Stuff YOU Should Know
Impeachment Trial Moves to Public Hearing Phase
The impeachment inquiry continues this week, with two days of public hearings scheduled before the House of Representatives. On Wednesday, November 13, the House will hear from William Taylor, the acting ambassador to Ukraine. Then on Friday, November 15, House committee members will hear from Marie Yovanovitch, the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine. The House has already heard from both diplomats privately in closed-door sessions, and their testimony was released last week, but this will be the first time that the American public will be able to view and hear the witnesses firsthand.
The hearings will center around phone calls made last summer by the president to Ukraine’s president. Democrats say they are gathering clear evidence showing that Trump asked Ukraine’s president for help in digging up dirt on Democratic candidate Joe Biden. Trump, according to his critics, suggested withholding $400 million in U.S. military assistance (which had already been approved by Congress) until the investigation of Biden was complete. If this is true, it represents a quid pro quo arrangement between Trump and Ukraine’s president. What makes this different, however, is the fact that Trump was using congressionally-approved funds in a negotiation that was purely for his political reelection benefit. Democrats and others claim this is a misuse of the president’s power.
So what comes next? After the public hearings, Adam Schiff, Chair of the House Intelligence Committee (which heads up the investigation), will issue a report on his committee’s findings. The report will be sent to the House Judiciary Committee, which (along with the House Foreign Affairs and Oversight Committees) will then consider any potential articles of impeachment. If the House votes for impeachment, then the Senate will hold a trial to determine the president’s guilt or innocence.
Dig Deeper What provisions in the United States Constitution decide the process for presidential impeachment? What do these provisions say?
EPA Dials Back Coal Waste Rules
The role of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is to protect the environment. But under the Trump administration, the EPA has often disappointed environmentalists by rolling back some of the exact legislation it should be fighting to protect. Last Monday the EPA announced that it planned to ease regulations on waste products from coal-fired plants–specifically coal ash and wastewater. Coal ash is the powdery stuff left over after burning coal. It can contain toxic metals like lead, arsenic, and mercury. It is stored in pits, which, if they aren’t lined properly, can leach these toxic contaminants into the soil and groundwater. Under the Obama administration, any unlined coal ash ponds were supposed to be closed down by 2018. But under the new rules, plants will be able to take up to five more years to close and line these basins. The second rule change will allow more toxic wastewater to be released into rivers and streams.
So what is the EPA thinking? One of Trump’s goals, since he was running for president in 2016, was to help the coal industry. Changing the rules by postponing the deadline to close the basins will make it easier for coal-powered energy plants to meet those deadlines. The EPA estimates that the rule changes will save the coal industry about $480 million a year, which energy companies say will allow them to keep prices lower for consumers.
Environmentalists point out a report from the EPA that came out last year indicating that over 200 power plants across the nation are leaking coal ash into the nearby groundwater and that this groundwater has been shown to be extremely contaminated with these toxic contaminants.
What Do You Think? In your opinion, is it worth it to relax environmental regulations if it will save companies (and consumers) money? Why or why not?
Cookie Dough Recall
Bad news for cookie dough lovers: Nestle just announced a voluntary recall of 26 of its ready-to-bake refrigerated Toll House Cookie Dough products. Why? It’s possible that they may contain rubber pieces.
Before you run to your refrigerator to throw anything away, know that not every product is affected by the recall. It applies only to the following:
- Items sold in the U.S. and Puerto Rico
- Batch codes 9189 through 9295 (Batch codes can be found on the package after the “use or freeze by” date and following the number 5753)
- The following flavors: Simply Delicious; Chocolate Chip; Fall’n Leaves; Frozen II; Holiday Chocolate Chip Tree Sprinkle; Ultimate Chocolate Chip Lovers; Pinch of Grinch Cookie Dough; Monster Munch; Triple Chip; Ultimate Turtles; White Chip Macadamia Nut; Mini Chocolate Chip; Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip; Sugar Cookie; Oatmeal Raisin; Ghouls Mix, M&Ms; and M&Ms Holiday
- Bars, tubs, and tubes (otherwise known as “chubs”) of dough
The good news is that so far, no one has become ill or been injured by consuming the product. But the company says that if you have purchased one of the affected products, don’t bake or eat it–just throw it away. Also, if you are someone who likes to bake a lot during the holiday season, you’ll be pleased to know that Nestle has identified and fixed the source of the problem so that future products won’t be affected.
Dig Deeper What governmental department oversees the safe preparation of the foods that we buy?
Impeachments and Democrats
If Trump is impeached, that will be great for the 2020 Democratic candidates, right?
Not necessarily.
In fact, if an impeachment trial takes place in the Senate, it could have a devastating effect on the campaigns of several of the Democrats running for the presidency in 2020. That’s because the six candidates who are also senators will be forced to return to Washington, D.C. for the entire duration of the trial. Right now–IF the trial happens–it would likely start in January. As for how long it could last, no one knows for sure; President Bill Clinton’s lasted about a month, while Andrew Johnson’s lasted more than two months–back in 1865. But even if it only takes a few weeks, the candidates will be missing out on important time they could spend on the ground, meeting with voters and attending rallies and fundraisers.
That means that Senators Michael Bennet (Colorado), Cory Booker (New Jersey), Kamala Harris (California), Amy Klobuchar (Minnesota), Bernie Sanders (Vermont), and Elizabeth Warren (Massachusetts) will effectively be taken out of the running just as things are gearing up for the critical Iowa caucus that could set the tone for the entire rest of the campaign. So far, the senators haven’t complained about the inconvenience, and have said that the impeachment trial is more important than any single political campaign. Some experts have argued that participating in the impeachment trial might actually give the six senators a boost in popularity. But that seems unlikely, as most Americans probably won’t watch the day-to-day proceedings of the trial.
What about the Democratic candidates who aren’t senators? This might give them a great opportunity to push ahead. Political analysts especially have their eye on Pete Buttigieg (South Bend, Indiana), who has already set up an established campaign in Iowa and has visited there several times.