Attorney general nominee Bill Barr's confirmation hearing set for Jan. 15-16

Michael Sykes

The Senate Judiciary Committee. Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images

The Senate Judiciary Committee announced Wednesday that the confirmation hearing for William Barr, President Trump's nominee for attorney general, will be held on Jan. 15 and 16.

The big picture: If confirmed by the committee, Barr will be take over for acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker. Barr is a controversial AG pick who has previously called special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into question.

Jan 2, 2019 - Politics

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Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian

University of Minnesota student jailed in China over tweets

Xi Jinping. Photo: Noel Celis - Pool/ Getty Images

A University of Minnesota student has been arrested in China and sentenced to six months in prison for tweets he posted while in the United States, according to a Chinese court document viewed by Axios. Some of the tweets contained images deemed to be unflattering portrayals of a "national leader."

Why it matters: The case represents a dramatic escalation of the Chinese government's attempts to shut down free speech abroad, and a global expansion of a Chinese police campaign a year ago to track down Twitter users in China who posted content critical of the Chinese government.

Go deeperArrow2 mins ago - World
Axios

⚖️ Live updates: Opening arguments begin in Trump impeachment trial

The second day of the Senate impeachment trial of President Trump will see a full day of opening arguments from Democratic House impeachment managers.

What to watch for: Democrats now have 24 hours — spread out over three days — to take their time to lay out their case against the president's alleged abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. It'll also allow them to highlight gaps that could be filled out by additional witnesses and documents from the administration.

This post will be updated with new developments as the trial continues.

Go deeperArrowJan 21, 2020 - Politics
Axios

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Keep ReadingArrowFeb 25, 2019 - U.S. News