Written by Econintersect
Early Bird Headlines 22 January 2020.
Econintersect: Here are some of the headlines we found to help you start your day. For more headlines see our afternoon feature for GEI members, What We Read Today, published Monday, Wednesday and Friday, which has many more headlines and a number of article discussions to keep you abreast of what we have found interesting.
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Key Articles
Global
- China stocks pare some losses as investors weigh concerns over coronavirus (CNBC) Markets in Asia edged higher on Wednesday as investors weighed concerns over the spread of the coronavirus that has afflicted hundreds in China so far. Mainland Chinese stocks made a turnaround to close higher after dropping more than 1% in the morning. The U.S. dollar index was last higher at 97.65 after seeing lows around 97.4 yesterday. Oil prices slipped in the afternoon of Asian trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures declining 0.43% to $64.31 per barrel. U.S. crude futures also shed 0.55% to $58.06 per barrel. Gold Feb ’20 futures contract was unchanged at $1,557.9. Treasury yields were down for the UK gilts and German bunds, mixed for U.S. treasuries.
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U.S.
- McConnell backs off, abruptly eases some Trump trial rules (Associated Press) Republicans turned back Democratic amendments to subpoena documents from the White House, State Department and budget office, with more votes expected rejecting key witnesses with a front-row seat to Trump’s actions. (See Republicans Block Subpoenas for New Evidence as Impeachment Trial Begins (The New York Times) and also next article.) By the same 53-47 party-line vote, senators turned aside the Democrats request to subpoena acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney.
McConnell stunned senators and delayed the start of proceedings with his decision to back off some of his proposed rules. Republicans were said to be concerned over the political optics of “dark of night” sessions.
Instead, 24 hours of opening arguments for each side will be spread over three days, for a moment swelling Democrats’ momentum as they push to break the standoff over calling new witnesses.
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- Senate Republicans muscle through rules for Trump trial (The Hill) Senate Republicans forced through a resolution establishing the rules for President Trump’s impeachment trial in the early morning hours Wednesday, rejecting Democrats’ demands for additional witnesses and documents at the outset of the proceeding. Senators voted 53-47 on the resolution capping off hours of debate, with Trump’s legal team and House managers engaging in a heated, public back and forth while senators themselves debated the measure during closed-door caucus meetings. The final vote on passage of the rules came after Democrats tried and failed to get language added to the resolution that would have included a deal at the beginning of the trial on witnesses and documents related to the delayed Ukraine aid. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R, KY) said at multiple points of the chamber’s debate:
“All of these amendments under the resolution could be dealt with at the appropriate time.”
- Trump’s impeachment team embraces defense that his DOJ rejected (Politico) After arguing in court for months that federal judges should stay miles away from disputes between Congress and the White House – for fear that they become political actors in a divisive impeachment probe – the president’s lawyers spent the first working day of Trump’s Senate impeachment trial arguing the exact opposite, and suggesting that those who disagree are hostile to the Constitution. This argument is in direct conflict with the Trump Justice Department’s own forceful arguments – some as recently as this month – that allowing courts to step into such battles between Congress and the White House would be an affront to the separation of powers. On Jan. 3, a Justice Department attorney fighting the House’s impeachment inquiry said “unelected” judges should not be “refereeing” such disputes. DOJ attorney Hashim Mooppan argued that the court should steer clear of “a purely political dispute.”
- Here are the 2 main reasons why Mitch McConnell is giving us a sham trial (Alternet) This Op Ed proposes that McConnell does not want witnesses and evidence presented is not that he wants to protect Trump, but that he wants to protect his Senate majority. If futher evidence and witnesses increase the perception of Trump’s guilt and the GOP majority still aquits the president, then several Republicans who have been considered safe in 2020 could be defeated.
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Other important articles
U.S.
- How Donald Trump’s Unlikely Legal Team Will Try to Defend Him (The New Yorker)
- Senate Democrats privately mull witness trade in impeachment trial: A Biden for Bolton (The Washington Post)
- Wuhan Coronavirus: C.D.C. Identifies First U.S. Case in Washington State (The New York Times)
- AP FACT CHECK: Trump spreads distortions at Davos (Associated Press)
- Bernie Sanders said ‘on a good day, my wife likes me’ in response to Hillary Clinton’s statement that ‘nobody likes him’ (Business Insider)
- Trump says GDP would be near 4% and the Dow would be up to 10,000 points higher if it weren’t for the Fed (CNBC)
- Republicans dips heading into impeachment trial (The Hill) Previous approval ratings were at 90%.
Russia
India
China
- Trump says he trusts China’s Xi on coronavirus and the US has it ‘totally under control’ here (CNBC)
Brazil
- Brazilian prosecutors charge journalist Glenn Greenwald with cybercrimes (The Guardian) He is accused of helping hackers who obtained cellphone messages between leading figures in anti-corruption investigation.
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Canada
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Mexico
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