Feb 5, 2020 - Politics & Policy

Trump acquitted of obstruction of Congress

Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

The Senate has voted 53-47 to acquit President Trump on obstruction of Congress, officially bringing an end to the impeachment proceedings that have roiled Washington for the past five months.

The big picture: Unlike the article of impeachment for abuse of power, which saw Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) break ranks, the obstruction vote fell strictly along party lines. The charge proved to be one of the more controversial aspects of the impeachment saga, with critics calling it a product of a rushed process after House investigators declined to take White House officials to court for defying subpoenas.

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Marisa Fernandez
1 hour ago - Politics & Policy

Supreme Court won't block Rhode Island's eased absentee voting rules

Photo: Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images

The Supreme Court said Thursday that it will not block Rhode Island's move to ease its requirements for absentee voting during November's election.

Why it matters: The decision is a loss for Republicans, who had requested an emergency order as the state is expected to begin mailing out its ballots.

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Kia Kokalitcheva
1 hour ago - Economy & Business

Breaking down Uber and Lyft's threat to suspend services in California

Illustration: Lazaro Gamio/Axios

Uber and Lyft are ratcheting up the fight with California’s state government over the classification of drivers with a move that would deprive Californians of their ride-hailing services (and halt driver income).

Driving the news: On Wednesday, both companies said that if a court doesn’t overturn or further pause a new ruling forcing them to reclassify California drivers as employees, they’ll suspend their services in the state until November’s election, when voters could potentially exempt them by passing a ballot measure.

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Dave Lawler, Barak Ravid
3 hours ago - World

Trump announces normalization of ties between Israel and UAE

Israel Prime Minister Netanyahu, Trump and UAE Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed. Photo: Artur Widak/NurPhoto; Samuel Corum; Odd Andersen/AFP via Getty Images

President Trump announced a "historic" deal Thursday which will see Israel and the UAE open full diplomatic relations and Israel suspend its annexation plans in the West Bank.

Why it matters: This is a major breakthrough for Israel, which lacks diplomatic recognition in many Middle Eastern countries but has been steadily improving relations in the Gulf, largely due to mutual antipathy toward Iran.

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