Winter Weather
A powerful winter storm that dropped snow from El Paso, Texas, to the Great North Woods of Maine also hit New Orleans and the Deep South early this morning. The National Weather Service said winter storm warnings were in effect from Northeastern Oklahoma to New England, and the Storm Prediction Center forecast storms early today with the potential of hail, high winds and tornados. Flooding was reported in Alabama and in Tennessee.
Impeachment is over
One hundred senators voted on whether to acquit President Trump or removed him from office. The final vote was 52-48 on the abuse of power article and 53-47 on the obstruction of Congress charge. Mitt Romney became the first senator to vote to remove a President of his own party when he voted to convict Trump on the first article charge. The trial has now concluded and Donald Trump, the third American President to be impeached, is in the clear. Trump is expected to give his first public comments on his acquittal today.
Prison Investigation
The Justice Department will launch an investigation into several Mississippi prisons after a series of inmate deaths and reports of violence, corruption and unsanitary conditions. Nine inmates from Parchman Prison have died in a little more than a month. Violence or suicide is the cause of several of these deaths. More than two dozen inmates have filed lawsuits, with the help of rapper Jay-Z, for an emergency protective order to allow an independent agency to take over the prison's day-to-day operations.