Gazette Daily News Briefing, January 14
This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for Thursday, Jan. 14.
If you like wintry mix, Thursday’s weather forecast is for you. According to the National Weather Service, there is predicted to be snow and sleet in the Cedar Rapids area before noon, then rain, possibly mixed with snow. There will be a high of 36 degrees somewhere during all of that and new snow and sleet accumulation is expected to be around a half inch or less. Then, Thursday night, there will be a low of 27 degrees and a 40 percent chance of more snow.
Donald Trump became the first president in U.S. history to be impeached twice, as a House majority Wednesday voted to charge him with inciting insurrection by his supporters, who a week ago stormed the Capitol to block ratification of Joe Biden’s electoral victory.
The 232-197 House vote Wednesday came exactly one week after the Capitol suffered its most violent assault since the British burned it in the War of 1812. Even though just 10 Republicans joined with Democrats in the vote, it was the most bipartisan presidential impeachment in modern times, more so than against Bill Clinton in 1998.
The charge against Trump now goes to the Senate, where a trial will not be held until after Trump leaves office on Jan. 20. A post-presidency conviction would be too late to cut short his term, but could be followed by a vote on a measure to bar Trump from running again for president.
The Iowa Hawkeyes basketball team has now had its first COVID-19 disruption during its Big Ten schedule. Iowa’s scheduled home men’s basketball game against Michigan State Thursday night has been postponed because of COVID-19 issues within the Michigan State program.
The makeup date will be announced at a later time.
Michigan State Coach Tom Izzo announced Wednesday afternoon that players Mady Sissoko and Steven Izzo had tested positive for COVID-19. They are roommates. Sissoko is a freshman center and Izzo, the son of the coach, is a walk-on sophomore guard.
Although the Iowa Department of Public Health announced Tuesday that COVID-19 vaccines would be available to a wider group of people beyond frontline health workers on Feb. 1, public health officials in two of Iowa’s most populous counties are unsure when they will be receiving enough of the vaccine to meet demand.
Linn County health officials on Wednesday said they still have not received enough doses to complete vaccination of front-line health care workers and others in the first phase of vaccination, citing the current supply of COVID-19 vaccines allocated to local jurisdictions by federal officials.
In Johnson County, Johnson County Public Health in recent weeks has seen the highest volume of calls from residents since the pandemic began, all from Iowans eager to find out when they can get a vaccine. But as with its neighbor, Johnson County has not received any indication from the state when it can expect to inoculate groups within Phase 1B.
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