Politics and Government

A court hearing on PolyMet, a state senate hearing on guns and the impeachment trial of President Trump begins.

As the Senate reconvenes with Chief Justice John Roberts presiding over the rare impeachment court, senators sworn to "impartial justice," the legacy of Trump's presidency and the system of checks and balances are at stake before a politically divided nation.

President Trump’s impeachment trial is set to unfold at the Capitol in a contentious proceeding to render judgment on his actions. The trial gets underway around noon Tuesday.

NPR reported on Friday that the ticket for a two-hour ride between Chicago and Bloomington-Normal, Ill., stations usually costs $16. Amtrak had based the higher price on adjustments to train cars.

President Trump through his lawyers assails Democrats for trying to upend the results of an election, which is precisely the point of impeachment in the Constitution. The case asserts Trump committed no crime, a benchmark for impeachment that the Constitution's authors avoided adopting in a well-documented debate.

“It's going to give her more attention, particularly when you get past Iowa where her name won't be as recognizable,” says one political science professor. “And if people say, 'Oh, who is this? Let's take a closer look,' that'll give her perhaps a little bit of momentum, particularly if she does well in the Iowa caucuses."

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Monday proposed a condensed, two-day calendar for each side to give opening arguments in President Trump's impeachment trial, ground rules that are raising objections from Democrats on the eve of the landmark proceedings.

"This is about losing one of the base freedoms that we have," a gun rights backer says in Richmond. The city is under a state of emergency, and some streets have been barricaded to prevent violence.

Two keynote addresses from the annual Martin Luther King Jr. holiday breakfast in Minneapolis: former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder in 2020 and Rep. John Lewis in 2006.

The paper said Sunday it had chosen the two most effective candidates from the moderate and progressive sides of the party — without stating a preference for either approach. It praised Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren as "a gifted story teller" and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar as "the very definition" of Midwestern charisma and grit.