Good morning. It's Thursday, Jan. 14, and we're covering a second impeachment vote, a sweeping Italian mob trial, and an investigation in China. Have feedback? Let us know at [email protected].

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NEED TO KNOW

Trump Impeached for Second Time

The US House of Representatives voted to impeach President Trump yesterday by a vote of 232-197 on a single charge of inciting an insurrection, an accusation linked to last week's storming of the US Capitol building. Ten Republicans supported the measure, including Rep. Liz Cheney (R, WY-At Large), the third-ranking member of House GOP leadership (see full list). 

Republican leadership did not whip votes—meaning there was no overt effort to have members vote against the measure—telling members to vote their conscience. Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who favored formally censuring the president, said Trump bore responsibility for the assault on the Capitol, but stopped short of voting to impeach.

The outcome—the House impeaches, the Senate holds a trial—makes President Trump the first president to be impeached twice in US history. Only two others have been formally impeached, Presidents Andrew Johnson (1868) and Bill Clinton (1998); neither was convicted by the Senate (President Richard Nixon left office before a vote was held).

President Trump released a statement amid the proceedings, and followed up with a later video (from the official White House Twitter account), calling for supporters to refrain from violence and vandalism. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY)—reportedly open to voting to convict the president—reaffirmed a Senate trial will not get fully underway until at least Jan. 20, after President-elect Joe Biden's term begins. Conviction after departure from the White House would likely prohibit the president from running for office again. Conviction itself requires a two-thirds vote by the Senate. 

National Guard presence in Washington, DC, has been ramped up to 20,000 members ahead of Inauguration Day, amid a number of threats reported by security officials. See photos of Guard members sleeping in the Capitol ahead of yesterday's proceedings. 

'Ndrangheta Trial Begins

Italy's largest organized crime trial in more than three decades began yesterday, with prosecutors bringing charges against 355 members of the 'Ndrangheta crime network. The case—which spans murder, extortion, bribery, and other crimes—focuses on the Mancuso family, a key group within the broader network operating in the southern Calabria region. Among the defendants are politicians, police, and government employees. 

The group (pronounced "N-drang-GHE-ta") is independent of the more well-known Sicilian Mafia, but has outpaced other Italian syndicates, largely due to its ability to grow internationally. The network is estimated to bring in more than $64B annually worldwide. The trial also pits famed anti-Mafia prosecutor Nicola Gratteri—who has lived under federal protection for three decades—against family head Luigi Mancuso. 

Elsewhere in Italy, the country was plunged back into political crisis after the centrist Italia Viva party withdrew from the ruling coalition, leaving no party with a majority in parliament.

China Coronavirus Probe

Health officials from the World Health Organization are expected to arrive in China today, ostensibly to investigate the origins of the coronavirus. Their arrival comes more than a year after the first reported cases of the virus emerged in the city of Wuhan, and follows criticism by many, most notably the US, that China exerted its influence on the WHO to squelch early probes.

Scientists believe the virus originated in horseshoe bats, potentially traveling through an intermediary like pangolins, before jumping to humans. Many have criticized China for silencing early reports of local outbreaks, keeping the global community in the dark at a critical early juncture. See a timeline here.

In the US, officials have reported 384,764 total deaths as of this morning, with 3,848 deaths reported yesterday; see rolling averages for cases and deaths. Roughly 29 million vaccine doses have been distributed in the country, with 10.2 million doses administered.

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IN THE KNOW

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture

> Brooklyn Nets land NBA superstar James Harden from the Houston Rockets in a four-team trade also involving the Indiana Pacers and Cleveland Cavaliers (More)

> Garth Brooks, Dick Van Dyke headline 2021 Kennedy Center Honorees; the annual awards honor lifetime artistic achievement (More)

> NHL shortened 56-game regular season kicked off last night; see full preview and season predictions (More) | Two-time Olympic gold-medal-winning swimmer Klete Keller charged for participation in US Capitol riots (More)

Science & Technology

> Previously unknown mechanism behind chronic gut pain discovered; certain gut infections trigger a local immune response that causes the body to perceive normally innocuous food as harmful (More)

> European authorities take down DarkMarket, purported to be the biggest online marketplace for illegal goods and services on the dark web (More) | What is the dark web? (More)

> Magnetoreception, or the ability of living cells to sense magnetic fields, directly observed experimentally for the first time; applied field changes the biofluorescence of some cells (More)

Business & Markets

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> Homesharing giant Airbnb to block reservations in Washington, DC, during inauguration week (More)

> Starbucks announces $100M racial and social equity pledge to small businesses and Black communities (More) | Apple makes similar $100M pledge (More)

> Target sees holiday sales soar 17% over last year as e-commerce revenues more than double (More) | FDA recalls pet food after 70 dogs die from poisoning linked to Midwestern Pet Foods products (More)

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Politics & World Affairs

> Andrew Yang (D), former presidential candidate, to run for mayor of New York City in 2021 election; touts universal basic income for the city's 500,000 poorest (More) | Former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder charged with negligence in Flint water crisis, faces up to two years in prison (More)

> Samantha Power, former United Nations ambassador from 2013 to 2017, to lead the US Agency for International Development; Power won a Pulitzer Prize for her book "A Problem from Hell," focusing on America's role in preventing genocides (More)

> India's Supreme Court temporarily suspends controversial agricultural reforms that sparked paralyzing farmers' protest in New Delhi (More) | See drone footage of farmers clogging major highways (More)

IN-DEPTH

'I Saw My Life Flash Before My Eyes'

The Hill | Staff. An oral history of the siege of the US Capitol building, based on interviews with lawmakers and their staff. (Read)

Editor's note: Also see this visual investigation ($$, NYT), with video clips, maps, and diagrams.

Romancing the Neanderthal

BBC Future | Zaria Gorvett. Scientists know surprisingly little about the mating habits and relationships between early modern humans and ancient Neanderthals—though proof of such romances can be found in everyone's DNA. (Read)

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ETCETERA

Journalism and media trends for 2021.

Go inside America's most expensive home.

Relaxation drinks are the hottest beverage trend.

Merlina, the Tower of London's queen raven, is missing.

These drones act as indoor flying security guards. (w/video)

This warty pig is the world's oldest known figurative depiction. 

Japanese man who does nothing is in high demand. 

When you have two chances to unlock $240M but you forgot your password.

Clickbait: Sleep inside this six-ton potato.

Historybook: RIP astronomer Edmond Halley (1742); RIP “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” author Lewis Carroll (1898); HBD actress Faye Dunaway (1941); Franklin D. Roosevelt is first president to travel on official business by airplane in office (1943); NBC’s “Today” debuts (1952).

"All that is really worth the doing is what we do for others."

- Lewis Carroll

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