--:-- Duarte Giraldino: Good morning. It's Wednesday, January 13th. I'm Duarte Giraldino. And I'm Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today. Each morning, hear about some of the most fascinating stories in the news and how the world's best journalists are covering them.
--:-- Shamita Basu: After four years of steadfast loyalty to President Trump, some Republicans are changing their minds. Yesterday, some GOP heavy hitters came out in support of impeachment.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: Politico is reporting the top two congressional Republicans have in private signaled that they would like to see Trump punished or out of office. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told associates that he believes President Trump's actions are serious enough that he should be removed.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is opposed to impeachment, but he reportedly asked his Republican colleagues whether it's time to push the president to resign.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: And the number three House Republican Liz Cheney said she's voting to impeach. She's the former Republican vice president Dick Cheney's daughter and says, quote, there has never been a greater betrayal by a president of the United States.
--:-- Shamita Basu: At least four other Republicans are planning to join her. And political reports around a dozen could ultimately vote to impeach. Right. And this means it'll be a very different impeachment this time around compared to last time when every single Republican in the House stood by the president.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: Only one senator voted to convict in the first impeachment, Mitt Romney. Democrats are planning to vote on this historic second impeachment after Vice President Mike Pence refused to invoke the 25th Amendment.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Now, you might be surprised Pence is not jumping on this get Trump out bandwagon, especially given reporting by The Washington Post and other news outlets that their relationship is souring.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: When the mob stormed the Capitol and the vice president was taken to the basement, to shelter in place The president reportedly didn't check on him Instead Trump attacked Pence on Twitter for confirming Biden's win
--:-- Shamita Basu: Extremist supporters could be heard chanting in the halls of Congress "Hang Mike Pence". A Republican senator told The New York Times he'd never seen Mike Pence so angry.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: The Washington Post spoke with a former senior administration official who described Pence as the ultimate team player, always willing to do whatever was asked of him by the president.
--:-- Shamita Basu: But as angry as he might be, the vice president hasn't joined the chorus of other Republicans very publicly coming out to rebuke the president. He wrote to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to say Congress should avoid further dividing and inflaming the country.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: In the aftermath of the January 6th attack on the Capitol, a lot of attention is on widely known extremist groups like the Proud Boys. But when you look at images of all those people rioting, what may not be clear is that many of them could be your neighbors, your family, friends, or co-workers.
--:-- Shamita Basu: As the Wall Street Journal reports, there was a cross-section of America in that mob. There was a newly sworn in state lawmaker, an Olympic medalist, a son of a Brooklyn judge.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: In other words, these rioters weren't exactly on the fringes of society. There were law enforcement and military veterans. An Oklahoma grandma was arrested. The guy was photographed with his feet up on Nancy Pelosi's desk. He's a retired firefighter.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And I mentioned a state lawmaker took part. His name is Derek Evans. He'd just been elected to the West Virginia House of Delegates when he decided to riot and since then he's been charged with illegal entry and he resigned.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: One expert on extremism Jonathan Greenblatt at the Anti-Defamation League told the journal this was a blend of people he said there was a coordinated group of hardcore white supremacists mixed in with thousands and thousands of what he labeled ordinary people.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And that is worth paying attention to. The federal government is making a major change to its vaccine rollout plan. Up until now, half of the U.S.'s vaccine doses were being held back to ensure there'd be enough doses for people to get their second shots.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: CNN reports on how now the Trump administration is effectively implementing Biden's plan to ship as many doses as possible immediately.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Here's Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar. It gives states a strong incentive to ensure doses are going to work protecting people rather than sitting on shelves or in freezers.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: States will soon have more doses to work with, and that could reignite the debate over whether it might be better to get more people the first shot, even if it means second shots get delayed.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Two doctors at leading American medical schools recently wrote an op-ed in The Washington Post saying we've changed our minds about this. Doctors Robert Wachter and Ashish Jha say it's now time for America to get as many people vaccinated with the first shot as possible.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: This is already happening in the UK. These doctors argue, though two shots are ideal, one shot alone may be at least partially effective.
--:-- Shamita Basu: With the number of cases skyrocketing, many cities facing public health crises, and hospitals stretched to the limit, these doctors say we need to maximize the number of people who are at least partially immunized.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: Now, this delayed approach is controversial because it hasn't been studied. One risk is the immunity from the first shot might wear off if you wait too long to get the second.
--:-- Shamita Basu: And the other concern is, well, people are human. So the longer the delay the more likely it is that people might forget to go back for that crucial second dose.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: And supply is not the only problem The doses already out there are just not being given fast enough CNN reports the White House originally planned for 20 million people to be vaccinated by the end of 2020.
--:-- Shamita Basu: You know, so far, only around 9 million people have gotten the first shot.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: Today, when the House of Representatives votes to impeach President Donald Trump, a key person to watch will be Congressman Jamie Raskin. He's the lead impeachment manager for the Democrats.
--:-- Shamita Basu: But the recent days have been particularly hard for Raskin. As The Atlantic reports, the day before the attack on the Capitol, Raskin and his wife buried their son Tommy. He died by suicide on New Year's Eve.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: The Raskins were still grieving when the congressman went to the Capitol on January 6th. He brought his daughter and son-in-law with him so they could see the democratic process.
--:-- Shamita Basu: But then, as we know, the mob stormed the Capitol building. Raskin was separated from his family. He was rushed to safety with other members of Congress.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: His family members hid in a nearby office and had to block the entrance as rioters tried to break down their door. The congressman eventually reunited with them.
--:-- Shamita Basu: Raskin tells The Washington Post he's had many sleepless nights since his son died and many early mornings working towards the impeachment.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: He says his son is his source of strength, that he can feel him in his heart and in his chest.
--:-- Shamita Basu: You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app. Plus, be sure to check out Apple News tonight as the House votes to impeach. We'll have all the latest on this historic moment.
--:-- Duarte Giraldino: We'll talk with you again tomorrow. Thank you.
