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Good Morning.
We cover the move to indict President Trump, the soaring U.S. coronavirus death toll and dwindling hopes in Kashmir.
Democrats are driving impeachment proceedings
The House Democrats introduced an impeachment article against President Trump for inciting the mob that attacked the Capitol last week. Republicans blocked a separate move to ask Vice President Mike Pence to remove power from Mr Trump under the 25th Amendment, which means the House would likely have to convene a full vote on that move today.
If Mr Pence does not intervene “within 24 hours” of the measure being passed and the President not stepping down, House leaders said they would move on Wednesday to review the impeachment decision on the ground just a week after the attack.
More than 210 Democrats have joined the indictment, just ahead of a majority in the House. Several Republicans are said to be considering voting against impeachment for the first time, despite party leaders against it.
Opinion: Representative David Cicilline, one of the authors of the impeachment article, is making his case.
Effects: A number of corporations and other prominent institutions have severed ties with Mr. Trump since the attack on the Capitol.
The U.S. coronavirus death toll is 375,000
The surge in new coronavirus cases and hospital stays in the United States is reflected in dire new statistics: the 7-day average of virus-related deaths has exceeded 3,000 a day, reaching 3,249 on Sunday. Over the past week, an average of more than 250,000 cases per day have been reported. According to a New York Times database, the total number of virus deaths exceeded 375,000 on Monday.
Overloaded health facilities also have problems vaccinating people. Since the states and counties largely had to take care of the logistics themselves, the vaccination program was anything but smooth: As of Monday, fewer than nine million people had received at least one shot, well below the federal target of 20 million people or more by December 31.
Joe Biden: The president-elect received his second injection of a vaccine on Monday. His team said he would refer to the Defense Production Act if necessary to ensure that second doses can be given on time.
Here are the latest updates and maps of the pandemic.
In other developments:
The priesthood is still inaccessible to Catholic women
Pope Francis changed the laws of the Catholic Church to allow women to formally read the Bible at Mass, serve at the altar, and divide the fellowship even though he has stopped making them deacons or priests.
Catholic women have already performed these tasks in many countries. However, by amending the Code of Canon Law, which sets the rules of Catholic practices, Francis eliminated the possibility that Conservative bishops could exclude women from these roles.
In a note, the Vatican said the Pope wanted to make it clear that “it is about lay people who are fundamentally different from the ordained service received through the sacrament of holy orders.” The ecclesiastical hierarchy, including Francis, has done so made it clear in the last few decades that the ordination of women as priestesses is not on the table.
Analysis: The decree in itself “is not a radical change,” said Kate McElwee of the Women’s Order Conference. “But the Church, recognizing generally accepted practices by Catholics around the world and taking steps to become more inclusive, is a radical thing,” she added.
If you have 7 minutes, it’s worth it
The hopes in Kashmir wither
Once a popular destination for Western and Indian visitors, Kashmir has been surging for more than a year. First, India used security forces to contain the region when its autonomy was obliterated. Then the coronavirus struck. Now the tourism-dependent region has almost come to a standstill and soldiers are filling the streets.
The following also happens
Indonesian crash: The sleepy island of Lancang has become a base for search and rescue operations since the Sriwijaya Air Flight 182 crash on Saturday with 62 people on board.
New CIA director: President-elect Joe Biden has selected William Burns, a US State Department official who led the US delegation in secret talks with Iran, to run the spy agency.
Snapshot: At the weekend Madrid had the heaviest snowfall in 50 years. At least three people died after Storm Filomena covered the Spanish capital in more than a foot and a half of snow and paralyzed it for days.
Lived life: Pat Loud, the irrepressible matriarch of the first reality television series “An American Family,” which exposed the drama of her family life without apology, has died at the age of 94.
Revival of “Sex and the City”: HBO Max announced the return of the hit show about friends navigating love and careers in New York City, this time as a 10-episode series called “And Just Like That …”. A disadvantage? No Samantha.
What we read: This Associated Press article about a Missouri woman believed to be the last Civil War widow who recently passed away. “That blew my mind,” says Amelia Leberberg, who writes the Coronavirus Schools Briefing.
Now a break from the news
Cook: With a velvety dressing and crispy chickpeas, this vegan Caesar salad has the spicy-salty-punchy balance of real business.
Clock: One of the greatest films of all time, The Rules of the Game, first shown in 1939, is a film about discretion – and a model of it in every way.
Make friends: To create a healthy habit, find someone (or something) who will hold you accountable.
Keep yourself busy at home with our collection of ideas for what to read, cook, see and do at home while being safe indoors.
And now for the background story …
While running and taking notes at the same time
During a 24-hour race, reporter Jen A. Miller tried to interview as many fellow travelers as possible. That’s how she did it, excerpt from the original by Times Insider.
When I signed up for a 24-hour race that started at 9 a.m. on New Year’s Eve and ended at 9 a.m. on New Year’s Day, I knew I had to cover it.
However, running and reporting would be a logistical challenge.
The race took place on a paved loop that was just under a mile away. The winner is whoever has covered the most kilometers within the time window. We ran laps, which meant I kept seeing the same people over and over again. I interviewed as many runners as possible early on when we were fresh, excited and coherent.
Although the reported version of the race is running at a reliable speed (I hope) the race itself was very long and, to be honest, boring.
Because it was such a long race, runners moved more slowly than they normally would in a marathon. Whenever I saw other runners running, I would catch up and walk at their pace and interview along the way.
Towards morning I did two full laps with Michael Gagliardi, the eventual winner, who drove 125 laps for 123.87 miles. I was foggy back then and called him after the race to make sure my memory was correct. This caused him to tell me things he was too frozen to tell me on the course, including how he got through the night reminding himself that every hour a different part of the world marked the new year celebrated.
Ten days later, I’m still a little creaky. I haven’t even thought about my next race, but I think I can focus on what I could do next.
Hopefully I won’t need the pencil next time.
That’s it for this briefing. Have a great day.
– Natasha
Many Thanks
Theodore Kim and Jahaan Singh took the break from the news. You can reach Natasha and the team at [email protected].
PS
• We hear “The Daily”. Our latest episode looks at the coronavirus variant and the vaccine rollout in the United States
• Here is our mini crossword puzzle and a hint: “Why not!” (Four letters). You can find all of our puzzles here.
• Our political reporter Astead Herndon spoke to The New Yorker about the Georgia elections and the Republican Party’s “wake up call”.
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