Good morning, NBC News readers.
Former President Donald Trump's second impeachment trial will get underway in earnest today when House Democrats present their opening arguments for conviction starting at noon.
Here is what we're watching this Wednesday morning.
Trump impeachment trial to really get going with opening arguments at noon
The Senate voted to proceed with the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump after a round of arguments by the House impeachment managers and Trump's defense team on Tuesday.
Six Republicans joined all of the Democrats in the 56-44 vote, rejecting an argument from Trump's attorneys that it is unconstitutional to try a former president.
The House managers' compelling arguments flipped at least one Republican: Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., joined five other GOP senators who had previously voted that the trial was permitted under the Constitution.
Opening arguments are expected to begin at noon today, with House managers going first, followed by the attorneys for Trump. Each side will have 16 hours to make their presentation.
- From the riot video to a rambling attorney: Here's everything you need to know from Day One of Trump's trial.
- News analysis: The second impeachment trial of Donald Trump offers a clarifying moment for the GOP, writes NBC News' senior political analyst Jonathan Allen.
- "Ranges from sloppy to disingenuous": A legal scholar chided the Trump impeachment defense for misrepresenting his writings.
- Follow our live blog for all the latest updates on the second day of the impeachment trial.
- Watch the impeachment trial live on NBC News, MSNBC, NBC News Now and NBCNews.com.
Reasons for optimism? Mixed Covid news offers hope for coming months
Halfway through a bleak winter, Dr. Diane Griffin started to feel something in recent weeks that had been missing for much of the past year: optimism.
Griffin, an infectious disease expert at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, said recent declines in hospitalizations, daily deaths and confirmed new infections were fueling hope that the U.S. has arrived at a turning point in the trajectory of the coronavirus pandemic.
"What we're seeing is incremental and encouraging," Griffin said, "but we're not out of the woods yet."
More than a year into the pandemic, scientists say that while it's heartening to see declines after some of the deadliest and most challenging months of the pandemic, it may be too soon to know whether the U.S. is experiencing a temporary reprieve or whether it is finally starting to get control of the pandemic.
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Plus
- The Kansas City Chiefs have placed assistant coach Britt Reid on leave after a multi-vehicle crash that seriously injured a 5-year-old.
- Fans expressed shock after promising young pro football reporter Terez Paylor died suddenly at age 37.
- "Conditions very favorable to human-created avalanches": A deadly string of avalanches has coincided with ripe weather conditions and increased backcountry skiing due to the coronavirus pandemic, experts say.
- Just as the festive Lunar New Year period is getting underway, a string of attacks against older Asians has left big city Chinatowns on edge.
THINK about it
Trump's impeachment defense is a train wreck. But legal experts have known that for days, Loyola Law School professor Jessica Levinson writes in an opinion piece.
Live BETTER
Amid the pandemic, everything looks different — even something as inevitable as tax season. Check out five ways Covid-19 could affect your tax return.
Shopping
From engaging painting classes to relaxing robes and work from home upgrades, experts recommended these gifts for celebrating Valentine’s Day during the pandemic.
Quote of the day
"The House managers were focused. They were organized. They relied upon both precedent, the Constitution and legal scholars. They made a compelling argument...President Trump's team were disorganized."
— Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana explaining why he voted for Trump's impeachment trial to proceed on Tuesday.
One truly fun thing
If you have not yet watched the "I'm not a cat" viral video that has taken the internet by storm, please do so immediately.
When Texas lawyer Rod Ponton showed up at a mundane civil forfeiture hearing in a virtual courtroom, he had a cat filter on. A kitten appeared to be moving its eyes and lips in sync with Ponton's words as he struggled to explain to 394th Judicial District Court Judge Roy Ferguson that he couldn't remove the filter.
Hilarity ensued and Ponton's now infamous words were uttered: "I'm prepared to go forward...I'm here live, I'm not a cat."
Ferguson had a laugh over the kitten court catastrophe, praised all the lawyers involved and offered some working-from-home words of wisdom for all.
"If a child used your computer, before you join a virtual hearing check the Zoom Video Options to be sure filters are off," the judge tweeted.
Ponton will get a chance to explain how the mix-up happened when he appears on the “Today” show later this morning.
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Thanks, Petra
