened to leave Australia if the government approved legislation that would make tech companies pay for journalism shared on their platforms. Facebook issued its own ultimatum, vowing to block users in Australia from posting or sharing links to news if the bill passed.

The battle between Google and Australia's news sites has been escalating: Google, which controls 95 percent of all Australian search queries, recently buried the results of major news sites in what it called an "experiment." Above, Melanie Silva, the managing director of Google Australia and New Zealand at an Australian Senate hearing.

Damien Cave, our Sydney bureau chief, said the move "revealed the apparent willingness of Facebook and Google to hide or erase reliable sources of information."

Clockwise from top left: Brynn Anderson/Associated Press; Jeffrey Phelps/Associated Press; Jamie Squire/Getty Images; Jeffrey T. Barnes/Associated Press

8. It won't be a full house, but 22,000 fans will attend the Super Bowl in Tampa, Fla., next month — the smallest in the history of the championship game.

About 7,500 of those seats will be occupied by vaccinated health care works who are being given free tickets by the N.F.L. But first there are scores to settle in Sunday's conference championship games.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers face the Green Bay Packers with a chance to play in a home Super Bowl (no team has ever played a Super Bowl in its home stadium). The winner of that game will meet either the Buffalo Bills or the Kansas City Chiefs. Here are our predictions.

Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

9. It's January. Consider these hearty recipes to get you through to sunnier days.

First, here's a straightforward sausage and apple dinner. This one-pot meal calls only for a sheet pan (no mixing bowl required).

Or, make a polenta that masquerades as lasagna. "With its gentle corn flavor, the polenta offers a sweet contrast to the savory tomato sauce, along with a pleasingly nubby texture that's firm but not chewy," writes Melissa Clark.

If you just want a bowl of pasta, we don't blame you. This no-waste creamy (and vegan!) leek pasta delivers a ton of texture and flavor.

Drew Angerer/Getty Images

10. And finally, the art of the reverse knit.

When Harry Styles wore a color-block patchwork cardigan for a "Today" show rehearsal last February, knitters went into a frenzy trying to figure out how to recreate the pattern at home, taking to TikTok and YouTube to share their process.

Then, when Senator Bernie Sanders wore large patterned mittens (perhaps you've seen some memes?) to the inauguration, knitters stalked every stitch. Less than 24 hours later, a member of Ravelry, an online forum for knitters and crocheters, reversed-engineered the pattern and shared it on the website.

"Knitting is confidence building," a knitwear designer and pattern author said. "Starting with two sticks and a bit of string or a crochet hook, you can create something beautiful."

Stay warm this weekend.

Your Evening Briefing is posted at 6 p.m. Eastern.

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