Here are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Friday, January 17, 2020:
  • IMPEACHMENT TRIAL BEGINS: The Senate has opened the impeachment trial of President Trump, making it officially the third time in American history a president has been put on trial for high crimes and misdemeanors, and the first time it’s ever happened in an election year. Chief Justice John Roberts was sworn in, and he then administered an oath to the senators in which they swore to be impartial jurors. At the same time, the GAO, which is the nonpartisan watchdog for the federal government, determined that the president’s decision to withhold aid to Ukraine was against the law. WASH POST
  • WINTER WEATHER: A big winter storm is moving from the central states eastward and is set to bring potentially widespread snow and ice to a third of the country over the weekend. The upper Midwest, from Minneapolis to Cleveland, is looking at 6-8 inches through Sunday. D.C to Boston looks more like 1-3, but it’ll be icy and freezing cold. FORECAST
  • IRAN LATEST: The Pentagon now says that 11 American soldiers were injured in the Iranian rocket attack on an Iraqi military outpost last week. The injuries were mostly concussions related to the rocket explosions and are not thought to be severe, but it contradicts President Trump’s claim that no Americans were harmed in the incident. Meanwhile, Iran’s supreme leader is making a rare appearance at Friday prayers, where he’s calling the U.S. an “arrogant power” that deserved a “slap”. He has not mentioned the civilian jetliner his government shot out of the sky. NY TIMES
  • VIRGINIA GUN RALLY: A major pro-gun rally is scheduled for Monday, on Martin Luther King Day, in Richmond, where lawmakers are considering strict new gun-control measures. The FBI has already arrested three suspected neo-Nazis who were planning to attend the rally, and the governor has declared a state of emergency that will temporarily make it illegal to carry a weapon on the grounds of the capitol. Gov. Ralph Northam cited credible intelligence that far-right hate groups had “malicious plans” for the protest. RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH
  • NEW NAFTA: Congress has passed the USMCA, the North American trade deal that will replace NAFTA. The measure sailed through both houses with bipartisan support, even amid the impeachment inquiry. President Trump is expected to sign it next week. It’s the administration’s second trade victory in days, but the full law won’t go into effect until the Canadians approve it later this month. POLITICO
  • CARBON NEGATIVE: Microsoft announced that it will go one step further than “carbon neutral” -- the company says it plans to actually remove all the CO2 it has ever emitted into the atmosphere. The first step is to become “carbon negative” by 2030, meaning it will take out more carbon dioxide than it emits. The only way to do that is to use expensive, and still very new technology, that Microsoft says will cost $1 billion to perfect over the next couple of years. THE VERGE
  • SPORTS: AUSTRALIAN OPEN: Coco Gauff and Venus Williams will meet in the first round of the Australian Open. Gauff, the youngest player in the tournament, stunned Williams, the oldest, in the first round at Wimbledon last year. They’ll face off Monday daytime (but remember, Melbourne is ET+ 16). SCHEDULE
  • SPORTS: METS FIRE MANAGER: Carlos Beltran is out as manager of the Mets, before he even managed a single game. The team decided to cut him loose after he was the only then-player named for his role in the MLB’s widening sign-stealing scandal. ESPN
  • SPOTTED...: Bruce Springsteen on hand to watch his son, Sam, get sworn in as a firefighter in Jersey City, N.J. SEE PICS
  • AT THE MOVIES: There are two big new movies opening this holiday weekend. Will Smith and Martin Lawrence are back together in Bad Boys for Life, which is getting strong early buzz and sits at a solid 75 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. Meanwhile, the Robert Downey Jr. Dr. Doolittle remake is looking like another potential Cats. NPR says it’s so bad it’s less a movie and more a “crime scene in need of forensic analysis.” VARIETY
  • SLIM SHADY SURPRISE: Eminem dropped a surprise new album overnight. Music to be Murdered By, with cover art that’s an homage to Alfred Hitchcock, includes as its lead single a song about gun violence in America. The video for that song, Darkness, also just dropped: WATCH
  • LEFTOVERS: DOMINO’S IN ITALY: Domino’s Pizza is planning to open nearly 900 new stores over the next decade...in Italy. The pizza chain is focusing on the north and middle of the country, having decided that southern Italians are unlikely to eat their pizza. In 2018, Starbucks finally opened its first coffee shop in Italy after more than 35 years, but only after tailoring the menu especially for Italians. FOOD & WINE
Cheddar's Hena Doba and Jill Wagner get into the latest.
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